A late spring morning in Montgomery town, may blossom threaded through the hedges, bluebells clouding the ground beneath the woods where I walked before breakfast, and house martins tumbling like circus acrobats in their chaotic streets between our roofs.

Thrilled to have had a near sell-out of 300 at my Hay Festival talk.  A tale of war, pestilence, human sacrifice and the fall of empires can excite interest even if the British aren’t supposed to like Latin American topics much.

Always a perk, for a few days of the year to walk with giants, sharing green room with, at various times, Colm Toibin, Stephen Fry, Martin Rees - the Astronomer Royal, and to drink coffee at a table with First Minister Carwyn Jones and Sandy Tostvig.  I won’t divulge which one I heard say ‘.. as for Michael Gove, I’d kill him myself.’

Early copies of book were available and sold out, but the main edition comes out next month.  If you’d like to host a reading, please get in touch.