This feature is a series of questions and answers but with a difference, each month I’ll be publishing the answers from lots of authors to just one question. The questions are mainly book, writing or publishing related but they are meant to be fun!
This month is “Where do you write?”
Mari Hannah: Absolutely anywhere I can grab an hour. My preference is my conservatory with the doors open in summer or closed in winter with a roaring log fire.
Cath Staincliffe: Sitting in an armchair, staring out of the window.
Phoebe Locke: I recently moved house and now have a study which feels like the ultimate luxury after years of writing on my sofa/bed/kitchen table. But I do still like to get out and write in bars and cafes too, and trains are my favourite place of all to get the words down – I’ve been known to ride the Victoria line back and forth when I need to meet a deadline!
Hanna Jameson: On my bed or at a coffee shop. There is no in-between. I prefer activity around me when I’m working, I find it motivating and I also stay off Twitter out of shame if anyone else can see my laptop screen.
David Jackson: I have a study in our loft conversion.
Chris Whitaker: Only in my office. I’ve never written a single line anywhere else.
Elizabeth Haynes: I have a very untidy office but if I need to be productive I’ll go out to a coffee shop and work there for a while. I need people around me, and background noise.
Lilja Sigurðardóttir: Everywhere I can! I like best to write at home with the dog on my feet but now when I travel so much I try to make use of airplanes, airports, trains and hotel rooms.
Steven Dunne: In an office, in my house. I have a view of the garden and a steady supply of tea.
Barbara Nadel: In my office at home, usually with my cats perching on my chair.
Derek Farrell: On trains. On ships. At my dining room table. In my office. Large parts of “Death of an Angel” were written in a caravan in St Leonards, most of the early parts of “Death of a Diva” were written on a cruise ship crossing the Atlantic, and a lot of “Death of a Nobody” was written by a swimming pool in New Zealand. “Death of a Devil” was finished in Venice. Editing is in my office, but writing – getting it down on paper – is anywhere I can.
Quentin Bates: During the day it’s normally in the shed. In the evenings and at weekends work migrates to the kitchen table. I once wrote a huge chunk of a book over three days in a wifi-less hotel room, and am very tempted to try that again.
Fergus McNeill: When possible, I write in or near the place where the book is set, usually in cafes or libraries. If that’s not an option, I’ll sometimes drive to a secluded part of the New Forest and sit in the car with my laptop.
William Shaw: Mostly in a writing room (™ JK Rowling), sometimes in a weird shack in the middle of nowhere, but above all absolutely anywhere. The more places the better. Trains and planes. On the beach.
Rachel Amphlett: In my office, mornings usually.
Mark Edwards: In my office on the top floor of my house, although in the past I wrote on trains, buses, in cafes and at the gym. I can write anywhere.
Nick Quantrill: I’d like to tell you about my office with a view to die for, but it’s an armchair in the living room. At least I can work in a noisy environment with no problems…
Sarah Ward: In a spare bedroom which I’m just about to rearrange. I’ve written the past four books with my desk facing a wall and I’m about to turn it towards the window. We’ll see how that works.
V M Giambanco: Mostly at my desk, when I can find it under the pile of papers, notes, and Post-its.
Simon Booker: At home in my office.
Susi Holliday: Anywhere. Office, sofa, bed, on the tube, pacing around while I dictate.
Anna Mazzola: Mainly in our bedroom at the top of the house. It’s not ideal (and one day I’d love a room or shed of my own), but it’s the best place to hide from small children.
Novel Heights 