April is fast approaching, and with it the publication of my novel Burning Embers by Omnific Publishing. It’s an exciting time indeed; this is a milestone I’ve much looked forward to in my journey as a writer. I first began writing Burning Embers years ago. The story and the setting
The ocean was my first love. I grew up in a house overlooking the sea, and it was a constant source of inspiration to me growing up. There is something so breathtakingly beautiful about the water – the power of its motion; the glorious colours, changing daily; its constancy; its
The harbour, a short walk from my house. In the evening after a good day’s writing I go to a little cafe outside the harbour where there is a soft sea breeze and relax as I watch the boats and passers-by.
Feeling love, in many ways, is easy. Letting go in order to really, truly give your heart is harder. In my novel Burning Embers, Rafe is a man who is haunted by his past. He is unable to let go of a difficult situation in which he found himself and
The modern writer has a choice: paper or PC? Of course, PC is the most practical – but does it, I wonder, help or hinder the creative process? Wherever I go, in my handbag I keep a small notebook, so that when an idea walks into my mind I can
The publisher of my new book, Omnific, has just revealed the cover for my book on its blog (http://omnificpublishing.blogspot.com/2012/03/author-author-blog-bounce-and-cover.html). Exciting indeed!
‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’: one of the most romantic songs ever written, I think, for the poeticism of the lyrics. When I am writing romantic fiction, the three most pivotal moments, for me, are the first meeting, the first kiss, and then the first time the
A small municipal garden not far from the house looking onto the most fabulous sea views splashing over the rocks. I sit in the shade of the pins parasols (the umbrella trees) and think out my most romantic love scenes. I usually have the place to myself, especially in the spring and
I’ve been reading romance novels since I was a young girl, and years ago, in more traditional times, the happy ending at the end of a book was wrapped up in marriage. Either the hero proposed to the heroine, or, usually in an epilogue, they stood at an alter and
One of my favourite quotes about love is from the book Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières: “Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so
Curry calls to mind India; coconut curry calls to mind Thailand. The following recipe, however, is a traditional Kenyan one from the East Coast – the kind of meal that the characters in my novel Burning Embers may well have enjoyed, cooked by their local staff. I prefer a mild
A mimosa tree in my grounds in France. They flower all over the French Riviera. Some towns celebrate La Fête des Mimosas, and chariots adorned with mimosa flowers and branches parade through town.
… Or so the popular saying goes. Heathcliff and Cathy. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester. Pip and Estella. Dexter and Emma (One Day)… Romantic stories throughout the history of literature are peppered with the prolonged separation of lovers, which serves
This week journalist Jonathan Freedland, who writes thrillers under the pen name Sam Bourne, has published an article called ‘Why the Facts Really Count in Fiction’. In the article, he explains that he takes great care in his writing to ensure that his books are as factually correct as possible.
In researching my book Burning Embers, which is set in Kenya in the 1970s, I read a lot of African materials – legends, fables, proverbs, poems, songs – so that the traditional tribal culture with which the protagonists’ modern, more westernised world overlaps was authentic. I was particularly interested in
Most of my favourite films are romantic classics from previous decades – like Gone with the Wind. But I do occasionally watch a more recent film, and a friend recommended I watched the 2010 film Charlie St. Cloud because she had seen it and thought it would strike a chord
Regular readers of my blog will know that I’m passionate about music across many different genres, and I often use music as an inspiration for my writing. So I was delighted, this week, to read an article in The Huffington Post on ‘lit-pop’ – songs inspired by literature. The fourteen
My local town in the south of France. The reflections of the lights remind me of the phrase from the song ‘On My Own’ in Les Miserables: ‘All the lights are misty in the river.’ (Though of course it’s the ocean!)
Happy Valentine’s Day! The most wonderful day of the year for a romantic like me. Do you remember the comic strip ‘Love is . . .’ by cartoonist Kim Casali? Now, I’m not a regular reader of comics of course (not enough words for my liking), but this strip caught
In most novels, the central premise of the book is that the main character(s) goes on a journey. Usually, that journey is at least partly experienced within the character – so spiritual, emotional, intellectual. In Burning Embers, both of the main characters, Coral and Rafe, go on such a journey.
Oh, to be a bird – to soar high above the land, to glide on thermals – majestic, graceful. But best of all, to get that inspiring, awesome perspective over our world that’s afforded by a view from above. The colours, the textures and the sense of cohesion are just
This week the snow hit our home in Kent, blanketing the world with soft, silent whiteness. Here are some pictures I took.
