Genie of the Rock
Destination: Gibraltar / 1 Comment / May 15, 2014

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Story Synopsis:

When all seems lost for Carys, a thieving Rock Ape and an old brass lamp bring hope back into her life.

Sneak peek of story:

Carys backed away from the window, but in the restricted space it was barely far enough. Strange. She’d never had much of a thing about heights before.

Three years ago, Joe had proposed to her on the London Eye – the full down-on-one-knee, ring-in-a-box shebang – amid ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the foreign tourists sharing their pod. Maybe she’d been swept along by the thrill of romance that day and hadn’t noticed they were a hundred-and-thirty feet in the air...

SL Q&A Logo

Tell us about the location you chose for your SUNLOUNGER short story… GENIE OF THE ROCK is set in Gibraltar. It’s where I was born, and where many family members still live, so it’s a special place for me.

Have your books featured any exotic destinations? They’ve all been set in the UK – so far. Nowadays I’m using the stunning scenery of North Wales for my inspiration, and I don’t have to travel far to be inspired!

If you could live anywhere in the world… I love where I live now in Wales, but if I could have a second home anywhere in the world, it would have to be a penthouse overlooking Central Park in New York.

Destination you’ve returned to the most times? Gibraltar. Most recently my husband and I took our three children over to meet family members who haven’t been able to make it to the UK to see us, and we’re already overdue another visit! Maybe next year…

Favourite cuisine from around the world? I once spent a few days in Singapore. The food there was fantastic. I’ve never had a gastronomic experience quite like it. Tip: eat everywhere the locals eat.

Favourite holiday cocktail? Long Island Iced Tea. Not that I drink it much when abroad, but it always evokes an image of distant shores and sophisticated travel. Maybe it’s all in the name rather than the ingredients?

What was your best and worst holiday romance? Fortunately I haven’t had a bad experience. My best holiday romance was being unofficially proposed to on Broadway, New York. (Long story. A couple of months later I was officially proposed to up the Eiffel Tower. I was allowed to broadcast it then. And Paris in the springtime was incredible.) But those few days in New York were fabulously romantic. We did such cheesy things, like eating breakfast outside Tiffany’s and going for a carriage ride around Central Park. Bliss…



Baglietto, Valerie-Anne

Sunlounger Contributing Author

Twitter:


@VABaglietto

Author Bio

VALERIE-ANNE BAGLIETTO was born in Gibraltar, but came to England when she was three. She wrote and illustrated her first book when she was four. It was pure fiction, about a little boy whose mother’s nose was incredibly long and spiral-shaped. The writing bug had bitten!

In 2000 she won the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writer’s Award for her first novel THE WRONG SORT OF GIRL. After three more romantic comedies published by Hodder & Stoughton, her favourite being THE MOON ON A STICK, life with her young family took over.

Valerie-Anne lives in North Wales with her husband, two sons, one daughter, two cute but perpetually hungry guinea pigs and a headful of plot lines.

These days she’s writing contemporary fairy tales set in picturebook Welsh villages inspired by her gorgeous surroundings. ONCE UPON A WINTER reached #1 in the Amazon UK Fairy Tale chart. THE TROUBLE WITH KNIGHTS IN SHINING ARMOUR is coming soon.