NEWS
Mary Boleyn – Royal Matriarch
Everyone knows Mary’s sister, poor Anne Boleyn, the first Queen on British soil to be executed, and by her petty, violent, maniacal husband Henry VIII. She achieved a lasting notoriety but her line petered out with her glorious daughter Elizabeth I. Mary’s history is not well know beyond the fact that she was Henry VIII […]
From Ireland with Love. London book launch.
A London Launch Of all the Hiverton sisters, Nick is the true City girl. She loves London, she loves the cut and thrust of the money markets, and the buzz caused by all the various nations living cheek by jowl. What she doesn’t love is the monoculture of Canary Wharf, it’s too new an d […]
Sneak peek – Chapter One – From Ireland with Love
Chapter 1 The wind began to pick up in earnest as the walkers headed briskly across the field to Hiverton Manor. ‘Do you think we’ll get ahead of the rain?’ laughed Ari. Hal turned back to her with a grin on his face and Will on his shoulders. ‘If we were in Cornwall, we’d […]
How to get free books. Paperbacks, hardbacks, digital books and even audio books.
Some months your budget only stretches so far, which is a killer when you are a mad bookworm, but there is a solution and no, it’s not Kindle Unlimited. This solution doesn’t even have a subscription cost or a joining fee. Here’s how to get free books. TELL ME MORE! Well, the truth is, […]
Are you ready to return to Hiverton?
From Ireland with Love Nicoletta has been happily waiting in the wings but now it’s time for her story to be told. I love Nick, she is so much the quiet power behind the throne. She has no wish for the spotlight, but now it is well and truly on her. In this story she […]
Cornish Paperback Launch!
Cornish Dreams at Cockleshell Cottage is now in paperback! I don’t know about you but I love to actually hold a book in my hands. Leaving it upside down, half open waiting for me to return to it. Diving back into the sights and sounds of the story weaving across the paper, that is my […]
April and audio books
What a month! Clem launched, Paddy has a print date, Ari was a graceful runner up and Nick’s first draft went off to my publishers. Exhausting. So you think this would be the right time to rest? Not a bit of it. My husband and eldest son felt that lock-down was missing a certain something, […]
High Heels in the Highlands has launched
Launch Day High Heels in the Highlands ‘I really fell head over heels in love with the story…Recommend it to all feelgood lovers out there!’ ☆☆☆☆☆ Reader Review What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immoveable object? Fireworks are going to fly and the Hivertons might be about to lose everything they have just […]
And the winner is…
The past month has been crazy busy, Skuggi has decided to up his game and has begun to bring rats into the house. And not small rats either. I promise you, no one wants to discover a dead rat before they have had their first coffee of the day. We live next to a brewery […]
January Newsletter
January was something of a slog wasn’t it? Still, it’s done now and some good came of it. The cover for my third novel, High Heels in the Highlands was released and I began to really get to grips with book four, which is Nick’s story.
A Library Love Letter
A Love Letter to Norwich City Library As a child I was lucky to grow up with a mother that valued books above all other possessions and the house was full of books. At school I would come home with the Puffin Club Book magazine and Mum would always say yes to my choice. She […]
Ariana Byrne is a Finalist!!!!
Beyond, beyond, beyond delighted to have been selected as a finalist for The Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel Award! Huge competition in my category but honestly delighted to even be in the finals! https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/news_article/the-rna-announces-shortlists-for-the-2021-romantic-novel-awards/ Available Here AMZ: https://amzn.to/3oDaPrh Kobo: http://bit.ly/2uPB0ob Apple: https://apple.co/2RsuI5z
Refusing the shame – Declaration of a romance reader
Growing up I was a tomboy. I loved sports, I was loud and adventurous. I read science fiction, crime novels, horror and fantasy. But when no one was looking I was reading Barbara Cartland. I loved Barbara Cartland! Oh those diaphanous gowns, those large violet eyes, those girls with classical educations. However, A level English […]
Inauguration fashions, a story behind every outfit
Big events always attract impressive outfits. This year’s American presidential inauguration seemed no different, except this time many of the clothes seemed to be worn with purpose. There were stories behind the designs. More importantly, many of the outfits were being worn by women in positions of power. Poet laureates, vice presidents, first ladies. These […]
2020 – a review
My December newsletter is also a review of 2020. But it’s not doom and gloom, in fact in terms of my books, it was when I was first published and for me, that has been great news. It’s very hard to temper good news when all around, thing are falling apart. However, I will always […]
News from home – November
A short and sweet newsletter this month as we all try to juggle preparations for lock-down and Christmas. Cancelled visits, re-jigging menus and disappointment that we can’t all be together. That said, I will take disappointment over grief any day.
