The first of two novels, Gliff, which is a Scottish/northern word for a shock, a fright, a transient moment, a glance or sudden glimpse, will be followed by a second novel in 2025, called Glyph (a signifying mark – as in ‘hieroglyph’). Glyph, the second novel, will tell a story which is hidden in the first so the two books will belong together but can be read independently. The two books will form a new step in Ali’s writing journey, different in form and feeling from the Seasonal Quartet (plus Companion piece) and will look very different too.

Ali always keeps her novels under wraps until they are finished, and the surprise of reading a book only when it is complete, knowing almost nothing of its content, is part of the magic.