What do writers do when they’re not writing?

Well, obviously they do all the things that other people do.

They cook, they clean, they go shopping and they watch television.

Tangled plots are frequently unravelled over an ironing board. The contents of the cleaning cupboard can provide ideas for murder. And television documentaries are an endless source of ideas. My next book, published on 18th April, Murder Among the Roses, was inspired by one.

And there’s a new series, Cold Case Detective, about real cold crime investigations which is research so actually working…

But it’s not all work and no play.  I enjoy quiz night at a local wine bar, and we are so lucky to have an award winning indie bookshop right in the centre of town – just a couple of doors down from the wine bar!

This month, so far, I’ve been to an event to hear Landscape Architect Marian Boswell talking about sustainable gardening.  (My new series heroine is a garden designer so this was definitely research!) And I’m looking forward to hearing Dave Goulson talking about bees at A Buzz in the Meadow.

I have a regular lunch date with a friend and then, to counteract that, there’s an aqua class three times a week – exercise, but without getting hot and sweaty.  I’m a member of the WI and,  of course, I spend a lot of time with my family.

Zooming has been a revelation. During lockdown, when we couldn’t get to our regular annual retreat, a group of us  set up an online retreat and we’ve kept it going. We meet up every week online for a  catch up to hear how the latest book is going, celebrate new book deals and brain storm ideas when a book has fallen into a black hole. The hive brain can come up with some amazing ideas!

And last week we were able to raise a glass when one of our group picked up a RoNA at the Romantic Novelists’ Association awards night.

We occasionally meet up with other writers for lunch – that’s the table set for the London & South East Romantic Novelists’ Association Chapter lunch last month – and at conferences.

I’ll be at the Crime Writers’ Conference in York this year – a step into the unknown for me!  Fingers crossed that the trains are running. And maybe I’ll make it to Noir at the Bar…

Then there was a Wordfest event in Crawley, hosted by Derek Farrell, with crime writers William Shaw and Lesley Thomson talking about their latest books.

As you can see, I bought them both!

So there you have it. The sad fact is that whatever we do, we’re still thinking about writing.

Oh, wait, you’re thinking about the quiz night. There are so many ideas brewing… Will it be a budding romance over the sports questions? Or is someone cheating? Will it be murder?

And a meet cute in the supermarket, anyone?

Well, yes, you’ll find that one in my latest book, Murder Among the Roses – published by Joffe on 18 April.  Save the date!