Distraction and procrastination have been the words of the week, as I've been lured away from what I should be writing by the shiny-shiny allure of a new story that I'm itching to start. Monday began with breakfast out, a mooch around the shops and a walk by the river. The dog enjoyed the breakfast (of course she shared a bit!) and the river walk, but the shops not so much. I thoroughly enjoyed all three! The afternoon saw me itching to start work on a second book in my new

Pub gossip, market-day smiles, and maybe a hint of matchmaking... I’m often asked where I get the ideas for my characters from, and to be honest, I find them everywhere. Behind every pub counter, every market stall, and every cottage door, there’s a little romance waiting to happen - everyday people who could belong in a romance novel. Whenever I’m out and about, especially when I visit the little villages and small market towns that feature in my stories, it doesn’t take m

Discover your next feel-good read with this roundup of romantic novels set in bookshops, from cosy seaside stores to festive village shops. Perfect for anyone craving heartwarming love stories and cosy bookshop vibes.

From Jane Austen’s Bath to vintage key shops, explore the inspiration behind Tabitha Locke’s Key to Happiness, an uplifting and cosy romance novel.

Many villages in Wales have community and friendship at their heart, and I especially love the little market towns in the Welsh Marches (that's what the land along the border between England and Wales is called). The Tanglewood Village series is loosely based on one of them - Crickhowell. Set in a green valley with a river running through it and mountains on either side, it’s a place I would love to live. It has a couple of cafes, a pub or two, a florist and a bookshop. The

It's not every day that world renowned cyclists pass so close to my home town, and it's not every day that the Tour of Britain races up one of the most famous routes in Wales! The Tumble (aka The Blorenge) involves around 1,300 feet of climbing over a distance of four miles – a challenge not to be taken lightly, according to my husband who has cycled this route many times, although not reaching the summit in the impressively quick times the professionals achieve. Unable to

Meeting up with fellow authors is always a joyous occasion, and to have an event where so many romance authors congregated in one place was a sheer delight. The Romantic Novelists Association's one day conference, also known as the "Summer Fling" took place in August in the gorgeous Grand Hotel in Birmingham. I travelled up the day before with several fellow Welsh authors, and a group of us had a brilliant meal and a good laugh at Bella Italia. You might recognise a few faces

Let’s Get Physical: Why Readers Love Sports Romance Novels

A selection of uplifting, heartwarming tea shop romantic reads.

If you've read the acknowledgements at the back of Summer Escapes on the Scottish Isle , you might r emember me mentioning my old art teacher and a certain vase? This is what I wrote: "I need to thank someone else: Mr Nicklin, my art teacher when I was in school (so many years ago) for introducing me to clay and not laughing at the result, even if my vase looked weirdly like a bottom. My mother pointed that out when I proudly brought it home. She still has it, but I’m not su

Every summer the Welsh contingent of the Romantic Novelists Association - the Cariad Chapter - enjoys a lovely cream tea at The Ivy in Cardiff. It's a chance for everyone to get together and have a chat, and we also have a book swap and I got Goes Without Saying by the brilliant Luisa A. Jones! I can't wait to read this one. Oh, and the cream tea was gorgeous! The Cariad Chapter's cream tea at The Ivy in Cardiff. View all Lilac Mills books. Want to be notified whenever I wri

On 28th June, I went to the Meet Cute festival in London - an outdoor summer book celebration for romance book writers and readers, featuring special guests, prizes, workshops, panels and lots more. I had the most amazing time, and rounded it off by popping into Harrods for lunch the next day! View all Lilac Mills books. Want to be notified whenever I write a new blog post? About the Author Lilac Mills writes heartwarming romance inspired by life in the Welsh countryside, her

I've been talking to Jan Baynham about Surprises on the Scottish Isle and what inspired it. She's also chatted to lots of other lovely authors on her blog, so why don't you take a look! Here is her interview with me... Guest Post With Lilac Mills If you read my New Year goals in my last post, you will have noticed that in 2025, I hope to support other writers. One of the ways I like to do that is to invite them to write guest posts for the blog. The first of my guests this

She asks some interesting and insightful questions! Go take a look... View all Lilac Mills books Want to be notified whenever I write a new blog post? About the Author Lilac Mills writes heartwarming romance inspired by life in the Welsh countryside, her love of simple pleasures, and the beauty of everyday moments. She’s the author of over twenty feel-good novels, and also writes as Liz Davies and Etti Summers. Meet her here .

