Category: Travel

Ancient Mayans and human sacrifice

4/8/2018

I’m so excited to have a new book coming out. So it's the perfect time to share the inspiration behind the scenes in my new Maximum Exposure series. This series has three stand-alone, heart-thumping, romantic suspense novels all set in a wonderful remote location that I’ve visited.

The first book - Out of Reach, is set in Mexico’s Yucatán jungle. I've been to Mexico five times and in 2015, I went to Chichén Itzá, which is a UNESCO World Heritage listed, 1400-year-old complex of Mayan ruins in the middle of the Mexican jungle. Chichén Itzá was one of the largest mythical Mayan cities and I found it hard to believe something so magnificent was abandoned and left to be swamped by the relentless creep of the voracious vegetation. But it was.

My visit to the temple, was just one of approximately 1.4 million people who visit the ancient site each year. And whilst the bucket-list experience was truly incredible, it had me pondering how wonderful it would be to be the first to discover an ancient temple. Can you imagine that? Well, that was the initial thought that inspired Out of Reach.

Anyway, back to the ruins. They were remarkably well preserved despite the centuries of abandonment and the robust vegetation that’d made the ruins their home. Consequently, archaeologists were able to piece together a fascinating history from over a thousand years ago.

An immense step pyramid, known as the Temple of Kukulcan, overlooks the ancient city, and is probably the most photographed of all the ancient Mayan temples. Here I am with the Temple of Kukulcan in 2015.

The step pyramid contains 365 steps, one for each day of the year. The ancient Mayan's were very talented stone masons and one incredible feature on this temple is the illusion of a snake body that only shows up when the late afternoon sun strikes at the Spring and Fall equinoxes. How they did that is beyond me.

Oh, and how’s this for amazing, at the top of one of the ancient buildings was three windows. Each one has been positioned perfectly for viewing other planets like Venus.

Rows and rows of carved columns lead to The Temple of Warriors.

Check out these rows of intricately carved columns depicting warriors and astronomical signs. They once supported a roof that led to a broad stairway at the The Temple of Warriors where human hearts were once offered to the Gods. I love this stuff, don't you?

The Sacred Cenotes. Major source of water and site for human sacrifices. Looks yummy!

The demise of this ancient city is yet to be truly established, although one theory had me fascinated. The Yucatán Peninsula is pockmarked with natural sinkholes called cenotes and the Sacred Cenotes at Chichén Itzá is an impressive 70 feet deep and 200 feet wide well. It was the major water source for the city inhabitants. But, during a time of severe drought, the King ordered human sacrifices to convince the Gods to bring the rain. Archaeologists found the skeletal remains of dozens of children and six-foot warriors at the bottom of the Cenotes. Trouble was, by tossing the sacrificial humans into the well, the silly buggers were also poisoning their only water source. Woops.

So there you go. I hope this travel blog has inspired you to visit this incredible New Seven Wonder of the World. Hopefully you’re also interested in reading my new book.

Out of Reach

When an ancient lost Mayan temple is discovered by a team of archaeologists deep in the Mexican jungle, Liliana Bennett is given her first clue to a family mystery that’s taunted her since her father’s sudden death.

Click here for more details.

Please also check out more of my travel blogs and stories that inspired my books. Next time, I’ll take you deeper into the Mexican jungle where only ATV’s and crazy people like me go.

Oh and hey, I love hearing from you, so drop in a comment below and I'll get right back to you. Cheers and happy reading.

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Pompeii - The Lost City

6/15/2015

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Another travel experience that influenced my stories. Enjoy.

The city of Pompeii, once a thriving metropolis, was nestled nice and close to Mount Vesuvius, the very volcano that killed the city’s occupants and buried it beneath tons of ash in 79AD.

Dean and I explore Pompeii 1989. Back then there was very few restrictions of what we could or couldn't touch.

In 1989 my husband and I visited the extraordinary excavation site. Despite visiting Pompeii more than 25 years ago I still have vivid memories of exploring the remains of that ancient city. The lack of air and moisture created by the mountain of ash that fell upon the city ensured the objects that lay beneath it were preserved in extraordinary condition. What we saw was fascinating and macabre at the same time. It was an incredible reminder of the power of nature.

Ancient Pompeii is believed to have been founded in approximately 6th century BC. When it was destroyed, some 160 years later, it was reported to be nearing a population of 11,000 people. During excavation, archaeologists used plaster to fill in the empty spaces that once contained bodies. This ensured they could recreate the exact position of the person when they died. They found men, women, children, babies, dogs, cats, monkeys and numerous other species that died within minutes of that fateful volcanic eruption.

