We have entered the torpor of deep winter. Here in Minnesota, where I live, the snow and cold keep me indoors in the short afternoons and, too often, napping.
But for Val McDermid, these cold, dark months are not a time of dormancy — they are the most stimulating of the year. Winter, she writes in her new book of short essays, “Winter: The Story of a Season,” is a time of energy, bonfires and holidays. It’s a time of childhood memories and a time of work. It’s her “chosen season of creativity.” After the “wild pleasures” of new year celebrations are over, she sits down and begins her next novel.
