From the blurb: Monica Mann has made it her life’s work to save lives. After an earthquake and tsunami hit the shores of Jamaica, she volunteers her trauma skills with Borderless Nurses. Calculating and methodical, Monica creates order out of whatever chaos she finds. Until she finds the perpetually barefoot,
A love poem a day for the woman you adore – what can be more romantic? This was the gift of Italian writer Petrarca: 366 sonnets penned way back in the fourteenth century, later collected into the Rime in vita e morte di Madonna Laura – Petrarch’s Sonnets. Francesco Petrarca was
I love Italian food – eating it, but most of all cooking it. To get me in the mood while writing my Italian-set The Echoes of Love, Italian was often on the menu at home. For me, cooking Italian doesn’t just mean throwing some dried fusilli pasta in a saucepan,
This was the question posed by Mslexia writing magazine in its most recent reader survey. Author Terry Pratchett famously wrote: ‘There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write.’ But of the 1,904 women writers who took part in the survey, four
Dear Margaret, We regret to inform you that your husband is missing in action… Dear Mother, Finally, I can write the words: Born this morning, a beautiful baby girl… Dear John, I’m sorry but I just can’t do this anymore… Dear Grannie, Did I leave my spectacles at your house?
When I’m writing a novel, I like to immerse myself so far as is possible in the culture and time in which the story is set. For my most recently published novel, The Echoes of Love, that meant enjoying Italian culture – watching films, reading books and listening to music
In this season’s issue of The Author, Tobia Jones shares an interesting article entitled ‘Italy: Real and Imagined’, in which he explains that ‘[a]nyone who writes about Italy has a battle on their hands to avoid “italianity”, the cult of Italian myths and clichés’. He goes on to explore in
Visitors and residents of Scotland are to be envied by book lovers worldwide: a creative collaboration there has come up with a fantastic application for smartphones and tablets that marries, on the one hand, authors and books with, on the other, locations and themes. So, wherever you are in the
From the blurb: Texas playboy, Ty Vincent, heir to the Vincent Oil fortune needs a short-term wife to convince his grandfather and the Board of Directors that he’s changing his ways so they’ll name him CEO. Ditching an environmental conference in Atlanta to play in Reno, Ty suffers razor-sharp chest
It’s 1980, and you’re reading a novel set in a futuristic world that is astonishingly different to the world as you know it. For one thing, in this futuristic world books don’t exist in a physical format; all books are digital, read on various computer devices. Clearly, the book you’re
One of the finest examples of architecture in Venice is the Palazzo Barbaro, two adjoined palaces in San Marco, Venice, on the Grand Canal, near the Ponte dell’Accademia. One palace is in the Venetian Gothic style, influenced by Byzantine and Moorish architecture, and it dates back to 1425, when it was crafted
Recently, I visited a luminarium built by the visionary Architects of Air: an enormous inflatable sculpture one can enter to, as the makers put it, ‘be moved to a sense of wonder at the beauty of light and colour’. It was amazing. The luminarium got me thinking about the role
I write fiction for adults, but that doesn’t for a moment mean I don’t appreciate children’s fiction as well. Classic children’s books: Take me back to my roots: My love for books – for reading and writing – began in early childhood. Such adventures I had between the covers of
Are you familiar with TED? It defines itself as ‘a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks’. Its mission statement is as follows: TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. We
I was born in Alexandria, Egypt, where the language predominantly spokenis Arabic. So I learnt to speak Arabic. My school was run by French nuns, my parents were fluent in French, and my governess was half-French. So I learnt to speak French. My parents were well-educated and well-read, and they
What better recipe for a romance novelist to try than one for a delicious Italian sweet treat called ‘Lady’s Kisses’? American readers may spot a striking resemblance between these and the US-originating whoopie pies. For both one element is key: the filling! And any biscuits sandwiched with chocolate are bound
Did you know that the practice of firewalking – walking barefoot over a bed of hot coals – dates back many thousands of years? Cultures all over the world have incorporated firewalking into rituals that relate to proving one’s valour and strength. My new book, Aphrodite’s Tears, is set on
In the 16th century, French poet Joachim du Bellay travelled to Italy. He was most keen to live in this country, the birthplace of the Renaissance and the great Roman Empire. Yet he found he did not fall in love with Italy (though he fell in love with an Italian lady,
Dear reader, I have been looking forward to this day for so many months, ever since the idea walked into my mind of writing a love story set in the Greek islands… … At last, my new novel Aphrodite’s Tears is published! Here is a glimpse of what you can
In my new novel, Aphrodite’s Tears, the heroine Oriel is hired to work on an archaeological site on the island of Helios. As she approaches the island by plane, this is her first impression: Standing out with breathtaking detail in the dazzling afternoon sunlight, like a primitive red-and-green sculpture arising
‘[T]he age of chivalry is on its way out.’ So opens a recent article published on the website of the Guardian newspaper. Of course, given that I am a romance novelist, this declaration piqued my interest. The article (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jan/11/lovable-or-rogue-britons-admit-confusion-about-romantic-gestures) summarises the results of a recent survey carried out by long-standing
The heroine of my new novel, Aphrodite’s Tears, is an archaeologist, passionate about unearthing the treasures of past civilisations and studying them to bring meaning to modern times. At the start of the book Oriel takes on a new commission: to travel to the Greek island of Helios and join
Chastity. It is a word that is synonymous with virtue and with purity (it is derived from the Latin word castus, which means ‘pure’). For centuries, chastity has been held in high regard, especially by the Church. So it must follow, naturally, that being chaste is a good and admirable
When I was in my early twenties, I visited a fortune teller. I entered her room sceptical; I left it… intrigued. To this day, this intrigue permeates my stories, in the form a soothsayer character in each novel who attempts to guide the heroine on her path in life. These
Subscribe to my mailing list. I promise: no spam, only valuable information.