I���m absolutely loving being back in England and even more so being in Cornwall. As much as I loved my time living in the Caribbean there is something so special about this small, green island - even if it is rather rainy and muddy right now. It���s been a case of pulling on my boots and waterproofs and stomping the cliffs and footpaths for inspiration rather than lazing by the pool but I���m certainly feeling inspired and a lot fitter.

One of the wonderful things about the UK is the history we have here and I love all the myths and legends that surround the everyday here. This is particularly true in Cornwall where tales of wreckers and piskies and obscure saints abound and the ancient pagan past is only a step away though the sea mists. These myths and the dramatic landscape certainly inspire my writing.

Those of you who have read the Polwenna Bay books will know that St Wenn���s Well plays an important role in WINTER WISHES and as I have been writing TREASURE OF THE HEART the well has become central to the plot and the way that the lives of some characters have played out. Cornwall is full of such wells and they each have their own stories and mystical properties. Adopted by Christianity, these holy wells have become a part of local folk lore and people still visit them and leave gifts of sparkly items, small fairies or clouties of cloth for the well spirits. In WINTER WISHES the Reverend Jules isn���t so sure about all this!

As part of my research for the book I began to look at the OS map of my local area and I was amazed to see that there were several of these wells literally on my doorstep. We visited one called St. Nun���s Well which is just outside the village of Pelynt. It was beautiful and had the oddest atmosphere.

Later on I was surfing the Internet (always a good way of avoiding work!) when I found an extract of a very old OS map of Polperro. This map showed that there was once a holy well right opposite where I keep my horses. Once called St Peter���s Well, it was known for curing sore eyes and had been visited by locals for generations. Work on the small lane during the twentieth century meant that it had been lost over the years but according my web site source it was still there if you looked carefully enough. Usually I moan like mad about climbing the steep hill to the stables but this time I was off like a shot. And guess what? I found it!








The well once ran into a big bowl but now it flows into a smaller basin. It���s hidden away but once I found it I couldn���t believe I had missed it. I must have walked past it a thousand times! It���s really made me wonder what else I haven���t noticed here. And what new adventures and stories I can dream up...