I love dance. I love ballet and flamenco and folk dancing. As a young girl I dreamed of being a ballerina; now I am content to watch and be swept away by the beauty of a dance. For me, dance in all its forms is wonderfully romantic, because it is
I recently ran a question survey via SurveyMonkey and Goodreads to discover people’s ‘most romantics’. For the question ‘What is the most romantic gift?’, the results were as follows: Book: 38% Jewellery: 28% Flowers: 25% Lingerie: 9% Given that I ran one part of the survey on Goodreads, I expect
Blurb: When beautiful, spirited Finnula Crais kidnaps the dashing knight Hugh Fitzstephen, she has no idea that she’s ensnared the new Earl of Stephensgate on his way home from the Crusades. Nor does she realise that Hugh is quite happy to be kidnapped by an enchanting tomboy, and will do
I like to visit when I’m staying in France; ideal for sitting in a pavement cafe with a citron pressé and watching the world go by.
I recently ran a question survey via SurveyMonkey and Goodreads to discover people’s ‘most romantics’. For the question ‘Who is the most romantic artist?’, the results were as follows: Monet: 64% Renoir: 14% Da Vinci: 12% Van Gogh: 10% The founder of Impressionist painting, Claude Monet, has topped the poll. It’s
The county of Kent, where my English home is situated, is famous for many things. The White Cliffs of Dover. The Royal Navy heritage at Chatham. Canterbury Cathedral and Chaucer. Jools Holland, a Rochester resident. Hops and oast houses. But it is perhaps best known for its orchards. Pears and
Théophile Gautier was a great traveller, visiting places as diverse as Spain, Italy, Russia, Egypt and Algeria, and his writing based on the various places he visited are works of art. He has a knack of transporting you to the place and making you live the experience he is living. His descriptions are
I was delighted to receive an advance copy of this contemporary women’s novel for review (if you prefer the word ‘chicklit’, it fits into this genre). The blurb intrigued me: When Jenny Shaw hears someone shout “Jessie!” across a hotel lobby, she impulsively answers. All her life, Jenny has toed
I recently ran a question survey via SurveyMonkey and Goodreads to discover people’s ‘most romantics’. For the question ‘What is the most romantic food?’, the results were as follows: Chocolate: 50% Strawberries: 36% Ice cream: 7% Oysters: 7% Interestingly, while oysters are proven to stimulate desire, the jury is out
When I get writer’s block, I go for a long drive to Agay (about an hour away). The view on the corniche is breathtaking. The sea is of the most beautiful azure.
Twenty-five years ago this month the film Dirty Dancing was released in cinemas. A low-budget movie made by a new studio and with no stars in the lead roles (hard to believe now, but Jennifer Gray and Patrick Swayze were relatively unknown before the film), it has gone on to
Honoré de Balzac was a coffee addict – drinking up to fifty cups per day to fuel his prolific writing. Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud and Verlaine were partial to absinthe. Dostoevsky had a gambling habit and reportedly rushed the end of Crime and Punishment because he desperately needed his advance. William
A fun, sizzling, rollicking good read. London, 1817. Julianna Harte is the daughter of a reformed high-class thief and the founder of a home for abandoned children in London who is desperate to raise funds to stop her home closing – so desperate, in fact, that she resorts to robbery.
