Nautical inspiration
There is much traffic in the bay of St Tropez in the summer, and it was one of these liners passing by my window all lit up one night that inspired the opening lines of Burning Embers.
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Crowdfunded novels: the future, or a step too far?
Here’s how publishing has worked since its inception: Author writes book. Author publishes book (him-/herself or via a publisher). Readers buy book. (Hopefully!) Author makes profit on books sold. But a new route is emerging in the publishing industry that looks like this: Author writes book. Author asks readers to
Humour in quotations
I was most intrigued by a recent article in the Guardian on humorous quotations (‘Jane Austen tops humour league for Oxford dictionary compiler’). Gyles Brandreth is the complier of the Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (what a great idea for a book!) and he selected as the funniest quote in
‘Thoughts on the Venice Biennale’
Readers who enjoyed my recent posts on the Venice Biennale (‘A peek into the world of my upcoming novel: www.hannahfielding.net/?p=2721 and www.hannahfielding.net/?p=2750), will enjoy this article by artist Ana Tzarev: ‘Thoughts on the Venice Biennale’. The photos of artworks alone make this article worth a look – such colour and
Fruit crumble: The ultimate autumn recipe
The very thought of autumn makes my taste-buds fire up. Salads slowly make way for hearty soups, delicately light mousses for warming fruit pies. For me, autumn is all about the harvest – a wonderful crop of delicious fruits and vegetables: apples, blackberries, butternut squash, leeks, parsnips, pears, pumpkins… the
The business of publishing romance: Some facts and figures
There are some who turn their nose up a little at romance novels, claiming that they aren’t sufficiently high-brow or literary. I’d have a little more sympathy for this point of view if it was shared by the majority; if romance novels were, like literary fiction, a small section of
A rose by any other name…
Roses and honeysuckle in my garden in Kent this summer. The fragrance passing by is out of this world.
Les Voiles de St Tropez: A day out at the St Tropez Regatta
Where I live in the south of France, my nearest major town is St Tropez. No doubt you’ve heard of it. Once, it was little more than a quaint fishing village, but after World War Two, it became an internationally famous seaside resort on the coast that came to be
The untold story of ‘the other woman’
My novel, Burning Embers, tells the love story of Rafe, an entrepreneur, and Coral, a photographer, in the heat and passion of Kenya. It would be easy to assume that my favourite character in the book is my heroine, the feisty Coral, or the handsome alpha male hero, Rafe. But
Win a copy of my novel in the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop
I’m delighted to be participating in the wonderful I Am a Reader, Not a Writer’s 4th Annual Spooktacular Giveaway Hop. I’m giving away one paperback copy of my novel, Burning Embers – smouldering romance to warm your cockles as autumn sets in. Entries are welcome internationally. To win, simply comment
Pen and paper versus word processing: Which creates the best book?
When I first started writing, I wasn’t even out of knee-high-socks, and there was no means of writing open to me but the traditional pen (or pencil) and paper. Even now, I can hear the scratch of the writing implement on paper and smell the fresh ink, and these sensory
Book review: I Only Have Eyes for You by Bella Andre
From the blurb: The sweetest temptation… Sophie Sullivan fell head over heels for Jake McCann at the age of five. Twenty years later, the notorious bad boy still sees her as the “nice” Sullivan twin. When they both get caught up in the magic of the first Sullivan wedding, she
Another Romeo and Juliet movie? Swoon or sigh?
A new British film adaption of Romeo and Juliet opens in cinemas in the UK and the US on 11 October: Will you go to see it? Are you swept away by the thought of a new interpretation of the romance (which does not stick to Shakespeare’s dialogue)? Are you
Recipe: Kenyan sponge cake (Mkate wa Mayai)
My novel Burning Embers is set in Kenya, and during my research for the book I sampled a range of Kenyan recipes to get a feel for what my characters would eat. Here’s a recipe for a sponge cake, traditional to Kenya, that became a firm favourite, because it’s deliciously
Darcy dead? Will you read the new Bridget Jones novel?
If publisher Random House was looking to ramp up publicity for Helen Fielding’s new Bridget Jones novel from sizeable interest to national outrage, it certainly met its objective. For the past few days, romance readers have been in uproar at the somewhat casual delivery, in the Sunday Times magazine, of
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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