Victorial Hislop in the Greek islands

I first travelled to the Greek islands with my mother when I was 18, but it was another three years before I visited Crete - I've been returning ever since. I stay on the eastern side of the island. In fact, I've just bought a house there, which shows how much I like it. It's near Ayios Nikolaos, a place that features in my book.

Crete is incredibly hot and dry - I just love the feeling and the smell of the place. It's the furthest south of all the islands, so it doesn't have the picturesque quality that say the Cyclades Islands do, with their little white towns and villages. Instead the landscape is very rugged with big mountains. When I visited at the beginning of this year the mountains were snow-capped - a beautiful sight.

I love the fact that Crete hasn't really changed over the years. There are lots of resorts, but they're usually right on the sea and don't tend to affect the whole island. So you can still find real Greek cafés frequented by old men with moustaches, and see old ladies sitting on doorsteps making lace, which they've been doing for hundreds of years. I love the fact that the island is not overly sophisticated. Crete has a huge farming industry, so it's still quite rural and has a very traditional culture.

I got the idea for my book on a holiday to Crete in 2001 with my husband Ian and our children. We took a day trip to Plaka and I noticed there were boat trips from there to the tiny island of Spinalonga. The island was a Venetian fortress in the 16th century, but from 1903 until 1957 it served as Greece's leprosy colony. Most people visit Spinalonga on quite sizeable boats from Elounda and Aios, but if you travel from Plaka, the nearest village, you can cross on a little fishing boat. In fact, it's so close to the mainland, it is almost swimming distance.

During that holiday, we saw all the obvious attractions, such as the Byzantine churches and the Minoan sites, including Knossos. A lot of Minoan sites are literally just patterns of stones on the ground with no structures. But at Knossos it's all done for you. Rather than being asked to envisage the original structures from 2in remains on the ground, parts of the site have been recreated. Occasionally, you'll see a whole section constructed to show exactly how it would have looked. It's a fascinating place.

But as we were holidaying with the children, who were about 10 and 12 at the time, I was looking for something a little different to do too. I suppose a visit to a former leprosy colony is not everybody's ideal day out. The children were reluctant to go, but once we got there, they swam off to the rocks and had a great time. I was immediately struck by the place. There was such an incredible atmosphere that I knew there was something to be written about it. I didn't want to just write a travel piece because I knew it wouldn't do it justice, so I decided to write a novel.

The island was a leprosy colony until as recently as 1957. It's a tiny island with little streets, shops and cafes. More recently, part of a street has been reconstructed to give an idea of how it would have looked for most of the 20th century. You get a real sense of a community; there's a little street with houses on either side, and up on the hill, there's the old hospital from where you get amazing views across to the mainland. Not surprisingly, there's a graveyard where literally hundreds of people were buried.

Spinalonga is a commercial venture now and you have to pay to go in. There's a small museum though it largely concentrates on the history of the island before it was a leprosy colony, focusing on the fact that it was a Venetian fortress. I think the Cretans believe that the island's history as a leprosy colony puts people off visiting, but in my view, it's what attracts them. There was such a stigma about the disease - there still is, in places such as Africa and India where, unfortunately, leprosy is still prevalent. However, lots of people visit in the summer and in August there are tens of thousands of visitors each week. Most are on guided tours, usually a neat little walk around the side of the island that takes about an hour. The island shuts completely at the end of each day, and then it becomes this little place that gradually disappears from sight as darkness falls.

When I was researching the book, I visited the island dozens of times. I'd go across on the 9am boat with the people who work on the island. Since it was deserted at that time, I could have a really good look around and take some lovely photographs.

There's a lot of fact in the book. I've included the Second World War and the occupation of Crete; the cure for leprosy, followed by the evacuation of the island. And the geography is accurate: the village of Plaka and a town called Neapolis feature. But I chose not to interview local people about Spinalonga because I felt there was enough evidence on the island to reveal what life had been like there.

Of course, now the book has been published I'm getting emails from people who were connected to Spinalonga. I received one from a girl who lives in Australia but grew up in the town of Elounda. Her grandmother was called Maria Petrakis, which, by total coincidence, is the name of one of my characters. She died at the age of 105 - she sounded like such a wonderful character. I've also been in touch with a dentist who, as a young man, treated leprosy patients on Spinalonga 50 years ago.

A large part of Crete's economy is tourism, which lasts for roughly six months, but they also produce a lot of olive oil. Huge numbers of people have olive plantations and they work on them during the winter. When I was there in January, the islanders were very busy picking the olives that were to be pressed the following month. To me, Crete is much nicer at that time of year. When you go into one of the few bars or restaurants that are open, you feel that you are in the real Greece.

Parts of Crete are really beautiful. I suspect that we'll soon discover a new town and think: "Wow! We should have bought somewhere here." In the west, the popular destination of Hania has a lot of Italianate architecture and sophisticated, rather grand houses. There's also the fabulous Samaria Gorge, one of those trips you have to make once in your lifetime. You set off at 5am to walk down this incredible gorge between two great rock faces towards the sea, where you are picked up by boat. It's on my list of things to do either in October or March when it's not too hot because it's about 15km long and quite a strenuous walk.

Crete may only be an island, but to me it's more like a country - I'm discovering new places all the time.

'The Island' by Victoria Hislop is published by Headline Review, price £6.99.

My best view

My favourite view of Spinalonga is from the terrace of the Spinalonga Taverna, which lies just opposite in the village of Plaka. It's a place where I love to sit and eat dinner. I love to sit there just as the sun is setting on the mainland. Although you're in the shade, tiny Spinalonga will still be flooded with sunshine. At certain times the water is totally flat - that's when the view is truly beautiful. But it can be very changeable: on another night, the water will be very choppy. The winds come in through two corridors either side of the island and create a kind of turbulence.

My top restaurant

The small town of Elounda is restaurant heaven - there are dozens. They are all pretty rustic, which is what I love. One of the best is Paradosiako, tucked behind the main square. They use very fresh ingredients: that's why Crete is great for vegetarians. They serve lots of little dishes of meze and a fantastic dish with mashed broad beans, which is a kind of hummus. They also have a dish called horta, which is essentially greens, but they come in all sorts of varieties. The olive oil is also exceptional; you can almost drink it.

My favourite beach

There's a place not far from Ayios Nikolaos called Malia. Part of Malia has been a resort for a long time but at the eastern end, there is a huge golden, sandy beach, with plenty of space and a spectacular mountain backdrop. You get big waves there so it's a great place to body surf. Looking seawards, there's a lovely view of the impressive Palace of Malia, an important archaeological site built right on the beach. Also, every afternoon, a man goes up and down selling fresh doughnuts filled with chocolate or jam. Totally fantastic.

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