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From Caravan to AirBnB: A Scottish Adventure
This is Dave standing by our home on wheels. Its has everything we need for five week away. When we were students we used to pack a fishing tent, a blow up mattress and sleeping bags and then head for Italy or Greece. Now we pack the caravan and head north to the land of my fathers. This year our travels will take us along NC500 and over to Orkney. We’ve even bought T-shirts with runic writing on them. Don’t judge us, okay. 🙂
Our biggest problem when being away from home is the garden. Luckily, we have a wonderful neighbour who waters the plants and feeds the birds for us. The day will come when we won’t be able to travel this way due to age and so we’re making the most of it. When that day dawns we’ll sell the van and stay in AirBNBs instead. Which leads me to our next photo . . .
It’s a wee bit mad but . . . we’ll leave our van for a week in a site near Oban and cross over to Mull to stay in this AirBnB. It was the inspiration behind the Airstream featured in my Dark Sky Trilogy – Beag air Bheag – little by little. The hero in my novels is suffering from PTSD as a result injured when serving in Afghanistan. He’s retired to his parents Highland estate to recover and there he meets my heroine, Halley Dunbar, an astrophysicist. I can’t tell you what a thrill it was to actually stay somewhere I’d only seen in photos on the web. This year, we’re staying there for a whole week. People ask us if we’re bothered by the midges, the answer is no. In the garden there ia a midge exterminator which emits carbon dioxide which, in turn, attracts the midges and then exterminates them. We cover ourselves in Avon’s Skin So Soft. Works for the SAS and us (!)
I don’t want to make this a long post as I’m experimenting with using Jetpack on my MacBook to post. I gave up blogging because I was fed up using WordPress on my desktop and nothing seeming to work. It remains to be seen if I stick with this method. So far, so good. I’m not doing anything fancy, just writing it like a newsletter.
Well, I didn’t think that would work !! But it did. This is an image I made using the free “Grok” app and it shows the heroine and hero from my Dark Sky trilogy. Tor is an Afghan war veteran and Halley is an astrophysicist. They meet when Halley returns to Scotland to organise her great-uncle’s funeral and bumps in to Tor, quite literally, on a moonlit beach and knocks him out cold. They are perfect for each other but they don’t know that in the beginning but – as we find out – their love really was written in the stars.
I’ll finish this blog post by sharing my six Scottish romances. I hope you will take a chance on me and download one of them, here – viewAuthor.at/LizzieLamb
Hallowe’en or Samhain ?
I used to love Hallowe’en, decorating the outside of the house with cobwebs, lanterns etc and getting the sweets and treats ready for the children who rang the bell shouting: trick or treat. That custom fell out of favour during Covid as I didn’t open the door to any unexpected guests. Yesterday, I was searching through a carved pine settle in the hall and discovered a tin of ‘filling puller’ sweets I’d stowed away in 2019 – the last time I handed out sweets to the neighbourhood kids. In those days we embraced the tradition wholeheartedly until, usually around about seven o’clock, the children of primary school age (accompanied by their parents or older siblings) stopped calling. At that point, deciding enough was enough, we drew the curtains and stopped answering the doorbell. Let’s face it, no one wants a group of teenagers standing on your doorstep on a dark autumn night demanding sweets with menaces, Right?
Hallowe’en was not invented in America, the tradition goes back much further. Many believe that emigrating Scots and Irish took the tradition to America with them. There it was adapted and changed into ‘trick or treat’, shipped back to the UK and merged with local traditions to create the Hallowe’en festival we know today. What I’d like to do is tell you about some of the Hallowe’en traditions I remember growing up in Scotland . . . who knows, you might recognise some of them.
Traditionally, Scottish children would go “guising” around their local neighbourhood wearing scary or outrageous costumes. Pretending to be evil spirits, they would disguise themselves and remain undetected by other wandering spirits they believed would cause them harm. Guisers would perform tricks or songs, and so were given gifts to help ward off evil. The origin of trick or treating, perhaps?
In Scotland, turnip heads would be carved into scary faces to make lanterns and lit to keep ghosts at bay. That tradition faded away, replaced by pumpkins which are more readily available these days and much easier to carve. There are many PYO pumpkin farms around where I live and it provides a popular weekend activity for families.
