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A very warm welcome, and how nice of you to pay me a visit! Allow me to tell you something about myself…

Ever-conscious of my French heritage, I live in a beautiful farmhouse set in the center of 28 acres of rolling pastureland in the depths of the Vendéen Bocage in France.  Peace and tranquility (some might call it isolation?) for me it is a perfect place to write!

Although surrounded by my large animal family, I still miss Harry, my lovely old TB horse who went to horsey-heaven two years ago at the age of 35.  He accompanied me back to France from Hong Kong in 1992. We had been together for 28 years.

As a sort of “testament” for my three children, I started writing (long-hand, well before computers became the “norm”) the story of “Marguerite” in a fictionalized voice. That her experiences of life in India should be entirely authentic, I have drawn heavily on my own years spent on that great continent.  You see, I was the only person in my generation who knew of the life story of my French great-grandmother, a story I carried in my head since the age of twelve.

My sweet great-aunt (Christina in the book) had been detailed to coach me in Maths one summer holiday. Hating the subject with a passion, I managed to distract her with persistent questions about her childhood. Where was she brought up? What were her parents like? How many brothers and sisters did she have? Did she get on with all of them? Well, the poor old lady was off and running!  Over those hot summer months, the most amazing story of a headstrong young French girl unfolded, and I was riveted…

In writing “Marguerite” (after several false starts!) I discovered a consuming interest in the telling of a story, and have gone on write about “Claire,” her wayward eldest daughter. A third book, “Susanna’ is currently in a first draft.