‘In these difficult times, the act of reading can transport us away from a world that feels dark and threatening and grant us a reprieve from our worries. When we read we connect to people. We are not alone…’
‘The Ancient Greeks practised ornithomancy: divination based on the flights and songs of birds. In my novel Aphrodite’s Tears, I was inspired to weave in some bird symbolism of my own…’
‘This is a setting to inspire the artistic soul. Here, at the Villa Melzi d’Eril in Bellagio, Liszt would walk for hours in the surrounding parkland, breathing in the atmosphere, letting his muse take in the stunning views and hear the music in the air…’
‘I will always read romances and write romances, and I will always be proud to do so, because it feels to me that every happy-ever-after is a candle of hope…’
‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!’
So wrote Sir Walter Scott in his 1808 poem Marmion, encapsulating so perfectly the dangers of deceit, how we can become trapped in a lie.
Have you heard of the term duende? The Oxford English Dictionary defines duende as ‘a quality of passion and inspiration’. The word is used to describe a state of heightened emotion, authenticity and expression, and it is commonly associated with flamenco. The soul in the singer’s cry, the feeling etched into the dancer’s face, the power in the guitarist’s playing – that is duende.
Recently, the BBC published an article entitled ‘Is it time to re-think the love story?’ about a new study into what makes an enduring romance novel. What is it that makes us really fall in love with a romance novel?
The most romantic day of the year is tomorrow. What have you got planned?
For me, editing an upcoming novel means spending many hours in my office: door closed, lamps lit, music playing. The latter is always carefully selected to match the mood of the book I am editing, and while editing Concerto one composer in particular featured prominently in my playlist, Frédéric Chopin.
Happy New Year! To all of my readers, I wish you a fulfilling, joyful and peaceful year.
The weeks leading up to Christmas find me baking up a storm in the kitchen, everything from Christmas cake and steamed figgy pudding to mince pies and gingerbread – and panettone; I love panettone.
Happy Christmas! Wherever you are, I wish you a day filled with warmth and love and companionship.
When I research the setting for a novel, I explore the location’s culture (music, theatre, dance and so on), its history, its economy, its legends and its cuisine. The latter is a real pleasure, because I love to cook, and this is the perfect reason to try out some new recipes in my kitchen.
When I was a child, the absolute highlight of my year was going to the theatre to watch a ballet. I was fortunate enough to see world-class ballet companies like the Bolshoi and Leningrad perform, and I was completely enchanted.
Browse through the ‘romance’ shelves in a bookstore and you will find many, many books told entirely from the heroine’s perspective. This approach is very common in the romance genre, because generally these authors are writing about women for women.
I am writing this in darkness, but for a lamp by my desk. It is only four o’clock in the afternoon, but already in Ireland darkness has fallen. Everything feels different now the sun has set. I can make my home cosy with candles and lamps and firelight, but what if I could not? What if I were trapped in the darkness?
Happy Saint Nicholas Day!
Today is the feast day of Saint Nicholas, who lived in Myra, Asia Minor, from 270 to 342. He was a Christian bishop who is associated with various miracles, including the resurrection of children from death to life, which earned him the title Nicholas the Wonderworker. Nicholas was a kind and generous man, and he particularly enjoyed giving gifts secretly to those who needed them. Sound familiar? Saint Nicholas is, of course, the origin of our modern-day Father Christmas / Santa Claus.
My absolute favourite part to write in a novel is the hero and heroine’s first meeting. So much hinges on these first moments – both must feel intrigued, impressed, attracted. It has to feel like something fundamental shifts for them both; that nothing will ever be the same again. Plato wrote of soulmates, two halves of a whole, and said that if you are fortunate enough to meet your other half you will feel ‘intoxicated’. Thus the moment must be heady, exhilarating, intriguing. A coup de foudre as the French say: a bolt of lightning.
This month is NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. All over the world writers commit to writing a novel in a month, and November is a blur of writing, and writing, and writing.
In my latest novel, Concerto, the heroine, Catriona, has built a good life for herself. She is a partner in a psychologists’ practice and has a reputation as an excellent music therapist. She lives in a beautiful home on the coast near Nice. She is a single mother and is raising her son, Michael, in love.
Three hundred years ago, the first novel was published in English: Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. The book was an instant bestseller (within a year of its publication it was into its fourth edition), and evidently it had a profound effect on readers, sparking debate on cultural imperialism and inspiring a wealth of ‘marooned’ narratives.
