We don’t ask to be born into privilege. But privilege is something we have in varied amounts, whoever we are. Perhaps being male, being white, being educated, being wealthy are privileges. It depends on complexities, who you are, where you are, and what your situation. There are, of course, many more privileges than this. Certainly, we know what a lack of privilege looks like. And we know how people who are denied privilege or who are born without it suffer as a consequence and see the world differently.

But how do we feel about people who have privilege? Is it necessarily their fault? Does it carry responsibility? And is the important factor how people use their privilege, how they support others who don’t have it? Or is there more to it than that?

My next two novels, out now, at the beginning of June, and the end of July, touch on this subject to varying degrees.

The Golden Gals’ French Adventure is a romantic comedy, a hens’ lit book. Fliss is a retired CEO in her late sixties, who is bored and wastes her time in cocktail bars with the wrong type of men. She has no family, but she is wealthy and she has learned to indulge herself, whizzing off to Paris on a whim to buy herself more new things.

Shirl is her cleaner and chauffeur. Also in her sixties, she is a mother and a grandmother. She is full of love and puts others first. She does not have money to spare and she is grateful for any positives in her life.

Put the two women together on a French adventure, and there is a lot of fun to be had. Fliss knows how to have fun, how to spend money, how to pamper herself. Shirl is more caring towards others; she is unafraid to speak her mind. She believes in family, responsibility and common sense.

They stay with the Barron family in Brittany; Manu Barron is an ex-lover of Fliss’s. The community is welcoming, the local restaurant wonderful, the beaches stunning. Both women intend to have a good time. For Shirl, this means a well-earned break with her granddaughter in tow. Fliss, however, is looking for something longer term. Both women have things to learn from each other. Here’s an excerpt.

Fliss reached for the coffee; the room swam and her stomach lurched. ‘Shirl, I need…’

‘Water. Here – take this.’ Shirl handed her a tumbler. ‘You shouldn’t drink so much alcohol. It’s bad for your system. And are you smoking again?’

Fliss gulped the cool water and immediately felt better. ‘I’ve been stupid.’ She groaned. ‘Cocktails, cigarettes, wasting my time with the wrong sort of men. I got away with fast living when I was a young business woman. It came with the territory. And in all honesty, I knew I was being stupid then. But now – it’s not the same. I feel obsolete, good for nothing. Oh, what am I going to do with myself?’

‘You need to change.’ Shirl approached the table, the baby sling sticking out like a big belly as she put her hands on her hips. ‘Really Fliss, you need to get a grip on your life, and you need to do it now.’ She exhaled sharply. ‘First, eat your eggs, drink your coffee and then go have a long bath. When you come down, we’ll have a serious conversation. Because I like you, I’m going to tell you straight. At the rate you’re going, you won’t make seventy. Something has got to give, and there’s no better time to sort it than right now. You hear me?’

The Wicked Lady, out in July, is an Elena Collins dual timeline. In the seventeenth century, Katherine Ferrers is a privileged heiress but when she is thirteen, her stepfather arranges for her to marry sixteen year old Thomas Fanshawe. It is a mercenary marriage; the Fanshawes need Kate’s money to help the Royalist cause.

At twenty five, Kate is stifled by a loveless marriage. Thomas announces that they are running out of money and he wants to sell her family home. She is determined that he will not, and takes her future into her own hands in more ways than one.

In the present time, twenty nine year old Charlie finds himself dumped and jobless. All he has is his saxophone, his wits and his faithful Labrador Alan. He takes a job with his uncle, renovating an old cottage that looks onto Nomansland Common, where Kate used to ride her horse at twilight.

Here’s an excerpt from Kate’s section.

Kate reached for the glass of claret and drank it thirstily in gulps. Her hands were shaking. She feared she might lose her nerve. She glanced again in the steel mirror, striking a pose, hands on hips. She didn’t look at all formidable or terrifying. But she had to go ahead with her plan. She couldn’t lose The Cell; she needed to take charge of her life.

The silk gown and kirtle lying on the bed told the story of her past; her waistcoat, breeches and boots were her present. As for the future – she couldn’t think of that. She’d heard Constable Lambert Willmott tell her husband long ago that a highway robber could expect to live only a few years after taking to the road. Kate hoped she’d be lucky and not be caught – she’d pay her husband, live happily in The Cell and help out the poor families of Markyate.

She whisked a low-crowned hat from the bed, one with a broad brim that was turned up on three sides, and pushed it down over her head. It was Thomas’s, the latest fashion. He would not miss it – he had others.

Kate took a deep breath. She was ready: she’d do it now.

I hope you’ll enjoy both books, and that you’ll love my characters. I’m looking forward to you meeting them all.

J x