Out of Africa is one of my favourite films – I’ve watched it at least fifteen times to date, and it never fails to move me. The film is set earlier in the twentieth century than Burning Embers, but the breathtaking settings (which include Mombasa, where Burning Embers is set)
The blue plaque scheme in the UK is one of my favourite historical initiatives. It began in London, launched in 1867 by the Royal Society of Arts, as a means of connecting sites with people of historical interest. The first plaque was unveiled at 24 Holles Street, Cavendish Square, the birthplace
Here’s a piece of advice commonly given to writers: Start with a bang and you won’t end with a whimper. It’s frequently attributed to the poet TS Eliot, but in fact he didn’t give this guidance; he attributed it to an ending, not a beginning, at the close of his
From the blurb: When JaceJardine is asked to return to his family’s island resort after years spent in the city, he knows Wedding Belles Resort must be struggling, but when he arrives he finds the business on the brink of financial ruin. The solution? A big wedding and happy marriage
The phrase ‘dream of being a writer’ is a common one that dates back a long way. Remember Josephine March in Louisa May Alcott’s 19th-century Little Women series? She ‘dreamt of being a writer’. But what exactly does that mean? What is the dream exactly? Once upon a time –
Reading is often assumed to be a quiet, sedentary, solitary pursuit. If you want it to be that – if you want some peace, a sit-down, a break from socialising with others – then reading can certainly be an activity for you and you alone. But in fact, reading has
The idea that the conventional book store is in trouble needs no introduction. Digital publishing, book discounting by giants like Amazon, the shift from high-street shopping to online shopping: these, and other reasons, have seen many book stores close in the past few years. Those that soldier on are forced
Coffee. In the 15th century it was first brewed in Yemen. In the 16th century the drink had spread to the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey and northern Africa. Then came Italy, and it that took coffee and made it the drink of today, perfecting the espresso on which most drinks
From the blurb: Falling in love is just not on Nora King’s To Do List… Neither is accidentally super-gluing her shoe to her hand right before the biggest presentation of her life! With all the hard work she’d put into securing the family business after her father’s death, Nora has
Another week, another Amazon development! This time, it’s the new Kindle Scout. Here’s how the process works: Authors (US only) submit their complete manuscript of at least 50,000 words (only the first 5,000 words are visible to readers). The manuscript must be unpublished in any format. They also supply a
Happy Halloween! What are you doing today to mark All Hallows’ Eve? Are you dressing up in a goulish costume? Carving a pumpkin? Taking children to trick or treat? I wonder – how much do you know about why we do these things? Here’s some background on Halloween customs and
On very few facts do academics agree, but here is one: reading books is good for you. Countless studies have shown the many benefits of reading, from improving communication skills, organisational ability and concentration, to relieving stress and opening up the imagination. And how many studies have found a downside
My novel The Echoes of Love opens in Venice, and so naturally descriptions of gondolas such as this one feature from time in time when I’m setting a scene: A couple of gondolas, their great steel blades looming dangerously out of the soft velvety mist, glided by swiftly over the gently
From the blurb: When an unhappy youth leaves him damaged, will Teddy Mckee be able to find love? “Teddy Passmore McKee was born in Cork, Ireland, with a limp and a chip on his shoulder that threw his balance off all the more.” When he falls in love with the
Since the dawn of the digital books, a battle has raged on pricing, between those who price high and those who price low: High: The publishers lead this camp, because of course they want maximum profit on a book sale. Never mind that the publication hasn’t included the costs of
This week, I was surprised to find a delivery man at my door at 8.50 p.m. on a Sunday evening. He was from Amazon, bringing a book I’d ordered. When I expressed surprise at the hour, he told me they now delivered until 9 p.m. every day of the week.
Venice is known for many things in the cultural world: architecture, music, literature, the classic Commedia dell’arte. But for me, the most striking and beautiful of all the city’s gifts to culture is Murano glass, made exclusively on the islands of that name since the 13th century and wildly popular
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
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