Books. What’s next?

As you know, my life these days consists mainly of staying home and writing, as it has done for several years now, and sometimes I’ve got nothing to tell you apart from what I see, write and do. Although many people think I spend my days doing nothing, sitting at home enjoying the view, ‘doing crosswords on a terrace, taking breakfast in bed…’ (a quote from Evita) I do actually work eight hours a day, six days per week writing. I’ve been using lockdown to produce a couple more of my pen name’s Victorian mystery books, and have just finished the first draft of ‘Home From Nowhere’, the seventh Clearwater Mystery set in 1889. This one is to do with music. I like to have a theme for each story; the last one was art (vaguely), the one before that, Henry Irving and Bram Stocker, and before that a poem and Tennyson, the Royal Opera House and an opera, and so on. Now I need to think about what comes next.

What should it be? Another Miss P story? She was popular among friends, but like many of my real name books, not enough copies get sold to pay the bills, which is why I invented the more lucrative Jackson Marsh line. I could try to go for the fourth and final Saddling book, but I’ve already written half of one and found it wasn’t doing what it should do, as I wasn’t in the right place for it, so that’s still on hold. The Symi books (rough though they are in places) continue to contribute towards the water bill, but I feel I’ve ‘done’ that theme now, and so I’m left with a first draft ‘resting’ as they say in the kitchen, while I turn my attention elsewhere. Meanwhile…

It strikes me that as Sunday is Summer Solstice, I’ve a good opportunity to advertise one of my books. The Witchling takes place over the summer solstice, and although it’s book two in a series of (currently) three, it is possible to read it without having to have read part one – kind of. You’re better off reading The Saddling first, but if you fancy some mystery and thrills, you can launch into The Witchling straight off the bat.

All my books are available at Amazon in paperback, on Kindle, and can be borrowed for free if you have Kindle Unlimited. The full lists are here:
James Collins
Jackson Marsh

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Congratulations

What began as one small beer after work ended up being something of a party. For those who know the family at Lefteris Kafeneion and haven’t heard the news, ‘young’ Lefteris and his partner had a baby boy on Monday, and we were treated to a couple of glasses of wine and a viewing of the first photos. The baby’s called Yiannis, of course, meaning we now have ‘Older Lefteris’, ‘Older Yiannis’, ‘Young Lefteris’, and ‘Young Yiannis’ with a full head of black hair, and everyone involved is doing well. Thought you’d like to know. Parents, grandparents and now great-grandparents plus everyone else are thrilled.

That’s the news, really, so here are a couple of photos.

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Yesterday

Just back from a three-mile stroll up the side of the Pedi valley and back, so expect some of my usual images. I took a video from the road above the valley and put it on Facebook if you follow the Symi Dream page. I wanted to capture the sound of the dawn chorus, which yesterday included the usual: cockerels, chickens, sparrows, other birds, a dog or two, cats fighting… It is pretty loud at that time of day, I can tell you. I didn’t see many people because I was out early, but I was greeted enthusiastically by Araby, the sheepdog, and said hello to his shepherd, waved at a few random people in cars who waved at me (as silhouettes because of the rising sun, I couldn’t see who, but I waved anyway), and then saw a sign of the times in Zoi’s car park…

I say a sign of the times, it was a family arriving in their car which was loaded with suitcases and bags. The ferry had been in, and they must have just come from it and before that, I assume, from Athens or another island. Maybe coming for the rest of the summer? Maybe the first time they’d been able to get home? Maybe none of my business, but it was both reassuring and slightly unnerving to see because I didn’t recognise them, so I assumed, ‘off-island’ visitors. The bars will be packed! At least, these people’s wardrobes will, judging by the number of suitcases they’d crammed into one tiny car. And so my week gets underway…

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Quick weekend catchup

We had a lovely weekend, thank you for asking. We had the godboys to lunch on Saturday as mum was helping with the SNiP programme, collecting stray cats and taking them to the visiting vet for treatments before releasing them safely later in the day. All helping to keep the strays healthy. I finished off a first draft of a story which has more or less written itself. Now I have to go back and rewrite it to make it make sense, which is always the fun part. Out in the courtyard, the plants are doing fine, though the bougainvillaea could do with a pep talk. The house in front of us is being decorated, so we have something to watch from the balcony other than the occasional boat, and village life in the square trundles on with people gearing up for the reopening of flights this week and in early July. Whether we will see many visitors remains to be seen. Here’s wishing you a good week ahead.

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It’s mosquito season in our house right now. Woken the other morning at four with an itchy foot, and attacked under the desk yesterday. We have a plug-in deterrent in the bedroom which seems to work, and as I wear earplugs, I’m not disturbed by the buzzing, only by the scratching which always seems to be on my feet. Now the weather is warmer, the duvet is half-on and half-off, but I’m not sleeping with the window open, not until after spider season. Mind you, I think they live above the bedroom in the mousandra, but if that’s where they are, we could do with them below, catching the mosquitoes, not that I want either in my bedroom while I am asleep. Anyway…

That was yesterday’s sunrise. A few clouds around as you can see, but more or less gone by seven. You might also be able to see there are two private boats in the harbour. The catamaran has been in and out for a few days now, but the other one is, I think, a new arrival. We can only see this part of the harbour from the house, so can’t see what’s going on at the busier end. Apart from there being no boats out in the bay, the scene doesn’t look very different from other years. Sometimes, even when the island is busy, boats go out early, leaving this end of the harbour deceptively empty, though I am pretty sure there aren’t any other boats lurking out of sight right now.

Everyone’s talking about ‘after the 15^th‘ a date which may or may not see tourists returning to the country, and therefore, eventually, to the islands. Tbh, I can’t keep up with the changes. What’s happening on the 15^th, when this is going to ease, when that is coming into force, what’s happening with tests and when we can expect…? And all that. I’m keeping my head down over my ‘typewriter’ apart from the occasional walk or afternoon drink at the bar. The photo, by the way, was the bar view on Wednesday, and I took it not to show the lack of tables, but the newly painted steps. Yes, I didn’t notice at first either, not until Yiannis pointed them out to me.

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