4th December 2022

Tuesday is my platinum birthday. On the radio is Fleetwood Mac, commemorating the sad passing of lead singer Christine McVie - someone of my era. You can go your own way rings in my ears. What exactly has been my own way? When I moved to France in 2005, I needed a totally different pursuit to keep me occupied. But I didn’t realise that so much of myself would flow onto the pages. First I wrote a novel about a university, where I worked for 30 years. Then I progressed a Holocaust trilogy, lest we forget. Meantime I discovered the story of a real but unknown hero, who saved thousands in wartime Vienna. I’m so glad that wonderful indie publisher SpellBound Books recognised how important it is to value those who help others, especially those of a different ethnicity to themselves. The Mandarin Seeds 2nd edition will be published by them on 5 May 2023. My ancestors came from E Europe. All had a typical oy vey self-deprecating humour, so my writing had to reflect this too. So, as well as a humorous look at the US, I plan to publish a revised sequel plus a brand new 3rd in the best-selling Paradis series. Additionally, reflecting on my own traumatic teen years, I’m currently writing novel 4 in my 7-book series for them. Phew! At my age, I do seem to have gone my own way….