I’m chatting today to author Hannah Fielding 
abouther latest release, Masquerade – a story about love, mystery and desire under the scorching Spanish sun. The two of us share a love for tea and wine so we’re starting with a cup of orange and lemon tea. For the glass of wine we’ll have later, I’ve picked out a South African Merlot from a wine farm just outside Stellenbosch called Rust en Vrede (translation: rest and peace)
Questions:
A. Quickies
- Tea or wine?
Tea most of the time; especially fruit tea. But wine, preferably red, Merlot or Bourgogne, on an evening spent with friends and family.
- Read or jog?
Read, preferably romance or travel books. For exercise, I prefer swimming – both my homes have pools, and in the summer in France it’s an essential activity for cooling off
- Cats or dogs?
Dogs. They are so loyal. I have had some amazing dogs that I miss terribly still. They loved to run about in the woods near my home in Kent, and on the beaches there.
- Heels or flats?
Heels, even if sometimes I have to suffer – they are so much more elegant and they make me taller. I love the look of the starlets in the Golden Era of Hollywood; you’d never catch them in flats!
- Boxers or briefs?
Briefs are sexier, I think!
- Milk, dark or white chocolate?
Dark chocolate – good for me, and I like the bitterness. I prefer the really fine chocolate; then a little goes a long way.
- Sweet or savoury?
Definitely savoury – cheese, any cheese is my péché migon – a real indulgence, especially when I’m in France.
- Sea or mountains?
Definitely sea – with mountains I feel hemmed in, but the sea is endless, stretching to infinity, and it has made me dream my whole life. I have always lived near the ocean; the water is as essential to me as air.
B. Five likes and five dislikes:
Like: Writing romance; cooking for guests; travelling to new places; listening to my library of three thousand songs collected from all over the world; rummaging in antique shops.
Dislike: Queuing at airports; bad restaurants; extreme weather (either hot or cold); being rushed; unconstructive criticism.
C. Three things on your bucket list
- Write more romance novels.
- Write more romance novels.
- Write more romance novels!
D. What triggered this specific story?
The hero Leandro was a face in a crowd of gypsies on a beach in France that triggered my imagination and was the muse for this story. He was in my mind throughout the writing; if only he knew how he had haunted and inspired me!
Blurb:
Love, mystery and desire under the scorching Spanish sun… A young writer becomes entangled in an illicit gypsy love affair, pulling her into a world of secrets, deception and dark desire.
Summer, 1976. Luz de Rueda returns to her beloved Spain and takes a job as the biographer of a famous artist. On her first day back in Cádiz, she encounters a bewitching, passionate young gypsy, Leandro, who immediately captures her heart, even though relationships with his kind are taboo. Haunted by this forbidden love, she meets her new employer, the sophisticated Andrés de Calderón. Reserved yet darkly compelling, he is totally different to Leandro but almost the gypsy’s double. Both men stir unfamiliar and exciting feelings in Luz, although mystery and danger surround them in ways she has still to discover.
Luz must decide what she truly desires as glistening Cádiz, with its enigmatic moon and whispering turquoise shores, seeps back into her blood. Why is she so drawn to the wild and magical sea gypsies? What is behind the old fortune-teller’s sinister warnings about ‘Gemini’? Through this maze of secrets and lies, will Luz finally find her happiness… or her ruin?
Masquerade is a story of forbidden love, truth and trust. Are appearances always deceptive?
Social media links:
Website: www.hannahfielding.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/fieldinghannah
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fieldinghannah
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5333898.Hannah_Fielding
Buy links:
Amazon. com: http://www.amazon.com/Masquerade-mystery-scorching-Spanish-Andalucian-ebook/dp/B00VGCV99C/
Amazon uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Masquerade-mystery-scorching-Spanish-Andalucian/dp/0992994365/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/masquerade-hannah-fielding/1121690908
Thanks for having tea and a glass of wine with me, Hannah – all the best with this one!
