Tag Archives: Mavis and Dot

Escape to Tuscany with Angela Petch.

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Over the summer, I am delighted to be hosting authors as they share an escape which is special to them or their novels. And what better way to start than with an escape to Tuscany with Angela Petch.

I’m guessing you are immediately picturing sunflowers, vineyards, olive groves, food and wine. Well, I can offer you some of these in our corner of eastern Tuscany where we live each summer, but not all.

Our old watermill is high in the Apennines where it’s too cold for olives or vineyards to flourish: baking hot in summer but very cold in winter with brutal frosts.

Up until the 1950s our shepherds and herdsmen walked down to the coast in September with their livestock and stayed until May, to find pastures for their animals, as well as to earn money odd-jobbing for their families left behind in the mountains. I wrote about this in a previously self-published book. A Tuscan Memory tells the story of a family with a secret relating back to this long period of separation. It is called la transumanzain Italian.

Our area is known as the Upper Tiber Valley (the source is nearby) or the Alta ValMarecchia – another important river that runs alongside our watermill. It’s not a well-known part of Italy but I love it because it feels very “real”. I’ve spoken Italian since I was a child and this helps me with research for my books. Through speaking to local friends (especially the elderly), I have learned about traditions and history that I probably wouldn’t have discovered in text books or documents.

Evalina is in her nineties and lived through the German occupation of our area in World War Two. She remembers only too vividly that traumatic time and is content to share her stories. Some of those are woven into The Tuscan Secret and The Tuscan Girl. Bruno was a POW in Nottingham during that time and it was fascinating listening to his story. Sadly, he died in June 2020 but some of him lives on in the character of Massimo.

I met him whilst walking along a mule track. He spoke to me in English after we had spoken in Italian and I was amazed. Then, out came his story, which I was honoured to listen to. Walking takes me past ruins of abandoned farmhouses and hamlets with more stories to uncover, such as the horrific accounts I learned about the massacre of thirty-three civilians in the village of Fragheto (pictured below).

My latest published book is set further down our mountain in the area around the handsome city of Sansepolcro. This is where vines, olives and also tobacco are grown. The Tuscan House is really a tall tobacco house and I based my pacifist hero and partisan heroine in this location.

Obviously, we do venture into other corners of Tuscany and cameos of these stunning locations make their way into my books at some stage. It would be hard not to include them.

Discover more and escape to Tuscany with Angela Petch’s wonderful Tuscan novels. 

Here is what people are saying about Angela’s latest release, A Tuscan House:

‘Exciting, romantic, irresistible… captured my interest from page one… loved… beautiful… suspenseful… I really enjoyed reading this story.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Grabbed me and pulled me right in… unforgettable… absolutely loved… addictive. I was captivated… you feel really caught up in the twists and turns.’ On the Shelf Books

‘A beautifully descriptive narrative… haunting story… will remain with you for a long time after you’ve finished reading. Highly recommend.’ Pink Quill Books, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Heartbreaking… beautifully written… My heart ached… kept readers on their toes!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Gloriously intriguing… A tale that tugs at the heart strings… I have nothing but praise for this beautifully written tale.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Purchase links:The Tuscan House | A Tuscan Memory | The Tuscan Secret | The Tuscan Girl

And, while not based in Tuscany, don’t forget Angela’s wonderful charity novel, Mavis and Dot. All proceeds from this novel go to vital research into Cancer.

Thank you so much for the wonderful post, Angela. It is always a pleasure to have you on my blog. xx

About the author:

Published by Bookouture, Angela Petch is an award winning writer of fiction – and the occasional poem.

Every summer she moves to Tuscany for six months where she and her husband own a renovated watermill which they let out. When not exploring their unspoilt corner of the Apennines, she disappears to her writing desk at the top of a converted stable. In her Italian handbag or hiking rucksack she always makes sure to store notebook and pen to jot down ideas.

The winter months are spent in Sussex where most of her family live. When Angela’s not helping out with grandchildren, she catches up with writer friends.

Angela’s gripping, WWII, Tuscan novels are published by Bookouture. While her novel, Mavis and Dot, was self-published and tells of the frolics and foibles of two best-friends who live by the seaside. Angela also writes short stories published in Prima and People’s Friend.

You can discover more about Angela Petch and her writing here: Facebook | Twitter | website | Amazon | Apricot Plots

Author Angela Petch is #SharingTheLove

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As February is the month of love, I have a host of wonderful authors stopping by my blog to #ShareTheLove as they discuss their novels, and share a few cheeky extracts! 

Today, I am pleased to welcome Chindi Authors’ Author of the Week, Angela Petch, who has recently released Mavis and Dot – a book of humorous tales about two eccentric ladies who form an unlikely friendship. To #ShareTheLove Angela talks about love for the older generation and the special bond between best friends. Over to you, Angela.

Mavis and Dot

The two main characters in my new book are baby boomers, ladies “of a certain age”. But that doesn’t mean love is a thing of the past for Mavis and Dot.

