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An Echo of Scandal Cocktail
This unique cocktail has been created specially to accompany the launch of An Echo of Scandal. Designed to conjure up a hot summer’s night in Tangier during the heady days of 1928, with jasmine on the air, liquor on the tongue and champagne flowing. Sophisticated cognac combines with heady, floral crème de violette and the…
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Dandelion Syrup Cake
This is a cake I first made earlier in the year, when spring dandelions smothered my allotment in bursts of bright yellow. They looked so beautiful and healthy (I’m very good at growing weeds) that it seemed a shame to dig them up and chuck them on the compost heap. So, I picked an entire…
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Plum and Hazelnut Frangipane Cake
On my allotment, there’s a huge plum tree that overhangs the fence. Every year it sags almost to the ground under the weight of all the fruit and since I can’t bear to see them rotting on the branches, I, err, tend to liberate a fair few. (It’s not scrumping if no one else cares,…
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The Secrets Between Us: Bibliography
Author’s Note & Bibliography (This author’s note can also be found at the back of The Secrets Between Us, but I’m posting it here too for ease of sharing links). The Secrets Between Us is a fictional work inspired by true events that took place in the Alpes-Maritimes during the summer of 1943. From February…
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Where the Wild Cherries Grow: US Release!
Last week was a great one here; Where the Wild Cherries Grow was released in the US by St Martin’s Press in a beautiful hardback edition. The response from readers and bloggers so far has been wonderful; a huge thank you especially to Erika Robuck for hosting a recommendation, review and giveaway on her blog,…
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The Inspiration Behind The Secrets Between Us
I remember the precise moment when the idea that was to become The Secrets Between Us sprang into being. I had been poring over a map, searching the border region of France and Italy (I’m fascinated by borders), when I saw a small town, high in the Alpes-Maritimes, by the name of Saint-Martin-Vésubie. The Wikipedia page…
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The Secrets Between Us Blog Tour
As part of the release of The Secrets Between Us, my wonderful publicist Hannah has put together a blog tour! Writing is a lonely business, and the first weeks of new book’s release can feel especially daunting, before you’ve quite used to the idea of other people reading your words… So I’m grateful for the…
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Recipe: Winter Spice Madeleines
Madeleines have got to be one of my favourite things to bake (and no, of course I’m not biased!) They’re sweet, petite, take only a few ingredients, a fraction of the baking time of a larger cake, and bring so much happiness. The last batch I baked disappeared alongside a pot of tea in around…
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Cover Reveal: The Secrets Between Us
It seems like yesterday that I was going through the page proofs for my new novel with a red pen, thinking “well, I’ll have a few months at least to get used to the idea of this being a real book”. But then, a surprise came through from my publisher: it wouldn’t be months to…