Where the ideas flow by Karen McCombie

I'm so pleased to welcome author, Karen McCombie onto the blog to show us where all her fabulous ideas flow. Karen has written over 80 best selling books and sold over a million.Last week saw the publication of her latest novel, The Whispers of Wilderwood Hall, which is a timeslip novel published by Scholastic.  She lives with her husband Tom, teenage daughter Milly and the beautiful-but-bitey Dizzy cat.

I have two writing offices. Yes, I am THAT fancy.

Let me introduce you to Writing Office No. 1, which is the teeny back bedroom of my terraced house in Crouch End, North London.

I like my desk to be tidy, yet full of interesting bits. Unfortunately, it’s usually UNtidy, yet full of interesting bits. 

My office is so wee that there are books every which way you look, squeezed into every nook and cranny.

 

Music makes my heart go ping, but annoyingly I can’t have it on when I write or I lose concentration. But if I’m e-mailing or doing other work-related pottering and pootling, I’ll stick the radio on.

Dizzy doesn’t mind if the music’s on or off, as long as she can keep me company.

Now here’s the thing; I am a fidget. Like a dog, I need regular walks. So when I get fidgetty and my brain stalls, I pack up my laptop and take a walk through the park just behind my house. It surrounds one of my favourite buildings; the lovely Alexandra Palace, which has featured in several of my books.

After a fifteen-minute mooch, I arrive at Writing Office No.2, which is the café at the garden centre in the park. It’s a gorgeous environment to write in, surrounded by flowers, and aided by tea and cake!

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The Whispers of Wilderwood Hall was published on the 2nd of July by Scholastic

Summary

Ellis is losing track of time…

After leaving her friends to move to a crumbling Scottish mansion, Ellis is overcome by anxiety and loneliness. Then she hears whispers in the walls…and finds herself whisked back in time to 1912. 

At first, she feels like she's finally home. But the past may not be as perfect as it seems – and is there more to hope for in the present than she first thought?

To find out more about Karen McCombie:

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