Sun, sea and starting over…
Having finally divorced her husband, Vicky is embarking on a new adventure: three months on a gorgeous Greek island volunteering at an animal sanctuary.
On arrival, she meets Suzie – an 80s rock star who now runs the local bar. Both sixty and resolutely single, romance is the one thing neither of them is looking for.
But when a brooding, handsome vet catches Vicky's eye and Suzie comes face-to-face with the one that got away, will these two friends discover that love can still strike at any age?
Title: Never too Late to Date
Author: Claire Carver
Published By: One More Chapter
Publication Date: 10th September 2026
Hi Claire and welcome to Sincerely Book Angels blog.
What inspired you to write Never too Late to Date?
It's the third in The Greek Getaways Collection, so after my publisher was happy with the first one, Still Got It, they asked for two more. All of my books feature issues faced by women in the 55+ age group, from widowhood to divorce, empty nesting to grandparenting woes, and in the case of the two main characters in Never too Late to Date, Vicky and Suzie, one is escaping an unhappy marriage to volunteer at an animal sanctuary and the other has a feeling that life is passing her by as a bored bar owner. All the main characters are at a point of change, and they all end up on Greek islands. Plus there's always some romance in the mix.
Did you always want to be a writer?
Yes, I always knew that I was going to write for a living from an early age. English was my best subject by a mile, and I was set on being a journalist from secondary school, which is what I went into after college. I have written professionally every day of my working life since, and a novel was always on my radar, but it was never the right moment. So I forced myself to do an MA in Creative Writing in 2017 to learn how to write a whole novel.
What other jobs have you had?
I've also been a TV reporter and producer for a stint, writing a live 40 minute show each day.
How did it feel when your first novel was published?
It was fantastic. I had a big party at a local bookshop and 120 people came, really far too many. It was a crazy night but I'd waited a long time and I'm smiling in all the photos.
Can you please tell us a little about your publishing story.
After doing an MA and writing a romantic comedy, I got an agent in a day, which sounds good, but it was the wrong person, and it taught me to do my research. I then wrote two more novels with a loose thread between them, which I hope to publish one day. After pursuing the right agent, Broo Doherty at DHH Literary for two years, I got her to take me on, and she introduced me to Charlotte Ledger at One More Chapter, part of HarperCollins, who was, unusually, looking for a debut writer to write a novel that already had a title and a cover which had been turned down by another author. I stared at the picture and then got up at five in the morning and the story came to me and I wrote a 600 word synopsis, which she incredibly said yes to.
What other books have you written?
Still Got It, the story of Grace, widowed at 58, who takes a three month stint as a teacher at a language school on a tiny Greek island and has to decide whether she can give her heart away again, and Too Glam to Give a Damn, the story of three old friends, three Greek islands and three big secrets. Old school friends Maddie, Charlotte and Sofia celebrate fifty years of knowing each other on an island hopping adventure they won't forget, but maybe not for the reasons they think.
Have you ever had writer's block?
Yes, definitely, although not too often. The story is always there, but it's sometimes the twists and turns and obstacles the main character has to overcome that need work.
If so how did you overcome it?
Walking and being outside really helps and writing lots and lots of notes in the notebook I always carry with me, and is beside the bed. Often I have an idea just as I wake up and I have to write it down immediately.
What motivates you to keep writing?
Stories just come into my head that I want to tell. I'd always wanted to write a book and it took me a while to get round to it, so now I can't stop.
Where is your favourite place to write? ( can we please have a picture)
A Greek beach is for me a great place to come up with ideas for plots, especially as I now have three books set in Greece. I'm also a one for writing while on the sofa although there's a desk a few feet away.
Do your characters moods ever affect your mood and vice versa?
You have to dig down into yourself to make the characters authentic and make people care, so yes you do draw on your own experiences and those of your friends, particularly with something like grief, so it can make you feel sad, but also describing something good can lift your mood too. I was always told 'if they cry, they'll buy' so I'm pleased if I cry, or laugh at my own books, which may sound a little odd, but I've got to have plenty of humour in there too.
What three pieces of advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Work out what sort of book you want to, or feel comfortable with, writing, early on.
It may sound obvious, but read as much as you can, all genres, as it always sparks other thoughts.
Doing some sort of course or joining a writing group is a good idea, as much for the teaching as the people you will meet. It's an intimate space and other people's opinions really help. If one or two people say something you don't agree with, then fine, but if everyone says the same thing, you really need to listen.
Which authors inspire you?
A whole range, from Jill Mansell, Katie Fforde and Jilly Cooper to Rohinton Mistry, Jane Austen and John le Carré.
What are you reading at the moment?
Sue Moorcroft's Secrets of the Italian Guesthouse, full of sun and drama, and Thomas Mogford's The Saffron Thief, a historical novel, full of adventure, set in 1666, just after the Great Fire of London, when saffron was worth the same as gold. I like to mix things up and as well as romance, dip into historical and contemporary women's fiction too.
If your book was made into a film what song would you choose for the opening credits?
It would have to be Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe, from way back, as it plays a big part in one scene in the book.
Who would you choose to play your favourite character in the film of your book?
Both the main female characters are favourites so for Vicky it would have to be someone tall and elegant but a little shy, like Laura Linney and for Suzie, perhaps Helena Bonham Carter.
What is your next book about?
I am writing some new synopses for The Greek Getaways Collection, so it will definitely feature a woman changing up her life on a Greek island, with more than a dash of romance.
Thank you so much for joining us today and good luck with the book.
Sincerely
Book Angel x
About the Author
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Claire’s love of Greece started more years ago than she cares to remember. Corfu was her first destination as a teenager, and since then she has travelled extensively around the country, particularly the islands, and is even learning Greek, very slowly.
The sunshine, the culture, and the warmth of the Greek people, not to mention the food, inspired her to write her debut novel, Still Got It, to be published on April 10 by One More Chapter, part of HarperCollins.
It’s a story of second chances and taking risks at any age. Grace Foreman, a widow, and mother of two grown up daughters, grabs the opportunity to escape the daily grind and work as a teacher at a language school on a little-known Greek island for a whole summer.
Sparks fly, and not in a good way, when she meets Will Lancing, the ex-army head of security at the villa next door. As Grace adapts to life on the island, making friends and relaxing in the sun, can she truly overcome her grief over her husband’s death and give romance another chance?
Claire is a long-time journalist and tv producer, who has worked in features, showbiz, and interiors. She is married with two grown up children and lives in southwest London.
