All Posts

How a Forgotten Memoir Inspired Jack’s Promises How a book I’d never heard of helped me write Jack’s Promises. About fifty years after Doris Gill, who wrote under the name Raby Long, wrote her memoir, Tomorrow’s Promise, my mother received a copy in the post. She had no idea the book existed. It had been published privately for Doris’s friends and family, so you can imagine her surprise when it arrived. I often wonder what would have happened if that book had never found its

Researching Jack’s Promises took me deep into the family history and real-life events that inspired my novel, revealing the people, places and experiences behind the story. Since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by the stories my mother told me about her life in western Queensland. But there was much more to her story than met the eye. Unless you 've lived in poverty in the Australian bush, or on the outskirts of a bush town in a rundown house with no floorboards except in

A drink coaster from the Isa Hotel in Western Queensland brings back happy memories of researching Jack’s Promises from my home in the Landaise forest in south-west France. Now, as I begin my next novel, Central Hotel, Queensland is calling me back.

There is an old man sitting on the terrace, two tables away, drinking coffee. I don't know his name. I don't know where he lives, whether he has children, what he did for a living, or why he is sitting alone. But almost immediately, my imagination starts filling in the gaps. Perhaps he has lived in the village all his life. Perhaps he came here after retiring from a career somewhere else. Perhaps the woman he was married to died a few years ago. Perhaps he has children who li

A Family Story Hidden in the Australian Outback When I set out to research my novel Jack's Promises, based on the true story of a woman's endurance and survival in the harsh Australian bush during the Depression and the Second World War, I never imagined that I would uncover a branch of my own family that I didn't know existed. Like many writers working with real events, I expected to find details that would enrich the story. What I didn't expect was to stumble across a famil

People often ask why I chose to travel to the other side of the world to find the perfect place to write. For me, the answer is simple. For others, it seems difficult to understand.

Twenty years ago, on February 12th, 2005, Alfred Sirven died — a man whose name is still tied to one of France’s most famous financial scandals. He bought Château de Détilly with money that was probably never really his, and he is remembered less for his career than for the dramatic fallout of the Elf affair and his flight from France, eventually being tracked down by Interpol. There’s plenty written about Alfred Sirven, "the man who knew everything", and the scandal for anyo

The western side ofcChateau de Detilly on a sunny day

It was a warm July morning when we first turned the key in the weathered wooden doors of Château de Détilly. Birdsong clung to the trees. The air smelled of sun-warmed stone and dry grass. The wheat fields wavered in the heat like a mirage. What I remember most, though, was the silence—a silence so deep my own thoughts felt unfamiliar. For most of my life in France, Paris was my compass. I taught at the Nouvelle Sorbonne and Sciences Po and lived just outside the city, close

Breakfast at Chateau de Detilly is more than a breakfast—it's and event. We serve only the best of everything.

The rose garden at Château de Deétilly is one of the biggest privately-owned ones in the Loire Valley. It has 81 arches and thousands of rose bushes.

Chateau de Detilly looking beautiful for an event.

The château seen from the southern side in summer

The original Château de Détilly also began as a hunting lodge built by Joseph II, the archbishop of Tours, in the 10th century on the site of an ancient Roman villa—Villa Destilliacus.

Greetings from Writers' Retreats in the Loire Valley! I’m delighted to share my journey as a novelist, playwright, and writing mentor with you. Here, you’ll find insights into my creative process, updates on my books and plays, and reflections on the writing life. You’ll also learn about the writers’ groups and retreats I’ve established, where passionate storytellers gather to hone their craft.