Blog

The inspiration for my new novel, The Uninvited Guest The inspiration for this novel came from hearing a radio phone-in about hen parties. My ears pricked up instantly because I’m fascinated by the way hen parties have changed from having a few friends down the pub or...

The Secrets of the Rose – Research and Inspiration Like so many of my books, The Secrets of the Rose started with a place, and an inspiring woman from the footnotes of history. The most famous historical heroine associated with Bamburgh is Grace Darling, the...

The inspiration behind The Perfect Mother Two years ago I was scrolling online when I happened to fall down a free-birth rabbit hole. I can’t even remember what brought me to a story of a woman in the US who had opted to shy away from medicalised pre-natal care and...

The Paris Bookshop for the Broken-Hearted by Rebecca Raisin is out now 📖🇫🇷✨ When I took a solitary trip to Paris, I had a lot of time to people-watch and soak up my surroundings without the usual cacophony of my own family by my side. I’d wander the wind-swept...

Local History: The Cambridgeshire Sand Pits in Family Matters on Blackberry Farm Along the Mepal to Chatteris Road in Cambridgeshire there have been sand and gravel pits, which at certain times, when building is at full capacity and in great demand, means the contents...

Tuscany and Wine  The latest in the Armstrong and Oscar cozy mystery series is called Murder in the Tuscan Hills. No prizes for guessing where it’s set, the clue’s in the name. Anybody who has visited or seen photos of Tuscany will be familiar with the wonderful...

A Thames barge being flat bottomed could sail in rivers and shallow waters that bigger crafts couldn’t. They had no keel but lee boards which could be raised and lowered to give stability when out to sea. They had a vast quantity of rust red sails which when raised...

The Old Girls’ Chateau Escape by Kate Galley is out now 💚 Get your copy! In my mid-twenties I lived opposite a small community theatre and art centre. One day I noticed a sign up outside with the tantalising words Learn Stained Glass in a Day. I thought to myself,...

The Old Girls' Chateau Escape by Kate Galley is out now 💚 Get your copy! When I decided to set The Old Girls’ Chateau Escape in the south of France I spent quite a bit of time researching Aix-en-Provence and the subtle light there that inspired many French...