It's hard to believe this Pompeii street was built nearly 2000 years ago.

This ancient Roman city was forgotten for over 1500 years. Wiped clean by the hand of God. It was discovered by accident in 1599 when digging commenced to divert the Sarno river.

However, the architect, Domenico Fontana, found the nature of the fresco’s he discovered too promiscuous and promptly covered them over again. It wasn’t until 1738 that the ruins of Pompeii were rediscovered and finally excavation began.

The volcano is said to have erupted for 6 hours, spewing some 25 metres of ash and rock onto the city. What they have recovered is simply extraordinary and allowed archaeologists to piece together a story of the city that once was.

The House of the Faun. Remains of Pompeii.

I feel completely blessed to have shared this wonderful experience with my husband, I only wish we'd had more than one day exploring this amazing piece of history.

Whether its modern day or ancient, I find history fascinating. I swear I must've been an archaeologist in another life. It's amazes me how these experiences influence my writing. I love going back there with my stories and I hope my readers enjoy the journey too. Treasured Secrets is an action adventure story based on a missing 13th Century treasure. Download your copy today.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed another one of my travel experiences. Follow my blogs and come escape with me. Here's my previous travel blog if you're interested.

Treasured Secrets

Some secrets should remain hidden forever.

Sunken Treasure. Sharks. Shipwrecks. Sex. Evil bad guys and delicious food. What more could you want in an action adventure novel. Grab your copy of Treasured Secrets today. AMAZON.

Download now.

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Tuscany - and the horrific event that inspired my trilogy

4/16/2015

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People often ask me where I get ideas for my books from and sometimes it amazes me what instigates that initial spark. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll blog some of the experiences that inspired my 'Treasured' series of book.

In 2011 my husband surprised me with a trip to Tuscany for our 20th anniversary. We had 10 wonderful days exploring this fabulous region and we stayed in a 700 year old villa called Villa Pandolfini in Signa, a little village just a fifteen minute train ride from Florence. Our spectacular historic villa with extremely high ceilings, magnificent frescoes and original antique furniture was surrounded by vineyards and olive-groves and offered an extensive view over Arno Valley. This incredible villa was the perfect place to set my author brain into action and consequently features prominently in Treasured Secrets.

Our rooms were overflowing with antiques.

Villa Pandolfini Signa Tuscany Italy

It was a visit to a little church in the medieval area of Florence that catapulted my creative writing ideas into overdrive. The Church of St Apostoli was built in the 11th century and is very insignificant compared to the many more grand churches in this historic city. This church is located in the Piazza Del Limbo, a nondescript concrete plaza, so named as it was once the cemetery for unbaptized babies.

The floor inside the church is inlaid with a beautiful marble mosaic, but the aspect that caught my interest was an oval door in the mosaic floor. Our guide informed us that this was where they threw the bodies during the plague of 1348. (Whether or not this was true, I still don't know). But I do know that there were so many bodies that they didn’t have time to give the deceased proper burials. Of course, in doing this, they actually contributed to the spread of the disease, by literally feeding the rats. Sixty percent of Europe’s population died from The Black Death - some fifty million people.

"Die Pest in Epiros" ("The Plague in Epirus") a copper engraving by Pierre Mignard (1610-1665) depicts a bubonic plague epidemic.

As soon as our guide mentioned this horrific event, my head was spinning with ideas of entire families being wiped out and long buried secrets. Then I began to wonder what happened to all their precious possessions. By the time we were on the plane home, I was drafting the bones of a story.

That idea has blossomed into a trilogy with the first book Treasured Secrets available now.

TREASURED SECRETS...
Some secrets should remain hidden forever.

One of my favourite highlights of Tuscany was the food and wine. So much so, that Rosalina, my character in Treasured Secrets is a chef and throughout this series she tantalizes the reader with many fabulous meals.

I like to consider myself as a method writer, so consequently, I cooked, photographed, wrote about and of course, devoured every one of these delicious meals too. I loved this aspect of these books so much that I've created Rosalina's Treasured Treats cookbook.

Register for my newsletter and receive a FREE eBook copy of Breathless Encounters - my collections of short stories with unexpected twists.

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Egypt - Exciting. Exotic. Enchanting.

4/6/2015

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Here's another blog from a travel experience that influenced my writing. I hope you enjoy reading it.

