The Villa Matisse

I cannot imagine life without a novel on the go – pretty well any novel, I’m not selective. From Kazuo Ishiguro to Helen Fielding, Hilary Mantel to Jilly Cooper, there are many I have not only read but re-read time and time again. They are dear old friends. And, like dear old friends, they put me back in tune with myself when life isn’t going so well.

Which is what it’s really all about, this novel business, isn’t it? In a sense, we’re of course all looking simply to be entertained. But reading a novel is also about something more important, something vital; it’s about engaging with our emotions, about opening our innermost private selves. A friend recently told me that my books make her laugh and cry, sometimes within the space of a page.

I only hope it’s true because if it is, then I am doing my job as a novelist.

If you have enjoyed reading either ‘The Villa Matisse’ or ‘Nothing Like a Dream,’ - or both – it would be wonderful if you could spare a minute or two of your time to post a review on your preferred platform.

I am currently writing my third novel. It should be finished by the time gathering swallows twitter in the skies.