When in Rome (Or Zaragoza)…

Question: What do you get if you mix one sun-and-culture-seeking writer with the beautiful Spanish cities of Zaragoza and Valencia?

– Blisters (worth it) and an impressive trainer sock tan line?

Yes and yes.

– A taste for the delicious local cocktail? (Just to cool down, you understand.)

Oh yes.

– Too many holiday photos to shake a long-melted lolly stick at?

You guessed it. Photos, photos and more photos, from the modern splendour of Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencia…

…to the haunting ruins of Belchite:

Surprisingly, there are also a few photos lurking in the holiday folder with a distinctly Roman air about them…

….including a rare holiday snap sighting of yours truly, wandering through an ancient forum:

A rare sighting indeed – I’m usually the one behind the camera. But there was no stopping me this summer. Look! I even strong-armed this passing soldier into posing with me for a cheeky museum snap!

He wasn’t too happy about it, as you can probably tell. “Hurry up, Missus,” he grumbled. “I’ve got better things to do than stand around here all day, while strange English writer ladies snuggle up to my oh-so-realistic shield. I could be down at Burger Emperor feasting on delicious baked beans and snail dippers…”

Yes, it’s true. He managed that whole speech without moving his lips!

But what was he talking about? I hear you cry. (Let’s just pretend you did, okay?) There’s no such thing as Burger Emperor. What would a Roman be doing scoffing baked beans? And what’s a shy, retiring author doing muscling into photos left, right and centre?

Wonder no more, my friends! The answer to all these perplexing problems can be found in the following exciting announcement:

My time-travelling MG comedy adventure, Agent Starling: Operation Baked Beans will be published by the fabulous folks at Maverick on October 28th! Prepare for some truly ancient baked beans. Lots and lots of beans. And possibly even more photos of strange English slightly-less-ancient writer ladies… But for now, here’s one photo I didn’t manage to strong-arm my way into, and it’s probably my favourite one of all: