
Victoria Howard
Author of The House on the Shore
Works by Victoria Howard
Associated Works
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Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Short biography
- Victoria Howard was born in Liverpool, England, at a time when the Beatles (Twist and Shout!) were becoming popular. Her family moved to the Wirral on the “posh” side of the river Mersey when she was eleven. She attended the local girls’ grammar school, going on to college where she graduated with a Medical Secretarial Diploma.
She worked as a medical secretary to an ophthalmic surgeon before going on to work as a legal secretary. In 1980 she moved to Scotland with her husband. She spent the next twenty years living in a croft on the outskirts of a village in the Highlands, and while there, managed a company involved in the offshore oil industry. She feels Scotland is her spiritual home, which is probably the reason why she used it for the setting of her second novel.
In October 2000, Victoria moved to South Yorkshire to be with her new partner, Stephen, and until recently, she worked for Britain’s National Health Service.
An avid reader, Victoria has always enjoyed writing and recounting stories– mainly in the form of letters to friends. She recently completed an Open University course in writing fiction, and has attended a number of writers’ conferences.
Victoria is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America. A frequent traveller to the United States and Europe, Victoria also enjoys walking her border collie, Lucy, gardening, listening to music, and designing knitwear. - Nationality
- UK
- Places of residence
- Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK (birth)
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
‘The House on the Shore’ by Victoria Howard starts off seeming to be a conventional romance and turns into a satisfying suspense story set in a beautiful, remote Western Scottish loch. The remoteness is central to the plot.
After a love affair turns sour, Anna MacDonald leaves Edinburgh for her remote croft, once her grandmother’s, beside Loch Hourn in the Western Highlands. She longs for peace and quiet to write her book. Tigh na Cladach, a two bedroom cottage alone at the end of a show more twelve mile track, is her bolt hole where she hopes to nurse her injured pride and heart. When she arrives, an unknown yacht is anchored in the bay. On board is a rather handsome American sailor, stranded as he waits for a part to repair his engine. A combative relationship develops between the two; Anna resents the intrusion of Luke Tallantyre but is driven to help by the local community spirit; Luke bridles at the prickly, aggressive woman he must rely on for help. Meanwhile, Alistair Grant, heir to the Killilan Estate which borders Anna’s land, and who was a teenage friend of hers, returns from his life of luxury in the South of France to run the estate. But Grant’s plans for change upset the villagers. In echoes of the Highland Clearances of the 18th century, rents are raised, livelihoods threatened, sensitivities ignored. Anna inspired, begins to write a novel set during this troubled time, imagining her croft and what happened there.
The pace of the modern-day story changes when her tyres are slashed and someone takes a pot shot at her with a shotgun. Romance becomes romantic suspense. I confess during some romantic passages - eg. ‘his broad suntanned chest’ - I wished for less not more, but that is personal taste. The pace of the story was good alternating between Anna’s historical novel, the political dispute about the Estate’s future, the dark threats, and the growing romance.
This is modern day suspense story, mirroring the unique history of the region, with a touch of romance; rather than a page turning psychological thriller. An enjoyable read which I whizzed through on holiday, guessing the identity of the real villain but not working out the motivation.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ show less
After a love affair turns sour, Anna MacDonald leaves Edinburgh for her remote croft, once her grandmother’s, beside Loch Hourn in the Western Highlands. She longs for peace and quiet to write her book. Tigh na Cladach, a two bedroom cottage alone at the end of a show more twelve mile track, is her bolt hole where she hopes to nurse her injured pride and heart. When she arrives, an unknown yacht is anchored in the bay. On board is a rather handsome American sailor, stranded as he waits for a part to repair his engine. A combative relationship develops between the two; Anna resents the intrusion of Luke Tallantyre but is driven to help by the local community spirit; Luke bridles at the prickly, aggressive woman he must rely on for help. Meanwhile, Alistair Grant, heir to the Killilan Estate which borders Anna’s land, and who was a teenage friend of hers, returns from his life of luxury in the South of France to run the estate. But Grant’s plans for change upset the villagers. In echoes of the Highland Clearances of the 18th century, rents are raised, livelihoods threatened, sensitivities ignored. Anna inspired, begins to write a novel set during this troubled time, imagining her croft and what happened there.
The pace of the modern-day story changes when her tyres are slashed and someone takes a pot shot at her with a shotgun. Romance becomes romantic suspense. I confess during some romantic passages - eg. ‘his broad suntanned chest’ - I wished for less not more, but that is personal taste. The pace of the story was good alternating between Anna’s historical novel, the political dispute about the Estate’s future, the dark threats, and the growing romance.
