Blog Tour Guest Post: The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson

Please join me in welcoming author Antonia Hodgson to Let Them Read Books! Antonia is touring the blogosphere with her debut historical fiction novel, The Devil in the Marshalsea, the tale of a scoundrel with a heart of gold and a mystery to solve imprisoned in the famous gaol "where people fall dead as quickly as they fall in love, and no one is as they seem." Read on to discover how Antonia outfitted her writing space to craft her first novel, and enter to win one of two copies of The Devil in the Marshalsea up for grabs!

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My debut novel, The Devil in the Marshalsea, is a historical crime novel set in London in 1727. It will be published in the US on June 10. I’m celebrating by sharing with you this picture of my desk. Yes, it is an odd way to celebrate, but it’s mid afternoon here and too early for champagne. Here it is.

To make this even more pointless, I didn’t actually write The Devil in the Marshalsea at this desk. I wrote it at my living room table, swishing my books and laptop to one side at mealtimes. I bought this shelving system with money from my first publishing deal. I had dreamed of a desk just like it, because it is important to have dreams about Swedish mid-century modern shelving units. If I had dreamed of unlimited power and riches, I would be disappointed at this point in my life. But I have my Swedish mid-century modern shelving unit and I am happy.

I did write my second novel at this desk. I’ve just delivered the first draft to my editor. I had a slight fear that I wouldn’t be able to write anything at my new desk—that I would end up shuffling back to the familiar comfort of my living room table. Luckily, this was superstitious nonsense. It turns out I can work almost anywhere. Once I’m writing I’m completely immersed in what I’m doing and wouldn’t really notice if I was sitting on a dog.

For the desk-curious, here are a few things to note:

1. That is a very comfortable Eames chair. I found it in a second-hand office furniture shop. Along with the footrest, it is the reason I can still straighten my back.
2. The picture tacked up behind the laptop is a London street map from 1731. While writing book two I spotted a place called Phoenix Street, which is the sort of street name novelists make up when they want to go all metaphorical. I’ve used it, obviously.
3. Always, always a coffee cup.
4. The books are a mix of eighteenth-century histories, novels, and primary sources. The book on the magazine rack is a reprint of a 1735 compendium called The Lives of Remarkable Criminals. Everyone gets hanged. Or burned at the stake. (Remarkable criminals of the 1730s were only burned at the stake if they had committed treason. But because women were “ruled” by the men in their family, if they killed their husband or father this was considered “petty treason” and they were burned to death. This point seems to have taken a gloomy turn, hasn’t it? Let’s move on.)
5. The picture on the top shelf is a modern painting of an eighteenth-century landscape design—Studley Royal in Yorkshire. Shortly after I took this photo, the picture fell off the shelf and smashed me over the head. Which leads me to my one vital piece of advice to aspiring writers. Never place an inspirational framed print above your desk without first securing it properly, preferably with hooks.

Thanks, Antonia! I can't wait to read the book!

This giveaway is closed and the winner has been selected. Check my sidebar for more great giveaways!

GIVEAWAY!

Wanna win your own copy of'

The Devil in the Marshalsea?

Simply leave a comment on this post with your email address, and you're entered!

This giveaway is open to residents of the US only and ends at 11:59 pm Monday, June 30, 2014. Winners will be selected at random. Thanks, and good luck!

The Devil in the Marshalsea is on a blog tour!

View the tour schedule ~ Visit Antonia's website