'The Echoes of Love: Making the Audiobook' – a video interview
Actor Matt Addis talks about making the audiobook version of my novel The Echoes of Love.
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My latest blog posts
‘The heart has its reasons which reason does not know…’
Any romance author faces a challenge in his or her writing: The character’s journey to falling in love, from feeling the first stirrings of attraction to making a lasting commitment, must make logical sense to the reader… But: … love, sometimes, defies logic. Take any enduring love story, one that
A most Venetian collectable: Murano glass
My love affair with Venice started at an early age when I visited the city of romance with my family as a child. Even then, my wide eyes were drawn to the beautiful glassware items in shop windows. So when I grew to be a woman and developed the hobby
A man grounded in legend
Since I was a young girl, tucked up in bed and listening avidly to my governess weaving bedtime tales, I have loved legends. Fairytales too, of course – they sowed the seeds for my romantic nature – but legends fascinated me most: those that have stood the test of time,
Summer in Rye by Lucy Oliver
From the blurb: A tragedy brought Eva Brookwell and Samuel Shaw back into each other’s lives. But will lies from the past destroy their chances of a future? Left penniless after the death of her philandering father, Eva Brookwell takes a job as a governess at Rye Hall, but didn’t
The bookless public library… a peek into the future?
San Antonio, USA. Home to the famous San Antonio Spurs, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, the Alamo, the Tower of the Americas, Marriage Island, a well-respected zoo and now…. the first bookless public library. It sounds rather like a contradiction in terms, doesn’t it? When you say the word
Roast flamingo anyone? Perhaps not…
Cooking, and enjoying the results, is one of my pleasures in life, so when I am writing a novel I very much relish the research activity of exploring the cuisine of the country in which my story is set. For The Echoes of Love, which is set in Italy, I
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, because this ensures that she is determined, diligent, focused, goal-oriented, hard-working, imaginative, independent and intelligent… all qualities that I think are essential for a modern-day
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 Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in the Charlotte Brontë classic? From the first scene to the last, I was utterly captivated. Such darkness – such intrigue – such atmosphere
Favourite poems: ‘Tuscany’ by Victoria Sackville-West
In my new novel, The Echoes of Love, Paolo owns a home in Tuscany, and he persuades Venetia to take on a contract based there restoring mosaics in a nearby ruin he has purchased. I love Tuscany, such a beautiful, unspoilt part of the world where romance is intrinsic in
The legends of the devil’s bridges
Did you know that scattered across Europe are dozens of ‘devil’s bridges’ – ancient stone arch bridges crossing waterways, each with its own particular, spooky legend? There are some 49 such bridges in France, where I live for part of the year, so I was already familiar with the concept
The wisdom of Confucius for a lost and lonely heart
In each of my novels I weave in a wiser, older character whose role is to guide my heroine (in part, I do so in the memory of my childhood governess, Zula, who so inspired me). In Burning Embers Coral’s yaha (nanny) Aluna filled the role – albeit her guidance
Book review: Flavia's Secret by Lindsay Townsend
From the blurb: Spirited, young scribe Flavia hopes for freedom. She and her fellow slaves in Aquae Sulis (modern Bath) have served the Lady Valeria for many years, but their mistress’ death brings a threat to Flavia’s dream: her new master Marcus Brucetus, a charismatic, widowed officer toughened in the
In the mood for dancing? Try the Forlana
There were only four or five ladies of the highest rank; all the others, who were more or less pretty, were favourites of the prince, all his days a great lover of the fair sex. Two of these ladies danced the Forlana, and the Elector was much amused in making
No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop: WIN a copy of my novel The Echoes of Love
Today I’m delighted to be participating in I Am a Reader, Not a Writer’s ‘No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop’. The concept is simple: Win a paperback copy of my passionate, tumultuous romance novel The Echoes of Love… … simply by commenting on
The Venetian Doge
My favourite place in Venice has to be the St Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco), and a major reason for the draw is the stunning architecture that surrounds it. One of the famous and beautiful buildings – and a major tourist attraction for that reason – is the Doge’s Palace
The Echoes of Love song
Back when my debut novel, Burning Embers, was newly released, I found on the internet a song with the same title, and was quite taken but it (see my post ‘Burning Embers – the song’). A similar web search recently uncovered three songs whose titles tie into The Echoes of
Favourite poem: ‘When Passion's Trance Is Overpast…’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley
I love the Romantic poets – Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats – but perhaps, for me, the most romantic of them all is Percy Bysshe Shelley, (somewhat incongruously for his romanticism) husband to Mary Shelley of Frankenstein fame. Shelley (1792–1822) never saw success or acclaim for his works during his
How far does good writing require full exposure of the self?
