Author Nicola Upson tells Stephanie Mackentyre about her writing set-up – and the precious object on her desk that belonged to PD James
‘I’m lucky, in that I split my time between Cambridge and Cornwall, so I have two really lovely backdrops to write against.
‘In Cornwall, it’s the sound of the sea and a desk where I can see the sea.
‘In Cambridge, it’s much more like a study atmosphere, in a room where I’m surrounded by books.
‘I’m quite ritualistic about my writing. The things I have around me are important.
‘I write on a very old Dell laptop called Leonard who I’ve written all my books on! I’m incredibly superstitious about him. A serious of longhair tabby cats have made themselves at home on Leonard’s keyboards. The only time I let it out of my sight, to have it cleaned, we had enough tabby fur to stuff a cushion with!
‘Usually I work to music, so there’s always a pile of CDs near the desk – anything from Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks to Renaissance and medieval choral music.
‘I like to have things about me that mean something. When Phyllis [Nicola’s friend PD James] died, she very kindly left a letter to say that some of her friends should come and choose something to remember her by, so I have on my desk the most un-Phyllis like thing you could imagine, which is a mug in the shape of a rabbit’s face, stamped Made In Portugal. It was on her desk for years when she was writing, and it’s now on mine so that is a very, very important thing.
‘And I also like to have something around me that reminds me of the book I’m writing, so at the moment I’m writing a Josephine [Tey] novel that’s set in North Wales, and it’s to do with the slate mine, so I’ve got a piece of Welsh slate on my desk.
‘But I’ve just finished a book which comes out in September which is actually about the real-life couple who invented Cluedo, the game we all love, and it’s a Christmas mystery. So I had the little bits, the weapons from Cluedo, on my desk around me, and the brochure of the original hotel, Tudor Close, where the game was set – so, things that will get me in the mood, and back in the time and the place that I’m writing about.’
Nicola Upson will be discussing PD James with Mandy Morton at 4pm on 28 June
Author Nicola Upson writes her novels against the two ‘really lovely backdrops’ of Cornwall and Cambridge
