Posted in Reading, Travel, Writing

Travels with my Books #9: With Helena Halme to the Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea

 

Meet Helena Halme, Finnish author

I’m delighted to welcome my Finnish author friend, Helena Halme, who although now living in London and married to “The Englishman” who inspired a series of novels, is here to talk to us about her Love on the Island series, set on the Åland Islands, situated in the middle of the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden.

This fast-growing series of romantic novels plunges us into Åland Island life, and so far four titles are available, with the fifth due out later this year. 

The Island Affair (Book 1)
An Island Christmas (Book 2)
The Island Daughter (Book 3)
An Island Summer (Book 4)
The Island Child (Book 5)

Over to Helena to tell us more about them…

All the books follow Alicia, whose teenage son, Stefan, dies in a motorcycle accident in London. After her marriage breaks up with the British surgeon Liam, returns to her native islands and has a passionate affair with the Swedish journalist Patrick. 

Alicia’s tumultuous relationship with both Patrick and Liam spans the series. We also meet Alicia’s mom, Hilda, her best friend Brit, and her late son’s girlfriend Frida. The four women’s relationships face difficulties as babies are born and elderly parents die. There are long-held family secrets, newly found love, as well dark mysteries on the islands which threaten to destroy both Alicia, her family, and friends.

Helena, what makes the Åland Islands such a great setting for your stories?

Islands have always fascinated me, mainly because they are such contained places, both physically and culturally.

There are no bridges between the mainland and the Åland Islands, so you have to either travel by sea or fly in order to reach the islands. They are also a huge tourist spot, with a small population tripling during the summer months. On top of all that, the islands lie closer to Sweden but are an autonomous part of Finland, where the official language is Swedish.

Is it any wonder that the islanders are very independent and don’t consider themselves either Swedish or Finnish.

There are all kinds of special rules attached to the islands. For example, you cannot own land unless you are a resident and you have to be able to speak Swedish to gain residency, which is a sore point to many Finns. 

The islands are a tax-free zone, which increases tourism but also encourages cruise liners to make briefest of stops to the islands when the passengers never even have time to set one foot on land. 

All this make the islanders quite insular and quirky. Perfect for a novelist!

landscape of island
Typical view of houses, sheds and boats on Aland islands

What is your relationship with Åland Islands and how much of your life have you spent there?

I have a very personal reason why I set my books on the Åland Islands. For the past thirty years, my mother has been living on the islands (she’s married to a local farmer) and I’ve become ‘a summer islander’ as the locals call me.

I’ve wanted to set a story on the islands for a long time, but it wasn’t until I dreamt up the characters that I was able to do it. Alicia, especially, didn’t really come to me until I had explored many kinds of stories set in Åland. 

In my imagination, there was always a locally brought up woman returning to the islands from the UK, because this is something I myself dreamt of doing. (I didn’t want to leave my Englishman, though, so it never happened!) 

When I discovered Alicia and the tragic story of the loss of a son, I knew I had an idea for a series. I don’t know any mother who doesn’t constantly fear that something like that happens to their children. Wouldn’t you want to go home where you felt safe in such an awful circumstance? And wouldn’t your marriage suffer? Especially if you blame your husband for the accident as Alicia does?

What challenges do your characters from beyond the island face dealing with the local people?

The person most at odds with the local islanders is Alicia’s ex, Liam. While their son was alive, the family would spend a couple of weeks each summer on the islands, which Liam resented.

Firstly, he didn’t like the food. There’s so much heavy rye bread and other stodgy, strange dishes. And who eats raw herring? 

He hated the daily ritual of the sauna. It’s too hot and, he’s certain, bad for your heart. He never learned the language, although the island folk don’t speak much in general, preferring silence to small talk. Which Liam also found odd, and, frankly, rude. On top of everything, Liam gets seasick and hates flying, the only two ways you can reach the islands.

What are your top tips for any readers planning to travel to the Åland Islands?

Definitely do arrive by sea, either via Finland or Sweden. The archipelago is stunning any time of the year. 

The summer is the best season to visit. During any other time of the year, the islands and their residents go into a kind of hibernation.

