JOAN HESSAYON AWARD 2026    

Time For Tuscany — contender for Best Debut Novel

Romantic Novelists' Association · Ceremony, London, May 2026
Susie Sharp, women's fiction author based in Wales
WOMEN'S FICTION · WALES · TUSCANY

Susie Sharp

Stories for women still writing their next chapter

Emotionally layered women’s fiction about love, loss, family, reinvention and the quiet courage it takes to begin again. Set between Wales and the sun-warmed heart of Italy.

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Welcome to Lago di Fiore

My fictional Italian lake — and the heart of the Echoes of the Lake series. 

Inspired by the Tuscany I once called home, each book follows a woman at a crossroads —juggling family, love, loss, divorce or long-held secrets, and years of putting everyone else first

Villa Anna

A sun-warmed villa in the Tuscan hills, where Sara arrives hoping to save her marriage, and finds herself facing the truth about the life she wants.

Palazzo della Riva

A lakeside palazzo full of unfinished rooms, where Georgia must decide if grief has the final word — or whether love and courage can build something new.

Casa di Monteluce

An autumn hillside farmhouse, where family wounds, second chances, gather amongst the chestnut harvest.

Bellacampo 

A winter town on the water’s edge, where Christmas lights shimmer across the lake, and one woman begins to wonder whether the life she fought to keep is still the life she wants.

San Fiorello

A flower-filled town halfway up the mountain, where spring spills through the streets and the lake glimmers below — a place for hope, fresh starts and stories still waiting to bloom.

Time For Tuscany book cover by Susie Sharp — women's fiction set in Tuscany
FEATURED NOVEL · 2025

Time For Tuscany

"Sara went to Tuscany to save her marriage.

She didn't expect to rediscover herself."

Five years after losing her young son, Sara Mortimer's marriage is hanging by a thread. A summer in Tuscany was meant to save it — but among the cypress hills and golden afternoons, she begins to wonder if she's been fighting for the wrong thing.

A poignant story of love, loss, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again.

For readers who love midlife heroines, emotional healing, slow-burn connection, Italian settings and stories about choosing yourself at last.

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes and Kerry Fisher

Coming next in Echoes of the Lake

Summer At The Palazzo. Step through the doors of Palazzo della Riva, where sunlight falls across unfinished rooms and the lake waits beyond the terrace. Georgia Rayner thought she was coming to Italy to settle the past. She didn't expect the palazzo to ask what she still wanted from life.

READER LOVE FOR TIME FOR TUSCANY

VERIFIED READER REVIEWS

For women who enjoy emotional, heartfelt fiction about loss, love and second chances

★★★★★

A complex and beautifully written story of loss and second chances. It’s always a treat to find a novel with characters that stay with you because they find a special place in your heart

AMAZON UK · VERIFIED PURCHASE

★★★★★

Oh my goodness - this story. It was absolutely, mind-blowingly beautiful. I just couldn't stop turning the pages to find out what would happen next! 

AMAZON UK · VERIFIED PURCHASE

★★★★★

Beautiful story that draws you into the lives of Sara and Eddie... beautifully written and the setting is amazing.                                           Highly recommend

AMAZON UK · VERIFIED PURCHASE

FINISHED READING TIME FOR TUSCANY?

If Sara’s story stayed with you, even for a little while, leaving a short review is one of the kindest ways to support an author.

It doesn’t need to be long or polished, however, a few words on Amazon means more than you realise.

Thank you, truly. Your review makes all the difference.

Susie x

Susie Sharp — inspired by the hills and light of Tuscany

 "The hills, the light, the scent of jasmine on warm stone… it healed me, shaped me, and found its way into every word I write."

SUSIE SHARP

A little note in your inbox

Once a month, I’ll send a little note from my writing desk — what I’m working on, what’s going well, what isn’t, and the moments in between.

You’ll also hear about cover reveals, preorder links, giveaways, signed copies and the odd subscriber treat before everyone else.

But mostly, Susie’s News is a place for honest thoughts on books, life, love, family, midlife, and finding our way through the messy, beautiful bits.

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Susie  Sharp

Writing emotionally layered women's fiction for midlife women. Based in Brecon, Wales.

© 2026 Susie Sharp