From Sunshine to Snow: The Excitement of Sharing My Next Novel

There is something wonderfully exciting about knowing that a story you have spent so much time living with is finally about to find its readers. This autumn, by the end of September, I will be sharing A Season in the Snow, the second book in my Sunshine Seasons series. Even writing those words makes me smile. What began as an idea has become a novel, and I cannot wait for you to step inside its world.

After the Mediterranean warmth of A Season in the Sun, it has been a joy to take the series somewhere different. We are exchanging the Costa Brava for the mountains of Austria, following Thomas Bennett as another opportunity takes him away from familiar surroundings. There is snow, of course, but there is also that wonderful anticipation that comes with arriving somewhere new, meeting unfamiliar faces and wondering what the coming weeks might bring.

The story opens in Kent in the winter of 1984. Thomas has returned from his first summer working in Spain, but home does not feel quite the same. The routines are familiar, the comforts reassuring, yet he misses the movement and possibility of life overseas. Then a telephone call from Sunshine Holidays brings an unexpected offer: a winter posting in St. Johann in Tirol. Suddenly, the quiet months ahead look very different indeed.

I love that moment in a story, when an ordinary day opens into something nobody could have predicted. It captures so much of what travel has meant in my own life. You can set off believing you understand where you are going, only to discover that the people you meet and the experiences you share become the things that matter most. A destination gives you the setting; the human connections give you the memories.

Writing this book has reminded me why I enjoy telling these stories so much. I wanted to create a lovely novel with warmth, humour and emotion, one that invites readers to settle in and enjoy the company of its characters. There is enormous pleasure in developing those small exchanges that make people feel real: an awkward conversation, a shared joke, a moment of uncertainty, or the sudden sense that a friendship is beginning to matter.

Although Sunshine Seasons is fiction, the feelings behind it draw on experiences I recognise deeply. Working abroad, finding your feet, making mistakes and discovering unexpected confidence are things that stay with you. I have always wanted these books to carry that emotional authenticity. Readers may never have worked a season overseas, but I hope they will recognise the excitement of taking a chance and the vulnerability of trying to discover where they belong.

There is also something especially enjoyable about returning to the 1980s on the page. A telephone ringing in the hallway could change your plans completely. News from home did not follow you everywhere, and friendships developed through time spent together. For me, revisiting that world is about remembering how life felt: the independence, the uncertainty, the laughter and the sense that the next adventure might be waiting just beyond everything you already knew.

Publishing a second book in a series brings its own excitement. With A Season in the Sun, I was introducing readers to Thomas and the world around him. Now I have the pleasure of continuing his journey and allowing him to grow through another season. I hope those who enjoyed the first novel will feel that lovely familiarity of meeting someone again, while discovering how much there is still to learn about him.

That is what makes this stage so special: the story is about to become something shared. Soon, readers will bring their own memories, feelings and imaginations to these pages, finding moments that speak personally to them too.

As publication approaches, I feel proud, grateful and eager to share what I have written. To everyone who has read my books, sent a kind message, recommended a title or taken the time to leave an honest review, thank you. Your encouragement means so much. A Season in the Snow arrives this autumn, by the end of September, and I hope it brings you the same pleasure that writing it has brought me.