I’m delighted to introduce my good friend Maddie Please. Maddie writes the most hilarious romcoms set in Devon and we met at one of the retreats she runs with Jane Ayres at The Place To Write. I visited her lovely house near Exeter and asked her what it’s like to live and write in Devon.
In May 2015 we moved into our lovely house on top of a hill midway between Exeter and Crediton. We were convinced we were downsizing. (It wasn’t until we actually moved in that we realised we hadn’t.) The house had remained empty for a year before we bought it, and the main decorating influence we inherited was wood chip wallpaper, painted magnolia and apparently stuck on with superglue.
The garden was overgrown and very neglected but we have never regretted the move, and the starry skies at night are wonderful.
The first thing we did when we moved here was build a garden office, which I share with my husband. This means my daily commute is now twenty-five steps; I just counted them.
Occasionally we hear pheasants or pigeons trampling about on the roof. At this time of year the neighbouring fields are busy with the harvest and tractors and farm machinery trundle past our gate, something which is very exciting for our grandchildren when they come to visit.
In our garden office I have my own desk where I work just about every day.
I have s lovely hand painted cushion from my Bestie Jane to make life more comfortable. I am in charge of filling the stationery cupboard too! Any writer will know how much fun that is. I mean going into an office supplies superstore or Paperchase or Smiths and calling it work related is a dream!
Our makeshift shelving got a bit out of control last year so we replaced it with some industrial units from Big Dug. An excellent purchase. I try to keep the boxes of stationery under control but boxes of pencils, Sharpies and Post-it notes are like cat-nip to me!
I’m usually at work between 8 and 9 o’clock and unlike some writers who prefer to work without distraction, I have a wonderful view of the garden and beyond that the Creedy valley. I don’t like working in silence either, so I listen to BBC Radio Devon, which is my daily companion; I love it. Gordon Sparks and the Gordon Hour, David Fitzgerald and his Fighting Fitz competition or Janet Kipling and her Devon Debates – there are enough plot ideas there every day to keep any writer thinking.
I’m often to be found with a vacant expression as I do some important thinking and when I’m using earphones have been known to sing along. Much to my husband’s utter delight. Maybe that’s not the right word?
I occasionally go back into the house to make us coffee and usually by 3.30 in the afternoon, I’m done for the day.
Does the Internet distract me? Well of course. I am an avid Twitter and Facebook user and I have been known to check my Amazon reviews once or twice…
But I do regard writing as a job not a hobby. My debut The Summer of Second Chances was based on this area with its winding lanes and fabulous views. So was my fourth book; The Mini-Break which takes successful writer Lulu out of her London comfort zone and into the muddy and glorious Devon landscape.
Living here is simply lovely, our local pub is the award-winning Beer Engine, and despite the headline story in the local paper, our neighbours are friendly and welcoming.
My husband has always been interested in researching his family history and found details of his ancestors who had lived nearby in 1674. Perhaps something called us back here?
To us this is the very best place to live and work.