My children used to say that  during the last week of our holiday in August when the schools had already started on the mainland, there was tumbleweed rolling along the main shopping street of Mariehamn, the capital of the islands. 

image of islands across the water

Another top tip is to eat as much of the local food as possible. Liam is wrong: it’s all fresh and lovely and delicious. Try the local speciality, a clafoutis-like oven-baked pancake, Ålandspannkaka. It’s served with local plum preserve and whipped cream. Washed down with a cup of strong coffee, naturally. Unmissable! 

Where will your next book be set?

The next book in the series, The Island Child, is again set on the Åland Islands. The story centres around Brit, Alicia’s best friend who after travelling the world has settled on the islands with a local sea captain, Jukka. But her past comes knocking with an unpleasant character bringing a nasty surprise to the heavily pregnant Brit. To complicate things, just as Brit is about to give birth, Jukka’s ship runs aground outside Mariehamn. With Alicia’s mother Hilda onboard…

The story will also touch on Alicia’s continuing love triangle with her Swedish lover Patrick and her ex-husband, Liam. Alicia’s mother Hilda also has a new love interest!

The Island Child will be out before Christmas, but is now on pre-order.


EXTRACT from An Island Christmas

This is a short excerpt from the second book in the Love on the Island series, An Island Christmas. It’s a scene set on Christmas Eve, the main day of celebrations on the islands. It’s Alicia’s first Christmas back and she wants the day to be perfect, but her plans are disrupted by the unwelcome arrival of someone she’s decided to forget …

Patrick turns into the Ulsson’s drive and parks the car next to a VW Golf. He turns off his lights and stays in the car for a moment. On the passenger seat is a paper bag filled with Christmas presents wrapped up expertly by one of the assistants at the fashionable interior design shop in town. They are beautifully understated, in white paper with wide red ribbons. 

There’s also the large box containing a magnum of vintage champagne resting on the floor of the car. He wonders if that is overkill. Should he perhaps leave the bottle behind and fetch it later, if he gets a good reception from Alicia?

He gazes up to the house, shining brightly in the dark afternoon light, the downstairs windows decorated with large star lanterns. The freshly fallen snow has formed a blanket over the sloping roof and the landscape. With the large pine draped with white lights, the whole scene looks serene and festive, like a TV advert.

Damn it, be brave. 

Hilda will appreciate the champagne, he’s sure, so he picks up the box, takes hold of the paper bag, slams the door of his car, and makes his way up to the house.

‘Who’s that?’ Hilda asks.

Alicia cannot believe her eyes. She watches as Patrick gets out of the car, picking something up from the passenger seat. She has her phone against her ear, still talking to Frida. The baby is crying in the background.

‘Can I ring you later?’ Alicia says and ends the call.

‘Is that who I think it is?’ Hilda says, her mouth open, forming an ‘o.’

‘What the hell does he think he’s doing?’ Alicia says and hurries to the door. 

But Patrick is quicker than she is, and by the time she opens the door, he is already standing there, a wide grin filling his face. He’s carrying a bag full of presents and a large box.

‘Surprise!’ he says.

Alicia stands there, dumbfounded. She cannot speak.

‘Can I come in?’ Patrick asks. ‘It’s bloody cold out here.’

‘Patrick, what a lovely surprise!’ Hilda says. She’s standing behind Alicia, who’s unable to move or speak. At her mother’s words, she turns to scowl at Hilda. She widens her eyes at her daughter. ‘Come now, let the poor man in. He must be freezing.’

Patrick smiles at Hilda and steps past Alicia, who is still holding onto the door handle. Alicia gets a waft of his perfume and the smell of the crisp outside. She tries not to let his rousing presence affect her judgment. 

What is he playing at? He must know Liam is here?  

‘Alicia, close that door before we all catch our death,’ Hilda says.

God Jul!’ 

Patrick hugs Hilda. He hands her the box he’s holding and when she sees what it is, she exclaims, ‘Oh, my goodness. Thank you and Merry Christmas to you too!’