As regular readers of my blog have no doubt gathered, I adore music and it often forms the basis of my inspiration for my writing. Classical music is a particular favourite – when a song has no lyrics, it frees my mind to imagine the accompanying words; and of course
A sinister undercurrent running through my book Burning Embers is fuelled by native African culture embodying voodoo magic, witchcraft and evil intent – all under the auspices of the witch doctor. The protagonist’s former yaha (nanny), Aluna, is a big believer in all that is supernatural, and she stirs in Coral seeds
When browsing through a newspaper, I’m always drawn by articles about love and romance, whether love stories or commentary on the current state of romance in the country. So this week I was intrigued to read reports in the national press of a survey commissioned by Match.com to investigate the
Every writer tries to be original in her writing – otherwise, what interest is there for the writer and the reader? But some writing experts believe that it is not possible to be original when it comes to the fundamentals of the story – the bare bones, if you like.
Writing is about expression. A writer must be free to be herself. Without constraint. Placing rules on a writer simply hinders the creative process. To paraphrase Shakespeare, ‘at the length truth will out’. But through the years many regimes have censored books whose contents they deemed to be outrageous, sacrilegious,
In preparation for the launch of my new novel, Burning Embers, and my author website, a professional photographer came to my home in France to do a shoot. It was great fun, and I thought I’d share my favourite pictures from the day with you here.
Any writer will tell you that good writing involves using a varied vocabulary, but of course in a novel certain themes are paramount and we bring these to the fore by touching on them often. A friend recommended that I try a word frequency checker as a fun exercise and
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?
One of my favourite places on earth is the Alhambra, the amalgamation of fabulous Arabesque palaces and a fortress complex built by the Moors on a steep wooded hill during the mid-14th century in Granada, Spain. It’s straight out of the Arabian Nights, and is startling for its beauty and
Follow my blog with Bloglovin An interesting new trend is emerging in publishing news – releases from Amazon sharing reader and reading data. Take, for example, its news release on the most highlighted passages in Montlake Romance titles (Montlake is its romance imprint). Amazon shared the 14 passages that readers most
Follow my blog with Bloglovin With just weeks to go until the publication of my new novel, Indiscretion, I’m delighted to be able to start sharing something of the background and themes of to the book. Today, I’d like to introduce this poem, by Thomas Hardy: I am the
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Happy Valentine’s Day. Today I’m delighted to be able to share with you the cover for my new novel, Indiscretion, which will publish in April. I think this is my favourite cover yet – what do you think?
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Quick Reads is a UK-based initiative that aims to encourage adult engagement with reading. It commissions big-name authors to write shorts – little books that are quick and easy to read, so that the one in six adults in the country who struggle with reading
Moonlight – an element of nature about which poets have waxed lyrical for centuries. For Charles Baudelaire, the moon was sad: ‘Earthward she lets a furtive tear-drop flow’. For Robert Graves, it was unkind: ‘The cruel Moon hangs out of reach/Up above the shadowy beech’. For Emily Bronte, it made
The publishing world has been abuzz this week with the news of the discovery of a second novel by Harper Lee more than 50 years since the publication of her first. To Kill a Mockingbird was one of the most powerful, memorable books I read in my childhood, and I’m
The story of my latest novel, Aphrodite’s Tears, centres on the discovery of an ancient shipwreck off the coast of a little Greek island called Helios. Archaeologist Oriel is hired by island leader Damian to explore the wreck and try to establish its origins. For Oriel, this is the chance
My new novel is entitled Aphrodite’s Tears. Most readers will know of Aphrodite – the Greek goddess of love. But why in my book title is she crying? Aphrodite’s Tears is set on Helios, a small island in the Ionian Sea that is privately owned by the Lekkas family. Theirs
‘Have we ever had enough time to read?’ So began a recent article on the Literary Hub website, drawing on a book by Associate Professor Christina Lupton at the University of Warwick. Reading and the Making of Time in the Eighteenth Century examines how female readers used to yearn to
My bookshelves – and there are many of them, in my homes in France, Ireland and Kent – are filled with all kinds of books. I have no idea how many books there are, but certainly the number is growing by the month. I find it very difficult to walk
Recently, Italian author Elena Ferrante wrote an opinion piece entitled ‘I don’t have much faith in those who say, “Here is a truly new book”’. ‘There are no works that make a clean break with the past,’ she argues, no ‘truly watershed works’. ‘What is truly new in literature is only
Those who follow me on Twitter will know that I like to collect quotations – little nuggets of wisdom and inspiration from great minds. A name that crops up frequently is that of nineteenth-century French writer Honoré de Balzac. Here are just some of the Balzac quotations that I share:
Did you know that Leo Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace was originally entitled All’s Well That Ends Well? That William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury was called Twilight? That Jane Austen’s original title for Pride and Prejudice was First Impressions? That John Steinbeck envisioned Of Mice and Men published as Something That Happened?
Cooking and dining are great passions of mine, and when I am writing a new novel, I take great pleasure in exploring the cuisine of the country in which the story is set. For Aphrodite’s Tears, that meant indulging my love of Greek cuisine. Because my novel is set on
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