I'm not crazy about winter in England - it always seems to go on too long and to be too dark and cold and wet. This year we had some excitement with the earliest and heaviest snowfall even in the London area for decades and not only did we get one lot, we got two. Now, I love snow not only does it look fairy-taleish whilst it's falling but it makes even the dirtiest London streets look fabulous. It's also very inspiring for a writer to have a sudden new possibility for all sorts of plot twists. The last bout of snow that we had which closed airports inspired my book, 'Leaving Home' which is about Flora who is all booked to fly out to a new life in America. Until, overnight, the airport is closed and she is delayed long enough to be sucked into a family tragedy which leaves her with her sister's baby and a whole new set of problems from the ones she is running away from. I really enjoyed playing around with the idea of one simple circumstance changing the course of a person's life. The snow is all gone now and we are back to our usually drizzly and mild winter weather. Frankly, I preferred the snow, but here is a photo of Christmas lights in Covent Garden to keep us going until the lighter, warmer days come along.