‘I’m sorry I’ve come unannounced, but I thought I’d drop my presents off. I didn’t get a chance to do it before today, but I won’t keep you.’ 

With that, he turns around and hands her the bag of presents.

‘Happy Christmas, Alicia.’ His voice is soft and he bends down to give her a kiss on the cheek while grabbing the door handle, ready to go back outside.

‘Patrick, you can’t leave without at least having a drink with us!’ Hilda exclaims.

‘I couldn’t possibly, it’s a family occasion,’ Patrick says.

Alicia rolls her eyes at him, but he either doesn’t see her or ignores her on purpose and, smiling at Hilda, continues, ‘If you’re sure?’


FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HELENA HALME

Visit her website https://helenahalme.com/ and follow her lively Instagram account at www.instagram.com/helenahalme.


ANOTHER ISLAND STORY

If, like Helena Halme (and Agatha Christie!), you love stories set on islands, you can also take a trip to Ithace, Greece in the company of Sophie Sayers in my sixth novel about her, Murder Your Darlings.

Shortlisted for the Selfies Award 2021, given to the best independently-published adult novels in the UK

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Posted in Personal life, Travel, Writing

Lane Discipline: the Inspiration for my New Novella

Cover design by Rachel Lawston inspired by the single-track roads of the Cotswolds in spring

When I first moved to Hawkesbury Upton, I didn’t realise that three of the four roads into the village were partly single track with passing places. Learning to drive in suburban London, my lessons had been exclusively in built-up areas. In my company car, I was clocking up most of my miles on motorways. Negotiating rural lanes required a recalibration of my driving skills.

However, I soon learned to love the local lanes all year round, enjoying seeing the seasons change in the hedgerows and verges – from snowdrops to primroses, from wild garlic to cow parsley.

A few months after moving to the village, with the smugness of the newly-converted, I laughed at a visiting townie friend perplexed by the etiquette of country driving. “Do you really know everybody round here?” he asked, having seen me exchange the usual waves of thanks with drivers who pulled over for me, or to whom I gave way.

When another driver refused to give way despite being closer to a passing place than we were, my friend was about to express his feelings in the international sign language of the angry motorist. “Best not to do that so close to home,” I advised, “as actually it is quite likely that I will know the other driver.”

He said that if he had to live in my house, he’d never leave the village at the wheel of a car.

Three decades later, meeting traffic on single-track roads doesn’t bother me, but I do prefer to have the lanes to myself, not for road rage reasons, but because when they’re deserted, there’s something other-worldly about them.

Not always in a good way: on dark, moonless nights without the familiar markers of urban streets – no streetlights or road signs, no road markings or kerbs – the lanes can be disorienting. Add thick fog, snow or torrential rain, and it can feel as if you’re heading for a Hammer Horror film set, where the undead are waiting to greet you.

But in the right light and weather, these narrow lanes can feel perfectly magical.

Earlier this year, a pleasant drive in the spring sunshine with cow parsley brushing the sides of my car gave me the idea for my new novella, Mrs Morris Changes Lanes, in which a rural journey transforms the heroine’s life by taking her to a surprising destination – and I don’t mean Chipping Sodbury Waitrose.

Click here to find out more about Mrs Morris’s Cotswold adventure.


For More Information & to Order

cover of Mrs Morris Changes Lanes

Click here to order the ebook online

Click here to order paperback online

Order from your local bookshop quoting ISBN 978-1911223818

Email me to buy a copy direct from me

 


This post originally appeared in the September 2021 edition of the Hawkesbury Parish News

Posted in Reading, Travel, Writing

Travels with my Books #8: With JJ Marsh to Salzburg, Austria

headshot of JJ Marsh
Meet JJ Marsh, author of psychological thrillers and crime novels

Today I’m delighted to welcome JJ Marsh to whisk us away to Salzburg, Austria, the setting of her new psychological thriller, Wolf Tones. I’ve never been there, but it’s a city I feel I know at least a little, thanks to watching The Sound of Music multiple times. Of course, Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart, and it’s the city’s classical music tradition, rather than the exploits of the Von Trapp Family Singers, that permeate Wolf Tones, and I enjoyed its portrait of how orchestras and professional musicians live and work, as well as the gripping plot. Over to JJ Marsh to tell us more!


cover of Wolf TonesFirst, please tell us a little more about Wolf Tones and why you set it in Salzburg. 

