I’m delighted to have managed to dovetail the end of a novel with the end of the year. Very satisfying! To be strictly truthful my novel needs one more read-through before being despatched to my agent. And the timing is happenstance rather than skilful planning.

My next and fairly crucial job is to decide on the title. The current front runner is A Hole in the Corner Affair, which I think catches the 1940s mood of it, and as there are several affairs and would-be affairs going on, seems very suitable. This Day and Age is also a contender, as is Whispering Grass – the title of a fabulous Ink Spots song which is highly relevant to the secretive content. My working title was Ebb Tide, which I like a lot but isn’t particularly relevant!

It’s a lovely peaceful feeling at a creative level to be so near the end of a long piece of work (it’s taken about three years) at this time of year. It means that I can relax and involve myself more deeply than usual in actual life. One of my winter treats is to go out for a walk just as it’s getting dark, when people are putting on their lights but before they draw their curtains. I love the snatched glimpses of other people’s domesticity.  Our street is particularly sparkly with lights on hedges, eaves and lit up trees in windows, which makes my heart lift.

We’re heading to Orkney this year so for the first time I haven’t got an actual Christmas tree. I bought one in a pot last year intending to re-use it but the heatwave half-killed it and it’s gone mostly ginger. I’m hoping it might have recovered enough to use next year.  If not, I’ll find somewhere to plant it and start again. Or maybe hire one. I do miss the smell of a real tree in the house, but I’ve draped fairy lights everywhere and dotted the house with the grotesque Christmas fairies that I collect from charity shops.