A keen cook, I love to explore regional recipes – from places I visit and from the area in which I live: the south of France and Kent. Today I am going to share with you a recipe for Kentish pudding pie, which is a little like a baked cheesecake
Each month on this blog I share an English translation of a poem by nineteenth-century French poet Leconte de Lisle. His poetry was a great source of inspiration for the descriptions and imagery in my writing, colourful and visual and vivid as it is. The poem I am sharing with
Although I spoke English at home with my parents, I was given a French education. I had a French/Italian governess, I went to a French convent school and I graduated from university with a BA in French Language and Literature. I think that the way I write has been much
From the blurb: Betrayed by his brother and his childhood love, Brice Kinross needs a fresh start. So he welcomes the opportunity to leave Sweden for the Scottish Highlands to take over the family estate. But there’s trouble afoot at Rosyth in 1754 and Brice finds himself unwelcome. The estate’s in
I adore stories of people who are head over heels in love getting carried away, doing crazy things, getting lost in the sensation of love. I wasn’t one of those people who thought Tom Cruise was strange to leap over a sofa while declaring his feelings for Katie on The
A wonderful novella! From the blurb: What happens when a struggling actress and a grieving widower come together in a night of unbridled debauchery orchestrated by a bored and machinating rake? With the devil in charge… there will be hell to pay! Confidently situated in Georgian England, with a believable and
I love lavender and my garden in Ste Maxime is overgrown with it.
I recently ran a question survey via SurveyMonkey and Goodreads to discover people’s ‘most romantics’. For the question ‘What is the most romantic love song?’, the results were as follows: ‘I Will Always Love You’ – 36% ‘Make You Feel My Love’ – 29% ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’
There is something inherently inspirational about the Montmatre in Paris, which gives its name to the surrounding district. On a clear, sunny day, climb the many steps to the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur at the summit, sit with a baguette de jambon et fromage (cheese and ham baguette) and gaze
This house, in St Margaret’s Bay, near my Kentish home, used to belong to actor Noel Coward. I often walk along the beach there.
I recently ran a question survey via SurveyMonkey and Goodreads to discover people’s ‘most romantics’. For the question ‘Which nationality most says “romantic” to you?’, the results were as follows: Italian: 42% French: 33% Spanish: 20% British: 4% American: 1% I was not surprised to see Italy, France and Spain
Some months ago now I discovered word clouds. I love words and I love art, so combining the two is perfect. I regularly visit Terri Guillemets’ website, Quote Garden, because, like her, I love quotations and use them often in my writing. While browsing the site this week I came
“Serious and silly, subversive and mainstream, high and low: Danny Boyle’s bonkers Olympics opening ceremony could only have been made by a British artist.” – Guardian “Leftie multi-cultural rubbish” – Conservative MP Aidan Burley “Brilliant but bonkers…” – Australian TV commentator “It’s corny, cheesy, altogether over the top. And it
I enjoy reading Ingrid’s blog at http://ingridmichaelsromance.blogspot.co.uk, and so was keen to read some of her writing. I picked Giovanna’s Dilemma for my first read because the romantic cover drew me in, and I was intrigued by the blurb: When JP takes Karen out to celebrate their four-month dating anniversary,
My August competition is now closed. Thank you for your entries; I will contact each winner individually. Hannah x
Subscription is very much in vogue. Rather than create a collection of audiobooks, you can subscribe to Audible and take your pick. Rather than stack DVDs high on your shelves, you can subscribe to NetFlix and work your way through boxsets. Rather than build a library of books, you can
My latest novel, Indiscretion, is set in Andalusia, Spain, in the 1950s. There, the Spaniards live still under the long shadow cast by the civil war from 1936 to 1939, and under the control of the dictator Franco. I characterise it in the book as a conservative country, not to
My new novel, Indiscretion, is set in 1950s Spain.The story of love and families, lies and indiscretions, is steeped in the culture of Andalusia. Of course I could not write a book set in that time and place without weaving in the most emblematic and masterful of Spanish archetypes, the
My favourite work of English literature is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. For the Gothic feel, the Byronic hero, the mystery and suspense, the poetic writing style, but above all the passion: Do you think I am an automaton? – a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my
From the blurb: Nineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich and charming widower, eager to join him on his tea plantation, determined to be the perfect wife and mother. But life in Ceylon is not what Gwen expected. The plantation workers are resentful, the neighbours treacherous. And there
I’m delighted to be able to share with you today the cover for my new book, Masquerade. It is available for preorder now from Amazon UK and Amazon US.
