Hi, I'm Santa Montefiore and I've been writing a novel (sometimes two) a year for twenty-six years now, which is quite astonishing as I didn't really think beyond the first book, which took me five years to write. I didn't think I had another in me, but here I am, celebrating my thirty-first and polishing my thirty-second for publication next year! - that's including the four Royal Rabbits of London children's books I have co-written with my husband, my two Flappy comedies, and The Kiss which I wrote for Quick Reads. Most of my novels are set partly in England and partly in a beautiful location, like Argentina, Italy or France, Ireland or America. I write primarily for myself so I figure, as I'm going to be living in my imagination for the best part of six months, I might as well choose somewhere lovely. I adore nature, so I tend to plant my characters in rural settlings - by the sea or in the countryside - and most of them are stand alone, except Last Voyage of the Valentina and The Italian Matchmaker, and my recent trilogy, The Deverill Chronicles, which is set in Ireland from 1910 to the sixties. It started out as three books, but is now five, soon to be six: The Secret Hours is number 4 and The Distant Shores is number 5. I suppose I just love writing about that family so much, I don't want to stop.
I'm excited to have begun an exciting new series for adults. The first is called Shadows in the Moonlight, and will be published in a beautiful hardback in June 2024. It follows my rather unusual heroine Pixie Tate as she investigates a mystery in Victorian Cornwall. The second one is based in New York's Gilded Age, and will be published in 2025. I'm planning on writing a third to complete the series.
I adore writing. I've always loved stories, both reading them and writing them. I can't imagine life without them. Not only are they entertaining, but they teach us so much about life - and enable us to live vicariously through characters who experience more drama than we do! I'm emotional. I love to be moved. There's nothing better than sinking into a novel and empathising with the characters as they journey through the novel, experiencing both ups and downs...I love to laugh and cry and I want the book to stay with me after I've turned the last page. I don't need a happy ending, but I need a satisfactory one. I hope I deliver satisfactory endings in my own novels.
I also wrote four children's books with my husband, Simon Sebag-Montefiore. The series is called The Royal Rabbits of London, and is about a secret society of MI5 style rabbits who live beneath Buckingham Palace and protect the Royal Family from the evil Ratzis. Our son came up with the idea when he was six years old. At the moment we're working on developing it into a movie, which is beyond exciting. To see our characters in animation will be magical.
I live in London but rent a cottage in Hampshire, which is where I bolt to when I can no longer take the pace of the city and need to spend time in nature to find peace. We have two children, our daughter Lily and our son Sasha. We also have a Labrador called Simba who is definitely the most spoiled member of the family. My husband Simon is a historian, novelist and broadcaster. We manage to live and work in the same house without killing each other. My favourite place to write is at the kitchen table because it's near the kettle and the fridge. If I start a packet of biscuits I can't stop so I try not to start... but marmite toast is another matter, and a very serious one; nothing can separate me from that.
Visit me on Twitter, Instagram and via my website, which are all under my name. And do sign up for my newsletter on my website which I try to write every month, but sometimes struggle, so please forgive me if I miss one or two!
If you read any of my novels, I hope they sweep you away and give you a warm feeling inside.
