Hi everybody, and a very, very happy New year. I am writing this from a hotel room in New Zealand, where I am currently writing an animation film called Jumbo Jet, about a group of elephants who set up a low budget airline. It is as mad as the idea sounds, but it is lots of fun. I have also sold a big Xmas film to Sony Pictures, which I hope will start shooting this year. It is called The Star, and tells the nativity story from the point of view of the animals. Life is good but very busy. Being in New Zealand, surrounded by the magical landscapes (used as locations in many fantasy films, as you know) I am of course reminded of the 10th Kingdom, and what an amazing time we all had making that series in the spectacular settings in Europe.

I moved this year from London to Los Angeles, and I now live in a big wooden house in the canyons above Beverly Hills, where the deer come to the edge of my garden, and each night packs of coyotes howl for miles around. That also makes me think of a certain Mr Warren Wolfson, and sends my mind back to that strange and wonderful world through the mirrors.

Most of you know that a second series of 10th Kingdom is something I would love to do, but we will all have to wait until the time is right and the opportunity presents itself. I have no more news on the subject, but if it is meant to happen, then one day it will...

In the meantime, however, I thought you might all like to know a little bit more about my plans for series 2. Now this story of course is not written yet, and it may change in many ways when and if I do write it, but I thought I'd give a little teaser of some of my ideas to you, my wonderful and loyal fans.

The second adventure will be called 'House of Wolves' , and take us primarily into the wooded world of Red Riding Hood's Kingdom, where schoolgirls in long, crimson caped uniforms are trained to deliver secret messages throughout the kingdoms, risking their lives to travel through the dark, dangerous forests.

The story begins in New York, some time after our previous adventure finished. Wolf and Virginia have opened their restaurant, which serves only meat of course, and only rare meat at that! Virginia is very pregnant with Wolf's baby, and is getting concerned because she has been pregnant for much, much longer than is usual... Wolf says this is a sure sign that the baby will be a magic baby. When Virginia does finally give birth, it is to a furry baby wolf cub!!! Wolf is thrilled, but Virginia is most certainly not, and doesn't like the strange looks she gets when she wheels a little wolf cub around Manhattan in a pram. She is very upset and says she wants a human baby. Wolf promises to return to the Kingdoms with her and see if there is some magic spell that will turn their baby into human form. Indeed, perhaps someone has bewitched their baby... but who would do a thing like that?!

They travel to Red Riding Hood's Kingdom, where wolves are demonized and forced to live in hidden underground villages deep in the forest. Wolf is shocked to see that girls at the Riding Hood Academy For Young Ladies are taught the most appalling, prejudiced ideas about wolves, and he decides to enroll as a teacher (without telling anyone that he is a Wolf, of course) to put the record straight. As you can imagine, a Wolf at a girls boarding school causes quite a few problems...

So many other things happen in our story, including Wolf discovering that his parents were not burned to death as he believed, but still alive! The story also features the magical, woodland full moon marriage of Wolf and Virginia! Old friends will return... some as small as an Acorn... And there will be many surprises - such as the fact that the new Troll National Anthem sounds very much like a Bee Gees song... Oh and one thing I can certainly promise - there will be magic aplenty! Magic everywhere, in all it's wondrous forms. And there will be romance and hope and danger and adventures to take your breath away! And -

But, alas, that's all I have time for now. I would love to hear what you think of these ideas, and also tell me what you would like to see in a second series. I would be very interested to hear all your thoughts in the next few issues of the Newsletter.

Goodbye for now. Best, magical wishes, and lots of Kissing Town stuff-

Simon

PS - if any of you have written to me in the last few months and I haven't yet replied, please be patient - my life has been rather crazy moving five thousand miles, and most of my life is still packed up in boxes! Sx~