Poitou – Mélisende's ancient homeland

Poitou – the grain bowl of Europe (Author photo)

In Double Identity, Mel’s surname – des Pittones – is based on the Pictones, a Celtic tribe in ancient Gaul, a tribe that gave its name to Poitou in western France. And her family has been settled in the area for hundreds and hundreds […]

Introducing Mel and McCracken from Double Identity

Double Identity starts a new thriller series featuring Mel, and McCracken, but who are they?

Mélisende des Pittones, known as Mel, 29, daughter of a French father and English mother, just left her French Army job as an intelligence analyst in a special forces team. She’s tall, athletic build, dark blonde shoulder length hair, worn […]

A visit to Mediolanum Santonum (Saintes, France)

Having had my trip to ‘Roma Nova’ cancelled in June, I was thirsty for some Roman input. But it’s not easy going on a trip in the middle of a raging world pandemic.

However Saintes, in Charente Maritime, is only two hours by fast autoroute from where I live and still in the green zone […]