Hi
It’s lovely to be back here after what seems like an awfully long time. I have so much to tell you! Most importantly I went to Norway a couple of weeks ago, just after the snow we had in the UK, and just after they’d had a considerable dump of snow in Norway. It was a research trip for my new series because although I’ve been to a few small towns in Norway when we went on a northern lights cruise, I wanted to see what the cities were like and soak up the vibes.
Our first stop was Bergen where the rain had washed away most of the snow, and it was relatively mild at around 3 degrees celsius. We were reliably informed by a local that it rains literally all the time in Bergen. I feel like he was telling the truth because it has rained 100% of the time on the two visits I have made there and even my waterproof coat struggled to cope. Despite that we had an amazing time. My daughter and marketing guru Claudia arranged a boat trip along the fjord which was incredible. The further we went, the more icy everything became and in the end the boat had to stop because of the ice. They fished some ice out for everyone to try because it’s meant to be the purest water in the world, or something like that, and we loved the spectacle! Aside from that we went up the hill on the funicular railway to see what was an amazing view of the fjords, although we were disappointed not to be able to walk around the troll garden because it was too icy. By this point we were quite obsessed by the trolls. They were everywhere.
Then we took a seven hour train trip on the Oslo to Bergen railway, apparently one of the most spectacular train journeys in Europe. We started in the dark at 6am but it was worth the early start. What an incredible journey it was. It didn’t feel like seven hours at all because the scenery was so distracting. Then when we arrived in Oslo, it was a bit of a shock to be in the middle of a European capital city. TikTok saved the day by directing us to the Nordic Fairy Light Forest in the picture at the top. It was the most treacherous walk to reach it since it was halfway up a mountain and there was a lot of icy snow everywhere, but it was worth the risk. It turned out there was a very clear road we could have taken instead of the ice path so that was annoying but at least we got down safely and the journey up there will be an abiding memory.
One thing that was a surprise is that they have Sunday trading laws in Norway so nothing was open apart from museums, coffee shops and restaurants. The whole city was so quiet and we spent most of the day at the Nordic Folk Museum. A particular highlight for both of us was the stave church, and I was also taken by a 1950s house constructed after the war. The history of the family that had lived there was fascinating.
I came home with so many ideas and I have already started writing a novella which will be yours for free! Details in next month’s newsletter.
The Island In Bramble Bay
The Island in Bramble Bay was my second novel and is a standalone story set in Dorset. It has a place in lots of readers’ hearts and has amassed almost a thousand reviews so we thought it deserved a refresh. It has a new cover and some fancy formatting inside but otherwise it’s the same story. If you haven’t read it, give it a go!
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! This month’s book is available on Amazon and free with Kindle Unlimited.
When Summer Sutton arrives in Sweetingfield, the beauty of the countryside takes her breath away, as does the most gorgeous and infuriating man she has ever met.
Ben hides his private pain by focusing his attention on the animals in his care at Pepley Wood Wildlife Hospital. The one thing he and Summer can agree on is that they are both too damaged by their pasts to ever risk falling in love with anyone.
Pepley Wood faces closure. Can Summer and Ben overcome their differences and work together to build a secure future for the animals needing Ben’s care?
Find Summer in Sweetingfield on Amazon
Reading and watching
I know it’s far too late for a Christmas book recommendation but I have only just finished my Christmas reading after a slow start. Holiday Ever After by Hannah Grace should be at the top of your Christmas reading list for this year! It’s the perfect small town romance, full of snow, longing, cosiness, hot chocolate and gorgeous – sometimes infuriating – men. Now I’m reading You Are Here by David Nicholls and I can’t wait to get to bed and devour it every night. It’s laugh-out-loud funny with spot-on observations and a sense – at 25% in – that this is going to end up being one hell of a romance, I’m hoping for One Day vibes. It’s set around a group of people who all have one friend in common, setting off on the Coast-to-Coast walk. I’ll admit I’m tempted to have a go at it already and the descriptions of the walking and the scenery are as compelling as the rest of the story.
We’ve been watching Steal on Amazon. It’s the ultimate makes-your-palms-sweat television and the whole household is enjoying it which is unusual these days! We’re also watching the Night Manager which is okay but I’m not enjoying it as much as I did the first series. And obviously we watched Traitors! In fact we were so excited that Claudia and I accidentally watched the first episode of series one on iPlayer and didn’t realise we were on the wrong series until we sat down with the rest of the family for episode two. Doh! Serves us right for being late to the Traitors party – we started with the celebrity one.
So happy reading, hope you haven’t been Norwayed to sleep. See you next time.
Victoria
x
