HOW I WRITE

Clare Mackintosh

Former police officer and bestselling thriller writer Clare Mackintosh’s new novel, Let Me Lie (sphere), is out now.

I love open water swimming, and am occasionally persuaded to join the dawn swimmers in beautiful nearby Llyn tegid. in the winter, long swims need wetsuits, but we’ll run back into the water in just a swimsuit for a truly tingling start to the day. i’m back home by 9am, when i put on the kettle, stand in front of the aga to warm up my toes and hands, and wave the children off to school.

For breakfast I almost always have bacon, eggs, spinach and tomato. otherwise i’m starving again by 11am, and start picking at biscuits and opening the fridge.

I then start work in the bath. i’ll think about characters or setting, or i’ll work out a scene and play it out in my head. i always do that planning whether i’m there, in a pool, walking the dog or on a drive, so when i sit down at my desk, i’m ready to write.

I get to my desk at 10am. i clear the decks of any admin first then get writing. mostly i have lunch at my desk – dining al desko! – maybe soup in a mug or smoked salmon.

My working environment has to be tidy. i’m lucky to have a large office so i can surround myself with police stuff, such as my old hat and my inspector epaulettes. i also buy a small thing from every country i tour in, such as a painted ceramic skull from mexico, a 3D map of paris, postcards and so on. all my books are around me too.

I have scented candles on my desk. i also have aromatherapy oils that my husband bought me during a stressful period. i put them on my pulse points.

I listen to the sort of music you might hear in a spa. i find a track and put it on over and over again for the same novel. i have it on very quietly and it instantly gets me into the right zone.

at 3.15pm the children are back from school and come to see me. they flop on to a chair or sofa and tell me about their day. i have got a second computer too so they can use that. after about half an hour, i shoo them out and go back to work till about

5 or 6pm. i’m fortunate in that my husband takes on the domestic side of running the family.