In 2005 I travelled to Egypt with a girlfriend. That holiday is still up there as one of my favourites. So much so, that’s its one of the few places in the world I’m determined to get back to… one day. We stayed at the Marriot Cairo which is an absolute oasis compared to the surrounding bustling streets.

Our hotel was lovely relief from the dust, smog, heat and hustle and bustle that is Cairo. I even sampled some Egyptian Hookah.

Our first day we made our way to Cairo Museum, even though a trip to the museum was part of our tour, we couldn’t wait. We weren’t disappointed. We caught a cab to get there and what an experience that was. Every single car I saw was riddled with scratches, dents and worse. Red lights meant nothing to the drivers and neither did traffic lanes. And they constantly honked their horns.

Unfortunately our camera's were confiscated before we even walked through the doors of the museum. These are the only pictures I have.

The artefacts in the museum were scattered everywhere with no apparent thought to their layout and sadly, many of the pieces had little or no information detailing what they were. Despite all that it was still amazing. We saw many many sarcophagi of different shapes and sizes, some as small as a little child, some as big as a van. We saw 5000 year old wooden statues and the remains of a Queens intestines that had been preserved in Alabaster jars.

The treasure of Tut-ankh-Amun was incredible. So much gold and so many pieces to see. The jewellery was beautiful and amazingly intricate and the colours were very well preserved. It’s hard to believe these pieces are thousands of years old. I’ll go into more detail about his tomb in a future travel blog.

The pyramids of Giza are mind blowing. Until you see them it’s impossible to comprehend just how big they are. The individual blocks are enormous too and when you learn that each block was carted from Aswan and shipped 750km up the Nile its mindboggling. In the pictures below look at the size of the pyramid then see the next photo where I'm standing in amongst the giant blocks. It's gives you some appreciation of just how enormous these constructions are.

I was completely unprepared for the amount of history on display in Egypt. Hieroglyphics were everywhere. I couldn't get enough of them.

The Sphinx was just as impressive, although it has some damage to its nose. It’s bizarre that right across the road from it is KFC and Pizza Hut.

In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the haunches of a lion, the face of a human and sometimes the wings of a great bird. It was considered treacherous and merciless. The Sphinx is said to have guarded the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes, and travelers had to answer a riddle in order to pass through. Apparently those who can’t answer the riddle were killed and eaten by this ravenous monster; a fate considered to be typical in mythological stories. Can you answer the riddle? "There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?"

The answer is "day and night"
(both words are feminine in Greek).

I would've been eaten.

History fascinates me, which is why my latest book Treasured Secrets is based around a 13th century missing treasure. It was so much fun to research that era and weave fact and fiction into my story.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this week’s travel blog. Check more of my travel blogs here.

Treasured Secrets available now.

Some secrets should remain hidden forever.

Treasured Secrets is the beginning of an adrenalin fuelled new series with sexy sassy characters, exotic locations and action-packed adventure.

Want to know more? Click HERE

Register for my newsletter and receive a FREE eBook copy of Breathless Encounters - my collections of short stories with unexpected twists.

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Shipwrecked in Brazil. Writing inspiration.

3/25/2015

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My oldest son spent most of 2013 in Brazil as an exchange student. So of course I had to go over and visit. It was a mammoth effort to get there from Brisbane, 5 flights and some 35 hours in transit. Jordan was living at Florianopolis on Santa Catarina Island which is about 700km’s south of Sao Paulo.

The island is 90km long and approximately 18km wide with more than 100km of coastline and 42 beaches. There are beaches to suit everyone. Joaquina, has perfect waves for surfers and a magnificent sand dune for anyone willing to get sand in their shorts while whizzing down at a cracking pace on a board. We had a lovely seafood lunch while sitting with our toes in the sand and watching the boys hit the waves and play tennis on the beach.

One of my favourite beaches we went to in Florianopolis was Naufragados beach. How the beach got its name is self-explanatory. Naufragodo translates to ship wrecked in Portuguese. This beach is situated at the extreme southern end of Santa Catarina Island and is difficult to get to by any means. We followed a trail, approximately 3kms long that cuts across Atlantic rainforest. The hike was steep and slippery but after about an hour we stepped onto one of the most secluded and beautiful beaches in Brazil. The beach is part of a nature reserve and is famous for its rough seas and excellent surfing conditions.

It was cold when we finally stepped onto the sand.

From the beach there is a wonderful view over to Aracatuba Island, where the fortress Nossa Senhora da Conceicao is located.

You can only visit this fortress when the sea is calm though.

