Prepare to be amazed by the sheer stupidity of my youth as I reveal the true stories that inspired my novels.

Let’s dive into five jaw-dropping tales without giving away too much of the plot.

First up, Bree’s disastrous date with Murray in “Raw Mistakes.”

Yes, I had a date with ‘Murray’, he stood me up, spun a tale about a dead friend, and even had yes, his girlfriend at work. Humiliated, at the first opportunity I fled the country and landed in Italy.

Bree’s First Love (Raw Mistakes)

Yes, I did fall head over heels for Micky. He was in the military and got an overseas posting. He had another girlfriend that I knew nothing about, who turned out to be pregnant. Yes, he did dump me on the phone while I was at the train station, and yes, my dreams were shattered. Micky also turned up in the mountains begging for me to be his full time lover, and he tried to convince me that it was normal and acceptable, but, no, I didn’t fall for it.

Bree’s move to Greece (Raw Mistakes)

Yes, I was sent as a rep to Greece instead of Italy where I’d been told I would be going, although I was more than happy to get away from Italy and get a fresh start after the whole Micky mess.

The Samarian Gauge walk. (Raw Mistakes)

Yes, I did that walk, and I wouldn’t say I liked every second of it. I was young and fit but very lazy back then. I probably had an ouzo-induced hangover and wanted to sleep and not be dragged out of bed at 4 am. I did turn up in flip-flops despite being warned about the rough underfoot terrain. I guess I was also stubborn or dumb and thought I could do it in my flip-flops. Was there a Nik who gave me a pair of shoes to wear? Yes, of course there was!

Bree and the embarrassing white shirt experience. (Raw Mistakes)

Yes, I’m shaking my head as I write this, but yes, that happened. The guy in question had left me sleeping, and I woke up, put his shirt on, a shirt that covered very little indeed, and walked out to some very stern-faced parents.