The Forbidden Queen

A DAY IN THE LIFE

I try to write every day, for the sake of continuity, and because I suffer from withdrawal symptoms if I miss more than a few days. What will my characters do without me?

I am a morning writer. In summer when the days are long I can start work at 6.00am—it is harder in winter when the mornings are dark, but I am usually underway by 8.00am. I work until lunchtime, about one o’clock, with a coffee break. I have an office where I can leave all my books and papers around so that I can find them when I start again. If I tidy up I lose things.

In the afternoons when the weather is fine I enjoy my garden, a large, rambling area where I and my husband grow vegetables and soft fruit. The seasons are a delight, with herbaceous flower borders, a wild garden, a small orchard and a formal pond. With an interest in herbs and their uses, I have a herb garden constructed on the pattern of a Tudor knot garden and enjoy cooking with the proceeds. It is a perfect time for me to mentally review what I’ve been doing as I keep the flowerbeds in order and wage war on the weeds.

Housework is fitted in as and when. My priority is writing and the garden, but I am driven to cleaning when I can write my name in the dust on the furniture. Early evening is a time when I sit with a glass of wine to make contact with my husband. It is a very important hour which we put aside for ourselves when we can talk and listen to music. Sometimes I might read through what I have written in the morning. Then we eat—I am an enthusiastic cook, so it is a pleasure to fit this into my day.

I have discovered that writing has a habit of taking over my life if I allow it, but I refuse to give up on my yoga…