My latest book, A French Fling for the Golden Gals, published on May 24^th, is all about the joys of travelling to France. In particular, we visit the coastal village of Plouvannec in Brittany, which is based on a specially beautiful beach on the Crozon peninsula.

It’s the story of Maxine Sweet, who comes home to her flat on the day she retires from her job to find her partner Russell and her friend Jo together. Together in a way that covers neither of them in glory.

 So Max rents a cottage and sets off for France.

The story is about healing. About getting over negative situations and moving forward. About brave decisions. About the life choices a woman can find herself faced with.

At first Max falters; she makes mistakes. Who wouldn’t? But she understands that she’s human. She meets new people. Sympathetic, attractive men. Strong independent women. And she makes friends and becomes the person she wants to be.

Of course, there’s much more to the story than that.

I’ve travelled a lot, in camper vans, on planes, boats, in cars, on bikes, to several continents. The joy is always found in experiencing new places, different food and drink and music, fascinating buildings and sights and culture. In learning new things and revisiting old ones.

But being with people, sharing time with them, is the most rewarding thing of all.

My best times are always shared with friends, old and new, and family. I’ve hiked up the Rockies, spent a week in a magnificent house on the most beautiful beach, skied in the Austrian snow, travelled through China, swum with dolphins in Mexico. But it’s always people who make the memories special.

Max meets Fliss and Shirl – you might remember them from my book, The Golden Gals’ French Adventure. She rents Fliss’s cottage and they share good times: they party and swim and enjoy sports and do yoga on the beach.

There is laughter, there’s tears, and there’s kindness, forgiveness, shared experience. They grow as people. And that, dear reader, is the essence of my story.

Sisterhood. The strength and support of friends. The solidarity of women, of people who understand each other, who help each other to be the best person they can be. Brave warrior women who love and respect each other, whether they’re at their best or their worst.

Sisterhood and the friendship of women are at the heart of A French Fling for the Golden Gals.

And of course, as you’d expect in my books, there are always a few special men…

Me, on a beach in Brittany xx