What I Do When I’m Not Writing by Eva Glyn

This week we are treated to international travel as we find out what author Eva Glyn gets up to when she’s not writing. I have included my own review of her latest book An Island of Secrets published by One More Chapter at the bottom of the post. Over to Eva …

When I’m at home, I write every day. Write, or edit. Or sometimes both. So that means when I’m not writing, I’m actually away.

I love to travel and that reflects in my Eva Glyn books. You could say Croatia is my speciality, but now lockdown is over I’m back on the road at every available opportunity and these are some of the places I’ve visited recently.

Rome:

A specialist history holiday led by Oxford don and historical novelist Harry Sidebottom. And yes, we did talk books, but not the exclusion of all else. I had never been to the eternal city before and fell instantly in love. As soon as we checked into our hotel we headed out; it was a holiday weekend and the streets were thronged, but we found a streetside table in a restaurant near the Piazza Navona and ate delicious pasta and watched the world go by.

Over the course of a week we visited both forums, the Palatine hill, the Colosseum and, the highlight for me, Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli. All in all a fabulous trip, immersed in the past, which is a place I love to be.

Devon:

Not exactly a million miles from home in Cornwall, but having our Christmas cruise on the Danube cancelled due to covid we decided to take a break much closer to home, choosing the sparkliest, most festive places we could think of to visit. 

The absolute highlight was the illuminations in the gardens of Killerton House. Now we’d seen lights before; at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the Eden Project, the RHS garden at Wisley but nothing had prepared us for this. It was absolutely incredible; rows of heart-shaped arches, trees festooned or flooded with lights, a flickering ball of flame. Just brilliant.

Komiza:

Perhaps adding this to a list of places I visited when not writing is a little disingenuous because I was actually there to research An Island of Secrets, and did write some of the book there. I’ve blogged elsewhere about this aspect of our trip, but of course there was some downtime too. Coming after eighteen months when foreign travel had been practically impossible, being in a small Croatian village was absolute bliss.

Although much of the days were taken up with work, early in the morning I would walk down to Gusarica beach to swim in front of the beautiful church that played a desperately sad part in Guy’s wartime story in my book. In the evenings we would eat at one of the harbourside restaurants and I could imagine my modern protagonists, Leo and Andrej, doing just the same. A dream come true for a writer and a fabulous holiday as well.

Even so, as an author, you never switch off completely. Although no words flowed onto my laptop… or ipad.. or phone… in Rome, there was a moment when I saw a street artist rushing to collect the pictures whisked away from him in the breeze. The image stayed with me, so watch this space.

About Eva Glyn

Eva Glyn writes escapist relationship-driven fiction with a kernel of truth at its heart. She loves to travel and finds inspiration in beautiful places and the stories they hide.

Her last holiday before lockdown was a trip to Croatia, and the country’s haunting histories and gorgeous scenery have proved fertile ground, driven by her friendship with a tour guide she met there. His wartime story provided the inspiration for The Olive Grove and his help in creating a realistic portrayal of Croatian life had proved invaluable. An Island of Secrets is her second novel set in the country, is a dual timeline looking back to World War 2, and was published this month, also by One More Chapter.

Eva lives in Cornwall, although she considers herself Welsh, and has been lucky enough to have been married to the love of her life for twenty-five years. She also writes as Jane Cable.

To keep in touch with Eva you can use the following links:

Twitter: @JaneCable

Instagram: @evaglynauthor

Facebook: Eva Glyn, Author

Bookbub: @EvaGlyn

About An Island of Secrets

That was then…

Seventy-five years ago, British SOE spy Guy Barclay arrived on the island of Vis. His mission was meant to be easy, but when he stumbled across an execution on a remote hillside, everything changed and he was forced to leave behind the woman he loved in war-ravaged Yugoslavia.

…This is now

As ninety-three-year-old Guy’s days draw to a close, he asks his granddaughter, Leo Holmes, to go looking for answers. Given that her marriage has imploded and her City job is on the verge of killing her, Leo agrees and rents a house on Vis.

But as Leo’s search takes her down unexpected roads – and into the path of a gorgeous local, Andrej Pintaric – she begins to wonder if this journey down memory lane might yield unexpected results for more than just her beloved grandfather…

You can buy the book here – https://mybook.to/AnIslandOfSecrets

Morton’s Review of An Island of Secrets – 5 Stars

I savoured this book. I like reading timeslip stories but often find that I am more invested in either the story in the present or the one in the past, however with Eva Glyn’s book I felt equally invested and committed to both sets of characters – Guy and Ivka in their wartime reality and Leo and Andrej in the present day.

The setting of the island of Vis is lovely and it made me want to visit it in the future. The author painted the role of the place and its inhabitants in World War 2 very realistically.

I was cheering on the side lines for Leo and Andrej and at one point dissolved into tears as I had become so involved in their relationship.

Eva Glyn has a lovely, lyrical, almost haunting way of writing that I enjoyed very much.

Thank you for visiting my blog – Morton S. Gray – Author. I hope you enjoyed this post. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Summer at Lucerne Lodge published as an eBook, paperback and audio download too – Amazon Check on my Choc Lit author page for other purchasing options here 

Christmas at the Little Beach Cafe published as an eBook, audio and paperback – Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Nook Books, Google Play and Choc Lit for other options.

Sunny Days at the Beach is now available as an eBook, audio and paperback – Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Nook Books, Google Play and at Choc Lit for other options.

Christmas at Borteen Bay is available as both an eBook and audio download – Amazon Kindle, Audio, Apple iBooks, Kobo and Choc Lit for other buying options.

The Truth Lies Buried is available from all eBook platforms – Choc Lit, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Apple iBooks and also as a paperback and audiobook.

The Girl on the Beach published by Choc Lit is available as a paperback and from all eBook platforms –Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and Google Play.