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…

TOP TEN BOOKS

To ring the changes here: I have listed the ten most enjoyable or interesting books that I have read this year

Stef Penney: The Tenderness of Wolves. At last I have read this bestseller and was immediately drawn into the tension and sense of desolation in the novel of Canada in 1867. Not the usual historical novel but well worth a visit.

Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall. I loved this Man Booker Prizewinner, delving into the life and character of Thomas Cromwell. To be made into a BBC mini-series—can’t wait.

Hilary Mantel: Bringing Up The Bodies. I had to read the sequel—and another winner of the Man Booker (how good is that for historical fiction?)—and I think that I enjoyed it even more, even though I admit to Anne Boleyn not being a favourite character of mine. Will this be adapted by the BBC as well? I do hope so.

Ariana Franklin: The Assassin’s Prayer. This is the final novel in the Mistress of the Art of Death series, due to the untimely death of Diana Norman, writing as Ariana Franklin. I am so sorry. I love the humour, the authentic detail, the fine characterisation and the understated romance between Adelia and Bishop Rowley. I understand an incomplete novel will be finished and published in 2014 by Ms Norman’s daughter. Perhaps this will bring Adelia and Rowley’s affair to a satisfactory close.

Joanne Harris: Peaches for Monsieur le Curé. Although I did not find this quite as compulsive a read as the previous two, I enjoyed meeting up with old friends from Chocolat and Lollipop Shoes.

J.K. Rowling: A Casual Vacancy. I read this out of interest for the author’s much-publicised novel for an adult audience—and quite enjoyed the portrait of the strains and stresses in a tight-knit community. The ‘school’ scenes roused some distant memories. In the end I wondered if the author enjoyed writing it as much as she enjoyed Harry Potter. Somehow I do not think that she would…

Christie Dickason: The Noble Assassin. Here is an historical novelist whose style I really enjoy. I have read all her novels. This one draws us into the uneasy political situation in the reign of James I. Highly recommended.

Phil Rickman: The Secrets of Pain. The latest in the Merrily Watkins novels, a female priest who tackles the problems and prejudices of the church, society and the supernatural. A must-read for anyone living in the Welsh Marches—and elsewhere, I think. It has a true resonance of living in a rural community: local politics, countryside lore and in this case even the SAS. I have read the whole series and eagerly await the next.

D.K. Broster: The Flight of the Heron. A little wallowing in the past here when I picked up D.K. Broster’s Jacobite Trilogy in a second-hand bookshop. I recalled reading it many years ago and enjoyed the re-reading for its atmospheric telling of the tale of the ‘45 with all its pain and torments. It is not now in print but is well worth looking out for, with The Gleam in the North and The Dark Mile.

Phil Rickman: The Heresy of Dr Dee. Newly released and a far cry from Merrily Watkins, this opens up the dark and mysterious world of Tudor politics, investigating the death of Amy

Robsart, wife of Lord Robert Dudley. It follows on from The Bones of Avalon. A great treat to anyone who has not come across them.