Cathie Dunn writes...

Today, I'm extending a warm welcome to author Miriam Drori , who tells us about Jerusalem, the city she now calls home. It's also where her romance, Neither Here Nor There , is set. I'm intrigued! Let's see what Miriam has to say... ~~~ Writing Home Jerusalem was the obvious setting for Neither Here Nor There . I wanted to write a romance. I wanted to write an unusual romance. I wanted the heroine to have a reason to hold back from throwing herself into a relationship. I wanted to write something I knew about. Having the heroine come from the haredi community ticked all the boxes. It also made for an interesting topic – one that I was keen to explore. What better place to set my story than Jerusalem, my home town, where I see people from the haredi community every time I leave my house? Sorted, or was it? View of David's Tower I wasn’t sure about setting the novel in my home town. Writers often prefer to describe places further away from them, beca...

Today, I’m delighted to welcome author Claire Stibbe who will introduce us to New Mexico where her upcoming novel, The 9 th Hour , is based. A fascinating area! Over to Claire… ~~~ Researching ideas for my second novel in the Detective Temeke series has been so much fun, especially driving around Albuquerque through all the areas Temeke & Malin would go. Albuquerque The first book takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico where a nine-year-old African American girl has been abducted. Temeke, a detective working for violent crimes against children, is called out one early December morning to take over a case nobody wants. Why? Because former lead Detective Jack Reynolds was found dead under the bridge on Exit 230 to San Mateo. He had a gunshot wound to his head. With a new partner, a new case and a new set of wheels, Temeke takes to the roads in search of a man who keeps the body parts of his eight young victims as trophies and has a worrying obsession with the...

I'm absolutely chuffed to see my Scottish historical romance, Highland Arms , climb the Amazon charts in the UK, US and Canada. Thank you, new readers! :-) If you fancy a romantic adventure in the Scottish Highlands, look no further. There's conspiracy, murder, abduction, loss and love.  Blurb for Highland Arms : Betrayed by her brother’s lies, Catriona MacKenzie is banished from her home to her godmother’s manor in the remote Scottish Highlands. While her family ponders her fate, Catriona’s insatiable curiosity leads her straight into trouble–and into the arms of a notorious Highlander.  Five years after an ill-fated Jacobite rebellion, Rory Cameron works as a smuggler to raise money for the cause–until Catriona uncovers a plot against him and exposes his activities. Now, Rory is faced with a decision that could either save their lives or destroy both of them.  But he’s running out of time…  ~~~~~  Highland Arms is the first in The Highland Chronicles...

Today, my guest is author Margaret K Johnson . She tells us about Royaumont, the setting of her novel, A Nightingale in Winter , where a hospital was housed during World War I within the walls of a former Cistercian abbey. Remarkably for its time, it was entirely run by women! Welcome, Margaret! ~~~ A Nightingale in Winter,  published by Omnific Publishing, is about Eleanor, a volunteer nurse (VAD), who is working in France during the First World War. Eleanor, who is running away from a traumatic past, throws herself into her work, and is always fascinated to learn about the latest medical advances and innovations – for example – the first blood transfusions. She begins to feel she would like to become a qualified nurse, or even a doctor after the war.  Royaumont Hospital It’s no surprise then, that when she gets the opportunity to travel to Royaumont to visit a hospital run in a former 13 th century Cisterian abbey, she jumps at the chance, putting aside he...

Today, I welcome the lovely Sue Barnard to My Place. Not only is Sue a highly talented writer, she's also a history nut (sound familiar?) - and she studied Italian and French, two languages I love. :-) Sue's novel, The Ghostly Father , tells an alternative story to Romeo & Juliet , the world's most famous – and most tragic – romance. Today, she's telling us more about them, and their city of Verona... ~~~ Roman Arena Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life, Whose misadventured, piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents’ strife… Shakespeare So begins William Shakespeare’s tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, the story for which the city of Verona is justly famous.   In fact, more than one-third of Shakespea...