I am British, with a background in scientific publishing, and a passion for culture, art and travel. I have lived in and near Amsterdam for more years than I can count. The intimacy of having lived in the city, crossed the bridges, and meandered along the canals underpins my story telling, along with the support of many professional and amateur literary critics.   

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The origins of the ‘Nelson’ name are interesting and go back to 1805, a date that is well known in English history – the Battle of Trafalgar, which can be seen in the website's header. Through the generations since then, all first born Foleys have been given that name. It may not be a literary one; that part of our family tree belongs to Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) who married a Foley, as did his sister.

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I often read newspapers, magazines and on the internet about how authors have a certain style. As this is my first book, I am not even going to try to put a definition to it, as that will be up to the readers. But for me, the process of writing The Bridge to Rembrandt was easier than I thought. My critics have helped me refine the final product into a story that moves along within the setting of Amsterdam (and London) with history and romance being the two main threads. 

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To be honest, I don’t recall how the storyline came to me, but when I had the germ of an idea, I started plotting out the course of the book within the context of the two main threads. I found the process became even easier once I started accepting that my sleep would be interrupted with new ideas. All you need are a few dreams that help you stitch things together; but I was forced to get up in the night to make notes. These were often in the dark and on occasion I did question what I had written!