The Amber Room - GERMANY/THE CZECH REPUBLIC

This is the story of the 'eighth' Wonder of the World, the looted Amber Room, in novel format. THE AMBER ROOM by STEVE BERRY

This blogpost can now be found on the new TripFiction website, here

'The yellow book, with the yellow woman on it' - set in Martha's Vineyard

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann set in Martha's Vineyard, USA. This post can now be found on the new TripFiction website here

A Voyage to VALENCIA

If you love Spain and all things Spanish, then this is definitely a novel for you! We were enchanted by the style that pulls the reader in and the wonderful evocations of Valencia both during and post Spanish Civil War and in the modern day.

Emma has just lost her Mother, Liberty, the founder of Liberty Temple perfumes. Emma has taken over the enterprise with now ex Joe, who has been ensnared by the third business partner Lila.  A novel with depth, that explores relationships, life and family both present day and issues of legacy from past generations. It also brings the horrors of the Spanish Civil War to life. The chapters alternate between The Civil War Years and the early 2000s as Emma abandons her life as a perfumer, and settles in Valencia to search out her roots and her history.

Valencia is the "land of flowers, light and love" which is a perfect backdrop for a character like Emma to explore her story. The novel is very sensory, you can feel the flowery notes as she dabbles and combines natural fragrances... neroli.... orange blossom.. and more....

If you know the city well, this novel will transport you right back there, as the plot moves from Emma's newly restored finca, to the Torres de Quart or across the Plaza Mayor or the Plaza del Ayuntamento. Enjoy a  chocolate con churros, roscón de reyes cake or let your taste buds savour the full flavours of paella as the characters enjoy the cripsy layer of socarrat at the bottom of the pan; perhaps go on to enjoy a natillas pudding.

The ending was perhaps the weakest part of the novel - a fireworks ending that somehow jarred with the thoughtful writing in the rest of the book.

See the city beautifully captured through the author's eyes as Emma begins to explore: "There was a voluptuousness to the city, a softness in the light that had entranced her immediately. A little further up the street she saw a young  woman sluicing the pavement with a tin bucket outside a café as a man set out tables and chairs ready for the morning rush. Emma  wandered  along the square, taking  in the baroque architecture and the virile bushy palms. She paused outside a religious icons shop. Serried ranks of identical madonnas gazed out at her, eyes full of melancholy understanding." As a reader you can almost visualise this in your mind's eye.

The art of perfumery features fairly prominently in this novel, and this has inspired us to bring together several novels that are strong on perfume - look out for the post in the coming weeks.

And if you would like to read more books set in your chosen part of Spain, click here for the full list and drill down by town or area. We will now hand over to author Kate Lord Brown, who has agreed to answer our questions. Enjoy!

TF How did you first come to writing?

KLB Like a lot of writers, I've always written - diaries, short stories and plays as a child, and then a lot of editorial and travel writing as an adult. I started writing novels over ten years ago, and my debut was published in 2011. I've just finished a MA in Creative Writing, which has been a great experience, and now 'The Perfume Garden' is being published in eight countries this year.

TF How did the idea of combining a love triangle, perfume and a great location come about?

KLB The book was inspired by living in Valencia for three years. I was so curious about Spanish history, and fragrance is tied up with my memories of living there (orange blossom in the groves where we lived, incense in the churches, saffron and sea food cooking over open fires ...). We were living there, and I was expecting my first child, when 9/11 happened so that side of the story has personal resonance too. All the elements of the story - and the idea of creating something redemptive from such sadness - came together organically.

TF You clearly know Valencia really well and the city just comes to life in your writing. We understand that your family moved there - what lay behind that choice of destination for the family and how did it pan out for you?

KLB Well, I was living happily in London, helping to run an art gallery in Chelsea - we'd just got married, and had renovated our dream home ourselves. Then one day my husband announced he wanted to leave his job in the city, and follow his dream of being a pilot. Much soul searching followed, but let's face it - you want the person you love to be happy! We sold up, travelled around the world for several months, and then he learnt to fly in Spain. They were three very happy years - our daughter was born there, and I did a lot of writing (there were few distractions living in the orange groves with no TV or internet and a radio phone!).

