I have a new flat. And a new job. And a brand new SHINY NEW IDEA for the next novel.

But, most exciting of all, I have a new desk.

I haven’t had a desk since I was about 14. In the Brixton flat, I divided my writing time equally between the kitchen table (morning, through lunch, up until Come Dine With Me), the sofa (Come Dine With Me to bedtime) and bed (early mornings, weekends and hangovers). I can’t explain how very excited I am about this development. Here it is in all its glory:

The desk itself is a New Thing but the parts that make its sum are a mix of old and new. That lamp is new – a Christmas present from my brother because I am always wistfully sighing over how much I love them. That book on top of the pile – that’s the brand new paperback edition of Someday (a little more on that later in the week). But the photo above the desk is old and beautiful – it’s my late granddad during WWII and I love it.
And just there, on the lefthand side? Why, that’s my wand and quill of course. And what a perfect place to put them.

And now to harness the Shiny New Idea and wrangle it into words… Somebody needs to invent a spell for that.