A New Life for Ariana Byrne – now in paperback
Well due to covid hiccups, Ariana’s print launch got delayed and delayed but now I am happy to announce that she is available in shops and online, in paperback. Even better news, next year she will also be available in audio! Discover why Ariana already has over 200 ratings and a positive index of 4.5! […]
News from Home – October
For this month I’m trying something new in my newsletter, reviews and recollections about the month just past. Lots of lovely stuff, gorgeous pictures and links to some really interesting discoveries.
Phillipa Ashley on Cornwall
Cornish authors revealing their love of Britain’s most romantic corner. What makes an author Cornish? Do they have to live here, do they have to have a pedigree that goes back many grandparents, or can they simply write about Cornwall with love in their heart? I think the last option works well for me. I […]
Rachel Hore on Cornwall
Cornish authors revealing their love of Britain’s most romantic corner. What makes an author Cornish? Do they have to live here, do they have to have a pedigree that goes back many grandparents, or can they simply write about Cornwall with love in their heart? I think the last option works well for me. I […]
A New Contract with Hera Books
Delighted to announce that I have just signed a contract for another two Hiverton Sisters book! Book three is Clem’s story and is set in Scotland in a big old crumbly castle and a very unusual housekeeper. This is now written and waiting to be sent off for editing! Book four is Nicky’s story, I’m […]
Liz Fenwick on Cornwall
Cornish authors revealing their love of Britain’s most romantic corner. Cornwall isn’t on the way to anywhere. If you’re here it’s because you wanted to be, or because you washed up here, carried on strange tides. Living on the edge of an island lend a different way of viewing the world. You can watch the […]
New Cover Reveal – Dear Diary
New cover reveal!!!! Isn’t it great? This brings my novella in line with the novels in the Hiverton series. Set in Norfolk, you will adore this funny and romantic tale of young love Just 99p and also in ku. Dear Diary. The eighties were a great time to be a teenager. But when your parents […]
Cressida McLaughlin on Cornwall
Cornish authors revealing their love of Britain’s most romantic corner. Maid in Cornwall – Even today, wherever you go in Cornwall you will hear people being called maids or lovers. It always makes me smile when my local fishmonger, a fabulous woman called Kim, calls me her lover. Then there’s the chap who fixes my […]
Three Great Families and their Gardens
,Three Great Families and their Gardens – Caroline Rayman – BODFAS (This lecture was from a previous year when we obviously didn’t have an issue with Covid-19) First Bodfas of the year and I’m going to try to make everyone as they have all been so good. Arrived by the skin of my teeth again, […]
Jane Johnson on Cornwall
Cornish authors revealing their love of Britain’s most romantic corner. Maid in Cornwall – Even today, wherever you go in Cornwall you will hear people being called maids or lovers. It always makes me smile when my local fishmonger, a fabulous woman called Kim, calls me her lover, and the chap who fixes my car […]
And the bride wore hand-me-downs… …and what hand me downs they were!
