A Life-changing Holiday

It could be argued with some justification that ‘life-changing’ is overused but, for me my holiday in Mauritius nine years ago truly was the start of a new direction in my life.

Let me explain.

In March 2013, after almost a year of adjusting to some of the unpleasant side-effects of the oral chemotherapy drugs I was taking to bring my Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia under control, my husband, Chris and I decided that we needed a special holiday. Although I’d travelled to many far-flung places in my former career as a singer/dancer, I compiled a bucket list of places I wanted to visit when I was fearful that I may not have quite as many years on this planet as I’d hoped. Mauritius was right at the top of that list.

The idea was to relax and recuperate after a year of not only learning to cope with my illness, but also working on the edits of my first book, a memoir entitled One Hundred Lengths of the Pool published by Random House in early 2013.

I was armed with a handful of books to read under the shade of a beach umbrella, and also a notebook that my grown-up children had bought me for Mother’s Day with the words, ‘Hold on People… I’m Having an Idea’, on the cover. None of us had the slightest inkling how prophetic those words would prove to be.

The morning after arriving at the Sugar Beach Resort, near Flic en Flac on the west coast, I sat on the beach listening to the distant thunder of waves crashing against the reef. The plot of a novel started to form in my head. I spent the next ten days scribbling copious notes which became the outline of not just one novel, but the entire Liberty Sands trilogy.

So, when I say that my first visit to the Sugar Beach was life changing, I’m not exaggerating. I had never previously penned a novel, but Life’s a Beach and Then was published in May 2015 and seven years later I have just signed my third contract with my publisher, Bookouture for two more Emotional Women’s Contemporary Fiction books. These will be my tenth and eleventh full-length novels and it all began at the Sugar Beach in Mauritius.

It felt important for me to return there at this time after another year of health issues that had caused anxiety and uncertainty about my future. Mauritius will always hold a special place in my heart in fact, as some of you will know Chris and I were married there in August 2019. It seems to set my imagination racing… who knows how many ideas it will spark for future books! But it’s my original trilogy of books that are the prize for this month’s competition.

In which ocean is Mauritius located?

1. Pacific
2. Indian
3. Atlantic

Leave the answer to the question in a comment at the bottom of this blog before midnight on Tuesday 22^nd March (UK only) and the randomly selected winner will hopefully receive their books in time for Mother’s Day on 27^th March.

We’re also doing a price promotion for the ebook of Life’s a Beach and Then on Amazon from Friday 11^th (the date we originally flew out to Mauritius in 2013) until midnight on Tuesday 15^th. If you’ve already read it, do spread the word to friends who love a tearjerker.

And in more book news, My Mother’s Secret has been selected for yet another Kindle Monthly Deal, this time in the US and Canada. I was having a quick look at some of the US reviews and it really warms my heart to know that my books and writing are touching people around the world.

Thank you to everyone who leaves reviews, including the less complimentary ones as I appreciate the time it takes.

Speaking of reviews, the latest one for The Woman on the Beach, pictured above is from someone I had the pleasure of meeting and kind of brings me full circle. G J Gillings was tasked with looking after me when I arrived in Essex to sign five thousand copies of One Hundred Lengths of the Pool.

You can imagine my face when I saw this lot, and there were more on pallets outside of the signing room! She was also the person who told me about unsold books being ‘pulped’. I’m so thankful that Bookouture are a digital-first publisher so are print on demand! I should also thank her for the five star review.

Well, Mauritius isn’t actually our first holiday this year. I was going to go on to tell you about the week away we enjoyed staying at a beautiful cottage in the Lake District with our son, Dan his girlfriend, Katie and their dog Quin. However, I have a book deadline to meet so I’ll just share a couple of pictures instead to give you a flavour.

As you would imagine, the weather wasn’t quite as tropical as Mauritius particularly when storms Dudley and Eunice hit, but it was equally as beautiful in its own way and, I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere else we’ll be making a return visit to.

Good luck in the competition

Much love

Julia xx