‘Polly Pressman is a London girl through and through. So when she’s asked to help save an old family friend’s struggling farm, she’s way out of her depth.

She arrives at Nightingale Farm trying to impress John and his gruff-but-hunky son Mark with her business know-how. But it’s clear from her sky-high stilettos that she is woefully unprepared.

Polly knows how much the farm means to John, and she’s doing everything she can to get it back on its feet. Soon people are flocking to visit the petting zoo and cute coffee shop and go strawberry picking.

Finally Mark sees that Polly truly cares about Nightingale Farm. And one night after too much of John’s homemade cider, the pair find themselves alone and unable to deny their attraction . . .

Romance is blossoming at Nightingale Farm. Will Polly trust her instincts and leave behind the big city for good?’

I’ve been having a lovely day with a gorgeous card and present from all my boys, a beautiful dog walk in the sunshine, and an enjoyable live stream with the fantastic Genevieve from the YouTube channel My Complicated Life: https://www.youtube.com/@mycomplicatedlife2488/featured

I put a call out for questions a couple of days ago on my social media channel and I had some great ones (and one absolute stinker!). You can watch the replay here: https://youtu.be/1bbVp_vqlf4

There’s also been a fair amount of sharing on social media and vlogging for a new YouTube video involved, but once I finish writing this blog post and I’ve sent off my newsletter, I am done with work for today and date night commences!

Though we started out living in a city, our home was practically on the beach, so it felt very different from London life. It wasn’t long before we moved to a little village and it was then I experienced ‘proper’ Welsh country life and the importance of a decent pair of Hunters! I discovered so many charming little oddities and characteristics of rural Wales, I couldn’t help but try to recapture at least some of them in my first novel ‘The Green Hills of Home’.

My heroine, writer Gwen Jones, lives in an old farmhouse outside the fictional town of Tonnadulais. Her family have lived there for generations, and Gwen can’t go anywhere locally without people stopping to ask after her and her ill mother, and quizzing her about the mystery man she’s been spotted with. Everyone knowing everyone is definitely something which has taken me a long time to get used to! It can take forever just to pop to the local shop for a pint of milk, especially if I’ve got the children in tow…

There are also little things about village life, such as the fact that the local library is only open very few hours a week, and the much more sedate pace, which I tried to include in the book to really bring Tonnadulais to life.

I live in the middle of the Brecon Beacons, so although my house is in a town, in just a few minutes I can be in the middle of some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. Gwen’s even luckier: she’s got the hills right on her doorstep! They provide a comfort to her, as well as being a wonderful place to walk her beloved dog, Oscar.

Gwen’s home is quite old-fashioned and isolated: it doesn’t have mains gas for example, and she doesn’t bother with a mobile because it’s impossible to get a signal – a fact Gwen’s London-based editor, John Thatcher, finds very hard to grasp. My own London-based editor was a little unsure about whether it was realistic to have Gwen without a mobile phone and emailed me regarding it. I read his email just after chatting to a friend of mine about how her well had dried up – rural Wales really can be very different I typed in my reply!

One extremely important aspect of life in Wales is the tractors of course! You can guarantee that if you need to drive somewhere in a hurry, you’ll get stuck behind one! This wasn’t something I managed to work into ‘The Green Hills of Home’, or its novella sequel, ‘Snowed In For Her Wedding’, but you never know, maybe I’ll choose to visit John, Gwen and Tonnadulais again at some point…

To begin with, a romantic hero should be strong, both physically and mentally – he needs to be able to literally carry that heroine wherever she needs to go! He also needs to be able to handle difficult situations, and support his woman when she needs it, but definitely without taking over and bossing her around. Boy, it’s a complicated business being a hero isn’t it?

Next up is kindness – John may come across as a little unsympathetic when Gwen first meets him, but he soon proves himself in his acts, both big and small – whether it’s giving the heroine a lift in his car or rescuing a beloved pet, a great hero must be thoughtful and compassionate – in a terribly manly way of course!

Well now, what about looks? Of course, being handsome isn’t everything, but, for me, it was absolutely essential that my heroine, Gwen, be physically attracted to John – she had to really want him! And so John, is deliciously tall, dark and handsome, and definitely manly enough to make Gwen feel like a real woman.

As for finances…. that’s a little bit of a tricky subject isn’t it? Obviously I didn’t want my leading lady falling in love with someone because of his money, but, on the other hand, John couldn’t be a bum! He needed to be hard-working and intelligent, and definitely earn enough to provide well for himself. Interestingly, although John has more money than Gwen, it isn’t anything physical he gives her that means the most to her, it’s the little kindnesses he bestows. And, from John’s side, an inexpensive birthday present Gwen gives him is so thoughtful, that he values it far more than expensive gifts he’s been bought in the past.

Right, where are we? Our hero is strong, both in body and mind; he’s good-looking; he’s kind, and he’s got a bit of cash. The final touch I added was a drop of mystery – my story wouldn’t be much fun if everything was all plain-sailing would it? John has a secret which means a great deal to him, and which is leading towards something very important. In fact, it had completely taken over his life before meeting Gwen. During the novel he has to decide just what he values most: his plans or his woman. But I guess you’ll just have to read the book to discover his choice!

Gwen, my heroine, lives in an old farmhouse traditional to the region. Her family have farmed there for generations, but now the house is being sold and she’s desperate to raise enough money to buy it for herself and her ill mother. She just can’t bear the thought of leaving not only her home, but the beautiful countryside surrounding it. Living in the area myself, I can readily identify with her love of it!

I actually grew up in London and considered myself a city-girl through and through. But then I fell in love with a Welshman and moved to Wales. Eleven years on, and we’re settled in a small market town in the Brecon Beacons National Park, nestled in amongst what I’m convinced is some of the most dazzling scenery in the world. In just a few moments we can be at the foot of mountains or on the banks of lakes, canals and reservoirs teeming with local wildlife. Dotted on the deep green hills are stone-built farmhouses, remote and secluded, surrounded by nothing but sheep – the inspiration for Gwen’s own home. With its wood-burning stove and lack of mobile signal, her house is certainly a far-cry from John’s modern apartment in London!

Another aspect of Wales which I had great fun writing about was small village life. Gwen’s house is pretty isolated, but she works part-time in the tea rooms in her local village, Tonnadulais, the same village she went to school in. Gwen occasionally despairs of the nosiness of the locals, particularly her bosses at the tea rooms, the delightfully interfering Bronwyn and Brian, but she wouldn’t change them and is definitely a country mouse at heart.

When I began writing the novel, I suspected it wouldn’t be long before John became almost as enchanted by Wales as Gwen is – after all, how could he not be? It’s an amazing place to be privileged enough to live and write about. I’m sure I’ll revisit Wales, and possibly even Gwen and John, in later novels.