The ancient Celts were a blood thirsty lot and liked nothing more than decapitating their enemies and displaying their heads as trophies. The tradition of ‘apple dooking’ where children grab an apple out of a basin of water using their teeth is thought to hark back to this bloodthirsty tradition. Nowadays you are more likely to be given a toffee apple as a trophy.
Just to prove that you’re never too old to have fun, here are some photos from a Hallowe’en party hosted by friend and fellow author Adrienne Vaughan a few years ago. Some very dodgy characters turned out that night including Dracula. Although I don’t look too worried about being bitten on the neck. The other ‘weird sister’ in the fourth photo is June Kearns who writes fabulous books.
I know that Hallowe’en is all about fun and trying to pronouce Samain correctly – however, I’d like to share my own spooky story which happened many years ago when I was a teenager. Recently I reminded my sister Phyllis about it and she remembers it exactly as I do – here’s the link the post.
And . . . finally. My novel Girl in the Castle which features a haunted castle on a Scottish loch, family tragedy and a lost Jacobite treasure will be available to download over the weekend for 99p – so catch it while you can.
You can read the first few chapters FREE by following this link
I would love to hear your Hallowe’en experiences, spooky or otherwise so please leave a comment below. I always respond 🙂
The Ultimate Itinerary for a Scottish Road Trip
Our five week research trip to Scotland
Part One – Leicester – Strathclyde
In the past, when we travelled to Scotland with the caravan, we left Leicester at 4 AM to pass through the M6 Toll Road and take advantage of the preferential rate negotiated by the Caravan and Motorhome Club. Sadly, those days have gone, and it now costs sixteen pounds to travel on the toll road. The toll is now fully automated, so with a quick flick of the debit card, we were on to our first stop – Tebay Services, Westmorland. We were eager to hit the road because Storm Floris was waiting for us over the border.
We love stopping at Tebay services (if only for farmshop, cafe and restaurant). It’s rather strange when you first arrive, because the caravan site is almost deserted. However, as evening approaches, it quickly fills up. It reminded us of the time we travelled to Greece (with only a fishing tent to sleep in!) when campers belted through the former Yugoslavia (avoiding Albania) to reach Greece as quickly as possible. In those days there were queues at the bakery and bread and other supplies quickly ran out. It gave us a taste of what life would be like under a communist regime and it wasn’t very appealing. So, next morning, fuelled by a Cumberland sausage cob (!) and a cappoucino we set off to go head-to-head with Storm Floris.
We crossed the border without incident and, as usual, my heart was full as I remembered everything my family (mum, dad, granny, uncle, four kids and an alsatian) left behind when my father moved south in search of work in the sixties. But I didn’t have time to dwell on it because as soon as we were on the M74, Storm Floris made her presence known. Here, the land flattens out and the wind whips across from the west even on a good day. Soon the caravan was being buffeted by gale force winds and Dave slipped into four wheel drive as spray rose from the road making driving difficult.
At this point in the journey I usually recite Young Lochinvar (one of my fav poems) coming “out of the west”, but the driving conditions were so scary I held my wheesht. I’m sure Dave was grateful for that. In fact, the weather was so apalling, that the CAMH warden at Hamilton rang us to ask if we were still intent on camping there. We were told to come straight in and not to wait until 1pm, as was usual. I was grateful to arrive in one piece and told Dave (not for the first time) that he was a hero, even though his cape was packed in an overhead locker along with the spare towels.
The weather eventually calmed down and the caravan was no longer in any danger of aquaplaning across the motorway. We left the ‘bra’ [which protects the large front window from damage] in place as we were moving on the next day and wanted a quick getaway.
The next day, August the 5th, would have been my mother’s 97th birthday and we decided to make a pilgrimage to Craigneuk via Motherwell to visit the house where I was born. Last time we visited, an elderly lady came out and asked if she could help. She brought me up to date on some of the families I’d grown up with. Sadly, she didn’t appear this time, so we took as many photos as we could and returned to the van.
It was quite emotional standing before my old home and remembering growing up in that cul-de-sac. Back in the fifties, children played without adult supervision and pavements were marked with chalk drawings and peever beds. Although the road was now empty I could recall the children who lived there: Wallaces, Smileys, Bunces, Parkes and my many cousins. Along with the other girls I would sit on the back doorstep and write little tales and poems to read back to each other.
Then, one Christmas I was given a Petite typewriter and my writing career began . . .