TF Do you have any top tips for visitors to Valencia?

KLB If you love drama and fireworks, go during the March Fallas festival. If you love contemporary architecture, head out to Calatrava's futuristic City of Arts and Sciences. One of the most beautiful parts of the city is El Carmen - and don't miss the great IVAM contemporary art museum there, a real treat. For paella, take a drive out to the Albufera - the little coastal villages sell the absolute best (and try the black Arroz Negro - delicious). In town, don't miss seeing the Holy Grail in the cathedral - and the Mercado Central is an absolute must. One of my favourite parks is the tucked away Monforte Gardens - the perfect place to take a picnic from the market. Valencia is still seen as Spain's third city, but it's the perfect destination for a city break.

TF The character of Emma is that of a particularly feisty and independent minded woman. Where did you find your inspiration for her?

KLB I like strong independent female characters! (My debut novel 'The Beauty Chorus' was about the Spitfire girls - women pilots in WW2). When you're writing a lead character, it's like gradually bringing a camera into focus. To begin with, you have a vague idea about them - how they look, talk, their goals. Then all the details come together. My heart just went out to all the families involved with 9/11 - and Emma's character was really inspired by that feeling of empathy. I knew Emma was having a tough time at the start of the book - she's just lost her Mum, her partner's having an affair, and she's pregnant, and working hard ... but as her character defined itself, she showed her strength and warmth. I like her - and hope other people will too.

TF How does your typical writing day pan out?

KLB We live in the Middle East, so I'm up at 5.30am each day for the school run. I'm normally back at my desk by 7.30am and write until 12.00. Then the afternoon is taken up with family, and I'll work again in the evening, reading through the morning's work.

TF What are you working on at the moment and will location feature heavily?

KLB I'm working on a new story, about a forgotten American hero - it's set in Flying Point (my favourite beach in the Hamptons), and the South of France. Again, I've chosen locations I love and I hope that really brings the story to life.

TF What do you do to celebrate completion of a book?

It depends - finishing the first draft is all 'woohoo', so exhilarating that you've finally pinned down the story. I always liked Annie Dillard's comment that walking into a room with a raw manuscript is a bit like being a lion tamer - you go in waving a chair in front of you saying 'Down Simba!' After all that adrenalin, I usually take a couple of weeks just catching up on real life, and reading, or take a trip somewhere (I'm married to an airline pilot, and we travel a lot). The second, third and other drafts are different - editing is when you put your creative head aside and get tough with the manuscript. When you send back the final copy edited version to your publisher ready for printing, that's always a champagne moment - it's a huge relief. Then of course you are satisfied for - oh - about a day, and you find yourself thinking about the next story ...

Thanks for having me on Trip Fiction!

And thank you to Kate for appearing on the TripFiction blog! We are already looking forward to reading her next book! 

Travelling with tinies around FRANCE

Ben Hatch, author of Are We Nearly There Yet? (the story of a family trip around Britain) hits France with his family and the result is Road To Rouen. His last odyssey around Britain clearly didn't put him off taking a leap into the unknown once again, and we are treated to a delightfully idiosyncratic journey - part memoir, part travelogue - undertaken by members of the Hatch family, to wit Ben, Dinah, Phoebe and Charlie. This is the consummate Brat guide (as opposed to the more famous Bradt guide) to being on the road with children.

Any of you wavering about what you can and can't do in the way of travel when you have young ones, need only to read this book as inspiration for what can be achieved, although it is not all plain sailing! From their home in Brighton the four of them set off to Normandy, heading South, returning via the Alps, and ending their trip in Paris and Disneyland (with a short unscheduled sidetrip to Pamplona). Experience vegetable growing in the Loire Valley via the "white knuckle spring onion ride" or baguette foraging in the banlieues (which is very tricky as the shops generally close for a very long lunch). Ben notes how they gravel everything in France (indeed they do, when you think about it); or, let the family be your guide in Fouras via the Wally Trolley, a Petit Train, ubiquitous across Europe for tourists to chug around places of interest - you know the sort, the blue-and-white land trains, fronted by miniature mock steam locomotives. (In fact, we at TripFiction have one such train cruising the aisles of our local shopping centre).

