Why is it always easier to write when you step out of your daily life and head somewhere new? The Finding Place was written on a beach devastated by a tsunami. Flying Backwards with Pelicans was written on a ranch in Chile. Beyond Chaos began life as the sun was rising over the rainforest in Costa Rica, and the final words of Girl Awake were written in the same hammock. Two weeks ago, I set off for Spain, to research a second location for our writing retreats. My days were spent exploring in a tiny rental car barely able to manage the switchbacks and steep plunges of the single track Andalucian roads, and my nights were spent feverishly plotting ideas for a new novel. 