It seems strange to think that the Ravenscraig Steel works was – quite literally – in our back garden. We never paid it much heed, concentrating instead on renacting the movies we saw in Saturday cinema in each other’s back gardens: The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Rob Roy and my particular favourite The Ghost Goes West. The works were demolished in 1996 and a new town – Ravenscraig, built there instead. On the last evening we visited it, but there were no ghosts waiting for me, nor a sense of what had been.
One of the eponymous Ravenscraig boilers, me as a “wean”and with grannie. Looking down Meadowhead Road and remembering . . .
I hope you’ve enjoyed the first instalment in our five week trip around Scotland; we covered two thousand miles researching #3 in the Dark Skies Trilogy. I daren’t look at the petrol receipts bcause towing a twenty-five foot caravan guzzles up the gas.
Next time, we travel onwards through the Trossachs to Barcaldine near Oban where we stayed in a romantic campsite situated in a Victorian walled garden.
In the meantime, do check out the first two books in the series and my other novels which are FREE to download on kindle unlimited. You can also read them on your kindle or purchase a paperback. Signed copies of the paperbacks are also available; please leave a message in the “comments” and I’ll get back to you.
….and remember – if you’ve enjoyed this post please like/share/reblog and leave a comment
Boot Camp Bride – love, romance and danger on the Norfolk marshes
Boot Camp Bride: A sassy, workplace/enemies-to-lovers rom com guaranteed to make you smile
Hi everyone, I hope your summer is going well and that the sun is shining on you. I’ve been living a mole-like existence in the semi-dark of my study getting on with my writing. By which I mean the last novel in my Dark Skies Trilogy which I hope to bring out next spring. Then, as yu do, I decided that updating the cover of Boot Camp Bride was a good idea – so here it is. Reading the novel again I remembered how much fun I’d had writing it and creating the two main characters: sassy, up-for-anything Charlee Montague and brooding hero Rafa Ffinch.
Read the blurb and, if sounds like your kind of thing, why not download a copy . . .
Take an up-for-anything rookie reporter. Add a world-weary photojournalist. Put them together . . . light the blue touch paper and stand well back!
Posing as a bride-to-be, Charlee Montague goes undercover at a boot camp for brides on the Norfolk coast to photograph supermodel Anastasia Markova. At Charlee’s side and posing as her fiancé, is Rafael Ffinch award winning photographer and survivor of a kidnap attempt in Columbia. He’s in no mood to cut inexperienced Charlee any slack and has made it plain that once the investigation is over, their partnership – and fake engagement – will be terminated, too. Soon Charlee has more questions than answers. What’s the real reason behind Ffinch’s interest in the boot camp? How is it connected to his kidnap in Columbia? In setting out to uncover the truth, Charlee puts herself in danger …
And, as the investigation draws to a close, she wonders if she’ll be able to hand back the family engagement ring and walk away from Rafa Ffinch without a backward glance.
It seems I wasn’t the only who enjoyed Charlee and Rafa’ adventures!
Reviews for Boot Camp Bride
A touch of Sophie Kinsella, a smidgen of Jilly Cooper, yet totally Lizzie Lamb! Adrienne Vaughan
This book is above the average contemporary romance for me – the reason why? It’s intelligent as well as wildly romantic. India
Entertaining with comedic elements throughout, the pace of this well written tale rattles along at a good rate with sexual tension building from the start. Georgia Rose (Vine Voice)
Boot Camp Bride, however, is no straightforward Rom-Com. Ffinch has a sinister past, and hidden agenda. In cold and dark mid-winter, he drives them in his VW Camper Van into danger and menace at the isolated Boot Camp on the edge of the Norfolk marshes. Mags Cullingford
Undeterred by the alpha male, she managed to fight him with wit and stubbornness. Lizzie Lamb’s characters and style of writing sparkle in Boot Camp Bride. This romantic comedy is classic gold: it is the equivalent of comfort food and a good night out with friends. Lady Bracknell
Boot Camp Bride is a well written and very amusing romance novel which would be ideal for a holiday read or a long winter night in front of the fire. Catherine
As I mentioned at the start of this blog I am currently writing the third book in my Dark Skies Trilogy and where better to write it than Scotland? We’ll be heading north soon and if that doesn’t inspire me to finish the novel, nothing will. In the meantime, why not check out the first two books in the series? All my books are available as paperback which make ideal gifts.
