TICKET FOR ONE PLEASE

A solo holiday was just what writer Veronica Henry needed

- VERONICA HENRY, FIONA FORD

I’ve always adored Paris, ever since my mother took me there on a coach trip for my 16th birthday. We stayed in a dodgy hotel in the red light district, but I fell in love with the Eiffel Tower, the shops and just the general atmosphere of the place. It was like nowhere else I’d ever been.

As a writer I’m always looking for new places to set my books and in 2021 I hit on the idea of Paris. I decided that to allow myself to be inspired, I’d go there alone, live like a real Parisienne and basically enjoy a grown-up Emily in Paris experience for a month.

As a mum of three grown-up boys, I’d never holidayed alone but now a divorcee with an empty nest, I decided this was the right time to embrace my freedom and it was a life skill I needed. After all, I could now please myself and if I wanted to jet off at a moment’s notice, I could. Paris seemed a good place to start my solo experiment, as I was familiar with it and spoke a bit of French.