From the of the vegetable growing paradise that is the Loire, they head onto the Dordogne, 'the fruit bowl of France', where they visit a Prune Museum, go on to enjoy ruminations about Camembert, and check out the weirdoes in Bugarach. And still more to come - surfing and boarding in Biarritz and light aircraft manoeuvres in Megève. The family notches up at least 50 chateaux on this trip, and discovers that the French consume as much medication as the Japanese, indeed more than anyone else in Europe, because they are seemingly an unhappy bunch. And just read Ben's parallels between the Stars in their Cars parade at Disney with North Korea's parades of military hardware (not an obvious correlation but certainly feels familiar if you have had the Disney experience!). Or gain a sneaking respect for the Hatch family as they smuggle baguettes into Mickey's Kingdom......

Finally, much of the travelogue is interspersed with Ben's own personal and poignant memoirs of how he and Dinah got together, interwoven with memories of his Dad who passed away in 2007. A sense that Ben has, at times, struggled to live up to his Dad's achievements (a bigwig at the BBC); how the vagaries of the publishing industry make for a capricious income source; and a sad recognition that his Dad struggled within the family environment because work was such an overwhelming factor in his life. Some of this introspection, however, doesn't always sit comfortably alongside the jocular nature of the travelogue and wry observations that pepper the prose.

We said it in our review of "Are We Nearly There Yet?" and we say it here: a map of the route would be a great addition!

If you fancy more roadtrip adventures with other authors (including Ben's Are We Nearly There Yet?) then this link will take you to the relevant blogposts. As ever, if you would like to add your favourite roadtrip account, then let us know below in the Comments Box.

Bon voyage from Tina and the TripFiction Team!

An Agatha Christie* cocktail, anyone?

A Night on the Orient Express by Veronica Henry - glide through Europe to Venice. Review plus author interview can now be found here

Suffering in Saigon (and Hanoi) and Author Interview

The Trader of Saigon set in Saigon and Hanoi by Lucy Cruickshanks

This post can now be found on the new TripFiction website here

Inside INDIA in the mid 20th Century

Under the Jewelled Sky by Alison McQueen 

This post can now be found on the new TripFiction site here

normankoren.com

Let TripFiction help you find your holiday novels: Summer 2013

We have been asked on so many occasions to help people choose their holiday reading - books that aren't too onerous but will keep the reader gripped. We shall therefore share some of our favourites, very often they are not mainstream, but always evocative of location; by combining our suggestions with the titles currently readily available at your local bookshop, you will hopefully find the perfect combination for your holiday. It would be great if you would add your suggestions, too, in the Comments Box. Click on the covers to find out more or if you are looking for something specific, contact us via BookButler

"Sometimes travelling alone can be murder".... Backpack by Emily Barr opens with Tansy burying her Mother, the end of a lifetime of care that frees her up to leave her job and go travelling. Young Tansy is not a likeable character as she jets off to Vietnam, her demons plague the prose - alcoholism, drug-taking...you name it. To begin with she is a hugely self-referring character, critical of others, desultory about events, and just plain angry. It is a struggle to stick with her. But stick with her you must, because she takes her readers to all kinds of wonderful places on the backpacker trail, and introduces us to the obvious places like the Khao San Road in Bangkok, and amazing Lao and the Plain Jars (and what their purpose was, nobody knows) as well as China and Tibet. So, enjoy the read as she develops her sense of self in exotic surroundings, as the pathos builds with the backstory of the murders of young women, all of whom bare a resemblance to her.

Tigers in Red Weather by Lisa Klaussmann set in Martha's Vineyard. Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summers at Tiger House, the glorious old family estate on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. As World War II ends they are on the cusp of adulthood, the world seeming to offer itself up to them. Helena is leaving for Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is to be reunited with her young husband Hughes, due to return from London and the war. Everything is about to change. Neither quite finds the life she had imagined, and as the years pass, the trips to Tiger House take on a new complexity. Then, on the brink of the 1960s, Nick’s daughter Daisy and Helena’s son Ed make a sinister discovery. It plunges the island’s bright heat into private shadow and sends a depth-charge to the heart of the family. Summer seemed to arrive at that moment, with its mysterious mixture of salt, cold flesh and fuel. Magnificently told from five perspectives, Tigers in Red Weather is an unforgettable debut: a simmering novel of passion, betrayal and secret violence beneath a polished and fragile facade.