Finally, I hope everyone has a great summer and look forward to touching base with you in September when, hopefully, the word count of my next novel will have increased. And, I’ll have lots of fabulous photos to share with you. In the meantime, do check out my other novels which are all available on Amazon and written with love.
Boot Camp Bride – love, romance and danger on the Norfolk marshes
Boot Camp Bride: A sassy, workplace/enemies-to-lovers rom com guaranteed to make you smile
Hi everyone, I hope your summer is going well and that the sun is shining on you. I’ve been living a mole-like existence in the semi-dark of my study getting on with my writing. By which I mean the last novel in my Dark Skies Trilogy which I hope to bring out next spring. Then, as yu do, I decided that updating the cover of Boot Camp Bride was a good idea – so here it is. Reading the novel again I remembered how much fun I’d had writing it and creating the two main characters: sassy, up-for-anything Charlee Montague and brooding hero Rafa Ffinch.
Read the blurb and, if sounds like your kind of thing, why not download a copy . . .
Take an up-for-anything rookie reporter. Add a world-weary photojournalist. Put them together . . . light the blue touch paper and stand well back!
Posing as a bride-to-be, Charlee Montague goes undercover at a boot camp for brides on the Norfolk coast to photograph supermodel Anastasia Markova. At Charlee’s side and posing as her fiancé, is Rafael Ffinch award winning photographer and survivor of a kidnap attempt in Columbia. He’s in no mood to cut inexperienced Charlee any slack and has made it plain that once the investigation is over, their partnership – and fake engagement – will be terminated, too. Soon Charlee has more questions than answers. What’s the real reason behind Ffinch’s interest in the boot camp? How is it connected to his kidnap in Columbia? In setting out to uncover the truth, Charlee puts herself in danger …
And, as the investigation draws to a close, she wonders if she’ll be able to hand back the family engagement ring and walk away from Rafa Ffinch without a backward glance.
It seems I wasn’t the only who enjoyed Charlee and Rafa’ adventures!
Reviews for Boot Camp Bride
A touch of Sophie Kinsella, a smidgen of Jilly Cooper, yet totally Lizzie Lamb! Adrienne Vaughan
This book is above the average contemporary romance for me – the reason why? It’s intelligent as well as wildly romantic. India
Entertaining with comedic elements throughout, the pace of this well written tale rattles along at a good rate with sexual tension building from the start. Georgia Rose (Vine Voice)
Boot Camp Bride, however, is no straightforward Rom-Com. Ffinch has a sinister past, and hidden agenda. In cold and dark mid-winter, he drives them in his VW Camper Van into danger and menace at the isolated Boot Camp on the edge of the Norfolk marshes. Mags Cullingford
Undeterred by the alpha male, she managed to fight him with wit and stubbornness. Lizzie Lamb’s characters and style of writing sparkle in Boot Camp Bride. This romantic comedy is classic gold: it is the equivalent of comfort food and a good night out with friends. Lady Bracknell
Boot Camp Bride is a well written and very amusing romance novel which would be ideal for a holiday read or a long winter night in front of the fire. Catherine
As I mentioned at the start of this blog I am currently writing the third book in my Dark Skies Trilogy and where better to write it than Scotland? We’ll be heading north soon and if that doesn’t inspire me to finish the novel, nothing will. In the meantime, why not check out the first two books in the series? All my books are available as paperback which make ideal gifts.
Finally, I hope everyone has a great summer and look forward to touching base with you in September when, hopefully, the word count of my next novel will have increased. And, I’ll have lots of fabulous photos to share with you. In the meantime, do check out my other novels which are all available on Amazon and written with love.
A Room of One’s Own
My Writing Space: From Promotion to Planning
Growing up, I shared a bedroom with my two sisters.Then, when I went to teacher training college in 1969, I found myself sharing a room with another student. I’ve always wanted my own room; a space in which to write and dream. It wasn’t until I married in 1973 that I was able to achieve this. Our first home was a large three bedroom pallisaded villa and my husband turned the smallest bedroom into a study for me.
Scroll forward a few years to when we were able to take early retirement and pursue our hobbies. Me – writing my first novel, and husband Dave restoring classic cars and metal detecting. (He still hasn’t found the elusive Saxon horde but lives in hope). I live in hope of writing that award winning novel and seeing it made into a movie! Well, a girl can dream, can’t she? My ambition is to have ten novels to my name and I am about to start writing number nine for publication next spring.
