Since I began my publishing adventure in April 2012, I have published five novels. What a journey that has been, for me and for my characters. Together, we have been to so many fascinating places – in England, in Italy, in Spain and in Kenya. Today, I’m offering you a
One of the many aspects of being an author is cover creation. I am fortunate to have a publisher that allows me to have input into my covers, and it is a part of the publishing process that I very much enjoy. That said, I do not always find it
Are you thinking about Christmas yet? Are you getting in the mood for feasting and merriment? No doubt if you’ve been to a supermarket recently you’ve noticed a proliferation of Christmas fare on offer, from mince pies to gingerbread houses, stollen to macaroons. But have you spotted the traditional confectionary
Have you seen the recent theatrical trailer for the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? In the trailer, author J.K. Rowling explains how while writing her Harry Potter series a very minor character (who is only mentioned, not featured) captured her interest. She explains that she knew so
I love the city of Cadiz, Andalucía, that ‘lively and luminous’ city known as ‘the Bride of the Sea’, so much so that I set not one but two of my romance novels there: Masquerade and Legacy. Cadiz is the very oldest city in Spain, and one of the oldest
In the past few weeks a non-fiction book has taken the publishing world by storm: The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel. Written by a former literature lead researcher at Apple and an associate professor of English, the book has a compelling blurb: What if an algorithm could predict
If there is one thing I know about the Spanish – having visited their beautiful country many times and set my most recent fictional works, the Andalucían Nights trilogy, there – it is this: they are fiercely proud of their culture and heritage. That pride extends to cuisine, it has
In the past week, book news has been dominated by a single story: that of the unmasking of notoriously private Italian author Elena Ferrante. In case you have missed this story, here are the basics. Elena Ferrante is the pseudonym of an Italian novelist. In the past few years, her
‘A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.’ So said one of my favourite French writers, Antoine de Saint-Exupery. I love architecture, and of course as a writer and a romantic I love places that are alive with symbolism
In my new book, Legacy, the male protagonist Ruy is of mixed heritage – he is part gentleman, part gypsy. His gypsy roots are very important to him, and one of the ways in which he connects to these roots and participates in the gypsy community is through music: he
Any seasoned writer will tell you that writing ‘rules’ abound. Over the past hundred years or so, it has become de vogue for renowned writers and impassioned grammarians to publish ‘rules’ by which others should, they are certain, abide. Sometimes, these rules have merit – for example, Elmore Leonard’s ‘Try
Did you know that it took Victor Hugo 12 years to write Les Misèrables, and Margaret Mitchell toiled over Gone with the Wind for an entire decade? That, conversely, Stephenie Meyer wrote Twilight in three months, and Charles Dickens penned Great Expectations in eight months – while in the realms
In my latest novel Legacy, the male protagonist, Ruy, is a man faced with two legacies: that of his mother, Luz, who is descended from a respected and noble Andalucían family, and that of his father, Andrés, whose mother was an infamous and powerful gypsy queen. It would be all
Since I started publishing my romance fiction, I have lost track of how many times people have asked me about my process: just how exactly do I go about writing a book – and beyond that, writing the next book and the next and the next? I think the fascination
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 (perhaps because it called to mind the First Corinthians chapter of the Bible beginning, ‘Love is patient, love is kind’). Romantic that I am, I always
Choosing a name for the heroine of a novel is, for me, one of the most fun parts of the writing – but also one of the most important. The name must encapsulate the very essence of the story, its atmosphere, its meaning. In my debut novel, Burning Embers, I
George Bernard Shaw said, ‘The British and the Americans are two peoples divided by a common language.’ I have always been intrigued by this quotation, and the truth behind it, especially when it comes to book publication. No doubt you are aware that British and American editions of the same
Careers are at the heart of my new novel Legacy. The hero, Dr Rodrigo Rueda de Calderón (Ruy), is a doctor who has set up a clinic offering alternative medicine to those suffering from cancer. The heroine, Luna Ward, is a journalist with a prominent scientific magazine in the United
The lost manuscript has long been a source of fascination for readers and for writers. When an author’s work is beloved, there is an insatiable desire for more, and the discovery of a ‘new’ old book can cause quite the sensation. In the past year alone the publishing headlines have
No doubt you’re familiar with the movie screenwriting term ‘meet cute’. It originated in the 1940s, when romantic comedies incorporated attention-grabbing and amusing scenes for the leads’ first meeting. Here is an explanation from the 1955 play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?: [T]he beginning of a movie is childishly simple. The boy
Did you watch any of the Olympics coverage? I did: I find the athletes very inspiring. They work tirelessly, they make sacrifices, they push themselves to the limit emotionally and physically: they represent all that is beautiful about having a dream and pursuing it. My favourite event is the heptathlon,
Two households, both alike in dignity… From ancient grudge break to new mutiny… From forth the fatal loins of these two foes… A pair of star-cross’d lovers… No doubt you will recognise the preceding abridged quotation, from the prologue to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is a Montague, Juliet a
In the past few weeks, a single book has dominated the arts headlines: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The script of the new stage show has been eagerly anticipated by readers worldwide, and the release of what has been designated ‘Book 8’ of the Harry Potter series caused a
Have you ever had a melody, or a line of poetry, or a quotation stuck in your mind? It happens to me quite often, especially with quotations from literature. I can be weeding in the garden whispering, ‘She was lost in her longing to understand’ (Gabriel Garcia Marquez); I can
Last year, I wrote about one of my favourite works of literature, One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of stories from ancient and medieval Arabic, Persian, Indian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian folklore compiled during the Islamic Golden Age (ninth to thirteenth centuries). I grew up on these fairy tales, which my father read to me, and the
Today I am delighted to formally launch my new novel, Legacy, the third and final book in the Andalucian Nights trilogy: A troubled young journalist finds her loyalties tested when love and desire unearth dark secrets from the past. Spring, 2010. When Luna Ward, a science journalist from New York,
Today is the day: my new novel Legacy has been published in ebook format. It is now available to buy from all leading retailers, like Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes and Noble (the print version will be released on 25th August). Legacy is the third and final book in my Andalucían
As a young woman – after my university degree and before I met my husband and settled down in England – I travelled extensively through Europe. I was something of a nomad, moving from country to country in my eagerness to see new places, meet new people and experience new
Are you in need of a break from the humdrum; do you need to escape to someplace atmospheric, beautiful and inspiring? Then head to Italy – Venice and Tuscany – with my award-winning novel The Echoes of Love! You can win one of two paperback copies of this novel at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/194683-the-echoes-of-love.
