I have been very neglectful blogging lately – but the past 2 months have been very busy. I  was getting my next novel off to the editor; I went to Denver to the Historical Novel Society Conference; I was in the process of moving house – something I’ve since pulled the plug on (more of this in a future post) and now I am here in Bali – for a whole month. I am not just pursuing the life of a lotus eater – the plan is to work on the final edit of the book – but as you can see from the picture I can ease the aching brain and fevered brow by jumping into the pool when I want.

I am planning to resume normal service on the blog so I thought a good way to start would be to share my temporary Balinese writing room with you.

I am writing this post while sitting on the patio at the table you can see in the foreground of the picture above. I have a bottle of trusty Bintang beer beside me to sustain me. Bintang is cheap as chips here and while I’m not a huge beer drinker at home (just before footy matches) I am finding ice cold beers are very quaffable in the warm Bali evenings – and the wine here is both crap and expensive.

During the day I sit at this very imposing desk with my laptop and the fan on full blast. Not being a cat owner I was unused to the tendency of felines to climb all over the keyboard – and – in the case of Pepsi the little black cat that comes with the house – attempt to climb up my face!

If my laptop needs charging I move to another small table next to the veranda – or for reading I decamp to the rocking chair you can see in the background (or to a bar or the beach).

Despite having no excuses (after two weeks when  a friend was staying I am now all alone) I still find there are rather too many distractions from writing. Today I wandered down the road to the beach for lunch and a reflexology session at fabulous beachside spa. Tomorrow I am planning on booking a driver to take me somewhere off the beaten track. Despite this I have made some good progress with the book edits – and have also caught up on my marketing planning.

It’s taken me about two weeks to relax properly and start enjoying the slower pace of life here. In less than 2 weeks I will be back in London and the Bintangs will be replaced with cups of tea and coffee. It will be great to have my books around around me again. It feels weird being here in a house without books! Thank god for my Kindle.

With my next post normal service will resume – with a peek into the Writer’s Room of Claire Weiner aka Mari Howard.