A Night on the Orient Express by Veronica Henry. The journey of a lifetime from London to Venice. For one group of passengers settling in to their seats and taking their first sips of champagne, the journey from London to Venice is more than the trip of a lifetime.

A mysterious errand; a promise made to a dying friend; an unexpected proposal; a secret reaching back a lifetime...As the train sweeps on, revelations, confessions and assignations unfold against the most romantic and infamous setting in the world.
Our blogpost

What about Your Saucepans by Lindsay de Feliz - the author walked away from an enviable lifestyle - marriage, successful career, expensive holidays, designer clothes, fast cars - to pursue her dream of being a SCUBA diving instructor. She could not have predicted the journey ahead when she arrived in the heat, sunshine and vibrant culture of the Dominican Republic. She found love, a ready-made family and - despite being shot in a bungled robbery - a desire to help the Dominican people, many living in abject poverty. She supported her husband as he ran for political office and with Lindsay by his side they were a formidable team. As the campaign gathered momentum, they learnt the hard way what happens when you oppose those in power. Fighting corruption, double-dealing and with their lives at risk, they were forced into hiding. Their incredible story is stranger than fiction and twice as menacing. The dark underbelly of the Dominican Republic is exposed, from the tourist beaches to the soaring mountains of the interior. Lindsay tells it how it is, but in the telling her deep love for the Dominican Republic, its culture and its people shines through.


The Rent Collector by Camron Wright is set in Cambodia, on a waste dump, just outside Phnom Penh. This is the story of people who pick over the rubbish at Stung Meanchey - they make their homes from rubbish, they pick up their cooking implements and pots from the dump, their very existence is underpinned by the dump. Sang Li makes her living on the dump, and this is her world. Her son Nissay is constantly sick with diarrahoea and can't keep any food down so he doesn't grow.

The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown set in Valencia, is a lovely story of life, love and loss and the art of perfume. Set in modern day with a backstory set in the period of the Spanish Civil War, Emma begins to explore her roots and herself. Beautifully evocative of Valencia

Our Blogpost








The Lake House by Marci Nault is set in New England. Enter this thoughtful novel full of romance, friendship, jealousy, tragedy, and above all hope. The community of Lake Nagog is small and secluded and provides a beautiful backdrop for the storyline.

The Son-in-Law by Charity Norman is set in Yorkshire, UK On a sharp winter's morning, a man turns his back on prison. Joseph Scott has served his term. He's lost almost everything: his career as a teacher, his wife, the future he'd envisaged. All he has left are his three children but he is not allowed anywhere near them. This is the story of Joseph, who killed his wife, Zoe. Of their three children who witnessed the event. Of Zoe's parents, Hannah and Frederick, who are bringing up the children and can't forgive or understand Joseph. They slowly adjust to life without Zoe, until the day Joseph is released from prison...Our Blogpost

The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop and Cafe by Mary Simses is set in fictional Beacon, Maine: Manhattan lawyer Ellen Branford is going to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish - to find the hometown boy she once loved and give him her last letter. Beacon, Maine, home to blueberry fields and eccentric locals, is the last place she wants to go so close to her upcoming wedding. Hoping to be in and out in 24 hours, Ellen ends up the talk of the town when a tumble into the ocean introduces her to Roy Cummings, the carpenter who saves her life. Roy happens to be the nephew of Ellen's grandmother's lost love, and the one person who can bring closure to her quest. But as Ellen learns what Beacon has to offer and what her grandmother left behind, she may find that a 24 hour visit will never be enough...



Happy reading from all of us at TripFiction. Plenty more novels evocative of location on the TripFiction Website We now feature over 880 locations "see a location through an author's eyes" and combine that with a good storyline!