When I wrote my novel, Finding Summer Happiness, I set it in the gorgeous county of Pembrokeshire in south west Wales, close to the sea and the coastal path. I wanted my main character, Miriam to escape to somewhere beautiful and quiet that reminded her of her childhood holidays, and would help her heal from the anxiety and stress she had been feeling when running her own business, and the grief of losing her mother.
Another reason I set it in Pembrokeshire was because of the lack of light pollution and clear night skies it is ideal for stargazing. The house Miriam was renting had a telescope in the attc and she began to revisit her youth, by gazing at the horizon as night fell and the stars came out, just as she had done with her father as a child. There was also her unexpected summer-house guest, Alan, an astronomer and lecturer – very helpful when you want to know what you are looking at in the sky.
I mean, who doesn’t love just sitting and staring up as the sky slowly darkens watching clusters of stars come to life as if they are slowly being switched on.
Additionally, there may or may not have been the tiniest hint of a ghost. Actually, when i wrote it i wasn’t sure if it was Miriam’s imagination or not, which I suppose reflects what a lot of us feel when confronted with occasionally strange phenomena.
And now I have discovered this https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20250324-star-bathing-the-next-big-thing-in-travel
that there is something called Star Bathing, where people go to retreats, and sort of ‘be’ under the stars, in order to feel closer to nature and do exactly what Miriam hoped to do – calm her busy mind. It didn’t quite work what with the grumpy astronomer, look a like festival and the accidental signing of a lease which committed her to exactly what she had been trying to get away from.
But then the grumpy astronomer would help her look up at the sky, and maybe it would all be alright in the end.
Finding Summer Happiness is available to buy in paperback, e-book and audio.
Click here for the e-book