My study
I’m old school and call my writing den/office ‘my study’. It has everything I need and more besides, including a mug from the Literary Gift Company bearing Virginia Woolf’s eponimous book: A Room of One’s Own. The room overlooks the garden, has a window into our conservatory straight in front of my desk and, to my left, a shelf which my husband erected so I can spread out papers etc. In the winter, we have a wood-burning stove in the conservatory to keep us warm and in the summer, the doors open directly onto the patio. I sit at an old desk I bought years ago out of the local paper. My chair is new and supports my back. The desk is wide enough to hold my PC, printer, pens and notebooks, etc. I’ve also added a piece of wood over the top right hand desk drawer which provides me with extra space for my diary and in-tray. I have thought of installing a coffee machine but decided that would be a step too far.
Recently, I’ve had a massive clear out and have donated some of my paperbacks to charity shops. You can’t keep everything, right? Some books I can’t bear to part with – my ancient ‘penguins’, Mary Wesley, Jilly Cooper and Georgette Heyer novels; and of course all of my research materials. I figure that one day someone will have to empty my study so I want to make the task easy for them.
Where else do I work ?
When I’m planning the next novel I use post-its and large sheets of A3 paper, I like to work at the dining room table with MacBook, pens, highlighters, etc to hand. Again, it has everything I need, and through the double doors, I can see the sitting room where I can go to relax and watch TV/DVDs and videos for inspiration and research. My current fixation? HIGHLAND COPS ON BBC iPLAYER.
Research, caravanning and holidays
Followers of my blog will know that we try to spend most of the summer caravanning in Scotland. This year will be no exception. Once there I manage to get down to some writing each day using my MacBook Air. I save the manuscript each day on Dropbox and back up on Microsoft. Belt and braces, that’s me.
Recently I bought a keyboard to work alongside my Ipad and that takes up even less space. I do like music in the caravan (when I’m not writing) and take my blue-tooth speaker along to listen to music on Spotify. This summer , I hope to work on the sequel to Winter Star ready for publication in 2026. If you haven’t read Winter Star and the pre-quel Dark Highland Skies you can read an extract on their Amazon page.
Here is one of my favourite reviews – from Sue Baker of Facebook group – Rivetting Reads and Vintage Vibes, who recently organised a Burns’ Night celebration of my books
Well, I guess that about wraps up February’s blog post. Please be sure to follow my blog as over the coming months I will be organising a couple of giveaways . . . signed paperback copies of my novels. Until then, stay warm and look forward to spring.
Happy New Year or, as we say in Scotland . . . lang may yer lum reek
My novel, WINTER STAR IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS, published mid-December, has been well received. It’s a sequel to Dark Highland Skies and continues the love story of Tor and Halley as they prepare for the birth of their first child. I’m happy to say it’s one of my best-selling novels and due to readers’ feedback, I plan to write one last book in the trilogy.
As one of my lovely readers put it: “This is a superbly written story, easy to follow with fine details and explanation which are second to none. You will laugh, cry and sense all the emotions that the characters do in this snow-covered Christmas setting with an ending not to be missed. I’ve learnt so much from Lizzie Lamb’s portrayal of this magical place. As always, it’s best to read both books, but Winter star in the Scottish Highlands can be read as a standalone.”
This is Ballindalloch Castle which I visited a couple of summers ago and which inspired the castle in my book – Creag na h-lolaire, which means Eagles Crag in Gaelic. Everything about it is romantic and if you’re ever in the Trossachs its well worth a visit.
If you would like to know what the novel is about. here’s the blurb
If you’d like to read the opening chapters of Winter Star in the Scottish Highlands FREE, click here
. . . A Winter’s tale to warm your heart from the Queen of Highland Romance Wrap up and snuggle down, this is the perfect winter read, whatever the weather
if you’d like to know what readers thought of Winter Star in the Scottish Highlands – see below –
. . . A captivating and heartwarming sequel to Dark Highland Skies. Fall in love with Halley & Tor and the glorious Scottish Highlands all over again! A Winter Wonderland of love, family feuds and friendship – a gorgeous read
. . . As usual Lizzie Lamb writes a compelling and heart-warming story of love, friendship and at times difficult family relationships, with great characters and a few scheming villains too! Tor is a wonderful hero and Halley is a strong heroine and their love for each other really shines throughout the story.
