The Zeitgeist – I am fascinated by what grabs the public’s imagination. With my new summer novel, Breakfast under a Cornish Sun, it was the TV series Poldark. Women across the world seemed enamoured with this programme, especially the lead character. And this got me thinking, what would it feel like to meet your fictional hero in real life? Kate Golightly finds out, in my story, when she heads off to the coast to find her very own mining hero! Likewise, the public’s obsession with Downton inspired my debut novel, Doubting Abbey.

Whereas the inspiration for my Christmas bestseller Mistletoe Mansion was the public’s obsession with celebrities and the gossip magazines featuring them. The main character, Kimmy, lands a house-sitting job in a posh area and becomes friend with a famous person – and discovers that the celebrity life-style isn’t all it’s cracked up to be after all…

Locations – places you have fallen in love with, over the years. For me, obviously rugged, brooding Cornwall. Plus Paris (as in my novel From Paris with Love). I worked there as a young woman and never forgot its romantic, bohemian feel. My honeymoon was on a Greek island. The cheery village feel and stunning sunsets inspired the setting for my award-winning 2015 novel Game of Scones. My novella, How to Get Hitched in Ten Days was set in a fifties diner after I’d eaten in one which blew me away with its fab American memorabilia, and reminded me of the film Grease. So think back over your life and places that have meant something to you. Draw on that passion. The setting doesn’t need to be exotic, just somewhere you can get excited about as a background to your characters’ stories.

The Tabloids/Magazines/Reality shows. Well, they do say life is stranger than fiction! If an article makes you gasp enough to tell your family or friends about it, then that is probably something worth writing down. I founds these forms especially useful when I used to write short stories for women’s magazines. And they don’t need to be the sensational stories – perhaps the heartwarming ones  instead, like communities pulling together to overcome adversity.

People. Keep your eyes and ears open. Tap into conversations you hear in a shop or pub. Speak to people on the till or in a queue. I’m a very chatty person and can’t help but strike up conversations. It is fascinating what people will tell you. I know many of the workers at my local supermarket – the one that plays darts, another who goes camping, the lady whose son has a Masters degree in astronomy, the man who works on local radio… I listen to the ups and downs they go through. I’ve also spoken to fellow customers who are on a health-kick or lonely ones who are widowed… Everyone has a story and are often keen to share it if just prompted by a friendly word or smile.

Moments of emotion – whether that is something sad, moving, hopeful, happy or funny. We all experience these on a day to day basis. Draw on the incidents that really make you feel something and stay in your mind. They could provide material for a plot or character. Keep a record of them in your notebook. Like in the short story I wrote about someone who accidentally poured hollandaise sauce over a pudding, instead of custard – that was based on me and my laidback husband still polished off his dessert! How that had made us laugh. Or the time we got burgled whilst we’d gone on holiday. We’d left the house in a terrible mess. The neighbours thought the criminals were responsible and we didn’t confess it was us. Oops! Cue a few feelings of shame!

Also, don’t be afraid to tap into your own mood when writing. Don’t hold back. I was in a very happy, sunny, shiny place when writing Game of Scones and I think that probably showed. Whereas this year has brought challenges and I think that is reflected in the heartache a couple of characters deal with in Breakfast under a Cornish Sun. So be your own inspiration, because that will mean the writing has real meaning, is heartfelt and true.

Recently I attended a talk at the National Geographic Society in London about trans-Antarctic expeditions – some expedition leaders spoke at an awards ceremony I was attending. And Wow. It was there I heard the story of the ship Endurance… And what lessons it has to teach us – those of us struggling with rejection letters (see my old ones below) or the pressure of a looming deadline, listen up….

For those  of you unfamiliar with the story, in 1914 Captain Ernest Shackleton sailed his ship, Endurance, to the Antarctic. Once there, the ship got stuck in ice and he and his men were stranded. Shackleton decided to take five of the starving men with him in a lifeboat,  without choice leaving many crew behind, and navigated 750 miles of treacherous ocean in this small vessel, living off fish and seabirds, to find land and help. Finally – and incredibly –  he achieved this and months later, as part of a rescue mission, he got back to his  men who had survived by eating their sleigh dogs.

I now have a photo of this stranded ship on the wall of my kitchen. It inspires me in my darkest moments, be them personal or professional. Imagine the determination and strength of character necessary to defeat those dangerous oceans. Imagine the focus, the sense of loyalty, the determination, the iron will – he must have refused to allow pessimistic voices in. Clearly, he was convinced that despite all the odds, he could achieve his goal and save his men.

This story helps me put my concerns and objectives into perspective. However bad my writer’s block might seem – or, as an unpublished author, however much I might have despaired of signing a deal – one must never lose faith, because faith in your own ability can help you accomplish amazing things. Endure the worst and who knows what you will achieve…