For years, I worked in the City of London and my routine was the same every day. I’d get up while it was still dark, stumble into the shower and down as much coffee as my sleep-deprived system could stomach before heading into the Big Smoke to make my way in the world. Nowadays, life as a full-time author has shaken my routine up a bit.
Dark Skies
These days, I get up while it’s still dark thanks to my four-year-old son, who generally trots into our bedroom around six a.m. yelling, “WAKEY, WAKEY!” before taking a running jump onto the bed for good measure. I consume caffeine with the same enthusiasm as I ever did but, rather than donning a restrictive suit and braving the tube for forty minutes, working from home allows me to live in jeans and take my son to school before sitting down to write.
By the time the day really starts it’s after nine a.m. and, when I’m not holed up in my study, I like to do a little location scouting for the next book in my series of Northumbrian mystery thrillers and take a drive out into the countryside with my trusty laptop at my side. Left to my own devices, I could shut myself away for hours immersing myself in the next DCI Ryan mystery but I try to go for a walk every day and do some exercise in the evenings, too. When my son comes home from school it’s important to me to spend quality time with him and so the laptop stays firmly shut down until he goes to bed. I’m a bit of a night owl and tend to work in the late evenings if I need to but, once a book is complete, I allow myself a couple of weeks’ ‘down time’ to read books written by other people and relax with my better half.
That is, until the next idea strikes…
LJ publishes through Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon’s independent publishing programme which enables authors to earn up to 70% royalties. LJ’s latest novel Dark Skies is available on Amazon.