A holiday in Switzerland… that was something I’d never experienced when I arrived at Basle Airport on a cold January afternoon in the 1980s. That day, I was all set to work for a year, see something of Europe, learn a new language – and then go home to Scotland. My year turned into decades, and ‘home’ is now this particular corner of N.E. Switzerland.

So I could well imagine what it would be like for Stacy and Emily, the main characters in Saving the Lakeside Hotel. I knew what they’d want to do and see, and I was able to use a lot of my own experiences as the two of them battle with transport and various tourist problems. I knew what it would be like for Rico, the other main character, who lives in a hotel. No, I don’t live in a hotel, but there’s one (literally) next door.

The book is ready for release now, and I’m hoping to have it out later this week without any of the problems my crime fiction publisher had with The Un-Family. Those were no one’s fault, but it did make for a stressful publication week – cross your fingers we have more of a feel-good release this time. In the spirit of hoping for the best while preparing for the worst, there won’t be a pre-order on this one, which means I can’t control the exact day of release. It will appear as if by magic one day, and I’ll put out a blog post with details of a very time-limited special offer, so watch out for that – and wish me luck!

I’ll leave you with a couple of photos I took at the Botanical Garden in nearby St Gallen this week. Maybe later in the series, Stacy, Emily and Rico can go there too…

Meanwhile, if you fancy some feel-good fiction while we’re waiting for Saving the Lakeside Hotel to come out, why not try my short stories in The Saturday Secret? They’re all ex-magazine stories, set in the UK and definitely feel-good! (and only 99p, just sayin’…)