Reader of my novels will know that I love style. This often comes across in how I dress my heroines, but of course how the hero looks is just, if not more, important: he must be sublimely attractive and exude sexuality. Businessmen feature regularly as heroes in my novels (as
On Monday, I posted an article celebrating eight years of blogging here. Over those years, I have revisited certain themes in my articles, and one of those is the ‘print versus ebook’ debate.
This month marks eight years since I began writing this blog. Over those years, I have enjoyed writing about a range of subjects relating to my fiction, from culture to mythology, romance to philosophy, publishing to writing.
When I decided upon Italy as the setting for my new novel, Concerto, I knew at once where I would set the story: beautiful, timeless Lake Como. More specifically, I knew the story would unfold in a villa, since the area is famous for these grand, belle époque residences with magnificent gardens of rare trees, exotic flowers and broad lawns, and narrow pink or mellow yellow stone staircases leading down to the edge of the lake.
‘[H]e’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.’ So said Cathy of Heathcliff in Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) was, without doubt, one of the greatest composers to have ever lived. In his short life he composed more than 600 works, many of which continue to be performed by musicians today. His music is popular the world over, and in the most recent poll for Classic FM’s Hall of Fame (2019), three of his pieces featured in the top-twenty list. Here is his most popular work on the list, the Clarinet Concerto in A Major.
My home in the south of France overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, and for a few days each summer, to quote William Wordsworth, ‘With ships the sea [is] sprinkled far and nigh’. The event is called Les Voiles de St Tropez, and it is a sailing regatta that takes place in the gulf of St Tropez (you can learn more about it in my article ‘The romance – and sensuality – of sailing’). I love to sit on my terrace and watch the white sails moving across the ocean, like a kaleidoscope of white butterflies in the bluest of skies.
There is a very simple reason I am a writer: I love writing. I love the experience of taking ideas in my imagination and realising them on the page; I love the sense of magic that unfolds as the muse guides the pen; I love to be immersed in a fictional world and to create.
At the start of my latest novel Concerto, the heroine, Catriona, is balancing on the line between girl and woman. She is eighteen, and in some ways she has an adult perspective. For example, she has been career-minded for some time.
‘Inspiration strikes’ is a common term, and as a writer, I understand why. Once you let writing into your life, your imagination is always active, always open, and sometimes out of nowhere an idea comes to you, like a bolt from the blue. Invariably, this happens when you are doing something completely unrelated to writing – cooking, bathing, walking.
Umberto, hero of my new novel Concerto, is a man who is comfortable in the spotlight. He has grown up the son of a celebrated opera diva, and has honed his own musical talent to become a pianist composer, a rising star in the world of classical music. When my heroine, Catriona, goes to see Umberto perform in concert at the Nice opera house, she is absolutely mesmerised by his playing – and by the charismatic man himself:
When I wrote my first novel, Burning Embers, there was no such thing as an ebook. My dream was simply to see the book in print; to hold the novel in my hands. By the time I came to publish Burning Embers, however, the digital revolution was in full swing. My publisher informed me that the novel would be simultaneously published in print and ebook formats.
‘If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’
My new novel, Concerto, is set on Lake Como. There, music therapist Catriona comes to Villa Monteverdi to work with Umberto, a pianist composer who has lost his sight, and his will to compose.
‘I ransack public libraries, and find them full of sunk treasure.’ So wrote Virginia Woolf, and how right she was, in more ways than one. Of course, libraries are full of amazing books to inform and entertain and inspire – but they can also contain treasures of real monetary value.
At the heart of my new novel Concerto is music – beautiful, poignant and cathartic.
Back in Shakespeare’s day, a writer was expected to copy a classical work; ‘unnecessary invention’ was frowned upon. According to Jack Lynch, in his article ‘The Perfectly Acceptable Practice of Literary Theft: Plagiarism, Copyright, and the Eighteenth Century’, it was only in the 18th century that originality became an ideal. But is this an impossible ideal?
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.
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