Wolf Tones is a psychological thriller set in the world of classical music. The Austrian city of Salzburg is the perfect backdrop to my story of dark truths behind an austere facade.

What makes this place such a great setting for thisstory?

Music is everywhere in Salzburg; in churches, in parks, in concert halls and in the street. The legacy of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is inescapable: his birthplace, house, statues and of course, his music are defining features of this city.

It’s also extraordinarily beautiful, with a hilltop castle overlooking the city and the Salzach river flowing past Baroque buildings. In fact, the Altstadt (Old Town) is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s formal and organised and on the surface, well behaved.

I wanted my character to be thrown into a stiff and very proper environment, both in terms of the orchestra and his surroundings, where he struggles to adapt and learn who to trust.

Photo of hill-top castle in Salzburg
(Photo by Sebastian Mittermeier via Unsplash.com)

What is your relationship with Salzburg and how much of your life have you spent there?

Usually I make a point of visiting my locations to ensure authenticity, if only for a weekend mini-break. But I wrote this book in 2020/21, slap-bang in the middle of the pandemic, when travel to other countries was out of the question. So I was dependent on research, friends’ experiences and picking Austrians’ brains.

That said, I live in Zürich. Switzerland has a great deal in common with its next-door neighbour. Café culture, the language, architecture, food and the alpine countryside create a similar atmosphere. My very first trip in two years will be to Salzburg.

(Photo by Reiseuhu via Unsplash.com)

Your protagonist comes from elsewhere – what challenges does he face dealing with the local people of Salzburg?

Rolf, the main character, comes from Bratislava in Slovakia. Many Slovaks speak German or English as a second language, but Rolf has some gaps in his education so finds navigating daily life using German and speaking English in the multi-national orchestra a huge challenge.

What are the distinguishing features of Salzburg in terms of geography, geology, flora, fauna or any other detail you care to mention?!

Probably the best known fact about the city is its role in The Sound of Music. All the iconic locations in the film are in and around Salzburg: Maria’s convent where the Nonnberg nuns still sing Gregorian choral music at 06.45 every day; the Mirabell gardens and fountains seen when the children learn Do-Re-Mi; the Felsenreitschule, where the von Trapp family perform their patriotic songs just before fleeing from the Nazis to Switzerland.

(Photo by Kateryna-jw via Unsplash.com)

As for flora, obviously Edelweiss. These woolly white flowers are rare and only grow on the mountains above 2000 metres. Austrians and Swiss both claim it as their national flower.

You can take walking, cycling and bus tours to visit all the movie landmarks, but your companions will probably be British and American tourists. In the German-speaking world, the film is largely unknown.

What are your top tips for any readers planning to travel to the setting of your book?

Eat cake! Flaky apple strudel, refined chocolate Sachertorte, the fabulous marbled Gugelhupf or shiny groovy Rehruecken, accompanied by a cup of classic Austrian coffee.

Where is your latest book set?

Rio Negro, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Black River is the second in my Run and Hide series, out October 2021.

Where will your next book be set?

Macau, on the Pearl River Delta between Hong Kong and China. I just hope they make decent cakes…


EXTRACT FROM WOLF TONES by J J Marsh

cover of Wolf TonesThey spent Sunday morning arranging their new apartment to Leonor’s liking, ate a simple lunch of tinned goulash and walked out to enjoy the sunshine. Hand-in-hand, they strolled the streets, delighting in the blossoms and civic floral displays. Salzburg, in his mind, was clean and white. But his one and only visit had been in the wintry days of February. Now it was a riot of colour with green buds and grassy parks and flowers everywhere. The wide, muddy Salzach River flowed through the city, much like the Danube through the Slovakian capital, lending a sense of openness and light. Rolf had left Bratislava to come to Salzburg, but the river was headed in the opposite direction. The water rushing past his feet would continue its journey to the Danube, past his home town and eventually into the Black Sea.

