Richard Kurti is the author of the Basilica Diaries Medieval Mysteries: historical thrillers set in fifteenth-century Rome and featuring a brother and sister investigative duo. The fifth book in the series, Tyranny of Indulgence, is now available to pre-order.
I can write pretty much anywhere. As long as I have headphones and Spotify on my mobile, the words will flow. Particular favourites are writing on trains and in coffee shops, as the continual bustle of people always fires my imagination.
But it’s important to have a base, especially when writing historical fiction, as I need a place where I’m surrounded by all my notes and reference books.
When we moved to Ely in Cambridgeshire three years ago, I snapped up one of the front rooms, as it has sunlight all day and a big window to watch the world go by. The only downside is that it’s the closest room to the front door, so whenever the Amazon driver rings the bell, it’s always me who has to get up and answer it.
The room to the left of this one is lined with shelves groaning under the weight of reference books, but this room is dedicated to putting words on the page. As you can see, a pair of loudspeakers is in prime position, so that I can listen to music all day.
Incidentally, the folders on top of the printer are where I indulge my only writing superstition. When I finish a chapter, I always print it out and put it in a large file. This is because my secret fear is that one day there will be a massive solar flare that will knock out the Google Drive and OneDrive servers and wipe the discs of all my computers … so I like to have a paper copy as well, just in case!
