Herm inspires Dutch writer’s love story
Added: (Fri Jan 21 2022)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
It took Dutch author Wilma Hollander only a few hours on the tiny British Channel Island of Herm to realise it was the perfect setting for her new romance novel The Summer of 1970.
“Herm has a fascinating history, a sub-tropical flora and only sixty permanent residents. I visited the island during a holiday with my sister, and the moment I set foot on Herm and walked towards the White House Hotel to join the Garden Tour, I knew I had found the location for my next book. There’s something in the atmosphere that makes Herm very special, a mix of love and joy, but glimpses of mystery and old souls too. You can feel it all around you, even if you’re a down-to-earth person like me. I wanted to capture that magic atmosphere in my novel and hopefully I did,” she says, talking about the inspiration for the book.
The former flight attendant, journalist and line dance teacher always dreamt of becoming a romance author, but it wasn’t until after her emigration to a small peninsula in Greece that she found the time to write her successful debut Under the Greek Sun, first published in 2008. Following her writer’s dream has since led to the publication of more than a dozen novels, contracts with major publishers in her native country The Netherlands and guest slots at various book festivals.
“I’d like to think it’s because I combine my love stories with a bit of mystery, humour and drama,” she says when asked for the reason of her success. “My characters are real life persons, to whom the reader can easily relate. And although the stories are purely fictional, the setting is always as accurate as the plot allows. I’ve met many readers who, inspired by my books set on the peninsula where I live, came here for a holiday and used my novel as their tourist guide.” Laughing she adds: “Which of course can be very tricky, because only I know what’s real and what’s not real in my books!”
Apart from the vivid setting and the light-hearted romance, her novels always contain a deeper layer. In The Summer of 1970 it’s about stepping out of your comfort zone, which can be both very frightening but also extremely rewarding.
Wilma: “Like the main character Katie, many women never reach their full potential, never discover who they really are and what they really want, due to upbringing, lack of confidence or other circumstances. I really hope Katie’s journey will inspire those women to take the jump and finally become the person that they were always meant to be.”
The Summer of 1970 tells the fascinating story of a single Dutch woman in her early thirties, who has to rebuild her life after losing her job. A holiday as the travel companion of an old sailor on the quiet island of Herm seems to be the perfect opportunity to reflect on her future steps. But meeting the inhabitants of a close-knit island community can be quite disturbing.
The Summer of 1970 is available on Amazon both in paperback and Kindle. The paperback version is also available in various bookshops and tourists’ spots on the Channel Islands as from April 2022. For more information about Wilma Hollander, please visit her website: https://wilmahollander.com
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