Love is… discovery
Do you remember the comic strip series ‘Love is…’ by cartoonist Kim Casali? For a time, in the 1970s and 1980s, this ‘brand’ was everywhere
Category: Heroes and heroines
What’s in a name? On naming my ‘Moon Queen’ heroine
Choosing a name for the heroine of a novel is, for me, one of the most fun parts of the writing – but also one
The legendary Don Juan
What does the name ‘Don Juan’ mean to you? No doubt you can think of various characters with the name and attributes of Juan, the
Luz de Rueda: professional biographer
In my new novel Masquerade, the heroine Luz is a writer. She works on commission, writing biographies of notable figures. A Cambridge graduate, her first
A gallant gentleman
What springs to mind when you read the word gallant? For me, the word is from a time gone by, when social norms were very
Where lies her heart: opera at the theatre, or Flamenco in the wild?
In my new book Masquerade, the heroine, Luz, is descended from an old and well-respected Andalucían family. But such is her manner that she usually
A matter of honour
Welcome to Cadiz, setting for my new novel Masquerade. But not the sparkling, alluring parts of Cadiz to where the tourists flock: welcome to another
Books to Movies Giveaway Hop: Gone with the Wind
Welcome to my blog, and thank you for visiting! When it came to deciding which book/movie to focus on for this hop, the choice was
Burning Embers: The book that began my great adventure
Being a writer means immersing yourself in story worlds. Living and breathing the characters’ lives. Knowing those characters. Loving those characters. When I am writing
Stuck in a Good Book Giveaway Hop: Jane Eyre
Welcome to my blog, and thank you for visiting. I’m delighted to be participating in the hop, not least because surely one of the greatest
Alexandra: The motherless daughter
Every hero and heroine in fiction needs a compelling motive for the journey they are taking. For Alexandra in my novel Indiscretion, that motive is
Rooting romance in a close-knit family
In my new novel, Indiscretion, the heroine Alexandra is a young woman of dual heritage: she is half-English and half-Spanish. When her parents’ marriage ended,
The ‘real’ Mr Darcy
Mr Darcy, the archetype of the brooding, aloof romantic hero who is famous the world over more than two hundred years since his inception. Clearly, Jane
Machismo: a positive or a negative quality?
No doubt you know the term machismo (from the Spanish ‘macho’) – most romantic heroes, after all, exude this quality. But what connotations does machismo
Muddying the path of true love: Love triangles
The course of true love never did run smooth’ – so wrote Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and I think that no single axiom
A woman alone
In both of my novels published to date, my heroines are very much women standing alone in the world. This is in part due to
Heroes and heroines: Tortured, complicated souls
Ask me my most favourite books, and a classic English romance will always appear near the top of the list: Wuthering Heights. The agony and
Dream a little dream
Recently, I’ve been thinking about dreams. To be a romantic is to be a dreamer. And so to write romance is to write of dreams.
In her own words: Venetia
Last week, I ran an ‘in his own words’ feature on Paolo, the hero of my novel The Echoes of Love, to see how he
In his own words: Paolo Barone
After I published my first novel, Burning Embers, I ran interviews on my blog with the main characters, Coral and Rafe. For The Echoes of
Giving back to the arts
In The Echoes of Love, Venetia is an architect by training who has chosen to specilise in mosaic restoration, and Paolo is a man of
The heroine: What occupation says about the character
For me, when creating a new heroine for a romance novel, occupation is essential. First and foremost, she must have a career of some sort,
The hero: Mr Rochester as inspiration
I was delighted recently to discover a new adaption of my favourite English novel, Jane Eyre. Have you seen the 2011 movie, which stars Mia
The untold story of ‘the other woman’
My novel, Burning Embers, tells the love story of Rafe, an entrepreneur, and Coral, a photographer, in the heat and passion of Kenya. It would
Darcy dead? Will you read the new Bridget Jones novel?
If publisher Random House was looking to ramp up publicity for Helen Fielding’s new Bridget Jones novel from sizeable interest to national outrage, it certainly
Vote for my hero in the Men of Omnific Ultimate Boyfriend Smackdown
Today’s the day: Vote Rafe from my novel, Burning Embers! The Smackdown is hosted at Love
Favourite film: The Lucky One
From the film’s description: U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault (Zac Efron) returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one thing he
My top three tortured heroes
I confess I love romance novels in which there is a tortured hero, because I think any love story needs conflict, some struggle that must
A love note in pictures
To celebrate its third anniversary, my publisher Omnific is holding a great Kindle giveaway, and to tie in each author is writing a post from
Career and love compatibility
When developing the idea for a novel, one of the areas I must consider carefully is the job of the hero and the heroine. Sounds