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Jan 2010- Work In Progress
I’ve just delivered the sequel to House of Angels. The title is Angels at War  and concentrates on Livia who becomes very involved in the suffragette movement. Don’t look for it in the shops until next year though, but start with the first book, which is in your libraries in hardback now and will be out in paperback in the spring.

My next project is a sequel for Hostage Queen.

Spring 2010

I’ve had my head down working hard ever since Christmas, writing the sequel to Hostage Queen. The title of this one will be Reluctant Queen, to be published in the autumn I believe. It is the story of Gabriel d’Estrées, a mistress of Henry IV of France and Navarre. (He had any number and quite lost count of his illegitimate children.) We also follow Margot’s story a little further, so I’ve been thoroughly enjoying myself. You can find more information on this series on my blog.

 Just as well I have been busy considering the weather. Even here in Spain it has been unusually cold and wet. Apparently the equivalent of four years worth of rain has fallen in three months. We even experienced snow here in Almeria, a very rare occurrence, and only last week there was still a covering on the Sierra de Cabreras. The Spanish always drive out to see it, finding it most exciting. We Brits stay home, keeping warm and complaining this wasn’t what we came to Spain for. But then we do love to complain about the weather, and will no doubt soon be objecting to the heat.

Spring is in the air now though with the promise of good weather in time for Easter. David spent all of January pruning the olive trees, taking out the upstanding branches, called cocks, (no comment) and burning them on a bonfire. We can only have fires during the winter months and even so must get a license from the town hall. There’s no fee but were there to be a problem, and a general fire started, they would know who to arrest, I suppose. Grim thought. Ours were thankfully trouble-free, but all the brash has to be burned because olive leaves do not rot down and can therefore create infection. Now, the first buds of blossom are showing and in the next few weeks the next season’s olives will be set.