In Finland, homosexuality was illegal up till 1971, and was only declassified as an illness in 1981. The age of consent was equalized to 16 in 1999. Now Tom of Finland creator, Touko Laaksonen, who began drawing his homoerotic images in the 1950s, is celebrated across the land. A new film about … [Read more...]
An Independence Day Offer!
To celebrate Finland's Independence Day, I am giving away a free novella AND two exclusive, unpublished bonus chapters from the first two books in the Nordic romance series: The Finnish Girl and The Englishman. The Englishman series now has four books: The Finnish Girl: Can you be too young for … [Read more...]
Reading in Finland
On 20th January I will be reading from THE GOOD OFFICER at FinnBrit Language Centre in Helsinki I'm visiting Finland this week for the Helsinki Book Fair. It all starts tomorrow, but I arrived here early to have time to visit my father in Tampere, but also to finalise plans for a literary evening … [Read more...]
Why reinvent yourself for a sequel novel?
One of the most common questions I get from the readers of The Faithful Heart, my sequel to The English Heart, is how much of the story is true. Of course, this is a perfectly sensible and appropriate question, being that The English Heart is the story of how I came to be in England. Although … [Read more...]
New novel title reveal!
So the Brexit vote is over and done with, and whatever side you were on, I think you'll agree that the result was a shock for most of us who live and work in Britain. If you follow me on social media you'll know by now that I'm a firm believer in the European Union, and that I am more than … [Read more...]
My Romantic Helsinki
All of my Nordic romance novels are partly set in Helsinki, so I thought I'd take you on a pictorial tour of the city, as featured in The Nordic Heart Romance series of books. In my latest title The Finnish Girl, Kaisa is 14 when she moves with her sister Sirkka and her mother Pirjo to one of … [Read more...]
Pre-order The Finnish Girl now!
Yay, it's nearly out! My latest book, The Finnish Girl, a prequel novella to The Englishman, will be published on 15th April and is now available to pre-order. This novella, just as The Englishman, is based on true events, and was very hard for me to write. But I felt compelled to revisit … [Read more...]
David Bowie Is No More
I, like millions of other people, woke up this Monday morning to the terrible news that David Bowie had died at the age of 69. He'd been battling cancer, but in typical Bowiesque manner, had only just released his latest album, Backstar, to critical acclaim. I was introduced to David Bowie by my … [Read more...]
Tove Jansson at the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki
Like most Finns, I'm a bit of a Muumin fanatic. It's no wonder, since I grew up with the characters and the TV cartoons. I also passed this love of the simultaneously wise and naive characters created by Tove Jansson onto my children.To celebrate Tove Janssons centenary, the Ateneum Art Museum in … [Read more...]
Helsinki shopping
When in Helsinki I rarely miss a visit to Stockmann's department store. This shop is a bit of a Selfridges of Helsinki, and you'd be pushed to want something they don't stock. Especially the food hall downstairs is so moorish, I have to be really careful not to buy it all up! (Suitcase issues are … [Read more...]
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