Hi
I am deep into writing book 2 of the Norway series – more on that later – but emerged for a few days to go to a writing conference in London. It was at County Hall which is on the South Bank of the River Thames, almost opposite the Houses of Parliament for anyone not familiar. It’s my third time at this particular conference and I was looking forward to catching up with some writing friends and making some new ones.
There used to be a drinks reception on the first evening but they replaced this with a party boat down the Thames. I was very excited about this but unfortunately the weather wasn’t as idyllic as it might have been. It didn’t rain while we were on the boat but it rained enough beforehand to make my carefully straightened hair back into a frizzy nightmare in the time it took me to walk five minutes along the road. It was also chilly and windy on the river so not the sun-kissed evening we’d all been hoping for but it was amazing going past all the iconic sights of London and seeing them from a different view point.
I arrived in London the afternoon before the conference and did a bit of shopping. I saw some fabric I loved in Liberty but decided not to buy it then spent the next two days regretting it. Then I realised I had a couple of hours to kill after the conference finished and before my train left, so I dashed over to Oxford Circus and bought the fabric while coincidentally wearing a Liberty fabric dress. It didn’t go unnoticed by the woman working in the fabric department which was lovely. But you know how sometimes you have everything planned to perfection and then it derails? I had left my suitcase in the hotel, planning to swing by quickly on my way to Paddington to pick it up but the man wasn’t at the desk when I got there. I’m not going to lie, I went into a blind panic because I had to get that train. But I made it with ten minutes to spare. Phew. The things I will do for a fabric purchase.
Thank you if you’ve read Dreams in Norway already! I am thrilled that it seems to be as loved as the Iceland series. In case you missed this last month I’ve written a bonus epilogue which is available via a link at the end of the Kindle book. To save you a few clicks, here is a direct link but remember there will be SPOILERS so don’t read it until you’ve finished the book!
I have bonus epilogues for most of my books now, so if you’ve missed any of them, email me and I can send them to you.
Free Dreams in Norway
bonus epilogue
Writing News
Entwined in Norway is coming along so nicely now and you may have noticed the Kindle version is available for pre-order already at Amazon! The paperback will be available on release date which is 1st September and before that I will have a page on my website so you can pre-order signed copies of the paperback. There will be a link in the next newsletter for that.
I have had to work hard to make Erik slightly grumpier than my usual male characters and that doesn’t come easily to me. I’m much happier writing a ray of sunshine like Jonas or Mats. But I have a spot for Erik, and I think you will too.
An Indie Author Recommendation
Throughout 2026 I’m collaborating with a group of Indie Romance authors and each month I’ll share one of their books! Clare Flynn’s books deal with displacement – her characters are wrenched away from their comfortable existences and forced to face new challenges – often in outposts of an empire which largely disappeared after WW2.
After a German fighter sinks her husband’s ship in the icy Atlantic, grief-stricken Hannah Kidd flees the rubble and ration queues of wartime Liverpool for a new life on the other side of the world. In sun-soaked Sydney, she discovers more than just refuge from nightly bombing raids—she finds unexpected family connections, meaningful work, and the handsome Eddie Greenbank.
As Hannah explores the golden beaches of Sydney’s eastern shores, the misty valleys of the Blue Mountains, and the rolling scenery of the Hunter Valley, she begins to believe that happiness isn’t lost forever. But even in Australia, the war’s long shadow threatens everything she’s begun to rebuild. Hannah must decide: will she let grief define her, or will she fight for the future she never thought she’d have?
A sweeping story of resilience and renewal set against the dramatic backdrop of
wartime Australia,
Under a Southern Sky
explores how far we must sometimes
travel—both in miles and in spirit—to find our way home.
Dreams in Norway Giveaway!!
Congratulations to Jan who was randomly chosen from all entries and won the Dreams in Norway bundle! And because of the number of entries we had, an extra prize went to Verity who won a signed book and a Kvikk Lunsj bar.
Reading and watching
I have just finished reading Elsie Silver’s Fever Dream. It was wonderful as all Elsie’s books are if you love a cowboy romance. There was slightly less spice in this than her other books which I appreciated. Now I’m reading Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter which is a coming-of-age romance based around the idea that it’s easy to overlook the good guy in favour of the bad boy. Not a problem I ever had because the bad boys always scared me, but think Daniel Cleaver vs Mark Darcy and you’re on the right track.
I’ve just watched Every Year After on Amazon Prime which is based on a Carley Fortune romance novel and set in British Columbia, Canada. The scenery is spectacular and it is a tale of Yearning (yes, with a capital Y). I flipped from being on one person’s side to being right behind the other one because it drip feeds you the information. Clever.
And now we’re watching the Traitors US which is on BBC iPlayer. We’re two episodes in and it’s already got me in its grip.
Thanks as ever for your support. Happy reading!
Victoria
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