A day in the life of debut author Phaedra Patrick

27 September 2016

One of the treats of working from home is that I never set my alarm clock. Between me, my husband and 10-year-old son, one of us always wakes up around 7am.

Phaedra Patrick

Husband gets out of bed to go to work, and son gets into bed. We read for 15 minutes or so snuggled under the duvet. Son likes The Simpsons or gaming magazines and I fight the urge to read Heat or Closer and force myself to read a 'proper' book instead. I've recently subscribed to The Bookseller too as I've always been fascinated by the publishing industry.

After breakfast (yogurt, fruit, nuts and honey) and son going to school, I try to go for a walk. The main thing I miss about my previous job in communications is the walk to the train station each morning. I wrote my debut novel, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, on my commute then typed up my words on Friday, my day off. Sometimes I still walk to the station and back, even if I'm not getting a train. It helps me to gather my thoughts together for the day.

I'm sitting in front of my computer by 9.30am and always start by getting my admin out of the way - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, emails etc. After that, there are often blogs and Q&A's to write. I do receive some lovely messages via Facebook from readers. One even painted me a picture of Arthur Pepper's pot plant! I try not to read reviews but can't help myself clicking on Amazon and Goodreads for a nosey.

I like writing in summer best, when it's warm and I can leave the back door open. It's easy to feel like a hermit when the weather is cold, the fire is on and I'm huddled up wearing my poncho and fingerless gloves. I've always wanted to be a writer but, most of the time, it's totally unglamorous.

I find writing the first 25,000 words of any novel comes quite easily to me, also the last scenes. It's the bit in the middle that can get me in a tangle. Sometimes I write for hours and the words just flow. At other times I find myself itching to click onto the Daily Mail gossip pages instead.

For lunch I eat soup, a salad, small sandwich or jacket potato. I'm a chocoholic so I try (but usually fail) not to have sweet stuff in the house.

I'm usually packed up by 4.15pm, ready for the school run. If I'm editing then I sometimes end up working until 10pm at night and at weekends, which makes me tired, grumpy and probably not that productive.

Just because I've written something, doesn't mean it's the best it can be. My UK editor, Sally, and US editor, Erika, (both at HarperCollins) have years of experience and great suggestions, so I'm happy to listen and try to see things from their perspective. My agent, Clare Wallace at Darley Anderson, is also a great sounding board.

Facing a computer day-in, day-out, can be rather isolating so I try to meet my parents or friends, a couple of days a week, for lunch or a bit of shopping. Occasionally, I make it further afield, for radio interviews, to pop down to London, and I even did a fabulous week-long publication tour of the US, visiting Miami, Boston, Chicago and New York. That was a real highlight of my year. My favourite event is the annual HarperCollins summer party - very glam and a chance to wear something other than my usual writing poncho and slippers combo.