The hero and heroine of my novel Concerto are both very talented musicians. At the start of the novel, Umberto is in his early twenties and is taking the classical music world by storm as a great concert pianist and composer, and Catriona is in her teens and studying piano and singing. They are deeply passionate about their careers: Umberto is planning a tour of the United States, and Catriona wins a competition to study at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris, which will make her the opera singer of her dreams.
Recently, the British media reported the story of a lady who discovered a book she had owned in her childhood for sale in the shop of the Museum of English Rural Life. She recognised The Secret Garden Ladybird Children’s Classics as hers by the hieroglyphics penned on the inside cover – a secret code she and her sister had devised.
Music is at the heart of my latest novel, Concerto. The heroine is an opera singer and the hero is a pianist composer. The novel draws on the rich heritage of classical and operatic music, particularly with relation to Italy, where much of the story is set.
It has been seven years since I published my debut novel, Burning Embers, and even now I can remember how nerve-racking it was to contact some book bloggers and ask whether they may like to review the novel. Would they enjoy the book? I very much hoped so.
Concerto, my most recent novel, tells the love story between music therapist and single mother Catriona and blind pianist Umberto. Umberto has not handled losing his sight well and has sunk into a depression, no longer able to compose and play as he once did so well. Catriona is hired to stay at Umberto’s Lake Como villa and work with him, and as she does so, attraction stirs between the two.
Recently, I celebrated eight years of blogging here. While looking through some of my articles, it struck me that I have had a wonderful time exploring myths and legends and folklore from around the world while researching and writing about my novels.
The crack of thunder, the crash of waves on the beach, the hammering of rain on the roof, the howl of wind through the trees – nature plays a symphony for us during a storm.
We live in a time when ‘new’ is highly prized. New is shiny and exciting and interesting; new is coveted. But should new be the focus in publishing?
The story in my novel Concerto begins in a place I know well: Nice, in the French Riviera, a little way along from my summer home. The hero of the novel, Umberto, is Italian, and so it makes sense that he spends time in this part of France, so close to the French–Italian border.
Festivals were an important part of life in Ancient Egypt, and there were plenty of them!
In a series of blog articles, I am exploring the great love stories of Ancient Egypt. First, Anthony and Cleopatra: passionate, dramatic, epic, it is one of the most enduring stories of all time.
‘For as long as I can remember, art has fired up my imagination. I remember gazing at paintings on the wall in my childhood home for ages, dreaming up stories that would play out in the worlds inside the picture frames. When I wrote my first book, it was natural for me to turn to art for inspiration…’
Hieroglyphs – pictures to represent letters, sounds, objects and ideas – are one of the most enduring legacies of Ancient Egypt.
When you think of Ancient Egypt, no doubt you think of its distinctive art: embellishments in tombs and temples, beautiful statues, pottery and papyrus.
Throughout the pandemic, I have had love on my mind. Love for my family, of course, but also romantic love, about which I write in my novels. Time and again I’ve questioned: how is this difficult time affecting romance?
‘A rare rose to add to my garden…’ How will Aida, heroine of Song of the Nile, feel about visiting a prince’s harem?
Home for me in Egypt is Alexandria, the Bride of the Mediterranean, the centre of the Mediterranean world in ancient times – and the location of the Pharos of Alexandria.
In Song of the Nile, Aida is a woman who has felt the sharp sting of betrayal, leaving her wounded and wary. Dare she trust again?
When you think of Ancient Egypt, no doubt you think of mummies. But why exactly did the Egyptians preserve people in this way, and how?
Running through Song of the Nile is a dark thread: the trafficking and smuggling of precious antiquities that belong, by right, to the Egyptian people.
Do you read ebooks? If not, you’re missing out on some great advantages…
There is no more renowned discovery in Egyptology than the tomb of Tutankhamun. Let me take you back to the early 1920s and tell you the story of the greatest find of our time…
The Arabian horse breed can be traced back thousands of years. ‘Thou shalt fly without wings and conquer without swords’ is how the Quran refers to this horse.
Inspiration for my novel Song of the Nile, the artworks of 19th-century painter David Roberts…
A place of great significance to many people, Coptic Cairo, with its famous Hanging Church, is one of my favourite parts of the city.
‘I have found that when I am writing something emotional, I must write it the first time directly with hand on paper. Handwriting is more connected to the movement of the heart.’ So wrote Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones, and I quite agree. For me, handwriting has such soul.
This ancient temple, devoted to the mother goddess, is a uniquely precious site in Egypt.
Did the ancient civilisations have similar deities?
So many of our modern-day love stories are inspired by legends, stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, and so it is with the tale of Tristan and Isolde.
The women in my novels are strong and independent, so why not stylish as well?
What did the colours used in Ancient Egyptian art mean to the people of this civilisation?
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