And the bride wore hand-me-downs… …and what hand me downs they were! Her tiara has been seen gracing the heads of many royals. Originally the tiara was owned by Queen Mary who had it fashioned from a necklace. It was then passed to Queen Elizabeth. In turn, she lent it to her daughter Princess Elizabeth […]
Cornish Dreams at Cockleshell Cottage
Cornish Dreams at Cockleshell Cottage My second book launched during the lock down and I forget to add it to my blog post! So here is my very late introduction! Sitting alongside the beach and just up from the gently lapping waves, sat a perfect cottage. She had found where she was going to live. […]
The British Portrait from Hogarth to Hockney – A Talk by Vivien Heffernan
Well today’s talk started with the AGM, a mercifully brief and efficient meeting and then we were off into the talk. With regards to the AGM it’s worth me noting how much I enjoy being part of this society and appreciate all the work that the committee do to achieve it. Anyway, the talk, […]
Hello again, how’s it going?
Hello again, If you want to receive my newsletters directly in your inbox you can sign up here. How’s it all going? I’m going to be honest, I had a bit of a wobble yesterday. I am one of the most ridiculously optimistic people I know, sure; I plan for all eventualities but I […]
The Elizabethan and Jacobean Country House – Dr David Bostwick.
A Throwback Post – The Arts Society Obviously there are no lectures at the moment so he’s one from a few years back. All of these houses added to the inspiration for Ariana’s ancestral home – Hiverton Manor. Finally arrived in good time, with my glasses and without interruption. So far, so good. Our speaker […]
Are you okay? Newsletter.
I know you don’t all see or get my newsletter so I try to remember to always post it on my website as well. If you do want to join my mailing list you are can sign up here. Hello, It’s all a bit odd at the moment isn’t it? As a writer I’m […]
Having greatness thrust upon you
The Unlikely Rise of Certain Young Women It may seem far fetched that Ariana, the heroine in my novel, suddenly becomes the Countess of Wiverton when she is just twenty-eight, but compared to some, she’s a bit long in the tooth. Queen Elizabeth II When Elizabeth Windsor was born, her grandfather, George VI, was King […]
Ariana Claims Her Inheritance
A New Life for Ariana Byrne is Launched And it’s a real page turner… I have read some of the reviews for A New Life for Ariana Byrne and I have to agree with them about what a joy it was to read and how uplifting it was – I absolutely adored this book! When […]
Live like a Countess – Staying in a Landmark Trust property
Every winter Steve and I rent a Landmark Trust property and spend a mid-week break living like royalty. The Landmark Trust is a charity that saves remarkable buildings from destruction. They restore them and then they rent them out as holiday lets. We have stayed in castles and banqueting houses and this time we stayed […]
Fabulous Faberge – The Jewel of the Russian Downfall
These are my notes from a recent Art Society talk. Really loved this one but then who doesn’t love jewels and revolution? The Imperial Easter Eggs of Carl Fabergé by Toby Faber* “Between 1885 and 1916, Carl Fabergé made fifty jewelled eggs . These were Easter presents from Russia’s last two emperors to their wives. […]
Patrons, Podcasts and a thousand thank yous to my guides
I’ve been tidying up my subscriptions. Those things that I paid for, monthly or annually, and no longer need or want and I looked at my savings (small as they were) and decided to re-invest them so to speak, in people that have been incredibly helpful in my career (haha) thus far. So, who to […]
Liz Hurley is signed up by Hera Books
Thrilled to announce I have signed a contract with the publisher Hera Books for a two book deal featuring the Wiverton Sisters. https://www.herabooks.com/news/hera-sign-two-womens-fiction-novels-debut-author-liz-hurley/ They have taken on the rights for Under Flint Skies which will be re-released in February with a new cover and possibly a new title. The second book will then be […]
Under Flint Skies by Elizabeth Hurley
I am tickled pink to announce my first full length novel, Under Flint Skies. The silly thing is I launched it two months ago and it was bonkers at the time. I also launched one of my walking guides and then had three family members in hospital in succession all over summer. It’s only now […]
Russian Art after the Revolution
Russian Art after the Revolution – Theodora Clarke. An Arts Society Lecture. Excuse the brevity of this post. I kept forgetting to take notes! Much was lost after the Russian Revolution but I hadn’t realised that we had lost so much stunning art. Not that the paintings were destroyed but the Russian artists fled and […]