Those were my first lines when I pitched the idea of a series of racy rural novels to my publishers. One setting, four books, four completely different stories with inter-connected characters. Lust,manure, harvests, hoof-beats and heart-beats. I couldn’t wait to get started. Four books written, and the brief still stays true. This is contemporary village life – bucolic bliss, romance, fun and sex with an ill will sting to the rural idyll tale. Turn picture postcard perfection on its flipside and you find all sorts of saucy goings-on. The Lodes novels are fuelled by that breath of fresh air we can only gulp far from light pollution and humming traffic. They are a joy to write. So far, so good. I’ve only had to move away from one village, and the death-threats are still very low-key.     |