A break in Austria is one of my favourite things
JANET PYWELL, 55, is the author of the popular Culture Crime series of books.
The third, published last week, is called Book Of Hours (£9.99) and is set against a violent and greedy backdrop in the arts world.
It’s former marketing boss Janet’s fifth novel.
Originally from Peterborough, she now lives with her partner in Whitstable on the Kent coast.
THE best thing my parents did for me was to instil a love of travel – and it was all down to the Sound Of Music.
My mum loved the film. I was the youngest of five kids and I think she saw us as a bit like the Von Trapps.
So, when I was six we went off to Austria on holiday, tramping over hills and drinking buttermilk.
We used to holiday in Norfolk before then but after that trip, mum told my dad he could forget going back there.
Our various holidays had a big impact – I went back to the Tyrol afterwards – and I became hooked on travel.
I once went to Spain and ended up staying and working for years.
What I’ve found is that places I’ve visited and loved have ended up featuring in my books.
One was Lake Como, which has a wonderful serenity with the Alps as the backdrop.
I decided to write about it in my first Culture Crime, called Gold Icon.
I’d sit with my little notebook as the boats came in, jotting down the scene.
It was as much about the senses and the smells and the sounds.
I was lucky enough to meet up with an opera singer and, having spoken to her at length and got a real insight, I was able to feature a character in the book.
And when I went to Dresden I was so inspired that became a place in my second book, Masterpiece.
Much of the city was, of course, destroyed by Allied bombing raids during the Second World War.
Hardly any of the original city remains, but you’d never know because it was all rebuilt in the same style.
If you weren’t aware of history or architecture you could wander round and not realise.
I loved the churches and the galleries and it gave me a sense of how ordinary people suffered on the German side during the war, too.
I can’t see me losing my wanderlust – but I also enjoy just walking my dog on Whitstable beach!