I recently suffered a surprisingly hard five-day separation from my computer. I jetted off to the UK, fully aware that I’d have to put any writing on a back burner for a few days. Instead, I spent time with my family, tested my willpower and pushed the storylines for my new book to the back of my mind. I’ve been back for two days, and I’m juggling my real job, which right now is editing wedding photographs and catching up on all my social media posts. I’m ready to throw myself back into the world of storytelling. I want to let my creativity flow, but my mind is on the weddings I have to photograph this weekend.

While in the UK, I did a little meet-the-author session. It was more about the blogs that I wrote during lockdown about life in Italy and all the stupid rules and regulations than my novels. After lockdown was over, I missed the writing; I missed the connection to the world through my words. It was at that point that I started writing a novel, with my life as the setting for the story. That one novel, Raw Mistakes, became two novels, and then, before I realised it, it was a five-book series.

I have known for years that I had a story to tell. I entertain my friends over dinner with my travel adventures, and I leave them shocked with my new plans and random life changes. They are used to me jetting off to Africa for six months with just a small bag. I have to confess that they don’t ever see me cramming two huge bags into the car with everything I could, or could not, possibly need, despite having a house full of clothes in Africa already.

My summer season in Italy is almost over, so tomorrow, the packing of those two huge bags begins. The Amazon delivery guy will be paying far too many visits to my office as I work out how to fit everything in the office. I know that I should support small businesses, but these are big cases. The town I live in is a tiny village on the shores of Lake Garda, Italy, and the only things our shops sell are leather handbags, shoes, and tiny bottles of limoncello. No matter how hard I try, I can’t see any of those being of any use on the island of Zanzibar.