And, finally, before you go, please consider leaving a rating/review for Winter Star. Short written reviews matter on Amazon and just a few sentences is enough. More importantly, enjoy the story and look out for the last book in the trilogy which I hope to publish at the end of the year.
Bliadhna Mhath Ùr
Happy New Year from Lizzie and her kilted hero
We might be a long way from the highlands but we know how to party.
An extract from the Ghillies’ Ball in Winter Star in the Scottish Highlands –
Lights and music greeted them as they disembarked from the Land Rover and entered the barn, transformed under Lady Strachan’s expert guidance. Industrial-size machines pumped heat into the air of the cathedral-like building, melting the snow on its slate roof. In lieu of seating, straw bales draped in rugs and tartan shawls were arranged around three sides of the barn. As the temperature rose the scent from the bales reminded them of the successful harvest gathered in thanks to unseasonably good weather.
The Ghillies’ Ball was the family’s way of thanking their staff and tenants for their hard work and looking forward to the new year with hope and enthusiasm.
Behind the bales, along the bottom edge of the barn, large trestle tables had been erected and staff, under the critical gaze of Mrs Robinson, were unloading food from catering vans. At the opposite end of the barn on a temporary stage draped with a large saltire, musicians were tuning their instruments in readiness for the ceilidh: bagpipes, snare drums, accordion, fiddle, electric guitar and a small Celtic harp.
Chains of fairy lights, strung along the sides of the barn and as high as staff could safely reach, made everything festive and inviting. Soon folk arrived, stamping their feet to clear their boots of snow, and blowing on frozen hands to ward off chilblains. Arranging their coats over individual bales to reserve their place for the night and exclaiming at the barn’s transformation they greeted friends noisily. Once they’d bagged their spot, they removed outdoor shoes and replaced them with trainers. Or, in the case of the older generation, dancing shoes.
Tor and Halley’s party were as impressed as the other guests at the barn’s makeover and exchanged knowing looks as they recalled discussing the barn’s potential as a wedding venue. Leaving Halley in Lexie and Rowan’s capable hands, Tor walked over to the band to check everything was ready, keen to ensure Halley’s first Ghillies’ Ball would be a night to remember.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this extract from my novel then read a longer sample and maybe even download a copy of the novel. All my other Scottish themed romances are currently priced at 99p/99c.
Summer of Secrets
GUEST BLOG – Adrienne Vaughan
Award winning Author & Poet
Adrienne Vaughan writes spellbinding, page-turning romantic suspense.
Her Heartfelt Series − The Hollow Heart, A Change of Heart and Secrets of the Heart – is set on an island off Ireland’s west coast and features a feisty investigative journalist, and her irresistible West Highland terrier. (Adrienne studied at the Dublin College of Journalism and loves animals, especially dogs.)
Her collection of short stories and poetry, Fur Coat & No Knickers was shortlisted for the Irish Carousel Prize for Anthology and her WWII short story, Dodo’s Portrait, was shortlisted for the Colm Toíbín International Short Story Award at the Wexford Literary Festival.
Summer of Secrets is the first in a series of sweeping family dramas, each with a touch of Irish magic.
All her books are heart-warming, uplifting reads, featuring her trademark gripping style, and laugh out loud moments.
Adrienne, husband Jonathan, and two cocker spaniels divide their time between rural Leicestershire, the Wicklow mountains, and coastal South Devon. Agatha Christie – the cat – (and Lorraine) take care of things while they are away.
Summer of Secrets – blurb
Mia Flanagan has never been told who her father is and, aged ten, stopped asking.
Now she keeps her own secrets.
But when the movie she’s working on ends in disaster, she flies home to discover her fiancé has a secret too; leaving her dreams crushed.
Broken-hearted, a lonely summer in London looms. Until, family friend, Archie Fitzgerald, invites her to stay at his fading mansion on Ireland’s ancient east coast.
For Archie also has a secret, and the longer Mia stays, the more she wonders if Archie really is her father after all.