I’m commonly asked, ‘How much of yourself do you put into your writing? How far are your books based on your actual experiences?’ The answer is twofold: All my writing is inspired by experience… For example, ideas for characters and plot points
The English countryside
A typical Kentish scene around where I live. When the sun is shining, it’s just magical!
The most famous Venetian? Andrea Palladio
What is it, exactly, that so many people fall in love with when they visit Venice? What makes this historic city quite so romantic, so magical? The lagoon and canals play their part, of course, but inarguably at the core of the Venetian charm is its stunning architecture. In The
The Regatta delle Beganne
On 6 January, as part of the celebrations for their Epiphany Festival, Venetian will line the paths alongside the Grand Canal to watch a boat race with a difference: the Regatta del Beganne (Witches’ Race). The Regatta del Beganne began back in the late 1970s as something of a joke
A brief history of tiramisu
No doubt you’re very familiar with this coffee-flavoured dessert, which features on countless restaurant menus worldwide. You probably also know that, like zabaglione and gelato, the sweet is Italian in origin. But did you know that tiramisu is from the environs of Venice? There is some dispute over who exactly
Book review: Snow Day: Heart of the Storm/Seeing Red/Land’s End by Shannon Stacey, Jennifer Greene and Barbara Dunlop
From the blurb: Tucker’s Point three-day forecast: stormy with a chance of romance. HEART OF THE STORM by Shannon Stacey Brody Rollins is back in tiny Tucker’s Point, Maine, for the first time in five years, and now he can’t escape…from former neighbours, old regrets or maddening glimpses of his
‘Try before you fully buy’ – a new order in book ownership?
I was born into a family that loved books. There were books in each room of our house – of all shapes, sizes, genres and authorships. During my childhood many people chose to leave my country due to the political situation there, and they would leave mountains of books in
The very best of Venetian landscape paintings: Canaletto
Ask any art historian about famous Venetian artworks and the name ‘Canaletto’ will quickly crop up. Canaletto is commonly admired as one of the best painters of his time, and Venice was his chief inspiration. Canaletto was born Giovanni Antonio Canal in Venice in 1697, the son of painter Bernardo
The Venetian composer: Antonio Vivaldi
At the beginning of my new book The Echoes of Love, my heroine, Venetia, and hero, Paolo, are weaving their way through the crowds celebrating the Venice Carnival, and what better music to be stirring the revellers than that of Antonio Vivaldi? Vivaldi (1678–1741) was born and bred in Venice, and
My latest blog posts
On epigraphs
Before I start writing a book, I always know three things: * The story * The title * The epigraph These, for me, are the foundations from which the writing is built. Choosing the epigraph is an important task for me, and one I enjoy immensely. I am an avid
When old and new collide: Banning the nymphs of Cadiz
Of all the mythical creatures – and there are many – the nymph has always been one of my favourites. What image does the word nymph conjure up for you? Perhaps something like this vision, painted by John William Waterhouse: A nymph is a female deity, but a minor one.
