Sometimes, when I am interviewed by a blogger or a journalist, I am asked what hobbies I have beyond reading and writing, and the answer that always springs to mind is this: ‘Antiques. I love antiques! I love to be the custodian of an object that has a history –
Ask yourself this: what would your life be like without love stories? No romance novels. No romantic TV series or movies. No daydreaming, even. How would you feel? Bereft? I know that I would be! Since I read my first romantic fairy-tale as a young child, I’ve been in love
Depending on where you are in the world, a café latte from a chain like Starbucks is likely to cost you in the region of £3/$4. Wherever you are in the world, you can absolutely buy all kinds of books for less than that. Cheap books are available in various
When you think of Spain, what springs to mind? Whatever mental image you conjure, it is bound to include at least one of this trio: * Bullfighting: the fever of the crowds at the corrida, the toreros in their costumes, the furious bull. (See my blog post ‘The Running of
I love books, absolutely love books. With that truth as constant as my heartbeat, I find it very difficult to conceive of getting rid of books – let alone actually doing so. I remember, when I was a little girl, my father coming home regularly with boxes of books. At
‘La rue est un véritable musée pour tous.’ So wrote writer and artist Hergé, who is most famous for his comic book series The Adventures of Tintin. Translated into English, his aphorism reads: ‘The street is a veritable museum for everyone.’ What did Hergé mean by this? He was talking
Flamenco – the dance, the music, the culture, the artistic duende spirit – is at the heart of my novels Indiscretion, Masquerade and Legacy, which are set in Andalucía, home of flamenco. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘flamenco’? The rousing, rhythmic, raw music, perhaps –
I dreamed of being an author from a very young age – from the day I first understood how the many books on my parents’ shelves were created and formed the idea that someday I could do that myself. In those days, to be an author was to be someone
Whenever someone asks me what my latest book is about, I am tempted to give a one-word answer: people. Yes, Legacy is about Andalucía, the region’s stunning scenery and long-held customs, and in the book you’ll read about things like gypsy medicine and art and philosophy. But fundamentally, the book
How to Do Good: Essays on Building a Better World, published by my publisher, London Wall, is a collection of essays by thought leaders, celebrities, statesmen and women, Nobel prize winners, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists and others who are driving and inspiring positive change. Each month, I’m focusing on one essay
What author, when writing romance, is not in some way inspired by Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet? It is one of the most romantic works of literature ever created. Take this proclamation from Romeo: If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My
Have you ever thought about the nationality of the authors whose books you read? Do you read books by writers from all different countries, or do you find you’re often lost in a story dreamt up by a British or North American author? I was very inspired by a recent
I am a writer with a passion for travel, and the places I have visited and lived in are rich sources of inspiration for me when I put pen to paper. Often, my stories begin as vivid landscapes in my mind: Burning Embers, for example, grew out of the beautiful
Here is a dictionary definition of the word ‘romance’: a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love; a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life. And here is a definition of romance when it is used with relation to a story: a book or film
This month marks 160 years since the publication in book format of a masterpiece of literature: Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. In my early twenties, I read French literature at the University of Alexandria, and I was inspired by so many French writers, from the celebrated, like Charles Baudelaire and Victor Hugo
This week I’m celebrating four years since I became a published author (see my Monday post, ‘Win my novel Burning Embers’). It is in fact four and a half years since I started blogging, and in that time I have written hundreds of posts on all kinds of subjects, from
This month marks four years since I realised a long-held dream and became a published author! What a journey I have been on since then, with the publication of a subsequent four books (the Venice-set Echoes of Love and the Andalucían-set Indiscretion, Masquerade and Legacy), and there are still plenty
Today I’m launching a new theme on my blog: thought pieces, which initially will be inspired by a book published by London Wall, my publisher: How to Do Good: Essays on Building a Better World is a collection of extraordinary personal stories from thought leaders, celebrities, statesmen and women, Nobel
Welcome, and thank you for visiting my website as part of the Rain Rain Go Away hop, organised by The Kids Did It http://thekidsdidit.com and The Mommy Island http://themommyisland.blogspot.com. I’m offering readers a chance to escape to hot, sultry Spain with my full Andalucian Nights series: that’s three paperbacks. Entry
‘Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will.’ So wrote Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, prolific writer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. After all, isn’t the point of writing to express oneself? Whatever you write, it is infused with
In my twenties, after graduating university, I travelled around Europe, keen to visit places I had read so much about. Andalucía was one such place; it had cropped up so many times in the literature I had read. There was Washington Irving’s captivating Tales of the Alhambra, in which he
If you’re reading this blog post, it’s a safe assumption that you’re a reader: you enjoy reading books (perhaps even my own novels; I do hope so). Consider these questions: How much time do you devote to reading? In your reading time, which books do you choose to read? Whatever
As a child, I wrote and wrote – stories inspired by fairy tales, when I was young, and then, in my teens, romantic tales. Of course, these stories were handwritten on paper. I can recall even now the rustle of the paper, the scratching of the pen nib, the scent
We all know that reading fiction is a means of escape: from wherever you are reading, you are transported to the fictional world, to another place and time, and that can be as inspiring, relaxing and enjoyable as travelling for real. Have you ever considered, though, that reading is not
Welcome, and thank you for visiting my website as part of this hop. I’m giving away a lovely reading journal made by the British Library and inspired by the Olga Hirsch collection of decorative papers. ‘The main section of the book is organized alphabetically with flexible writing space to note
Many years ago, when I set pen to paper and wrote the first draft of what would become my debut novel, Burning Embers, I thought a lot about the setting and the story and the characters and the mood – and I thought very little about specific categorisation for the
My home in the South of France – a French mas (Provençal farmhouse) in Ste Maxime – affords beautiful views over the Mediterranean. I often write in the garden, in the shade on the terrace, or in my writing room if the heat is too much; and as I write
For me, there are few pleasures that can compete with a half hour spent browsing in a bookstore. Canterbury and Dover, the main cities near my English home, offer a wealth of options, but for a special treat I venture to one of the quaint seaside towns on the Kentish
‘How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live,’ wrote Henry David Thoreau, the great American writer who famously retreated from life for two years to live in a house he’d built in a wood. In the work this retreat inspired, Walden, he
‘I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.’ So wrote Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. How many book lovers have since taken these words to heart? Here are just a few of the gifts on offer for those who find affinity with the quotation: (Sources: T-shirt; cushion; oak bookmark; metal
‘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.
A civilisation of great advances, the legacy of the Ancient Egyptians is evident in many aspects of our lives today.
In Song of the Nile, the hero and heroine have a past. Once friends, they were torn apart by a betrayal several years before. So, will absence have made the heart grow fonder – or harder?
The Mosque of Ibn Tulun is an iconic and famous building in Cairo – one of the oldest and best-preserved mosques in Egypt.
Akhenaten was a pharaoh with a vision: to shake up the Ancient Egyptian religion so that there was only one god. He and his queen Nefertiti are among the most famous royal Egyptians.
In our modern world it seems to me that there is a great and powerful need to hurry. If you have a dream, there is no time to waste, we are told: go out there right now and seize hold of your dream! But this is not the only path to a dream; and neither, perhaps, is it the best one.
Osiris and Isis were very important deities in Ancient Egyptian religion, and their story has endured to this day.
‘The first meeting of a hero and heroine in a novel: will it be dramatic, or tender, or dreamy, or antagonistic? Whatever the scenario, one ingredient will be key: chemistry…’
The second female pharaoh of Egypt, Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty was a formidable woman who ruled the country not as a queen, but as a king.
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