L’Aquila’s reconstructed Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio
The Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio is L’Aquila’s most important church. It was built in 1289 by the Celestines and is the final resting place of Pope Celestine V. With all of the Papal talk in these days, with the recent death of Pope Francis and the Conclave that elected Pope Leo, this is…
Read MoreOn tour for the launch of The Wedding Party by Lorna Dounaeva
Happy to be part of the Bookouture book tour for the launch of Lorna Dounaeva’s newest novel, The Wedding Party. Happy launch week! I enjoyed this twisty, fast-paced psychological thriller. You can find my review below, alongside the book blurb, author bio and buy links. My review: I’ve read a few recent claustrophobic psychological thrillers…
Read MoreThe glamour of Paris’ Opera Garnier
I was in Paris a few months ago, and I decided to stop off to visit the Opera Garnier – a place I hadn’t visited in years (decades?). Musical afficionados will know the Palais Garnier as the inspitration for The Phantom of The Opera. And the self-guided audiotour does speak about the tales of the…
Read MoreNew stash of books
Not living in an English-speaking country, I tend to get excited by book stores when I return home to the US or visit other English-speaking countries. Yes, we have English-language bookstores in Rome, but they tend to have narrow selections. And ordering online isn’t the same as browsing bookstores. I was only back in the…
Read MoreSanta Maria Maggiore – The Papal Basilica where Pope Francis is buried
With the recent death of Pope Francis and his decision to be buried not in the Vatican, but at Santa Maria Maggiore, it seemed like a good time to spotlight this impressive basilica. Santa Maria Maggiore is one of Rome’s four papal basilicas. The others are Saint Peter’s, Saint John Lateran and Saint Paul Without…
Read MoreNew book award for Easter at The Three Coins Inn
Pleased to have received my third book award for my latest release, Easter at The Three Coins Inn. This is the second installment of my new Three Coins series. I’m especially pleased it recently won The Book Fest Award 2025, Women’s Fiction- First Place. Creating this series, set in the heart of Umbria’s Todi, has been…
Read MoreAdmiring Exeter’s Cathedral between bouts of rain
This past autumn, I was in Devon, England for the Historical Novel Society Conference. While there, I joined one of the organized trips for us to visit Exeter’s Norman-Gothic cathedral, and to enjoy a wander around the pretty town. The Exeter Cathedral was founded in 1050, but was expanded between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries.…
Read MoreGet your copy of Easter at The Three Coins Inn during this pre-Easter sale!
Yesterday, I had a BookBub promotion for my latest novel, Easter at The Three Coins Inn, in the UK, Australia and Canada, with my novel on sale for just 99 pence and 99 cents in those countries through Tuesday. As a pre-Easter treat, I decided to extend the sale to my readers in the rest…
Read MoreEnjoying the early spring rays in Marche’s seaside Fano
It was a glorious, sunny March day and my husband and I were were driving from our weekend trip to Urbino and long the Marche coast back to Rome. We had never been to seaside Fano, and since it was on our way we stopped off to explore this beach town. The weather was perfect…
Read MoreEditing, with a view…
Let the editing begin … in Urbino! At this stage, I’ve published a fair amount. And while I always love the writing process, editing still remains a slog. So, when I can sweeten the pot a bit, it always improves the process. That’s why I was thrilled to have finished the first draft of my…
Read More