After all the time spent at home during lockdown juggling family life with being an author, I’ve been craving some concentrated time to write that’s away from home in a new environment. I wanted to put myself in a situation where the whole day was available for writing, whether it’s on my laptop at a desk, or in my head on a walk in the woods.

I googled writing residencies and came across Arteles Creative Center in Finland, which offers month-long residencies to writers, artists and musicians, in a converted farmhouse near Tampere.

The thought of spending a whole month there was very appealing, so on the day of the deadline I put in an application, mentioning my love of Tove Jansson and some vague plans about what I would do if I was awarded a Residency.

Guess what? I was picked! And next week I’ll be arriving there, wondering what the experience holds in store…

I will, of course, keep you posted!