I am a person who is almost obsessively organized. I wake at the same time every day. Work the same hours every day. Walk the same little dogs in the same woods every day, teach the same classes every Wednesday. So it’s been a strange feeling for me to be away from home for the last nine days. (I’ve been traveling around England as part of an Alison Weir Tudor Tapestry Tour, which has been fabulous. Yesterday we were at Parham House, pictured to the right.)
Added to that is the fact that I finished up a manuscript I’ve been working on for years. Of course, “finished up” is a squishy term in this business. It means many things to many people, and for all I know, I’ll be working on it for the next five years, but the point is that I typed up “The End” and sent it to my agent. So the story that has been preoccupying my mind for some time, is not there. My mind is empty. Then there is the fact that I’m out of the United States and all the tumult that that means. Since Election Day, when Maggie Dove’s Detective Agency was published, and other things happened, my mind has been preoccupied with the news. When you’re in England, and in a rural part of England, there’s a sort of news buffer. I read this morning that Trump had fired Comey and I thought, How interesting. Which is not the response I might have had in New York. Tomorrow is our last day here, and then we will make our way home. I’ve learned so much, have stored up so many ideas, have met so many wonderful people. And eaten so much food. But the fact is, I’m looking forward to getting back to my routine. I’ve come to realize how much I enjoy it.