What fascinated me most about this beach is its history. Many ships have been wrecked here with impressive records from as far back as 1516. One of the most notable accounts details the demise of 21 sailors under chief navy pilot and Spanish explorer of Buenos Aires, Juan Dias de Solis.

Map similar to that used by Juan Diaz de Solis in 1515.

The men were left on the island after they shipwrecked one of the vessels and there wasn’t enough room on the other ships to carry them all. Imagine what they were thinking as they watched their only link to civilisation sail away.

Apparently though, the men were reported to have lived on this very beach for a further 40 years. In fact we were told some of the occupants of the beach today, living high up in seclusion, in the dense vegetation overlooking the incredible blue South Atlantic Ocean, were direct descendants of the castaways. Of course, I believe them.

Another fascinating curiosity, is the record of the Azoreans who were brought to South Brazil to colonize Porto Alegre, but stayed on Santa Catarina Island for 3 years for adaptation reasons. But when they finally departed, the ship sank off the shores of Naufragados beach, killing all 241 people on board.

It’s stories like these that capture my imagination and reinforce my love of history. So much so that this very spot ignited the spark for a couple of plot themes in my upcoming series.

Treasured Secrets, the first ebook in my
action adventure series is available to pre-order now.

Some secrets should remain hidden forever.

Treasured Secrets - Click here to find out more.

Register for my newsletter and receive a FREE eBook copy of Breathless Encounters - my collections of short stories with unexpected twists.

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Christmas Island where magic happens...

3/18/2015

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Christmas Island is barely a dot on a map North-West of Perth, Western Australia. 63% of the island is designated National Park and its nearly overflowing with complex flora and fauna unique to this island. The island has only been inhabited since 1888 so that makes Christmas Island one of the youngest communities in the world.

The entire island is a wildlife sanctuary excellent for bird watching, nature lovers, anglers and scuba divers.

There is so much to explore both above and beneath the water, but in 2010, I went there specifically for the scuba diving. Although I love my diving, I get sea sick. To combat this I go in search of diving that doesn’t require a big boat trip to get to the dive sites. Christmas Island was the perfect choice. The island is actually the tip of an ancient volcano that rises about 5 miles up from the ocean floor. So literally metres from the shoreline, divers can explore the drop-off that plunges dramatically into the abyss.

On our second day of diving, I experienced one of the most magical moments of my life.

With my husband as my dive buddy, we dropped into the water and gradually cruised down Perpendicular Wall, which is exactly what it is. This dive site is a fathomless vertical wall bustling with enormous coral fans, hundreds of colourful tropical fish of all shapes and sizes, eels that dart out and disappear just as quickly, and of course sharks, turtles and stingrays.

About 40 minutes into our dive, my hubby indicated he was nearly at his air limit. He’s what’s known as an air pig - in that he consumes his air way too quickly. I was a tad annoyed about this as I had at least another 20 minutes of air time remaining. But as every good dive buddy knows, you stick with your partner. So together we gradually floated toward the surface.

This is when the magic happened.

At our decompression stop, a four metre long whale shark came over to check us out. Whale sharks are the largest known fish species and can grow up to 12 metres long and weight as much as 21 tons. They have very large mouths but thankfully for us, they are filter feeders and mainly eat plankton.

I thought this 'baby' whale shark was going to eat me.

Dean and I were so lucky, because not only did this friendly fish cruise around us for a good twenty minutes or so, but as the rest of our dive party were below us, nearly every picture they took of the whale shark had us in it. It was a special moment for everyone. At one point the whale shark came so close to me, with its mouth wide open, that I thought he was going to swallow me whole. Just the surge in the water as it passed was enough to feel it’s immense size.

I feel completely blessed to have experienced this rare, close encounter with a gentle giant of the sea.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed one of my travel experiences that influenced a scene in my upcoming book Treasured Secrets.

You can check out a few more of my travel blogs, HERE.

Some secrets should remain hidden forever.

Treasured Secrets the first book in an adrenaline fuelled new series with sexy sassy characters, exotic locations and action-packed adventure is available for pre-order now. You can learn more about it here.

Register for my newsletter and receive a FREE eBook copy of Breathless Encounters - my collections of short stories with unexpected twists.

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Our big family adventure

3/15/2015

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As we live in sunny Queensland Australia it was a wonderful diverse experience to spend a Christmas in the snow. In 2007 I took my family to Big White, a ski resort situated approximately 50km’s from Kelowna or 450km east of Vancouver Canada. We rented someone’s cute holiday ski chalet with a fireplace and hot tub.