Selfies against the backdrop of the castle, a coffee and pastry, the obligatory visit to Mozart’s birthplace and a pause to listen to a string quartet in one of the many beautiful squares. It was almost too much to take in, although as far as the quartet was concerned, he had some doubts about the second violinist’s fingering technique. Street performers puzzled him. The casual interest of passers-by was nothing like the breathless attention of a concert hall audience. Rolf was relieved he’d never have to play in the street like a busker. Fine for these music students, of course. It was a way to cut their teeth, but not appropriate for a professional.

Read the first chapter on JJ Marsh’s website here: https://www.jjmarshauthor.com/wolf-tones/


FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT JJ MARSH

Visit her website: jjmarshauthor.com


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Or take a trip to the Cotswolds any time, through the pages of my own fiction books.

Posted in Events, Personal life, Travel

Diary Dilemma

I keep all my old diaries – these date back to my childhood

As the world begins to open up again, I buy a new mid-year diary twice the size of my old one.

After crossing out practically every event in the last sixteen months due to Covid restrictions, I’m hoping I’ll need more diary space to make up for lost time. I have so many missed social engagements with family and friends to make up for, not to mention practical appointments with doctors, dentists, hairdressers and garages.

My favourite time for appointments is 11am. With 11 as my default, I am more likely to remember when my meetings are and to turn up on time. Similarly, when I’m working at my desk, I generally down tools at 11 for a coffee break.

Is there honey still for elevenses? (Image by Mariana Ibanez via Unsplash.com)

I follow Winnie-the-Pooh’s advocacy for elevenses – “Pooh always liked a little something at eleven o’clock in the morning” – although I don’t share his taste in refreshments.

Rabbit said, ‘Honey or condensed milk with your bread?’ Pooh was so excited that he said, ‘Both,’ and then as not to seem greedy, he added, ‘but don’t bother about the bread, please.’*

My plan for more outings is soon scuppered by increased traffic congestion. (Yes, I know, I’m contributing to those traffic jams by driving places.) One Friday afternoon in early July, when it takes me two hours to drive the six miles between Junctions 18 and 19 on the M4, I resolve to avoid motorways at weekends until after the summer holidays.

Consequently, the Monday to Thursday pages of my diary are soon choc-a-bloc, while the rest are almost empty.  But that’s fine by me. Being self-employed, I am fortunate in being able to work whichever days I choose, including weekends.

My next challenge is to fit a whole week’s work into Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

John Maynard Keynes, looking forward to a 15-hour working week (Image: public domain)

Nearly 100 years ago, leading economist John Maynard Keynes predicted labour-saving technology would soon shorten the standard working week to 15 hours.

In my teens (not quite 100 years ago), futurists were still predicting a four-day week for us all. Even so, to avoid burning the midnight oil, what I really need is a five-day weekend.

But after more than a year of not being able to tell one day from another, that’s a good problem to have.

(This post originally appeared in the August 2021 edition of the Hawkesbury Parish News   *Copyright The estate of A A Milne)


Summer Holiday Reading

cover of Best Murder in ShowTwo books in my Sophie Sayers Village Mystery series take place in the summer holidays:

Best Murder in Show (first in series) revolves around the annual horticultural show, where Sophie finds a dead body on a float in the village carnival

cover of Murder Lost and FoundMurder Lost and Found (seventh in series) takes place just after the end of the academic year at the village school, when Sophie finds a dead body in the school’s lost property cupboard

All of my novels are available in paperback online or to order from your local bookshop and in ebook from all the popular ebook store sites. Best Murder in Show is also available as an audiobook from all the major audiobook sites including Audible – or you can buy it at a very special rate via my AuthorsDirect shop here


Summer Diary Date

The highlight of this month in my diary will on Saturday 28th August – the fabulous Hawkesbury Horticultural Show, in the Cotswold village of Hawkesbury Upton where I’ve lived for over thirty years. I’ll be manning the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival stall – if you’re at the Show, do come and find me and say hello!

