Julia Roberts Author

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Almost Easter Already!

How can it be April already? This year is positively flying by but maybe that’s because we’ve all been able to get out and do a bit more since restrictions have been relaxed. With Easter in a couple of weeks, I have a competition this month to win chocolate eggs, a signed copy of My Mother’s Secret (the action in which takes place between two Easter Mondays a year apart) and a £20 Amazon gift card… more on that later!

Firstly, I thought I’d share a few images from our recent holiday to Mauritius which I must say seems as though it was months ago even though we’ve only been home for less than a fortnight. Re-tracing our steps in two special locations was every bit as good as I hoped it would be.

We started our holiday at The Sugarbeach in Flic en Flac, which I’ve previously mentioned was the inspiration for the Plantation House Hotel in Life’s a Beach and Then. It was while staying there nine years ago that I had the idea for the Liberty Sands trilogy and my novel-writing journey began.

Those of you who’ve read Life’s a Beach and Then might remember a line about a pile of washed-up coral looking like desecrated bones in a graveyard. Last time we were on that stretch of beach there was no book to photograph on a pile of coral, so I’ve put it right nine years later.

We did take loads of photos first time around, of course, and this was one of them. We’d gone for a very long beach walk, just as Holly does in the book and near the pile of coral she refers to, we took this photo.

I couldn’t miss the opportunity of recreating it nine years later, particularly as I still take that flowery sarong, purchased on the beach in Flic en Flac on every sunshine holiday we go on. It was a tougher walk for me this time, hence the ankle support but was worth it in my opinion even though we took it from slightly the wrong angle.

The Sugarbeach loved the fact that my writing career starting at their hotel. They upgraded us to a beach front suite, and I must admit this was a gorgeous outlook on the days when I was busy working on my new manuscript for book 10.

They also invited us to a complimentary lunch at the new Buddha Bar Restaurant on the beach and arranged for me to be photographed with the hotel manager. They really made every effort for our return visit to be as memorable as the first one was!

We had four days at the Sugarbeach before moving on to the Maritim Resort and Spa which is where we were married in August 2019. In fact, this was the view from our hotel room balcony, overlooking the pavilion where we took our vows. It looked a bit different that day, decorated with swathes of fabric and posies of flowers… not to mention champagne, wedding cake and our fabulous guests (all seven of them!)

I did an Instagram Live from the spot a couple of days later which you can still watch on my Instagram grid – @juliagroberts if you’re interested. It was bucketing down with rain that day; in fact, we had a few days where it rained, but it certainly didn’t spoil our enjoyment and anyway, I had plenty of writing to get on with.

When the sun was out, I took the opportunity to get some new ‘shots’ of The Woman on the Beach, before leaving the copy of that and the whole Liberty Sands trilogy in the hotel library.

We ended up having an extra half day at the Maritim as our flight was delayed by twelve hours. It was great to have the extra day in resort, but it’s meant I’ve kind of been playing catch-up since we got back as I was straight into QVC within 16 hours of arriving home. Maybe that’s why I’ve been feeling a tad jet-lagged, either that or the result of a daytime flight as it’s normally overnight.

I was working on the Sunday too (my fourth day on the spin) which was Mothering Sunday. Chris and I couldn’t visit our mums in person, but of course we did speak on the phone. We are both so lucky to still have our mums. This photo was taken thirty-three years ago, so my mum would have been sixty-two, Chris’s mum (holding the teddy) fifty-five, our son two and half and our daughter fifteen months. I thought it captured the generations nicely – still waiting for the next generation of our parts of the family to start (just a gentle hint there!)

Of course, not all mothers and daughters have good relationships which links very well into the competition prize this month. Danni has a very fractured relationship with her mother, Diana in my emotional drama, My Mother’s Secret. As mentioned above, the book begins and ends on Easter Monday and the story is told over the year that separates them. Being Easter, I’ve also added in a bit of Easter chocolate AND there’s a £20 Amazon Gift Card too for you to buy more chocolate eggs or possibly lots of Kindle books when they are on offer. To be in with a chance of winning you need to leave the answer to the following question (easy to research) in a comment before midnight on April 11th.

What is the name of the heroine in my Liberty Sands trilogy of books?

Is it:-

  1. Polly
  2. Molly
  3. Holly

The winner will be randomly selected and notified on April 12th – Good Luck!

And finally, I’m thrilled to have been invited to be a guest author at the Birchington Literary Festival on May 1st. Funnily enough, Chris and I lived in Birchington when he was working with Jim Davidson in summer season at the Winter Gardens in Margate. If you’re in the area and fancy coming along to listen to me chatting about my books with journalist, Karen Benyon you can purchase tickets in advance here.

Right, I really need to crack on with writing book 10… only a couple of weeks until first draft deadline, eek!!

Much love

Julia xx  

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Comments

  1. Thanks for another great blog post and for sharing your lovely holiday photos with us. I’m glad that your return visit to Mauritius was just as memorable as your first visit.

    Thanks also for another wonderful giveaway. The answer to the competition question is: 3. Holly.

    Reply

  9. 3. Holly
    I’ve enjoyed all your books Julia. How lovely that you went back to where the seed of your first book was planted.

    Reply

  10. 3. Holly
    I’ve enjoyed all your books Julia. How lovely that you went back to where the seed of your first book was planted.

    Reply

  14. Love your books. Good holiday reading, but not been on holiday for quite a while like everyone. I have been trying to read during lockdown as a bit of escaping the real world. I lost my husband at the beginning of lockdown and reading has been a great help.

    Lovely pictures.

    Answer is Holly

    Reply

  24. Hi Julia
    The answer is 3: Holly
    Love the hat!
    Can’t believe you’re on book 10
    Take Care
    Love Breda x

    Reply

  40. Answer is……Holly

    Love Your Blog Julia ❤ I Hope You And Your Family Have A Wonderful Easter 🐣….💖🌟 xxx

    Reply

  48. Hi Julia
    Glad you were able to get away to Mauritius again. Seeing those beach scenes brought back memories for me of a lovely holiday there just before the lockdown! Enjoyed all the books you mentioned.
    The answer to the competition is:
    Holly

    Reply

  66. 3) Holly

    Have a great family Easter Julia, hope you manage to get to see Palace at some point!!

    🐥💛🐥💛🐥…….⚽️🤣

    Reply

  67. So glad to hear you and Chris had a lovely holiday Julia.

    The answer is Holly. I really loved the liberty sands trilogy

    Reply

  68. Hi Julia,
    The answer to your question is Holly I enjoyed read your blog, pleased you had a lovely but busy holiday, and loved looking at the photos enjoy your Easter 🐣🐣 xx

    Reply

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