It was delightful at the end of each day to sit in our hot tub and listen to the snow sizzle as it hit our bubbling hot water. Snow would land on our noses and in our hot chocolate or champagne as we allowed the therapeutic bubbles to relax our overworked ski legs.

Big White Mountain is 2319 metres high and offers a vertical drop of 777m. With 16 lifts and an annual snow fall of 750cm, this mountain has some seriously good skiing. Exactly why I took my family there.

Big White has 118 designated trails and a number of unnamed trails. Thankfully for us nearly 20% of the trails are for beginners, although my kids progressed from that pretty quickly. More than 50% of the mountain is for intermediate skiers. One of our favourite ski runs was a green ski run that started with a 10 minute chairlift ride. By the time we reached the top we were freezing and couldn’t wait to get moving again. By day two we had to purchase balaclavas for the boys just to keep them warm on the ski lift.

Anyway, once we jumped off this chair lift, and not always gracefully I’ll tell you, we started down one of the longest ski runs I’ve ever experienced. It was a winter wonderland with fabulous fluffy powdery snow. We skied through avenues of ‘snow ghosts’ which are giant snow blasted trees that become an intriguing canvas of shapes. The boys managed to find every jump possible on the way down some of them were through the trees. Near the end of the run, we’d ski right up to our chalet door for a quick hot chocolate and rest. Then we’d step out the door and ski down to the chair lift to do it all again. It was a fabulous way to spend Christmas.
(Click here for a copy of my yummy Hot Chocolate Recipe).

While we were there we also did a snow mobile tour. Acquired dozens of bruises while bob sledding. Had a family ice hockey tournament. Screamed our lungs out on the mega tubing rides and topped it all off with Christmas carols and fireworks.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed another one of my travel experiences.

I write books that reflect my life experiences.

Treasured Secrets - Some secrets should remain hidden forever.

Treasured Secrets is the beginning of an adrenalin fuelled new series with sexy sassy characters, exotic locations and breathless adventure.

It's also the perfect way to keep up to date with my latest and upcoming releases. You will also recieve exclusive sneak peaks and opportunities to win books and other fabulous prizes.

I'd love to keep in touch with you, so what are you waiting for?

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An ancient quest, an intriguing story...

11/13/2014

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Honors Debt
On a quest to make amends for a long ago indiscretion, Honor unexpectedly discovers the one thing she's been missing in her life.

Have you ever wanted to investigate your family origins? Noelle Clark has.

As an Australian author of contemporary romance and historical novels Noelle has travelled the world searching for great stories. In the process of exploring a situation where members of one family meet for the first time having been separated for several generations, she began to think about her own Irish roots.

Hi Noelle, can you tell me what started this journey?
When I was in Ireland a few years ago, I visited the village where the remnants of my Irish ancestors live. The emotions and questions that ran through my mind became the catalyst for writing my latest story.

I imagine it's can be both exciting and daunting meeting distant relatives. Where you looking for anything in particular?
I wanted to know if my cousins in Ireland were like me in any way? I was curious about how would they react if I knocked on their door? Then I wondered if they even knew I existed.

I believe what you discovered inspired your new Robinhill Farm Series.
That's true. My fictional family have been separated by distance, and by an incident that happened long ago and split the two branches apart forever. Well, until now of course. That’s where Honor’s Debt starts.

Ireland is a perfect location for this type of story. I’ve explored much of the Emerald Isle, witnessed the amazing scenery, and enjoyed the craic. I love the Irish people and have tried very hard to imbue my characters with the warmth, humour, and passion that I see in the Irish.

Honor Quirk arrives in Ireland excited—and a bit anxious—about meeting up with the estranged family of her late great-grandmother. The welcome from the residents of Robinhill Farm, Dermot and Bryan, is confusing and far from comforting. One is warm, the other aggressive. The outwardly antagonistic Bryan makes it very clear he doesn't want her there, branding her a gold digger.

Dermot, on the other hand, is delighted to meet her.

But Honor is no pushover and stands up to Bryan, letting him know that his bad attitude and trail of baggage have nothing to do with her. Despite their confrontational and hostile relationship, an undeniable attraction to each other creeps insidiously into the house on Robinhill Farm. They both desperately try to stifle the sparks, but living under the same roof makes it impossible. Unable to cope with the turmoil of living with Bryan, Honor runs away, straight into the arms of a charming newfound friend, Sean, who offers her a home—and love.

Shattered, Bryan finally takes control of his irrational belief that all women are evil, and fights to bring back the woman he loves. But is it too late?

Thank you so much for sharing your journey with me Noelle.