For those who might not know, Alderney is a small island in The English Channel. Last week, I boarded a tiny plane that flew from Southampton to this outpost of The Channel Islands to participate in a unique literary festival. Getting there was an unusual experience- for me at least. I am a novice who has never been to the … Read More
January and February 2015
After a book launch in Bicester, Oxfordshire, on 11th December for The Swan-Daughter, we flew Greece again. We spent a wonderful if very chilly Christmas period in The Stone House we rent in the Greek Mani. Those who follow me on Twitter will have seen the photographs. I worked on The Betrothed Sister relentlessly, almost every day during December including … Read More
Discovering Padua, Venice and Verona in Winter
Venice on a chill January day with blue skies and sunshine is a pleasanter experience than Venice in mid-summer when it is crowded, hot and smelly. January is when Venice is reclaimed by Venetians for Venetians and a tourist presence is minimal. Yet, undeniably we were tourists, albeit returning from Christmas and New Year in Greece by driving through Europe. … Read More
Great Reads from 2014
Without doubt my greatest love, second maybe to writing novels, is reading books. During 2014 I read many great novels, a variety of genres and styles, some of which were published before 2014. Here I collect together a selection of my favourite reads of this year. The Vanishing Witch by Karen Maitland I admire Karen Maitland’s approach to the historical … Read More
Was Waterloo entirely a British Victory?
Waterloo is a much written about battle. My great, great grandfather’s regiment, The Scot’s Greys, fought at Waterloo. Author Tom Williams has written a guest blog about how he is researching the battle for his new novel in his historical adventure series His Majesty’s Confidential Agent. Tom’s novels are set against the meticulously researched background of the Napoleonic Wars. Burke, … Read More
Revisiting Battle Abbey 1066/ 2014
Early this month I revisited Battle Abbey for the first re enactment of the Battle of Hastings in several years. It was a superb event and it made me wonder why I am so fascinated by battles and why I am writing a trilogy about the noble women of the Norman Conquest and how they survived 1066. I studied both … Read More
St Nicholas, a Greek Byzantine Church at Chora
Many of the Byzantine churches in the Greek Mani were built during the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries. Over the past two years I have visited so many of these in villages in the Taygetos Mountains that I cannot even remember all their names. However, the icons and frescoes they contain are fascinating and tell familiar stories. It interests me … Read More
August and September
I think the best way to post about August into September is to deliver a small picture gallery. These two months have been really busy. Between 2nd of August and 13th September more writers have been staying in my house here in Greece. As a consequence, we have been sight-seeing and writing, eating fresh food, swimming and more writing. Despite … Read More
The Swan’s Song in Medieval Literature
Swans feature as an image in both The Handfasted Wife and in The Swan-Daughter, novels set at the time of The Norman Conquest of the eleventh century. Edith Swan-Neck, the protagonist of The Handfasted Wife allegedly possessed an elegant swan-like neck and white skin. This was considered a sign of great beauty during this period. Her daughter Gunnhild, the heroine … Read More
Legends and History- Tristram and Iseult and Robin Hood
The Swan-Daughter, the second novel in The Daughters of Hastings series was published in July as an e book by Accent Press and it will be published on 11th December as a paperback. The Swan-Daughter is the story of King Harold’s youngest daughter, Gunnhild. I write about her here. Her story is very romantic and like her mother, Edith Swan-Neck’s … Read More