As writers we often spend time alone in our offices or at our desks. Perhaps for short periods, perhaps for several hours. We are introspective and live a lot of our lives inside our heads. Now I don't know about every other writer on the planet, but sometimes I feel the need to shake it up a bit. This is a good thing as I have barely been in my house since the beginning of September, let alone in my office. However, I have still been writing.
In the last few weeks I have written at airports, on planes, sitting beside the Mississippi River, in cafe's and restaurants in New Orleans, in hotel rooms, in an apartment in Butlins and on trains. It's a good job I'm an any time, any place, anywhere type of writer. If I wasn't my writing would have come to a full stop.
One thing about being in all these different places is that it gives me plenty of inspiration. I see people and hear things which can spark off all sorts of train of thought. This can lead to something quirky appearing in a book. Now before you think I'm writing people and conversations directly into my book, that is not the case. It just sets my imagination spinning.
Today, however, I am writing in a place which gives me much more inspiration than the average. I am in The British Library. The photo at the top of the blog is my view as I write. Being surrounded by such old books gives me a sense of place. A sense of purpose. A sense of history. I am following in the footsteps of so many authors who went before me. To be in a place entirely devoted to books is writer's heaven. All around me people are writing, reading, researching and anything devoted to books.
As an aside I deposited my book here for legal deposit. It should have been here months ago but obviously went missing in the post. To bring it in person seemed surreal. Knowing that my books are in this vast place alongside millions of others is something I can't quite take in. To know that someone can borrow my book from here is also something I cannot take in. Will they ever do so? That is something I will possibly never know but knowing they can is enough. I love being a writer and I consider it a privilege to be writing in The British Library.
If you have not yet met DI Shona McKenzie or downloaded DI Shona Mckenzie's Guide to Killing Your Boss, then you can do so on my website
Wendy H. Jones lives in Scotland, and her police procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Shona McKenzie, is set in the beautiful city of Dundee, Scotland. Wendy has led a varied and adventurous life. Her love for adventure led to her joining the Royal Navy to undertake nurse training. After six years in the Navy she joined the Army where she served as an Officer for a further 17 years. This took her all over the world including Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. Much of her spare time is now spent travelling around the UK, and lands much further afield. As well as nursing Wendy also worked for many years in Academia. This led to publication in academic textbooks and journals. Killer's Countdown is her first novel and the first book in the Shona McKenzie Mystery series, followed by Killer's Craft, Killer's Cross and Killer's Cut. Her debut Young Adult Novel, The Dagger's Curse, was published on 10th September 2016.
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