I’m delighted to have Rachel Barnett on the blog today. Here she is describing her writing cave and a little about her writing process. If Rachel’s books are half as much fun as she is, then they’re a must-read! Over to you, Rachel …
My writing space has been put to many uses over the years. It has been a storeroom, play room, farm office… Apparently it began life as an egg room, with its own outside door for the customers. It’s a single-skin addition to the side of our farmhouse, long and narrow, cold in the winter and perfect in the summer. Just right for storing eggs!
It’s just right for me, too – with the addition of a plug-in heater in the colder months. And a pair of fingerless gloves if it’s really parky.
After inhabiting the end of the kitchen table for years, I managed to claim this space as my own a few years ago and set about redecorating it myself. With gleaming gloss work and a fresh splash of sunny yellow on the walls I became overly bold and decided to put up Venetian blinds single-handedly. This approach is not one I would recommend. Put it this way, by the time the blinds were up and working I think I’d exhausted my entire (and rather extensive) vocabulary of swear words…
My desk is the crowning glory in this space. It was a Christmas-and-birthday-and-another-Christmas present from my other half and it’s beautiful. An antique with burr walnut veneer and wonderful deep drawers which are easily big enough to hold manuscripts. With that, a windowsill full of houseplants, and my gorgeous Labrador, Murray, snoring at my feet, I have created my perfect office space.
Must interject here. We dog lovers demand a picture of Murray!
I try to write every day – to be honest it’s no hardship. Having come to writing later in life than some, I’m loving the freedom and creativity it allows. It’s also so much fun. I can have my characters do whatever I choose – the megalomaniac in me is very happy – and I get to drink as much tea as I want, too.
My approach to writing is linear. Once I have an idea of the beginning, the hopeful ending and a vague idea of what’s going to happen along the way, I start at Chapter One and write forwards from there. I also tend to ‘write myself in’ to a novel, which means I usually end up cutting the first few chapters as I have used them to ‘place’ my characters. For me, this approach works well, and I enjoy the way it means I learn about my characters in the same way my readers do. It also allows me to keep my finger on the pulse of my book. As a reader, I enjoy fast-paced novels, and I hope that’s what I deliver for my readers. I also love writing feisty characters and challenging them with difficult decisions or circumstances – mostly because I want to find out what they’ll do – and I wrap the whole package up in a gorgeous location.
Now tell us about your books and how we can find you, Rachel …
I have two novels publishing with Embla Books (an imprint of Bonnier Books) this year. The first is out on 16th May and is set on a luxury yacht in the Italian Riviera. You’ll find sunshine, sea and secrets galore in A SUMMER ON THE RIVIERA. Available on Kindle, as an audiobook and in paperback https://bit.ly/3HcvjDo
I also write romantic suspense for Champagne Book Group under a pen name – Laura R. Leeson. The Valentine Retreat, set in glamorous Los Angeles, is available in eBook and paperback https://amzn.to/2YaXezJ and its sequel – Valentine’s Revenge – is due out any time now.
My social media platform of choice is Instagram – you can find me there as @RachelBarnettAuthor and @Laura_R_Leeson
Do check out Rachel on Instagram, she’s great fun.
I lurk occasionally on Twitter, too, as Rachel Barnett, or @Laura_R_Leeson
https://twitter.com.@Laura_R_Leeson
Thank you so much for coming on. Wishing you huge luck with your new release!
Love,
Georgia x