Looking back on a decade of change
Happy New Year and Happy New Decade to all my readers The last decade has been a momentous one for me in so many ways – a period of dramatic change. I began 2010 living in London, working as a management consultant, working hard to recover from the impact of the...
Wild Honey in India – on Location with Kurinji Flowers
This morning I was enjoying reading today’s story in the Discovering Diamonds December Story from a Song series If you haven’t been reading these – a new story inspired by a song every day until the New Year – then do have a look. At the end of each story you’ll find...
At home with the Windsors
Knowing that I was participating in NaNoWriMo for the fifth year in succession, I decided to get away for the last week of November in total isolation in order to have a last push on hitting those fifty thousand words. I love staying in Landmark Trust properties as...
Using hotels for key scenes in books
Yesterday I posted on Facebook about the horrible fire at the Claremont Hotel on the seafront here in Eastbourne. You can see what's left of it this morning from this image - courtesy of East Sussex Fire and Rescue. My post prompted a question from one of my readers,...
On Location for The Pearl of Penang
When I started to write The Pearl of Penang I was drawing to the end of my Round the World cruise and Penang was behind me. Once I was back in England I thought of returning there and began to make plans to do so. But after more than three months "writing drought",...
Cover reveal – The Pearl of Penang
I'm thrilled to share with you the fabulous cover for my forthcoming book, The Pearl of Penang. Thanks to all those readers who subscribe to my newsletter and gave me your opinions on the three options. In the end the vast majority gave their thumbs up to the one I...
On location – Storms Gather Between Us
Those of you who have read Storms Gather Between Us will know that several crucial scenes are set at the beach or in and around the dunes between Seaforth Sands and Crosby, Liverpool. I wrote the scenes largely from my childhood memories of Waterloo sands, Crosby. As...
What I Learned from a Voyage Around the World
While I was ending the third month of my four-month Round the World voyage, one of my old friends, Peter, asked me the following question on Facebook. “Clare, several of your novels feature long ocean voyages (in very different times) - having circumnavigated two...
My hunch about wartime Beachy Head is vindicated!
About three years ago, when I was writing The Chalky Sea, I read as much as possible about the impact of the Second World War here in my home town of Eastbourne. I wanted my main character, Gwen Collingwood, a childless married woman whose husband has gone to war, to...
Interview with novelist Carol Cooper
I'm delighted to welcome Carol Cooper today to talk about her writing. I met Carol about four years ago soon after I published my first novel. Carol is a multi-talented individual who as well as being a successful novelist, is a medical doctor, a graduate of Newnham,...
The Sea, The Sea!
It only recently occurred to me that I have at least one scene involving a voyage by sea in every single one of the nine books I’ve written. As I write this post I am getting ready for my own major sea voyage – a round-the-world cruise for four months. This has to be...
A conversation with Elizabeth Morton of A Greater World
To mark the publication today of the new digital edition of A Greater World by Canelo, here's an interview with the main character, Elizabeth Morton.First of all, Elizabeth, can you give us a brief introduction to yourself – who are you and where are you from?I’m the...
