I was shocked, delighted, traumatised, energised by his tale. Now Game of Thrones might be the most popular TV series ever but I read GRRM when he wasn’t so well known and as a debut novelist. It was Tigana that led me ultimately to writing 14 big books for adults set in a make believe medieval world. And it encouraged me when I did turn to writing to try my keyboard at this sort of imaginative storytelling. I read Tigana aged 30 and decided if I was ever to write a book, I wanted to write one as epic and as emotional and tension-filled as this one. I spent my early career travelling the world for my work in the travel industry and although it took me nearly three decades to make it into my guest room at the George V, I couldn’t help the smug feeling to know I kept that private promise to stay in the superb Parisian hotel. I decided at this tender age that I was going to travel the world as he did and I was definitely going to stay at the George V Hotel one day. I enjoyed the way Jason Bourne, our lead, trips across Europe and stays in swanky hotels.

This was the 1970s so while it has none of today’s technology or the violence that we seem to take in our stride these days, it was incredibly adventuresome and full of tension. I read Ludlum’s masterpiece thriller when I was 18. My poor parents…they didn’t know what was going on and I don’t think I’ve ever fully stepped back out of the wardrobe. But then I experienced genuine joy through my tears, lost in Narnia as he re-appeared. I could not believe my favourite character had been slaughtered and that he took his death with such nobility to save others. I learned to cry for characters, aged 11 while reading the opening novel of by CS Lewis’ fantasy series in fact, I was inconsolable about Aslan. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis I’m also working on my next novel, The Sultan’s Pearls, a harrowing tale of survival by a Jewish girl born in Czechoslovakia that Penguin Random House will be publishing in late 2018. I’m currently on the road meeting and drinking tea with readers at events across Australia to celebrate The Tea Gardens. My latest and 35 th book, The Tea Gardens has just been published and is out in the world! This is my tenth novel of historical drama and it’s a delightfully adventuresome story that will armchair travel readers to England’s seaside town of Brighton to the slums of Calcutta and on to the breathtaking Himalayan Mountains. Ten Books That Changed Me with Fiona McIntosh The Tea Gardens published by Penguin Random House, is available now, RRP $32.99

Tigana goodreads