My Perfect Day By Amanda Brooke

On the book tour for Amanda Brooke’s new book, ‘The Child’s Secret’, Amanda tells us about her idea of a perfect day.

I have this picture in my head of how my perfect writing day would go. I would get up early, make a cup of coffee and then retreat to my study which would have a fantastic view of rolling countryside so I could gaze out occasionally while I searched for the right word or turn of phrase. By midday I would have reached my targeted word count, allowing me to spend the rest of the day as a lady of leisure, doing author-ish things, whatever they might be, and would probably involve long walks and sitting in a coffee shop eavesdropping on conversations.

Unfortunately reality doesn’t quite work like that. For one thing, I have a day job which means writing doesn’t start until I’m home late afternoon, at which point I’ll fire up the computer and get straight to work. There’s a quick break for something to eat and then it’s back to the writing until I’m finished, which can be as early as 7pm but often stretches beyond 9pm. And I should also point out that because I’m usually sitting on the sofa, the only view when I look up is the TV.

[amazon_link id=”0008116490″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]Even where I can spend the whole day writing, it still doesn’t quite match that ‘ideal,’ picture, although I do like writing first thing in the morning. It means I can spend the rest of the day pottering around with the scenes I’ve just written still lurking inside my head and that’s usually when I’ll get a sudden flash of inspiration that will set me up for the next day’s labours.

What I don’t have when I sit and write is a view of the countryside. I live in the city so the best I can hope for is a view of roof tops and I tend to write in my bedroom rather the room I set aside for writing. Even though my study is equipped with all the essentials including a desk, a chair and lots of bookshelves, I find it too quiet and I’ve never been able to settle in there. The main reason I suppose is because it used to be my son’s bedroom. After he died in 2006 I didn’t want it to be left untouched as some sort of shrine, I wanted to go in there and be reminded of the legacy Nathan left behind and not my loss. It was because of him that I started to write and the books I’ve written take pride of place on the bookshelves next to his ‘Fireman Sam’ stories. There’s also a display cabinet full of his beloved ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ trains, not to mention Buzz Lightyear propped up in the corner with a good view over my shoulder if I were to sit at the desk. And I will start doing that…one day.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”0008116490″ target=”_blank” ]The Child’s Secret from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.