Find out more about the Hawkesbury Horticultural Show at www.hawkesburyshow.org)

photo of lit fest marquee
A A Abbott, one of the authors at the pop-up lit fest, kindly provided this photo

 

Posted in Personal life, Travel

How Blue Was My Hilltop

In my Young By Name column for this month’s Tetbury Advertiser, I wrote about a sight I’d like to spot more often in the Cotswolds – although they are beautiful enough as they are!

Driving along a lane in the high fields near Newark Park, I spot a mirage-like splash of blue big enough to fill a field. Or is it mauve? Rippling in the late afternoon breeze, the flowering crop is changing colour as readily as the two-tone tonic suits favoured by Mods in the 1960s. Oil poured on water morphs from black to rainbow hues because the floating film is just a molecule thick, but when I park alongside the field, these plants are chest high.

close-up view of flax

I’m used to seeing cars stopping on the roadside in early summer to photograph swathes of pillar-box red poppies among the crops. A few years ago, a field just off the A46 was as densely carpeted with poppies as the famous scene in The Wizard of Oz. An instant tourist attraction, it triggered a proliferation of social media selfies.

poppy field viewed from a distance, a brilliant red stripe in a green landscape
The arresting view of Hawkesbury’s poppy field caused may motorists to divert from the A46 for a closer look

The mauve flowers – or are they blue? – in this field by Newark Park have a far subtler beauty. It is of course a field of flax, the first I’ve seen for a long time, and an increasingly rare sight in the Cotswolds. How I wish I could substitute flax for the ubiquitous rapeseed, whose vivid flowers look all wrong in our gentle landscape. They also make me sneeze like one possessed, a yellow morning mist floating above their fields like mustard gas. While I don’t expect farmers to choose crops for their good looks, I do wish flax could be more profitable.

view of field from by drystone wall

Flax, aka linseed, is certainly a useful and versatile crop.  Chez Young, we add linseeds to our breakfast cereal and salads for their health benefits. Linseeds are rich in fibre, protein, Vitamin B, minerals and Omega 3 fatty acids.

I wish the latter didn’t sound so unappetising: “Mmm, fatty acids,” said Homer Simpson, never.

Research indicates that linseeds improve digestive health and lower blood pressure, bad cholesterol and cancer risk. If that’s not enough to win your heart, linseed oil goes into paints, varnishes, animal feeds and cricket bats.

The stalk, with fibres three times stronger than cotton, is the source of linen. The Ancient Egyptians considered linen a symbol of purity and allowed only priests and mummies to wear it. Much as I love linen clothes, that’s not a sacrifice I’d be prepared to make. Flax fibres are also used in the manufacture of cigarette papers (boo!) and teabags (hurrah!)

So why don’t we grow more flax on the rolling hills of the Cotswolds? When I google its preferred growing conditions, I discover it’s not just a matter of money. Flax thrives on alluvial soil, ie rich in sediment deposited by running water on a floodplain. With an average elevation of over 100m in the Cotswolds, I’m guessing alluvial soil is not our long suit.

As the sky begins to darken ahead of a thunderstorm, I realise I must make the most of this rare scene, so I capture it on my smartphone before returning to my car – and, like a tourist on my home turf, to social media.

poppies in a Hawkesbury field
More poppies, spotted on my way home from Newark Park

array of seven books in series
Follow the changing seasons of the Cotswolds year from one summer to the next in this seven-book series

SERIES OF GENTLE MYSTERY NOVELS INSPIRED BY THE SEASONS IN THE COTSWOLDS

Watching the changing seasons in the Cotswolds is one of the inspirations for my Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries series, which follows the course of village life from one summer to the next through the eyes of newcomer Sophie Sayers.

Click here to find out more about this seven-book series.  

Order the first ebook in the series here. 

Order the paperbacks online here.

Or ask your favourite local bookshop to order from their usual stockist, quoting ISBN 978-1911223139.

All the books in the series are available in both paperback and ebook, and Best Murder in Show is also available as an audiobook (order direct from me via this link for a very special price), and production is about to start on the audiobook of Trick or Murder?