Romance Author Samantha Holt speaks about living in the UK lockdown.

Samantha Holt is living through a UK lockdown that is now in its seventh week, she tells us about her experiences.

I’m in the Midlands in the UK with my husband, my teen twin girls, and my 2 cats and a sausage dog! We are all healthy but were all sick very early on in the pandemic so have done our two week stint in isolate too.

I’m used working at home as a full-time writer but having to manage home schooling as well as my husband home has been…interesting. We’ve settled into a good routine and after the initial week of school work, I think we’re doing pretty well!

Writing has also definitely helped me keep my head straight and occupied. I worried I’d struggle to write in this situation but I figured if I can’t do anything useful for the world, I can at least create some romance for readers to escape into.

I have just (today!) finished Stealing the Heiress which is the second in my Regency romance series The Kidnap Club. It will be releasing at the end of May.

I was guilty of binge watching the news in the beginning so it’s now restricted to a brief update once a day which has helped. To relax, and escape, I’ve been taking time out to read. I just finished The Governess Game by Tessa Dare. I always adore her witty characters and fun scenarios and this was no different.

If you had an old routine, try to stick to that. I get up when I used to and get the kids up for ‘school’ and I break in the afternoon when I’d normally pick them up and read a book (I used to do this when waiting for them in the car). This has helped me keep my head on straight massively. But also be kind to yourself. If I have a day where I’m really not feeling writing, I take the day to read or bake or catch up on a marketing course–anything that feels inspiring!

USA Today bestselling author Samantha Holt lives in a small village in England with her twin girls and a dachshund called Duke.