As any writer will tell you, a new novel does not materialise overnight. It takes time and the proverbial blood, sweat and tears. And this novel has been my labour of love. After hosting several Ukrainian families, I saw their struggle, and their desire for freedom. They want independence from the brutal and old fashioned regime that is Russia today. Young Ukrainians are modern and detest anything to do with the old Soviet attitudes. It doesn't seem too much to ask. But added

a Ukrainian sunflower CHOOSING A NOVEL FOR 2026 I've worked all year on two new novels, but at some point I had to choose one to get ready for publication. Attending the Bournemouth Romance Writers Festival earlier this year, I chose to wear my sunflower dungarees. (You can see them in the pic on the home page of my website). No one knew me there but everyone liked my dungarees, so I decided that from now on, sunflowers are my image. The Festival was fantastic – full of creat

The idea for the Anna Puzzle was born when I learned more about the Ukrainian people from my Homes4Ukraine guests. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, there have been struggles in Eastern Europe unrecorded in the main European news - until 2022. I knew I wanted to tell a love story, not a war story, although the two elements are intwined. I also wanted to tell a story of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.