Before the digital revolution, book buying was a business requiring thought and commitment. When you bought a book, you were serious about reading that book, because it had cost you a fair amount of money. In addition, it was a physical object that existed in your home as evidence of
… and you won’t end with a whimper. Common writing advice, based on the final stanza of TS Eliot’s poem ‘The Hollow Men’: This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper. Interviewers often ask me what part of the writing process I find the
A long-time subscriber to Mslexia magazine, ‘for women who write’, I always find its surveys really interesting reading. Not only do they help me find common ground with other writers, but they also offer up new ideas and ways of thinking. This month, the survey in questions is ‘How do
With 30 published books translated into 80 languages and a total of 175 million copies sold across 170 countries, Paulo Coelho without a doubt knows writing and publishing extremely well. So when Coelho has a new idea, the publishing world listens. And his latest idea could be ground-breaking. Here is the
Whenever I write a new book, I immerse myself in the history and culture of the country in which the story is set. Legends are among my favourite aspects to research, because they say so much about the people and their philosophies and beliefs, both now and in the
Recently on this blog I wrote about books as a legacy, reflecting on the story of a writer who realised after his mother’s death how important her books were for him and the generations of his family to come (‘Passing on books’). With this concept in mind, have you heard
Would you buy a romance novel written in the perspective of the male protagonist, so the entire story is told through his eyes? Traditionally, the answer is ‘no’ – romance is rooted in the female gaze. Here’s the thinking behind that: 1. Most romance readers are female. 2. The
The culture of Spain has many influences and nuances (see, for example, my blog post on the Moors of Spain), and in my new novel, Indiscretion, I wanted to go beyond the traditional archetypes of the flamenco dancer and the toreador. So, for example, to attend a masked ball
Recently, I was interested to read an article in the Guardian on the subject of settings for books by the very popular novelist David Nichols (author of One Day, which just about broke my heart!). In ‘Google v old-fashioned legwork – how to research a novel’, David writes candidly
From the blurb: Millionaire Quinn Randel is a world-class philanthropist and a world-class ass. He has a perfect life and doesn’t want to muck it up with marriage and kids. And then he meets luscious Kylee Steele; barmaid, single mother and college student. Kylee makes him nervous with just a
So far in my Writers’ Spaces series I’ve visited a tower writing room where privacy was key, and two homes where novelists penned their works at tables in snug family rooms. Today’s writing space is both snug and private, but neither of these factors are what really mattered to the writer: this
Last week, I introduced a series on my blog exploring where noted writers through history wrote their works. My first article focused on Sissinghurst Castle, home of Vita Sackville-West, and took a look at the tower that she claimed as her own private writing space. Such a statuesque and grand
Sir Winston Churchill, politician and prolific writer, said this of the writing process: Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just
Readers of my fiction will know that I paint settings vividly. A strong sense of place brings colour and context and atmosphere to the story. But setting is not only important on the page; setting matters a great deal to the writer striving to put words on paper. I write
Sun, sea and sky: in Ancient Greek mythology, each had its own god. Poseidon was the god of the sea, Apollo was the sun god, and mighty Zeus was the god of the sky (and everything beneath it). As I wrote my novel Aphrodite’s Tears, I had Aphrodite, goddess of
On the British high street, a store called Poundland specialises in selling all manner of items for just £1. Usually, those items are mundane – cleaning cloths, for example, and envelopes. But last week the media thoroughly enjoyed sharing the newest product line in the Poundland range: engagement rings. As
The first hedge maze I ever navigated was at Hampton Court Palace. It was planted for William III of Orange as a means of entertainment for the gentry in around 1690, making it the oldest surviving hedge maze in the world. It is not vast – the paths cover about half
My latest novel, Aphrodite’s Tears, begins with the chance meeting of two strangers, Oriel and Damian, on a beach one evening. I write: The dark waves murmured on the sand, their gently rolling edges lit a luminous blue under the moonlight. Everything was cloaked in unreality and it was as
Subscribe to my mailing list. I promise: no spam, only valuable information.