October 13, 2014

BACKGROUND, INSPIRATION & LOCATIONS ...


Those readers who have downloaded Betrayal, The Girl in the Woods, The Girl in the Red Dress, No Way Back and Landscape of Lies will know that the protagonist, London-based investigative journalist Alice Myers, has entered the secluded world of Derbyshire’s Peak District, an area of isolated farms, close-knit villages and festering secrets at the invitation of DCI Neil Hunter. 

After fifteen years in exile, successful businessman Nick Lawrence returns home to save a failing company in Betrayal. Despite being acquitted of the murder of his girlfriend Emily, he is confronted with all the people of a past life who can’t and won’t forgive him – including his own family – his return reopening old wounds.

A teenager vanishes in woodland in The Girl in the Woods. Her parents are torn apart by secrets, guilt and jealousy. Barbara Forster, the complex DI heading the enquiry, faces a race against time, following a treacherous path that leads all the way to a dark and explosive climax.

In The Girl in the Red Dress, the young daughter of a local doctor is killed – shoved into the icy, fast-flowing river Dane and cold-bloodedly left to die. Her parents stubbornly deny any involvement. Then, within days, a boy is also murdered in one of the Peak District’s bleakest cases ever when a blizzard traps the murder suspects in the small, isolated village of Earl Sterndale (below).

No Way Back focuses on the discovery near Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill (which edge the village) of the body of a young girl – who strongly resembles a child who disappeared in similar circumstances 26 years earlier – by a family man and soon the prime murder suspect. This unleashes a train of events that overwhelms him, his family and the local community alike.

When his attempts to clear his name fail, hampered by a mysterious stranger from his past, his journalist friend Alice desperately risks her life to bring the killer to justice. Revenge and unspeakable crimes converge on this sleepy Peak District village and there is... No Way Back.           
                 
                Below you can see Chrome Hill in the foreground, Parkhouse in the 
                distance, the pair collectively forming part of the Dragon's Back. Further
                in the background lies Earl Sterndale - 5 miles south of Buxton.

Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill


Below: Dowel Cave














                                                                                                                                       





Those of you who have downloaded Landscape of Lies will know that Neil is soon investigating deaths that look increasingly like murder. All the deaths seem linked to a serial killer, now serving a life sentence. A cat-and-mouse game unfolds for both Neil and Alice. Is a copycat at large? Who will be the next victim? And … well, you really don’t want a spoiler!

But what I can reveal is the background to this novel and likewise its inspiration: the Peak District National Park – and the main locations depicted in it.
         

                                    So, follow Alice’s journey – as ‘seen’ through her eyes:                
                   The countryside near Neil’s cottage in Danebridge: the Dane 
             Valley with Shutlingsloe (the Cheshire Matterhorn) in the background                            

                                         The River Dane at Danebridge

                                      Locations of suspicious deaths:

        Chelmorton - one of the highest villages not only in Derbyshire but England
          
                            Youlgrave - mentioned in the Domesday book
                            as belonging to Henry de Ferrers and worth 16 shillings

                                Buxton together with its Spa and Crescent

                                                    Opera House

                                                Pavilion Gardens

                                             And King’s Head pub


                                                             Other places Alice will have visited:

                                                       Bakewell


                                                     Matlock Bath

                                        Matlock High Tor and Dale

                                                      Hathersage

                   Not forgetting the Peak District’s treacherous Snake Pass


                                      The Roaches and Hen Cloud








                      And the unforgettable, unforgiving Froggatt Edge ...











                                        The Head, Froggatt Edge, winter

Enjoy!

















June 4, 2014

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2014 ...


                                                      'Moonrise'

Dear readers, this week, C is for the Chelsea Flower Show, May 2014                                              

Even if, like me, you prefer admiring the efforts of others doing the gardening, there’s always something to catch your eye at Chelsea. Here are a few shots from the recent show:

Cactus display:

Rebutia Krainziana

Bulbs in bloom

Lupins
Auricula
Brunsvigia orientalis

Protea 'Little Prince'

                          And some of the model gardens:

Renaisssance Garden


Rose Garden

Country Garden

Seaside Garden

And, finally, thank you to all our dear readers who visited, commented or are new followers.

Enjoy!

NORA & LOLA:)

May 28, 2014

BARCELONA ...


Dear readers, this week, B is for Barcelona, Spain (seen from hotel, above) ...    

According to the recent annual Cities Survey from TripAdvisor, which collates the opinions of more than 54,000 travellers to the top 37 urban tourist destinations around the world, Barcelona came #3 in the 'overall experience' category. What's your favorite (vacation) destination?
                                         
                            So much to see here, both ancient and modern. 
                            One moment, you’re walking in Picasso’s footsteps
                            through medieval streets:




                                  Not forgetting the famous La Rambla


                 And then you’re confronted with such modernist wonders as these:

                                                        La Sagrada


                                                 
                                                and these buildings:



And, finally, thank you to all our dear readers who visited, commented or are new followers.

Enjoy!
NORA & LOLA:)