A MESSAGE FROM SUSANNE MCCARTHY

Welcome to a slice of sunny South Devon in a box! In my head, I’ve been living in Sturcombe for the past couple of years, strolling down Church Road and past the Memorial Gardens, dropping in for tea and scones at the Carleton Hotel or the CupCake café, dodging frisbies and small dogs on the beach.

And of course creating the characters – charting the ups and downs of their romances and creeping into the back of the old church to watch their Happy-Ever-Afters.

Now it’s your turn. I’m sorry I can’t give you exact directions how to get there – it’s a little way past Exeter, just off the Devon Expressway (unfortunately the train station was closed in the 1960s).

Or maybe it would be easier if you just read the books.