Some images of Ireland so beautifully evoked by Ms Vaughan in Summer of Secrets
My review – Goodreads – This novel has it in spades: stunning Irish setting (a character in its own right), a grand but decaying family home (Galty House), glamour in the form of acclaimed actors Archie Fitzgerald and Fenella Flanagan, American hotel owner Ross and the cute, but not too cute, Pearl who melts your heart. The novel contains all of Ms Vaughan’s trademarks: glamour, secrets, intrigues, and adventure. How could it fail to please? At the centre of it is Mia, the wardrobe mistress whom I immediately bonded with and wanted to have a happy ending. However, life isn’t easy for Mia who lives in the shadow of her famous mother Fenella and, although she is surrounded by people who love her, is held back by long-buried personal secrets of the past. Is she Archie Fitzgerald’s daughter? The answer to that alone kept me turning the pages. I agree with other reviewers that Archie dominates every scene, and it isn’t until he vacates centre stage that Mia can have her moment in the spotlight and we learn the truth about who she is. There was a lot to absorb in this novel and many of the answers lay in the past and were the remit of some of the secondary characters who gave the novel a sense of community. I was particularly impressed by the authors use of flashbacks to give the reader the information they needed to understand the motivation of all the characters – and to guess the identity of Mia’s father. In the end, all is resolved and – without giving too much away, I was happy at the way the author tied up all the loose ends to bring the novel to a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to reading the sequel when it is published.
The perfect beach read this summer
Where to find Adrienne Vaughan on social media
The Collaborator’s Daughter
GUEST BLOG – EVA GLYN
CHARACTERS OF A CERTAIN AGE
I have always liked people and I have always liked wine, firmly believing that both are more interesting as they mature. So why does so much romantic fiction feature characters in the first (or, at a push, second) bloom of youth, when those in the third age are largely ignored?
After all I have friends in their sixties who have fallen in love, and why wouldn’t they? For so many retirement is an opportunity to change things around, whether they are single through circumstance or choice. A time of excitement, of new beginnings. And of downright terror about what might lie ahead.
This is where Fran Thomson, my protagonist in The Collaborator’s Daughter, finds herself. She quit her job to care for her stepfather, but now he has died, and when she looks the future in the face it’s rather too shapeless and empty. Not only that, but the past shifts under her feet as well, when she discovers the birth father she always believed died a hero, was executed as a Nazi collaborator.
Fran somehow finds the courage to travel to Dubrovnik to try to find out what happened. I am not altogether sure I would have had the guts, but then she’s a romantic heroine and I am not.
A romantic heroine who, by her own admission, is carrying a few too many pounds and hasn’t a clue how to apply clever make up. So she is more than surprised when Jadran Novak, a Croatian silver fox who was roped into helping her find out about her father by his nephew, begins to take a more than friendly interest and suggests a research trip:
Fran gazed at the clothes spread out on the bed. They were going for three nights, that was all. Why was she making such a meal of it? Her denim skirt would do for the evenings, and she knew Jadran liked her embroidered cardigan, so she’d take that as well.
Despite the difficulties of packing, there was a frisson of something about the trip that took her back to being a girl again, back to the shared house in Parsons Green. This was what they’d do before a night on the town; lay potential outfits on their beds, then run from room to room in their underwear, giggling and squealing, borrowing a skirt here, a pair of tights there …
Oh my god. Underwear. Hers was utilitarian to say the least. Sensible cotton knickers and well-constructed bras. But it didn’t matter. It wasn’t as though anyone was going to see them. Were they?
Fumbling her phone she checked Jadran’s text again. He had booked them rooms, plural. Her slightly tatty and greying knickers would remain her secret. As would the folds of flesh they strained to hide. Honestly, she could have at least tried to diet while she was here, but what with a glass or two of wine every night, and baking cakes for Jadran … But it was fine. He’d booked two rooms. Clearly his intentions weren’t sexual at all.
The tiny lurch of disappointment surprised her. Yes, it was a lovely fantasy to want to be kissed and held in his arms, but the reality of going any further was frankly appalling. But that wasn’t entirely true either. A tiny part of her, a part that had been hidden for so long she had almost forgotten it existed, wanted more. Alone in her bed at night, all sorts of more. But in the cold light of day even the thought absolutely terrified her.
Eva Glyn writes relationship-driven fiction set in Croatia for One More Chapter, and she’s rather close to sixty herself. Find out more at www.evaglynauthor.com.
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Lizzie Lamb - author 