Return to the Riviera 2022

The southern coasts of France and Spain have been the sunny settings for three of my novels. I have transported my heroines there, and visited in my imagination, but have been unable to actually go there since the onset of the pandemic. So, it was especially exciting to be able to pop into some of my favourite haunts, and even discover some new places, on a wonderful two-week Mediterranean cruise this Autumn.

After a remarkably uneventful crossing of the notorious Bay of Biscay, it was great to rediscover Malaga on a sunny Sunday with lots of families just sauntering along a paseo by the sea. My character Reen in The Girl Who Used To Be Me, would have loved the colourful clothes and would have no doubt spotted the flamingo bag, as I did. She would also have been delighted by the misty outline of Gibraltar looming majestically out of the sea. She loves pointing it out to visitors from the balcony of her Villa in Marbella. Of course, we had to have a little drinkipoos in her honour as we sailed past the famous rock.

We celebrated the South of France too. Sophie from Secrets of the Château and Annie in Love, Lies and Café au Lait would have been familiar with the jet-setty world of sophisticated Monaco…even if they wouldn’t quite belong in such a mega-rich world. They both would have felt more at home in Marseilles with its vibrant quayside cafes.

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Two new places for me to explore were the historic Spanish cities of Cartagena and Valencia. Wonderful old towns with statues, sculptures and ancient walls.

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Our final port of call was one of my favourites…the sunny sparkly city of La Corunna with its glistening facades of windows that have been welcoming home sailors for many years. A great place to explore with its spacious squares and labyrinthine streets.

Totally reinvigorated, recharged and with the imagination rekindled, I am now afire to write my next novel…and yes, once again, it is set in the lands of the sunny Mediterranean.