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A Fresh Start

Posted on Sep 3, 2018 in ariadne Oliver, tidy desk | 20 Comments

It is years, quite literally years, since my desk looked like this. In fact, has it ever looked like this? Today I at last got to work, vacummed cobwebs off the windowsill and washed the window. I took all the papers and miscellaneous stuff off my desk and sorted them and then I cleaned it. See how it gleams! Outside the window I can see my neighbour’s plum tree, laden with yellow plums. On the shelf to my left the cat is curled up between the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations and my intray. To the right is a wall of shelves two deep in crime novels. On the desk are my favourite photos of my husband, our younger daughter, and my mother. There is a paperweight given to me my dear friend, Jo, for my 21st birthday, a small sculpture by another friend, and a few other totemic objects.

I am all ready to go. Tomorrow I am starting my new novel.

20 Comments

  1. Margot Kinberg
    September 3, 2018

    I’m very excited to hear you’re starting a new novel, Christine! I look forward to reading it. And I know just what you mean about getting a clean start. That’s a productive focus to have when you’re beginning a new project. I wish you well with it.

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      September 3, 2018

      Thanks, Margot! Yes, I am loving having a clean, clear desk – and maybe this time I can keep it this way. Though I never have yet! BTW I will reply to your email soon – serious problems with my account have thrown me into email chaos over the last couple of weeks.

      Reply
  2. Helen Townshend
    September 3, 2018

    Oh well done! it looks great. There’s something so encouraging about a clear & gleaming desk, isn’t there? not that I do anything literary or particularly academic at mine but it helps me keep up to date on emails and financial things if I can see/find papers etc easily.

    And it’s great news that there’s a new novel in the pipeline:)

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      September 3, 2018

      Thank you, Helen! It is such a treat to have everything looking so lovely, even if it is only temporary.

      Reply
  3. tracybham
    September 3, 2018

    How lovely. A clean organized desk and starting a new novel. The starting a new novel part sounds overwhelming to me.

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      September 3, 2018

      Thanks, Tracy! In the past I would have found the thought of it overwhelming, but for me there isn’t really a ‘blank page’ moment, as I have an outline, and my characters, and even little bits that are already actually written as they have occurred to me. And the great thing about writing a series is that you are picking up with old friends where you left off.

      Reply
  4. Helen Hardie
    September 3, 2018

    I know that feeling of satisfaction… I spent last Monday cleaning some of my bookshelves, and discarding a good load of never-to-be-read-again novels. Still feels great. But it’s more thrilling to know that your burst of cleaning is now seeing you off on a brand new novel! I feel privileged to be in on the plan! Can’t wait to hear what happens.

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      September 4, 2018

      Thanks, Helen! Yes, there is nothing like having a good clear-out to lift one’s mood. As for the novel, I will keep you posted.

      Reply
  5. moira@clothes in books
    September 8, 2018

    Oh something for us all to look forward to, a new book!
    And your desk looks lovely. I wish I could get round to tidying mine more. I once supplied a picture of my working environment to go with a piece I had written, and my editor was quite rude about it. I considered that I had tidied it up a bit, but she was not impressed.

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      September 8, 2018

      Thank you, Moira! Fortunately, none of the rest of the house is visible . . .

      Reply
  6. Helen Crimlisk
    September 9, 2018

    You’ve obviously got new termitis Chrissie, new pens and pencil case too? Seriously, great to hear theres a new novel about to be written, looking forward to it already.

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      September 11, 2018

      Thanks, Helen! Yes, this always feels like the real New Year for me (but no new pens or pencil case!)

      Reply
  7. Bill Selnes
    September 14, 2018

    I admire your desk. I have a desk at my law office and a desk in the den at home. Over the years invariably one is relatively tidy and the other messy. Right now the office desk is looking good and the home desk is actually decent. I am curious whether the neatness has continued as you write your book.

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      September 14, 2018

      Thank you, Bill! I am glad you dropped by. And that is the key question: how long will it last? I have never succeeded in keeping a tidy desk through the course of writing a novel. At present it is still looking good, but I am only around 4,000 words in, so it is too soon to tell. If it reverts to its usual chaos, I will post a photo.

      Reply
  8. Lyn
    September 16, 2018

    The desk looks lovely & I’m very excited to know that a new novel is on the way. I agree that a clean, clear desk is essential, especially when beginning a new task. Good luck!

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      September 16, 2018

      Thanks, Lyn! It’s lovely to hear from you. I hope all is well. I was thinking of you the other day and wondering if you’d start blogging again.

      Reply
  9. Paul Sanderson
    November 23, 2018

    And don’t forget taking stuff to the tip. Even more cathartic than tidying up. When we cleared our London home before moving 70 miles away I was taking estate car-loads to the tip/recycling centre just about every day. It had webcams inside and out so that you could see how busy it was before you set off. After we moved, an inner urge kept me viewing the webcams (that’s right; the URL for the webcams was in my Favourites).

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      November 23, 2018

      Yes, I have done quite a bit of that myself lately. And bags of books and so on to charity shops. Very satisfying. Funny about the webcam – that kind of thing happens to me. For ages I used to look regularly at a webcam in Stockholm overlooking the old town and a beautifully decorated Xmas tree. It’s like a kind of weird crush. Might pop over and have a look now . . .

      Reply
  10. ipfan.info
    April 3, 2019

    Thank you Netgalley and Lion Fiction for the eARC. This is the d in the Katie Flanagan series. Unfortunately, I hadn’t read the t, but will definitely do so, as I would like to reconnect with the recurring characters. However, this was easily read as a standalone. Katie has signed up for an 8-month stint at a research camp in Antarctica where a group is collecting data on the effects of light deprivation on the human body and mind. She will be assisting the medical doctor, Sara, who is relieved to have another woman on board. The rest of the group are all men and since they have to live in close quarters for many months, it will be comforting for the 2 women to work together. The world they inhabit is as hostile as it can get; temperatures down as far as -70 are possible and they will be in complete darkness for several months. Death lurks around every corner as soon as they leave the facility, it’s frighteningly plausible to get disoriented, lost and freeze to death. But it proves to be deadly inside as well. Sara goes missing and is found several days later in a snowdrift, stabbed in the heart. Meanwhile in England, Flora Mitchell, an imminent researcher, who had been missing for weeks, is also found murdered. The story veers from the UK to Antarctica and one of my favorite characters in England was poor Marmaduke, Flora’s cat, who had to survive on his own for weeks before Flora’s husband found and rescued him. The scenes in Antarctica were fascinating and harrowing, they evoked claustrophobia and a feeling of relief that I was safely at home. It’s obvious Christine Poulson did extensive research and it was a treat to visit the area without leaving my couch. Definitely a real page turner, I would recommend this as a book for anyone who loves visiting exciting locales and edge of your seat mysteries.

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      April 6, 2019

      Thanks so much for this! It is lovely to know that you enjoyed my novel so much – this is just the feeling that I hoped readers would have. I did do a lot of research and it was absolutely fascinating. Glad you liked poor old Marmaduke!

      Reply

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