Thank you so much for the early proof, we have loved all your books, but this one is particularly evocative and gripping, and we love the cover, it’s absolutely beautiful! The Secret Shore is such a powerful and moving novel, what inspired you to focus on wartime mapmakers? I’d known about the SOE (Special Operations Executive) base on the Helford River almost from my first visit in 1989. When I was writing A Cornish Stranger in 2013 I thought I was going to write then about the secret flotillas but it wasn’t right for that story and so I filed...
Welcome to My Creative Notebook, I’ve always been fascinated by the creative process and believe that everyone has their own personal collection of skills and abilities, which just needs time and encouragement to develop.
Finding the time and space to be creative is vital to sustain creativity, one of the most important actions in any day is to seize the moments which sometimes occur when you least expect it; to simply stand and stare, to be inspired by a beautiful view, hear a bird singing, or to watch your family laughing together. Treasure these moments; they form the rich tapestry of living in a creative way.
There are so many amazing sources of inspiration and I hope in this space to share ideas, thoughts, words, books, resources, art, photography, events and interviews, which I hope you will enjoy and find inspiring.
Despite this space being rooted in technology, I see My Creative Notebook as a starting point from which to go and do things!
Three Nights in Italy – Olivia Beirne
THREE WOMEN. ONE SECRET. AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY.
Zoe always knew this day would come. After all, no one can live for ever. She may not be ready, but Zoe knows the importance of goodbye - and how much it hurts when left unsaid - so it's time to return to her grandmother's home in Italy one last time. Even if that means deceiving her mum, Ange.
Thirty Days in Paris – Veronica Henry
Because Paris is always a good idea..
Years ago, Juliet left a little piece of her heart in Paris - and now, separated from her husband and with her children flying the nest, it's time to get it back!
The Boathouse by Stepping Stone Bay – Helen Rolfe
As a kid, Nina O'Brien spent all her summers at her grandparents' cabin by the beach at Stepping Stone Bay. Long, sunny days full of fun and laughter with her best friends, Leo, Adrian, and Maeve, her friendship with Leo slowly blossoming into love. Until one fateful night changed everything for them all...
One Enchanted Evening – Katie Fforde
Ever since she can remember, Meg has wanted to be a professional cook.
But it's 1964, and in restaurant kitchens all over England it is still a man's world.
Then she gets a call from her mother who is running a small hotel in Dorset.
There's an important banqueting event coming up. She needs help and she needs it now!
The Vintage Shop of Second Chances – Libby Page
Among the cobbled streets of the Somerset town of Frome, Lou is embarking on the start of something new. After the death of her beloved mother, she takes a deep breath into the unknown and is opening her own vintage clothes shop.
Interview with Libby Page – Author of The Vintage Shop of Second Chances
I have a background in fashion and have always been particularly interested in the stories behind vintage clothes - all the memories associated with a special dress, for example. That was the starting point for this book which focuses on one very yellow vintage dress and the three women whose lives are brought together and altered forever by its history.
All My Love – Miranda Dickinson
Description: Sometimes love can be staring you in the face . . . and you don’t even know it By day, Archie works tirelessly as assistant to the editor of a local newspaper. By night, Esther works after hours cleaning the rows of office desks with the help of her trusty sidekick, Fred the trolley. Their paths have never crossed, until one discarded Post-it note unexpectedly brings them together. Because they share one thing in common . . . they’re both secretly in love with someone else. And they might just be the two people who can help each other find the courage...
A Snowfall by the Sea – Isla Gordon
Description: Cleo loves winter in Wavebreak Bay. The tourists leave as the temperatures drop, the fairy lights go up and it really starts to feel like home again. It also happens to be the time of year that her best friend Eliot comes back from San Francisco. Though the seasons change, not much else in Cleo’s life does. She’s in a people-pleasing rut taking the worst shifts at the family restaurant, pet-sitting for her parents and making little time for herself. Cleo has spent so long thinking about everyone around her that she’s lost sight of what she wants. And she wants Eliot. And she’s...
The Christmas Holiday – Phillipa Ashley
Description: She’s planned the perfect Christmas. But fate might have other ideas… Krystle didn’t have a normal childhood and longed for warm family Christmases with presents under the tree. Now she makes sure everyone else has the perfect Christmas she never had, bringing beautiful decorations to cheer as many people as possible. With her festive business booming, she decides to celebrate by renting a secluded house in the Lakes, with a plan to make this the ultimate yuletide getaway. But fate immediately throws a spanner in the works in the form of a broken-down car, a flooded river and Max; a man who...