Blog
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Places in – pictures? Or words??
When I was seven or eight, our next-door neighbour – an elderly lady – had an ash tree in her garden, right on the border with ours. Her garden was half-wild, and to my great joy there was no fence between the two properties. Under – and halfway up – that tree became my special…
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From first idea to published book: Bea Davenport and The Misper
Bea Davenport was the first writer I met in real life. Our debut novels were published in 2013, and we did several bookshop and library events together, and then repeated the process with our second novels in 2014. Since then, although our book journeys have diverged, we’ve remained firm friends, and I’m delighted to have…
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2017 – the best of times and the worst of times… (a minimalist’s version)
Another year bites the dust, and like most years, 2017 had its ups and downs. Here are a few of mine: Best decision – turning some of my old magazine stories into a charity anthology for a year. All profits made by The Saturday Secret up until mid-February will go to Doctors without Borders. Worst breakage…
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Christmas Swiss-Style
So what’s the difference? Quite a lot, especially if you believe in the magic of Santa Claus. He doesn’t come to Switzerland, you see. But let’s look at the entire festive season, starting with Advent. (We’ll ignore all the Christmas decs etc shops start putting up in October/November.) The first Christmassy thing in most homes…
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New land…
It’s been months since I joined Instagram. Yesterday, after months of trial, getting cross, error, and giving up, I finally worked out how to get pics onto my account. You have to use your mobile phone. For someone hopelessly devoted to larger machines – desktop or laptop or even netbook; I’m not fussy – this…
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Feel-good fiction for Doctors without Borders… special offer!
It feels like a long time ago since February, when my charity anthology, The Saturday Secret came out, published by Fabrian Books. 2017 profits from this book are going to Doctors without Borders, who do excellent work where it’s needed most. Last spring, I sent the first Fr.200.- off, and since then the money’s been…
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Spooky old house revisited…
Back in the nineties, I spent a week with a friend who had just moved to Biddenham. It’s a good area for a visit from Switzerland – Bedford just a hop down the road, and Cambridge and London less than an hour away. I made the most of my UK shopping and culture week. One…
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An old book and some new/old friends…
I was in England over the weekend – a flying visit from Zürich Airport to London Luton, and it was my first-ever Easy Jet flight. I was pleasantly surprised – my knees didn’t touch the seat in front, there was an empty place beside me both ways, and we took off and landed punctually. From…
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The Case of the Missing Bride…
…is the intriguing title of Carmen Radke’s historical mystery novel. I read the start in the Amazon ‘Look Inside’ feature, and was instantly hooked. A group of young Australian women, en route for a better life in America, are hidden on board a ship – and one of them goes missing… It was a fabulous…
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Tiramisu – best recipe ever…
We eat to live in this flat. Even though I’m glued to the set this time every year, watching The Great British Bake Off, I’ve never been a fan of standing for hours in the kitchen, and the characters in my books are more likely to make spag or order in pizza than cook anything…
Got any book recommendations?