Blog

A self-educated Madrid taxi-driver who became a Commander in the Republican Army, Pedro Santos Troya held a number of positions of responsibility, and rubbed shoulders with several people in high places. After release from prison, his involvement in clandestine operations run from the French Embassy in Madrid during the Second World War eventually forced him into hiding before escaping to France. While imprisoned, his wife ran a safe house for officers fleeing the Gestapo. Be

Scripture Union struggled to get children’s books of a Christian nature into secular bookshops. They approached me with the hope that, as a well-known children’s author, an exception might be made. Fortunately, having already written a serial with a biblical theme, I came up with Caleb’s Lamb, a story based on Abraham and Isaac. However, it wasn’t realised until an initial 3000 copies were printed that an editorial mistake caused them to be printed under the name Helen Santos

This little book has reached an elevated position, being chosen for inclusion in ‘Sikh: Two Centuries of Western Women’s Art & Writing’, with 8 references (and a photo!) within its 450 pages. This limited-edition book is a monumental historical account on the impact of Western women writers and artists on Sikhism. Hari’s Pigeon explores the tensions and complexities within cross-cultural marriages, as well as a detailed description of pigeon/human relationship.

While living in Mallorca, my next door neighbour told me the story of her two brothers, and how their mother's life was forever blighted by their different fates. It deeply impressed me, and brought into being ’The Dark Swallows’, which I wrote while still mainly ignorant about the convoluted politics of that period. Since then, and inspired by my father-in-law’s memoirs, I have studied the subject in-depth, and as a result, wanted to both edit and develop the themes of the o

The first thirteen chapters of this story are fiction, based on the real life experiences of the many ownerless dogs that wandered the streets of Madrid fifty years ago, when fear of rabies, and the general poverty of those who lived in the suburbs, limited sympathy towards them. Thankfully, this is no longer the case. Strenuous efforts were made to improve life for everyone, including animals, and most dogs are licensed, vaccinated and as petted and provided for as they coul

For me, Mallorca back in the 1960s was about the closest to a physical paradise you can get. Mass tourism was in its infancy. Hotels were just beginning to be constructed. The small expat community was just beginning to feel a bit disconcerted about losing their views. Resentment towards an influx of Spanish workers was compensated by hopes of making a fortune out of what the island had to offer for those willing to pay for land and services. My husband was under-manager in

At last! After three years of sifting, transcribing, editing and translating my father-in-law’s memoirs are available through Kindle and...

I have always enjoyed exploring the issues of conflict - conflicting emotions, conflicting ideas, conflicting situations so when it came...

Where do the characters authors create come from? I have no answer to that question. What I do know is that they become so real to their...

When after many years of occasionally thinking, “I must type up my father-in-law’s memoirs one day”, I little realized that I was setting...

I imagine that sooner or later most authors get asked where their ideas for a book come from. Mine come from any number of directions but "The Last Summer" was written with a definite purpose in mind. I was at a conference for authors of children's books and one of the speakers said that no one would think of writing a book in which the main character was on Franco's side during the Spanish Civil War. I don't remember the context of this remark, but my first thought was, "W

The Greyhound is still one of my most popular books though not my personal favourite. Its 1950s London setting was my own and the various...