How I research settings for my fiction
If you’ve read any one of my novels, you’ll know that I root my fiction in a strong sense of place. The settings for my stories are not merely scenic backdrops, like two-dimensional paintings on a theatre set. They are vibrant and vivid – as real as I can make
The fairy tale: a foundation for modern writing
I do not know that I would be a writer today were it not for fairy tales. I was fortunate to have parents who had a well-stocked library and who believed in reading to their daughters; it was on their knees, as a very young child, that I discovered the
Swoon-worthy or too good to be true? Striking the balance with romance heroes
What’s the single most important element of a romance novel? Love. Not only must the love story that unfolds between the hero and heroine be compelling and moving and epic, but it must also cause the reader to fall in love a little herself. What is the reason for the
Writing with heart (not hunger)
‘What’s the formula for a bestselling book?’ So read an attention-grabbing headline in the Guardian last week. The article was prompted by a list of those books that have sold more than 250,000 copies in the UK since 2000, compiled by Specsavers for their inaugural ‘Bestseller Awards’ (I confess I
Exploring the subconscious through dreams
In 1899, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud published a book entitled The Interpretation of Dreams, in which he laid out his theory of how dream interpretation can allow one to explore the unconscious. His belief – which slowly became a talking point among academics and doctors of the mind – was that we
Win ‘Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction’s Most Beloved Heroines’
Welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by on this Best of 2016 Giveaway Hop. It took me some time to decide on a giveaway for this hop, because there were so many books I enjoyed in 2016, but finally I settled on Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction’s
A print book resurgence?
Recently, the arts news has been full of a major comeback: that of the vinyl record. In 2016, vinyl sales in the UK reached 3.2 million, which is the highest figure for 25 years, and represents a 53 per cent increase on the previous year. Most interesting is that this
An inspirational composer: Manuel de Falla
After all the vibrancy and jubilant cacophony of December, January always feels a quiet month to me: the silence of a snow-covered field, the gentle crackle of logs on the fire, the scratch of my pen moving over the paper, and – most notably – the lulling melodies of classical
Tradition: the preservation of fire
Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to travel to Spain several times, and each of these visits provided rich inspiration for my Andalucían Nights trilogy, spanning Indiscretion, Masquerade and Legacy. Each of my stories is set during the hot, heady days of summer, but I didn’t limit my
Mistress of the night: the moon
This holiday season, I have been fortune enough to do some stargazing. The night skies have been velvety blankets sprinkled with stars, and the moon… magnifique! I have always been fascinated by astronomy and astrology, but more than anything the moon has captured my imagination since childhood. Little wonder back
The art of the gingerbread house
Knusper, knusper, knäuschen, wer knuspert an meinem Häuschen? Nibble, nibble, gnaw Who is nibbling at my little house? So says the witch in the children’s fairy-tale ‘Hansel and Gretel’ by the Brothers Grimm. I loved fairy-tales growing up, but I always found this one quite dark and chilling. However, like
Celebrating Boxing Day
I was in my twenties when I first came to England. I recall vividly my first Christmas; it was bitterly cold, which was a shock after a lifetime of Christmases in sunny Alexandria, Egypt; but then it snowed and I was enchanted, and I understood Charles Baudelaire’s verse: I watch
Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop: Win a British Museum silk scarf
Thank you for visiting my blog on the Bookhounds’ Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop. I’m thrilled to be giving away this beautiful silk scarf by the British Museum: A silk scarf printed with a design of Japanese Iris, a type of flower native to Japan. For centuries, the flower has been
Two wheels move the soul
In my latest book, Legacy, the heroine Luna is a scientist, with a first-class honours degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton, followed by a PhD in Science Communication. She’s bold, inquisitive, rigorous, sensible, logical – the perfect candidate to write an exposé of a cancer-treatment clinic. But what Luna is
My latest blog posts
Lake Como: the ‘place blessed by heaven’ that inspired composer Franz Liszt
‘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…’
Why I am proud to be a romance author
‘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…’
Caught in a tangled web: The secretive heroine
‘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.
Duende: the artistic flamenco spirit
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.
What makes us fall in love with a romance novel?
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?
5 sublimely romantic places to visit on Valentine’s Day
The most romantic day of the year is tomorrow. What have you got planned?
‘Put all your soul into it’: taking inspiration from Frédéric Chopin
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.
Compassion: The simple and powerful New Year’s resolution
Happy New Year! To all of my readers, I wish you a fulfilling, joyful and peaceful year.