About Me

Spending ten years as a journalist was an amazing experience and the four years I’ve spent writing books has been even better. I won’t pretend it’s all hard work when I get to travel the world and do brilliant things, especially now I can take my ‘office’ (laptop, husband and little boy) wherever I go. So that’s what this Blog is about – the places I’ve been, the things I’ve done and how those experiences feed into the books. I’ve always prided myself on having been everywhere I write about; for example, Daddy’s Girls features Mustique, Megeve and Manhattan, and was written in Port Isaac, Cornwall (which is in the opening scene of Gold Diggers). This Blog will hopefully give a bit more insight/detail into what those places and were like and to maybe give you a sneak peek into who and what might be in the next one!

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Kinsale



















Kinsale is so pretty...

Wandering around quirky independent book shops is one of my favourite ways to pass the time - I imagine myself as some character in a romantic adventure who is just about to stumble across some ancient, priceless manuscript. Let me tell you about some of the indie book shops I love.
1. The Kinsale Book-shop. A gem in this pretty coastal Irish town. Straight out of a James Joyce novel
2. Bart's Bookshop - a magical treasure trove of books built around a huge oak tree in the Californian town of Ojai. They call themselves the world's greatest outdoor book-shop. I agree!
3. Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights. Who couldn't love a book-shop with a name like this! This Bath store is just great - particularly the top-floor reading booth where you can bed-in with head-phones, coffee and your favourite tome.
4. Daunt Books. There are a few outposts of this famous book-store but head to their Marylebone branch to feel as if you've stepped back in time to be a character in a Dickens novel.
5. I love Lyme Regis - not just for those French Lieutenant beach moments but for their array of second hand book shops. Try the excellent 'The Bookshop' on Marina Parade by the Cobb or The Sanctuary - on Broad Street which actually offers B&B accomodation to book lovers!