Have you heard about the Clean Reader app? Its release has caused quite a stir in the reading and writing communities. This free app, whose tagline is ‘Read books, not profanity’, allows you to blank out swear words in an ebook, so that they aren’t displayed on your ereader screen.
I’m thrilled to be able to share with you today the trailer for my novel Indiscretion, which will publish next week!
It’s the final day of the tour, and today you can find me at The Secret Writer: http://thesecretwriterblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/indiscretion-blog-tour-stop-official.html And at Bluestocking’s Place http://ov099.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/feature-indiscretion-by-hannah-fielding/
“If you like your romances filled with smouldering Mediterranean men, secrets and lies, then Indiscretion could be the perfect read for you this Easter.” Today you can read a review of Indiscretion over at Books with Bunny: http://bookswithbunny.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/indiscretion-hannah-fielding-blog-tour.html
With my new novel out now, what better way to set the mood for this passionate, fiery, epic love story than explorethe beautiful region of Spain in which it is set: Andalusia. I first visited as a young woman, when after university I went travelling around Europe, and since then
Today I’m over at Reading in the Sunshine, sharing the five best things, for me, about writing romance novels: http://readinginthesunshine.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/the-five-best-things-about-writing-romance-by-hannah-fielding/
Find out about my new book, Indiscretion, over at Book Babe today… http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/q-with-hannah-fielding-author-of.html
Today you can find me over at Writer’s Little Helper describing my imaginary bookshop: http://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/guest-post-hannah-fieldings-imaginary.html
Do you ever have a week when synchronicity leads you to keep encountering a term or idea, causing you to stop and give it some thought? This week, I have ‘spoilers’ on the brain. First, authors accidentally dropping spoilers. One poor author has spoken of her distress when she realised
Today I’m hosted over at Long Ago Love: http://historicalromancebooks.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/indiscretion-by-hannah-fielding.html
From the blurb: After her husband’s untimely demise, Marietta Gatti is banished from the family’s villa by her spiteful mother-in-law. She returns to her hometown of Venice and her only kin—a father she hasn’t spoken to since her forced marriage. Her hope of making amends is crushed when she learns
Today you can find my online at http://lauraslittlebookblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/blog-tour-indiscretion-by-hannah.html, sharing, among other things, why I so love masked balls.
Today I’m hosted by the wonderful Novelicious, and I’m sharing what it’s like to be a romance writer: http://www.novelicious.com/2015/03/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-romance-novelist-by-hannah-fielding.html
Head over to Fabulous Book Fiend today and you can read an extract from my soon-to-publish book, Indiscretion… http://fabulousbookfiend.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/exclusive-extract-indiscretion-by.html
When I write a novel, I immerse myself in the culture of the setting. For Indiscretion, set in Andalusia, Spain, that was an absolute pleasure, for it meant many hours enjoying one of my favourite art forms: the flamenco. The flamenco originated in Andalusia in the eighteenth century, and it
I have written before on my blog about the poor reputation of romance as a fiction genre. It’s simply not as respected as many other genres, and neverhas been. But there are signs of a change in the wind. According to an article in the Smithsonian magazine: ‘[A] new breed
Recently, I blogged about one of my favourite Spanish writers, Miguel de Cervantes, who penned the wonderful novel Don Quixote. In my post, I noted that he was buried in an unmarked grave and an initiative was launched to trace his remains. Just a few days later, I read in
I was saddened to read of the passing of Terry Pratchett last week. While fantasy is not one of the genres I choose to read, I respected his writing – his craft, his ethos and his work ethic – greatly, as did so many others. After the publication of his
A recent report by children’s publisher Scholastic found that while parents often stop reading aloud to children once they can read independently, many children up to the age of eleven wish their parents would continue. Reading with a parent is, of course, quality time, but I think the reason also
Moorish culture and legacy echoes through my new novel, Indiscretion, which is set in Andalusia, Spain, 1950, from the architecture of places that Alexandra visits to the princess costume she wears to a masked ball. Today, I take a look at the Moors of Spain, and why their influence has
The media has been all aflutter this week over comments made by the best-selling author Joanna Trollope at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai. In her speech she gave the opinion that writers create their best works after the age of thirty-five, when life has ‘knocked them about
In my new novel, Indiscretion, the heroine is a writer. So what better place for an intimate lunch between Alexandra and her estranged father than Hazlitt’s, I thought: the eighteenth-century hotel just off Piccadilly that has been a favourite haunt for writers over the years since it was home to
In an interview with Judith Spelman for Writing Magazine this month, author Emma Donoghue spoke on the subject of research for fiction-writing, an element of the writing process that she takes very seriously. She said: If you hope to find any interesting details about the time and place, you have
In my first novel, Burning Embers, the heroine Coral has inherited a plantation in Kenya. I so loved making her a mistress of a beautiful expanse of land, and describing the setting: an exotic and stunning backdrop for the love story that plays out. In my new novel, Indiscretion, the
Writer’s block is a strange beast indeed. The writer lives and breathes writing, and has done from an early age. All we want to do is write; it’s what makes us feel most alive, most ourselves, most fulfilled and peaceful inside. And yet some days, the words just won’t come.
