The Westward Hours is the novel I’ve most recently finished. Though set in a drought-baked American West, most of the writing happened between rainy England and the rainforests of British Columbia. The University of East Anglia awarded me a three year scholarship to complete TWH, and a PhD at the end of it all. UEA is famous for two things: writing and climate science. TWH is set in the near future, when global warming upends everything from farms to churches. Having completed The Westward Hours, as I await its publication, I have returned to the world of its origins. Only thanks to El Niño is the Santa Fe River, which travels past my house, running hard this winter.