This is modern day suspense story, mirroring the unique history of the region, with a touch of romance; rather than a page turning psychological thriller. An enjoyable read which I whizzed through on holiday, guessing the identity of the real villain but not working out the motivation.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ show less
Disclaimer: I got the audio book for free in exchange for an unbiased review.
The book drew me right in, and after the first few pages, there was no escape -- I just *had* to listen on, and on, all through the night . ;)
I love a good mystery, and if there's some romance to boot, I can't ask for more.
The idea is great, and the execution is excellent. I've never been to the USA, leave alone Florida, but I could picture it all.
The narrator was excellent, too, which greatly added to my show more enjoyment of this novel!
This is my second novel by this author, and I'll definitely check out other novels by her. show less
The book drew me right in, and after the first few pages, there was no escape -- I just *had* to listen on, and on, all through the night . ;)
I love a good mystery, and if there's some romance to boot, I can't ask for more.
The idea is great, and the execution is excellent. I've never been to the USA, leave alone Florida, but I could picture it all.
The narrator was excellent, too, which greatly added to my show more enjoyment of this novel!
This is my second novel by this author, and I'll definitely check out other novels by her. show less
international-crime-and-mystery, deceit, suspense, contemporary-romance
My own prejudices color my response to the story. Grace annoyed me with her colorless victim mentality. Really? In ten years of repressive marriage she never even got angry with the slimeball?
Jack is more believable as the FBI guy who sounds, courtesy of the narrator, like he's from Chicago. The ancillary characters are well drawn and pretty believable as well. It is active, twisty, and moves right along. I wasn't show more really prepared for it to be mostly contemporary romance either.
Michelle Ford is very skilled in the art of voice acting.
I won this audiobook in a giveaway! show less
My own prejudices color my response to the story. Grace annoyed me with her colorless victim mentality. Really? In ten years of repressive marriage she never even got angry with the slimeball?
Jack is more believable as the FBI guy who sounds, courtesy of the narrator, like he's from Chicago. The ancillary characters are well drawn and pretty believable as well. It is active, twisty, and moves right along. I wasn't show more really prepared for it to be mostly contemporary romance either.
Michelle Ford is very skilled in the art of voice acting.
I won this audiobook in a giveaway! show less
I really enjoyed this book. It's set in a remote part of Scotland, which Anna MacDonald moves to when she decides to leave her job, flat and relationship in Edinburgh, after being betrayed by her boyfriend, Mark.
She flees to her late grandmother's croft in Scotland and plans to write her first novel. But soon she meets Luke, an American sailor, who turns up near the croft when a part on his boat breaks. There is a real passion developing between Luke and Anna, but at the same time, somebody show more is pursuing her and is out to scare her, and maybe even kill her.
When I started reading I realised that this is a romance novel, and I did wonder if I would find it a bit sickly-sweet. However, it's not like that at all and I found it a totally engrossing, well-written novel. The story reels you in until you discover who is out to get Anna and why. I was also loving the relationship and friction/passion between Luke and Anna. Luke is a lovely creation - strong, handsome, caring, with his own demons in his past.
I think that Victoria Howard did a very good job of portraying the Scottish people and surroundings. Unfortunately, her publishers didn't do a good job of having the book proof-read, but the mistakes didn't detract from my reading at all.
I recommend this to anybody who loves Scotland, and who enjoys a love story, with the added bonus of suspense. show less
She flees to her late grandmother's croft in Scotland and plans to write her first novel. But soon she meets Luke, an American sailor, who turns up near the croft when a part on his boat breaks. There is a real passion developing between Luke and Anna, but at the same time, somebody show more is pursuing her and is out to scare her, and maybe even kill her.
When I started reading I realised that this is a romance novel, and I did wonder if I would find it a bit sickly-sweet. However, it's not like that at all and I found it a totally engrossing, well-written novel. The story reels you in until you discover who is out to get Anna and why. I was also loving the relationship and friction/passion between Luke and Anna. Luke is a lovely creation - strong, handsome, caring, with his own demons in his past.
I think that Victoria Howard did a very good job of portraying the Scottish people and surroundings. Unfortunately, her publishers didn't do a good job of having the book proof-read, but the mistakes didn't detract from my reading at all.
I recommend this to anybody who loves Scotland, and who enjoys a love story, with the added bonus of suspense. show less
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- Works
- 4
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 81
- Popularity
- #222,753
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 7
- ISBNs
- 16