Mavis is prone to infatuations with Italian men. At the beginning of the novella, we learn about her Italian lover,  who is married to another woman. He owns a string of famous restaurants and when Mavis and Alessandro occasionally meet in the flat that he bought for her in Worthington-on-Sea, they make love and afterwards enjoy “morsels that Alessandro brought from his restaurant kitchen. The twinkling lights along the promenade provided a festive backdrop to their feast. As usual, Mavis had eaten with gusto, feeding her lover with garlic mushrooms and slivers of sweet red oily capsicum from her own fork.”

I won’t tell you how their relationship ends, but a few months later, she falls for an Italian café owner who teaches the tango in his spare time. Mavis comes to an undignified end when she tries his dance class and rapidly falls out of love with Mario.

A couple of days later, Dot consoles her friend, as they share tea and friendship in the Marks and Spencer cafeteria.

“He was really nasty to me, Dot… I was a little off-balance, that’s all. I’ve never done the tango before – what did he expect? He left me lying in a heap on the floor.”

Her friend tries to sympathise. “Falling in love is like catching mumps. It’s tricky,” said Dot, stirring her lapsang.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s fine catching mumps when you’re young but it’s tricky when you’re older. It hits you harder.”

My mother-in-law picked up a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey in the supermarket and asked me if it was a manual about hair dye. I’m afraid I sniggered but her comment also made me think. Love and romance is not restricted to the young. We all need love… and friends. Mavis and Dot are very different from each other and form an unlikely friendship. Newly retired to the Sussex seaside, they are both lonely. As they begin to learn more about each other, they provide mutual help and support.

I wrote Mavis and Dot in memory of my best friend who died thirteen years ago from ovarian cancer. Yes, it has taken me all those years to develop the original short story I wrote for her when she was gravely ill! We enjoyed hunting around charity shops on our days out and we used to nickname ourselves Mavis and Dot. I miss her.

My friend drew this sketch for me when she was very ill. The illustrations in Mavis and Dot, created by Gill Kaye, Editor of Sussex Magazine, Ingénu/e, are inspired by it.

All profits from sales of Mavis and Dot are going to Cancer Research and I hope to raise as much as possible! You can find out more, and buy the book here.

Thank you for sharing the humour, love and warmth of Mavis and Dot with us Angela, and for all you are doing to raise money for Cancer Research in memory of your dear friend.

Angela is delighted to have received love and encouragement from the reviews so far on Goodreads and Amazon, and has had many requests for a sequel:

 “This book was a total joy from beginning to end…a perfect reminder of the power of friendship.” (Welsh Annie – Top 500 Reviewer)

“Mavis and Dot is a warm-hearted exploration of life and friendship that I found beguiling and engaging. It’s a super read. (Linda’s Book Bag)

“Absolutely perfect for an afternoon’s reading, just before your belly dancing class, fish and chips supper or the nude modelling! Completely uplifting…” (Stardust Book Reviews)

“What a cast! I loved Mavis, I want to be her when I grow up…” (The Midnight Review)

“One of my top three reads of 2018” (Book addiction UK – Wrong side of forty)

“10 * It’s not often I go above a 5* ranking but Mavis and Dotabsolutely stole my heart…utterly charming.” (Dash Fan Book Reviews)

About the author

Angela Petch lives in the Tuscan Apennines in summer and Sussex in winter.

Her love affair with Italy was born at the age of seven when she moved with her family to Rome. Her father worked for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and he made sure his children learned Italian and soaked up the culture. She studied Italian at the University of Kent at Canterbury and afterwards worked in Sicily where she met her husband. His Italian mother and British father met in Urbino in 1944 and married after a wartime romance.

Her first book, “Tuscan Roots” was written in 2012, for her Italian mother-in-law, Giuseppina, and also to make readers aware of the courage shown by families of her Italian neighbours during WW2. Signed by Bookouture in 2018, this book will be republished in June 2019. Another Tuscan novel has been commissioned for 2020.

“Now and Then in Tuscany”, a sequel, was published in April 2017 and features the same family. The background is the transhumance, a practice that started in Etruscan times and continued until the 1950s. Her research for her Tuscan novels is greatly helped by her knowledge of Italian and conversations with locals.

Although Italy is a passion, her stories are not always set in this country. “Mavis and Dot”, published at the end of 2018 and sold in aid of Cancer Research, tells the story of two fun-loving ladies who retire to the Sussex seaside. They forge an unlikely friendship and fall into a variety of adventures. Ingenu/e Magazine describes it as: “Absolutely Fabulous meets Last of the Summer Wine… a gently hilarious feel-good book that will enchant and delight…”.

A prize-winning author, member of CHINDI independent authors and RNA, she also loves to travel and recently returned to Tanzania, where she lived at the start of her marriage. A keen tennis player and walker, she also enjoys spending time with her five grandchildren and inventing stories for their entertainment.

Angela’s short stories are published by PRIMA and the People’s Friend.  Her historical novels Tuscan Roots (available for a limited time only) and Now and Then in Tuscany are available as ebooks and in paperback.

Discover more about Angela Petch and her writing here: Facebook | Twitter | website | Amazon

Don’t miss author Hannah Pearl #SharingTheLove with an extract from Evie’s Little Black Book, on my blog tomorrow. xx


Carol Thomas writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads. Discover more here.