Sitting in a piazza in the sunshine, coffee at hand, writing your latest novel is a dream for many of us and a dream our guest this episode has made a reality – with best-selling books based on Greek Islands, Prague, Italy’s Lake Como, Andalucia, Sri Lanka, Canada, New Zealand and more as well as a career in popular magazines. As well as exotic location expect heart-melting romance and maybe even a few tears – author Isabelle Broom always takes readers on a beautiful emotional journey and she’s here now to tell us all about her travels:

On this episode we cover:

Her novels in ‘escapist fiction’ – based in Greece, Prague, Spain, Lake Como in Italy, Sri Lanka, Canada and New Zealand

Becoming an accidental escapist author

Her travel wish list

Not being Chick Lit

Does ‘Chick Lit’ have a derogatory image

How travel and reading go hand in hand

Audio books on the beach

Books as face beach shades

Her wild days in Greece

How the Greeks are friends for life

Getting fat on pizza

Dancing on bars as a ‘PR’

Being paid to speak to strange men

Working in gossip mag Heat Magazine

The heyday of women’s magazines

How social media has nudged out the magazines

Big Brother – Jade Goody, Pete and Nikki

Celebrity parties

Rude celebs, karaoke and nipple tassels

The National Television Awards and the Baftas

McFly, Danny Dyer and Gemma Collins from TOWIE

How Danny Dyer really understands women

Danny Dyer being related to royalty on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are

How Vicky Patterson from Geordie Shore is lovely

Her second novel, based in a magical, wintery Prague

Wandering around Prague Christmas markets, talking to strangers and drinking hot wine

The Sri Lankan characters that inspired her most recent book

Captain Siri, the lovely man in Sri Lanka who ripped them off

Confusing local customs

Her book based in Mojacar, Spain

How Mojacar was wiped out by an earthquake and rebuilt

The rebuilding of Ypres after the First World War

Teenage drinking in Mojacar with Jose the barman

The spiral of disasters and comedy storyline

Stolen vodka, blue drinks and kissing boys

Holiday romances with handsome, uncomplicatedly masculine Greeks in Skiathos

A recent month in New Zealand for her sixth book

Richard Armitage from The Hobbit being in the room next room to us!

The peace and quiet of New Zealand

Sitting and thinking for three hours , hills, mountains, lakes and a guy called Ross from Brighton

Solo travel staying in hostels rather than hotels

The loneliness of a hotel room

Bar crawls with Australian brothers

Using people she meets as characters in her book (hi Griffin!)

People not being on facebook

Sending postcards

Her forthcoming research trip to Canada

How Canada is beautiful, clean and friendly and less in your face

Never having been to Scotland

Moving from London to Suffolk

Lisa suggests Fiji – beach and sun and more

Lake Como above Rome, Milan or Venice

The wedding that inspired her trip to Lake Como

George Clooney and Amal and the playground of the rich

The music that can take her back to her happy place