So here I am a day behind schedule (yet again!). There is so much of Lewis Carroll's White Rabbit in me lately, lost somewhere in Wonderland with a tendency to be playing catch up all the time especially where blogging is concerned.
So what's my excuse? Well the reason for the delay has been a good one. My latest book had been going so well last week that yesterday with the words still flowing I simply could not stop -when the muse is with you, you simply have to stay with it! This is my sixth book and I have to say probably the most enjoyable I have written. Maybe that's because it's a fresh project. The other five were a series all linked to the same family. However, it's also got a lot to do with the way this current plot has come together - like it's meant to be. It's had the feel good factor since I first started typing and that has never left me. I'm also loving these new characters I've created and this early on in the book that's unusual too.
Write about what you know the advice goes so my stories have always had their roots in village life. Having grown up in one it's familiar territory, not only from a landscape point of view, but from kind of characters you find there. Of course since my childhood days things have changed dramatically. When I was growing up in rural Wiltshire there were very few 'incomers' from the town. People in those days weren't interested in living somewhere they perceived as being miles from anywhere. These days, however, it seems country life is the 'must have' for a good many people. The area surrounding Bath has appealed to many with that dream. With good rail and road links to London there is the ability to have the best of both worlds: highly paid jobs in the capital and an enjoyable life in a pleasant village outside it. There are some, however, who have gone the whole way and chosen to work as well as live here, deciding on a complete overhaul of their lifestyle. This migratory trek west has been going on since the mid-80s and I think in some ways is responsible for the city we have today. When I came to Bath in 1981 it was a different place, provincial and quiet. Now it's opened up tremendously; it has great shopping, excellent hotels, amazing restaurants, two universities and a definite cosmopolitan feel. Alongside this, of course, are the things it has always been identified with - the Roman Baths, the Abbey and the amazing architecture of buildings like the Circus and the Royal Crescent.
Currently I live only three miles from Bath but if you look out of our windows in any direction you would never think you were that close to a city of 176,000 people. There are fields and woods all around. A wonderful, peaceful place to live and only a short drive away from everything the great Roman City has to offer.
 |
| The Abbey |
 |
| Pulteney Bridge and The Weir |
 |
| Roman Baths |
 |
| The Royal Crescent together with some of the Bath Lions |
 |
| The Circus |
Back to my WIP. For this new book the location has changed. Saying goodbye to the West Somerset setting of my Little Court series, I have now moved to South Devon. It's a place I know really well and somewhere I never tire of coming back to. Dartmouth, which actually featured briefly in my last book, is in fact one of my favourite UK holiday destinations. I love that mix of boats and the water. We stay right on the marina and the apartment has a huge window which gives great views of everything that's happening both on the river and the estuary. There's an amazing atmosphere there at night too. Walking back from dinner at one of the many excellent restaurants in the town I never get tired of seeing that magical blaze of lights across the water at Kingswear. This part of Devon is known as South Hams; a beautiful part of the British Isles and a perfect setting for this new book.
 |
| Kingswear at night from Dartmouth |
So that about it for this week. Everything is going well I'm in a good place. I'm working on a topic for this coming weekend too so currently I'm ahead of the game. However I'm not sure with all the things I seem to pack into each day the White Rabbit tag is going to be one I can shake off very easily! I am trying very hard though, believe me!
See you next week.
Jo x
No comments:
Post a Comment