Today it’s the turn of author Kate Field to give us a glimpse into her varied days as a writer. Kate writes wonderful contemporary women’s fiction. Her latest book is A Dozen Second Chances and you can find out more about it below. But first over to Kate to tell you about her writing life.

 Kate Field’s Writing Life in a Day

I love reading blogs about how other authors work, but admit that I’m often struck with a pang of envy over those brilliant writers who knock out several thousand words in one go – and that’s before breakfast. How on earth do they do it?

My writing days are very different. I don’t even have a typical day. I work part time in an office job, and rarely have the mental energy to write on those days. On my so-called ‘days off’, the hours whizz by in domestic activities, and, until recently, a 3 hour school run. Writing has to fit round real life in whatever spare hours I have. Sometimes I manage a few pages, sometimes a few lines. It all counts, and I don’t beat myself up if I have an unproductive day.

I don’t need much to be able to write: my only requirements are a pen (currently a Cross ballpoint pen given to me by a friend), an A4 notebook (I stockpile in the Paperchase sale) and peace and quiet. This last requirement has been hard to come by over the recent months of lockdown! My favourite place to write is the kitchen, as it’s bright and warm, and the hum of the fridge provides just the right pitch of background noise without being intrusive, but now the peace has been shattered by the sound of Zoom meetings echoing round the house and the constant boiling of the kettle. I haven’t had the house to myself since lockdown started, and I’ve found it hard to write at all.

I didn’t realise before I was published that there’s so much more to being a writer than putting words down on the page. On any particular day I might have to write a blog post, arrange a blog tour to promote a new book, design a graphic to use on social media, and keep my Twitter and Facebook profiles up to date. Multi-tasking is an essential skill. It’s quite normal to find that you’re writing one book, editing another and promoting a third, all at the same time. It can get very confusing!

The working day never ends for most writers; you can’t switch off the lights and close the door on your imagination. There are no weekends or holidays: I remember having to stop during a Swiss mountain hike a few years ago because I thought of the perfect words for Ethan’s declaration of love in The Man I Fell in Love With and had to write it down before I forgot. I love reading, but it’s hard to read a book without mentally dissecting the author’s skill in keeping the pages turning and playing with my emotions. I can’t watch television without being distracted by an interesting face that might inspire a character, a useful name in the credits, or by the thought, ‘what if X,Y and Z happened instead?’. Characters and conversations constantly run through my head, and they won’t go away!

In my most recent book, A Dozen Second Chances, I wrote the story of Eve, who takes the opportunity to change her life when her daughter leaves home. It’s a subject close to my heart, as I’ll have an empty nest soon too, and many more hours of my day to fill. Perhaps I can take the opportunity to change my writing life, and at last become one of those authors who write thousands of words before breakfast…

Anne: Thank you to Kate for this fascinating insight into the non-typical days of her writing life. You can read more about her and her latest book below.

A Dozen Second Chances

From the back cover:

What are the chances that twelve little tokens could change a life?

Seventeen years ago, Eve Roberts had the wonderful life she’d always dreamed of: a degree in archaeology, a gorgeous boyfriend, and exciting plans to travel the world with him, working on digs. But when her sister Faye died, the life Eve knew ended too. Faye’s daughter Caitlyn came to live with Eve, her boyfriend left, and she quickly gave up on her dreams.

Now approaching her fortieth birthday, Eve faces the prospect of an empty nest as Caitlyn is leaving home. Caitlyn gives Eve a set of twelve ‘Be Kind to Yourself’ vouchers, telling her that she has to start living for herself again, and that she should fill one in every time she does something to treat herself.

With her very first voucher, Eve’s life will change its course. But with eleven more vouchers to go, can Eve learn to put herself first and follow the dreams she’s kept secret for so long? Because life is for living – and as she well knows, it’s too short to waste even a moment…

Buy link: you can buy A Dozen Second Chances HERE

About Kate:

 Kate writes contemporary women’s fiction, mainly set in her favourite county of Lancashire,

where she lives with her husband, daughter and mischievous cat.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Kate’s debut novel, The Magic of Ramblings, won the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award for new writers.

Kate’s social media links:

Twitter: @katehaswords

Facebook:  Kate Field Author