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CLARE FLYNN
HISTORICAL FICTION - MODERN THEMES
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Clare
Jul 11, 20244 min read
Why The Artist’s War is dedicated to the grandfather I never met
Sadly, I never met either of my grandfathers – they both died in the 1930s when my parents were still children. My paternal grandfather,...
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Clare
Jun 1, 20243 min read
Indulging My Love of Stained Glass – at Chartres Cathedral
Last month I spent a wonderful week in the Loire Valley on a writing retreat with six of my writer friends. We rented a huge gite –...
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Clare
Apr 27, 20242 min read
A False Start
Evening at the beach When I was in Sri Lanka recently, I started writing what would have been my seventeenth novel. At that stage, I...
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Clare
Mar 25, 20244 min read
A Change is as Good as a Rest – Writing and Research Trip to Sri Lanka
People sometimes ask me why I love writing retreats. Surely you can write just as easily in your own home, or in a library or coffee...
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Clare
Mar 13, 20245 min read
Guest blog: The Bookseller’s Wife by Jane Davis
In this special guest blog my good friend and fellow writer Jane Davis introduces her latest novel, The Bookseller’s Wife. Over to you,...
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Clare
Jan 30, 20243 min read
My visit to Colour Revolution at the Ashmolean, Oxford
When I think of the Victorians I get visions of Dickensian smoke-clogged cities, widows’ weeds, funeral coaches with black-plumed horses,...
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Clare
Dec 11, 20233 min read
A Day out in Ditchling
I can’t believe I’ve never been to Ditchling before. Less than twenty miles from me, it used to be home to artist Frank Brangwyn, and...
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Clare
Nov 27, 20233 min read
Penang - How a Location Spoke to me
I’d had a writing drought for three months. Not what I’d expected when I set off to sail around the world in one hundred and thirty days....
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Clare
Sep 11, 20232 min read
"My" Chateau in France
Next March I will be heading to France to the Loire Valley with several of my writing friends for a week-long writers’ retreat.  We’re...
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Clare
Jun 26, 20235 min read
Visiting Gallipoli
I’ve visited Istanbul several times – once in the mid 90s on holiday and several times on business with the odd weekend tagged on.  I...
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Clare
Mar 31, 20233 min read
It's not all about the word count: inside a writing retreat
I’ve been doing writing retreats for ten years. Not the sort with tutors but ones where you can hunker down and do some serious writing...
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Clare
Mar 21, 20233 min read
Another story about stained glass
Final edits are completed on my latest book – number 15 is set for publication this June! I need to stop beating about the bush and tell...
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Clare
Jan 18, 20233 min read
A Visit to Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight
Here’s the second part on my recent visit to the Isle of Wight. Although we were staying on the Osborne estate we had time to explore...
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Clare
Dec 11, 20223 min read
A trip to Osborne House, Isle of Wight
Although I’m planning an extended trip abroad in April-May 2023, since Covid I’ve tended to go for frequent short breaks here in the UK....
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Clare
Nov 21, 20224 min read
A Visit to Lamb House in Rye – former home of Henry James
I’ve just spent a delightful three days staying in Rye. I rented a house at the top of Mermaid Street in the heart of the old town with...
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Clare
Oct 15, 20222 min read
The painting that is my oldest memory
My earliest childhood memory is from when I was a baby. Apparently, I cried all the time – probably because of the rude arrival of my...
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Clare
Sep 22, 20223 min read
The Cromwellian Church, Berwick-upon-Tweed
One of the interesting highlights of my recent trip to Berwick-upon-Tweed was a look at one of the few churches in England built under...
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Clare
Aug 21, 20225 min read
Dublin Dockers’ Nicknames
Recently I visited Ireland for a family wedding. Whilst there, enjoying an evening in a local pub, I was reminded of one of the inspirations behind part of my book Storms Gather Between Us - an inspiration I'd entirely forgotten about until now!
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Clare
Aug 2, 20222 min read
A Recent Visit to Charleston Farmhouse
I’m lucky enough to live just a fifteen-to-twenty-minute drive from Charleston, former home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. My sister...
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Clare
Jun 17, 20223 min read
Retreat at Mousehole
I love writing retreats. Not organised ones with tutors, but small gatherings with other authors in attractive or new surroundings to...
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