Favourite Parisian haunts: the cafés where history was made
‘Two cafés with long and prominent histories, Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots in Paris: inspirational, fascinating and a chance to brush shoulders with the ghosts of the greats…’
Category: Photos
Pan de Cádiz: a recipe for your seasonal preparations
Are you thinking about Christmas yet? Are you getting in the mood for feasting and merriment? No doubt if you’ve been to a supermarket recently
On writing of love that lasts
Have you seen the recent theatrical trailer for the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? In the trailer, author J.K. Rowling explains how
Finding inspiration at the San Sebastián Castle, Cadiz
I love the city of Cadiz, Andalucía, that ‘lively and luminous’ city known as ‘the Bride of the Sea’, so much so that I set
An algorithm that predicts bestsellers?
In the past few weeks a non-fiction book has taken the publishing world by storm: The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel. Written by
Paella: Preserving a national dish
If there is one thing I know about the Spanish – having visited their beautiful country many times and set my most recent fictional works,
Thoughts on the exposure of Elena Ferrante
In the past week, book news has been dominated by a single story: that of the unmasking of notoriously private Italian author Elena Ferrante. In
Cadiz cathedral: ‘the ship of souls’
‘A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.’ So said one of my favourite
A soul bared: The flamenco guitarist
In my new book, Legacy, the male protagonist Ruy is of mixed heritage – he is part gentleman, part gypsy. His gypsy roots are very
Writing conventions: bridging between the old and the new
Any seasoned writer will tell you that writing ‘rules’ abound. Over the past hundred years or so, it has become de vogue for renowned writers
Is there a right speed for writing?
Did you know that it took Victor Hugo 12 years to write Les Misèrables, and Margaret Mitchell toiled over Gone with the Wind for an
Believing in fate, honouring the Fates
In my latest novel Legacy, the male protagonist, Ruy, is a man faced with two legacies: that of his mother, Luz, who is descended from
The fascination with a writer’s routine
Since I started publishing my romance fiction, I have lost track of how many times people have asked me about my process: just how exactly
Love is… discovery
Do you remember the comic strip series ‘Love is…’ by cartoonist Kim Casali? For a time, in the 1970s and 1980s, this ‘brand’ was everywhere
What’s in a name? On naming my ‘Moon Queen’ heroine
Choosing a name for the heroine of a novel is, for me, one of the most fun parts of the writing – but also one
Career matters… when it comes to romance
Careers are at the heart of my new novel Legacy. The hero, Dr Rodrigo Rueda de Calderón (Ruy), is a doctor who has set up
Should we unearth ‘lost’ books, or leave them well alone?
The lost manuscript has long been a source of fascination for readers and for writers. When an author’s work is beloved, there is an insatiable
Shaping the ‘meet cute’ in Legacy
No doubt you’re familiar with the movie screenwriting term ‘meet cute’. It originated in the 1940s, when romantic comedies incorporated attention-grabbing and amusing scenes for
Should an author today fuse storytelling with style?
Did you watch any of the Olympics coverage? I did: I find the athletes very inspiring. They work tirelessly, they make sacrifices, they push themselves
All the world’s a stage: a Shakespearean echo in Legacy
Have you ever had a melody, or a line of poetry, or a quotation stuck in your mind? It happens to me quite often, especially
Memories of St James’ Day in Santiago de Compostela
As a young woman – after my university degree and before I met my husband and settled down in England – I travelled extensively through
Suited and booted: the allure of business style
Reader of my novels will know that I love style. This often comes across in how I dress my heroines, but of course how the
‘Everything you can imagine is real’
Last week in the UK, in the county of Devon on the south-west coast, a single name echoed on the breeze: ‘Flaviu’. The county’s attention
The benefits of ‘deep reading’
Most people are aware that reading is a Good Thing: for knowledge-building, for intelligence, for empathy, for wellbeing even (see my post ‘Want to feel
The ‘gypsy’ skirt, and what it represents
Back in 2005, the Global Language Monitor, an organisation that analyses trends in word usage and their impact on culture, sent out an alert entitled
The modern preoccupation with courtship in romance novels
Having read the title of this blog post, you may be thinking: Modern and courtship? Now there are two words that don’t belong together. True,
Hannah Fielding Fashion: Affordable-chic totes
Hannah says: You needn’t pay the earth for your funky summer tote… Did you know that the first tote bag was designed in 1944 by
The appeal of a devilish man
In my novel Masquerade, book two of the Andalusian Nights trilogy, the heroine Luz is maddeningly attracted to her new employer, Andrès. I say ‘maddeningly’,
10 things I love about Andalusia
In my lifetime, I have been fortunate enough to travel to all manner of places around the globe. I have liked many, and loved a
Fusing fairy tale with fashion
Earlier this week I blogged about how high heels can infuse a woman with a sense of style and confidence. While researching the book, I