I had a lovely online chat with the gorgeous ladies of the Tanglewood Book Club in Illinois. They live in a place called Tanglewood and are reading The Tanglewood Bookshop as their December 2024 book pick. How cool is that!! And look at the fantastic poster they made. They also have a monthly newsletter, and they kindly featured me in that, too! You can purchase your own copy of The Tanglewood Bookshop from all good bookshops. View all Lilac Mills books Want to be notified

Do you enjoy finding out more about the authors of your favourite books? Morton S. Gray, author of gorgeous romances with a mystery to solve, asked me 'Who is the real Lilac Mills'. ​ If you want to know the answer to that question, take a look at her blog. ​ https://mortonsgray.com/2024/06/17/who-is-the-real-lilac-mills/ And she's asking other authors the very same thing! All Lilac Mills books Want to be notified whenever I write a new blog post? About the Author Lilac Mil

Wales, and how it inspires romantic fiction.

Elephant and Pinky Moon was picked up back in 2018 by my publisher Canelo, who gave it a new title and a new cover ( Summer on the Turquoise Coast ) , and I've been left with an old copy that I didn't know what to do with. I had annotated it quite a bit (proofreading and so on) which meant that I couldn't give it away. So I used the cover to make a coaster and the spine to make a bookmark. I painted on a couple of the pages, made bunting for the summer house with some others,

Here are the questions the lovely Jenny White asked me... The article in The Western Mail Where do you live and when/how did you come to live there? I’m a valleys girl born and bred, but lived across the border in England for several years. I returned to my homeland about sixteen years ago because I missed it so much and I now live near Caerphilly, not far from the top of a mountain where the views are fantastic. I can’t imagine living anywhere else – Wales is in my blood, wh

Tucked away in a hidden corner of the stunning Welsh countryside, Foxmore nestles in the bottom of a pretty valley with a river flowing through it, and is surrounded by tree-clad hillsides with dramatic mountains rising above. I usually do some research before I start writing, which also gives me some inspiration, and I based Foxmore loosely on these places. The high street is Usk in South Wales, and the valley is Dinas Mawddwy, at the lower end of the Snowdonia National Park

Yesterday I had a lovely email from a reader who wanted to thank me for "bringing some happiness and fun into an old man's life". Charlie Horner is 87 years young, and yesterday was the anniversary of his wife's death. This is what he wrote: "The mourning period went on and on until one day , a friend gave me a "chick lit" to read , I remember thinking ," that's not my type of reading material ". The friend was a close friend of my wife's and she thought I needed some happine

I've been chatting to Ліра from lirabooksli. She discovered my Tanglewood series after it was translated into Russian by Snowdrop Publishing who is a Ukrainian publisher. They very kindly sent me the box set which were the cutest little hardbacks ever! Here's what we talked about... "Hello, Lilac! Russian readers know you by The Tanglewood Tea Shop, but we know very little about you." Tell us a bit about yourself, please. Where did you study? Who do you work for? I went to un

Earlier this month I attended a party in London which was hosted by my wonderful publisher, Canelo (plus Hera, who is now part of the Canelo group). Going to London is always a big deal for me, because it's not my natural habitat. Plus there's huge potential for me to get lost, or for things to go wrong! Thankfully, everything went without a hitch and I had a fantastic time. Not only did I get to meet all the brilliant pixies and elves who bring my stories to life (aka, the l

by the lovely Paige Briscoe, where I chat to her about my work, writing habits, and what I've read recently. I had great fun answering her questions and you can read the interview below. She also has lots of great stuff on her blog , so why don't you check it out. What do you enjoy most about women’s fiction? Aside from the romance, I like that most of them are character driven, and many of them deal with issues that any of us might face. And of course, the happy ever after