Diary
The ‘Hot-Bed of Intrigue’ at the Heart of THE RIVIERA HOUSE
In my last Diary post, I introduced you to a key figure in The Riviera House, Captain Rose Valland, a highly decorated member of the French resistance who risked her life to spy on the Nazi theft of countless French artworks. In this post, I want to tell you about the...
read moreRose Valland: the Real Life WWII heroine in THE RIVIERA HOUSE
Meet the courageous Captain Rose Valland - a member of the French resistance and one of the most highly decorated women in French history - and the inspiration behind THE RIVIERA HOUSE. An Art Saviour During the second world war, across France, the Nazis...
read moreMy Favourite Books of 2020
Here it is! My list of favourite reads of the year. There's something for everyone in this list - historical fiction (of course), memoir, a little non-fiction and a lot of drama. Overall, I've read forty-two books so far this year, not including the books I've read...
read moreA Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald – My ‘A-ha’ Book
Over the past week, I've been reminiscing about how and why I first started writing historical fiction. What prompted this walk down memory lane is that A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald has just been published in the UK. I call this my 'A-ha' book because it was born from a...
read moreUncovering the Tragedy of The Ravensbrück Concentration Camp
*While this post does not contain spoilers, it does refer to scenes that occur in the latter stages of the book. By far the most emotionally taxing scenes to write and research in THE PARIS SECRET were those set in the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp - a Nazi labour...
read moreOn the Trail Of…. Catherine Dior
Who exactly was Catherine Dior? It's a question that plagued me throughout the research for The Paris Secret and eventually became a quest that would take me across the globe - from Melbourne, to Paris and finally the Dior family home in Normandy. I first read about...
read moreFour Weeks Until THE PARIS SECRET hits US Book Stores!
I can’t tell you how excited I feel about the imminent North American release of THE PARIS SECRET on September 15.
read moreThe Dresses of The Paris Secret
At the heart of THE PARIS SECRET is the discovery of a secret wardrobe of Dior gowns and dresses - 65 of them - representing one for each year since 1947 when Christian Dior unveiled his ground-breaking 'new look' to a war weary world. Here you'll find a...
read moreNew Details About My 2021 Book
Natasha Lester’s next novel after THE PARIS SECRET will be titled THE RIVIERA HOUSE and released in Australia and North America in September 2021.
read moreI’ve signed a new book contract!
Of all the ‘pinch-me’ moments of the last year, this one is probably the most exciting. I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that I’ve signed a contract to write another two books to be published in 2022 and 2023! The first novel has a working title of To Lillie, From...
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