Too much sanity may be madness and the maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be. –Miguel de Cervantes I was in my teens when I first began reading classic world literature, and when it came to Spanish literature, top of the list
From the blurb: Inspired by true events, the New York Times bestselling novel The Girl Who Came Home is the poignant story of a group of Irish emigrants aboard RMS Titanic—a seamless blend of fact and fiction that explores the tragedy’s impact and its lasting repercussions on survivors and their descendants. Ireland, 1912. Fourteen members
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I imagine you changed your mind fairly often, as you discovered the world around and fell in and out of love with aspects of it, but perhaps one desire was deep-rooted and pervaded through the
Regular readers of my blog and my books will know this fundamental truth about me: I’m an ardent romantic. I very much wish that was something everyone could say about themselves. Don’t you think the world would be a warmer, sweeter, kinder, more beautiful place if we were all romantics?
The heroine of my latest novel, Aphrodite’s Tears, is an archaeologist with a passion for ancient civilisations. I imagine she would have been thrilled to read of a recent discovery by archaeologists: a clay tablet inscribed with what is believed to be the earliest written record of Homer’s epic poem
‘Not a man, but a work of art…’ This is how Italian author Elena Ferrante described her latest screen crush in her Weekend column for the Guardian last week. Ferrante writes about the romantic hero portrayed on the big screen as ‘not a physical person but a collection of specialties’;
Heaven. That is my writing spot today. I have been writing my blog for almost seven years now. Seven years! In that time I have written in many different locations, from the cool, cosy sanctuary of my home office, to the pleasant hubbub of a local cafe, fuelled by a
‘Your women’s lib doesn’t work here.’ So the heroine of my novel Aphrodite’s Tears is told when she comes to work on a little Greek island. It’s the 1970s, and Oriel is a strong, independent woman – an archaeologist who has been hired to oversee a deep-sea exploration of an
This week, I smiled when I heard on the news that the zoo in Dublin, Ireland, has found a novel way to cool its elephants: with giant ice lollies! ‘Nature’s great masterpiece’ – that is how John Donne described the elephant. A perfect description, don’t you think? Ever since I
There is the heat of Love, the pulsing rush of Longing, the lover’s whisper, irresistible — magic to make the sanest man go mad. – Homer, The Iliad This is the epigraph for my latest novel, Aphrodite’s Tears. It is from Book XIV of The Iliad, and refers to a
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. – Ecclesiastes 1:9 Originality is one of the key concerns for an author. Of course I want to write a book that is fresh and unique. New is what
‘What brings a beautiful girl to such a deserted place on this enchanting night? … You look like the ocean nymph, Calypso, waiting for Odysseus on your island, ready to bewitch him with your mesmerizing voice.’ So says Damian, hero of my latest novel Aphrodite’s Tears, at the start of
This sandy-hued island of eternal azure skies, ever-changing blue sea, beaming sunshine and ancient stone temples… Welcome to Helios, the setting for my novel Aphrodite’s Tears. Helios is a small island in the Ionian Sea that is privately owned by the Lekkas family. It is fictional, inspired by my travels
‘Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.’ So wrote English novelist Henry James. I quite agree! I love the month of June, because it heralds the beginning of summer – those long, heady months of warmth and
Picture the scene. You have decided to write a novel. You take yourself off to a little cottage overlooking the sea. It’s quiet; there are few neighbours. The scenery is beautiful and inspirational. You have weeks, months even, in which to do nothing but immerse yourself in your fictional world
The best piece of advice I was given as a child is this: If you want to be a writer, then write. It is obvious, of course; but in fact it doesn’t seem to be a given these days that if you yearn to become a writer, you must practise,
In my novel Aphrodite’s Tears, the heroine, Oriel, comes to work on the Greek island of Helios. Her new boss is Damianos (Damian) Lekkas, the owner of the island and a man with quite the reputation. ‘In ancient Greek, Damianos means master, tamer and conqueror. The name suits him well,
‘How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.’ So wrote Henry David Thoreau. When I was a young woman, my desire to write could sometimes be quite frustrating – I yearned to write, but I knew the time was not right:
‘Tell me,’ says Damian, the hero of my latest book Aphrodite’s Tears, ‘how did you become so keen on archaeology?’ ‘My father used to tell me tales of Atlantis as a child,’ replies the heroine, Oriel. ‘After that, I read anything I could lay my hands on, especially stories about
For my latest novel Aphrodite’s Tears, I took inspiration from the stories of the Ancient Greeks. Interwoven within the narrative you’ll find reference to plenty of Greek myths. But one story you won’t find is that of Andromeda. The poet Ovid tells us that Andromeda was the daughter of Cepheus, ruler
Music has such power to express romantic feelings: as the French novelist Victor Hugo wrote, ‘Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.’ Here are my top five romantic pieces of classical music – inspiration for my latest novel, Concerto, the love story of a pianist composer and a music therapist.
My love for travel shines through in my novels, which are set in countries I have loved exploring. Here I take you on a little tour of some of the wonderful historic architecture that features in my books.
‘There is nothing new under the sun.’ So goes the proverb derived from the Book of Ecclesiastes. Depending on your perspective, you may find this a comforting thought or a frustrating limitation – or, indeed, a challenge to which you will rise.
‘It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream,’ said the English philosopher Bernard Williams. I quite agree: for me, the sunset can be so stirring and poignant and romantic.
‘I have lived for art, I have lived for love.’ So sings Floria in Puccini’s opera Tosca. But what is an opera exactly, and how did this art form develop?
‘Why does a writer write? Why hazard yourself? Each writer has their own answer to this question. Mine lies in my childhood…’
The day I first visited Cádiz I just knew I must situate a love story there! The Moors compared the city to a ‘dish of silver in a bowl of blue’, so vivid are the colours there. It is a lovely city; the most beautiful in Spain, I think, and so today I want to introduce you to it briefly.
How’s your Ancient Greek? Better than you may imagine, for in fact plenty of modern words are derived from the language and legends of this ancient civilisation…
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