CLARE FLYNN

Last month I spent a wonderful week in the Loire Valley on a writing retreat with six of my writer friends. We rented a huge gite –...

People sometimes ask me why I love writing retreats. Surely you can write just as easily in your own home, or in a library or coffee...

I can’t believe I’ve never been to Ditchling before. Less than twenty miles from me, it used to be home to artist Frank Brangwyn, and...

Next March I will be heading to France to the Loire Valley with several of my writing friends for a week-long writers’ retreat.  We’re...

I’ve visited Istanbul several times – once in the mid 90s on holiday and several times on business with the odd weekend tagged on.  I...

I’ve been doing writing retreats for ten years. Not the sort with tutors but ones where you can hunker down and do some serious writing...

Final edits are completed on my latest book – number 15 is set for publication this June! I need to stop beating about the bush and tell...

Here’s the second part on my recent visit to the Isle of Wight. Although we were staying on the Osborne estate we had time to explore...

Although I’m planning an extended trip abroad in April-May 2023, since Covid I’ve tended to go for frequent short breaks here in the UK....

I’ve just spent a delightful three days staying in Rye. I rented a house at the top of Mermaid Street in the heart of the old town with...

My earliest childhood memory is from when I was a baby. Apparently, I cried all the time – probably because of the rude arrival of my...

One of the interesting highlights of my recent trip to Berwick-upon-Tweed was a look at one of the few churches in England built under...

Recently I visited Ireland for a family wedding. Whilst there, enjoying an evening in a local pub, I was reminded of one of the inspirations behind part of my book Storms Gather Between Us - an inspiration I'd entirely forgotten about until now!

I’m lucky enough to live just a fifteen-to-twenty-minute drive from Charleston, former home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. My sister...

I love writing retreats. Not organised ones with tutors, but small gatherings with other authors in attractive or new surroundings to...

At the time we were living in the middle of nowhere in Yorkshire and it was a very lonely time for me and a period when I was bullied...

Continuing my new blog series, featuring important items from my life. In the second of the series, I invite you to meet "The Lady at the Fountain", who has sat on my mantelpiece for many years and has a special place in my childhood memories...

The first in a new series of blog posts where I discuss items of significance in my life - starting with a treasured painting.

I’m usually alternating between fiction and non-fiction, and quite often it’s for research – either for my own books, or to broaden my...

I was afraid my upset stomach would prevent me visiting – but I had no trouble on that score. Never one to cope well in heat I found the...