It’s only 6.20 and I’ve already picked up three mosquito bites. It’s a humid morning again, and we’re heading for yet another hot day by the feel of things. We’ve been in the high 30s for how long now? Seems like forever. Fine if you’re here for a couple of weeks’ holiday, but every day and night for three months… It gets a bit wearing without the usual wind and with more humidity than in previous years. The way we’re burning up the planet, it’s not going to get any better, so may as well get used to it. Some rain would be nice though if someone could arrange it. Perhaps once a week overnight, just to keep the plants happy and the dust down. Someone have a word, will you?

Still, at least I’m not outside working on rooves or building sites, standing in a shop all day, or worse, in a kitchen. Mind you, Noufris at the taverna says he’s quite comfortable and his kitchen is the coolest place, because he has so many fans on him, I guess. I have one on me here at the desk. It’s beneath the open window which doesn’t let in much cooling air, only mosquitoes, it seems (four now), as I set myself up for a morning working on the next book.

Talking of books… If you’re after a thriller or a mystery read, here’s a list of over 100 titles – you might find something there. This is one of those promos I do to promote my work. It costs nothing to browse, but each click on the banner/link below gets me a point and allows me to participate in more promos, which means I get more free publicity. It’s a scheme that works for everyone involved and, as I said, costs nothing unless you actually go and buy a book, or read one in your Kindle Unlimited.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysthrillsus-aug/6yfa21rq1b

That’s enough shameless publicity for the moment. I am off to find the anti-bite cream, and set up the typo-writer ready for the next chapter in my dark tale of stolen children, Grand Guignol, London sewers, and whatever else ‘A Case of Make Believe’ is all about.

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Two unusual things occurred this morning. One, I woke to discover I had slept for eight hours solid for the first time in ages, and two, when I went to the sitting room, the first thing I heard was a car or building alarm. That’s a very odd thing to hear around here, and I only usually hear such a thing after a power cut, and that’s rare too.

Then, and this isn’t so strange, I heard a sheep nearby. Maybe that’s a little odd because we’re on the north side of the village, not that rural and it’s not coming up to Easter, which is when we usually find sheep and goats wandering the lanes.

The other morning sounds continue as normal. The cockerels who ‘go off’ all day and night, the chickens panicking because someone laid an egg, and their chicks chirping up the road. The blackbird clicking its tongue like an admonishing schoolteacher as it does a fly-past warning, and the sparrows having a good old gossip. The collared doves are more circumspect on the telegraph pole, doing their coo-coo, coo, ad infinitum, with their partners replying, ‘You just said that.’

Boats coming and going. There’s what looks like a small cruise ship coming through the humidity haze right out in the bay, and some smaller pleasure craft upping anchor and heading off to some other paradise.

And so the morning begins. It’s going to be another hot one, but not as hot as north of Athens where the land is burning. (I can’t believe I was woken by fireworks the other night. Fireworks?! At this time of year, and directly over the harbour, property, and scrubland. Madness, and I thought they were outlawed at the moment anyway.)

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I achieved my goals over the weekend. I did the writing I wanted to do, and I put together next year’s Symi Dream calendar, using 12 of Neil’s photos, plus one for the cover. We now have to wait while our proof copies are sent, and as long as they look as good as usual, I’ll put up to link so you can start stocking up. We’ve never had a problem with them before, so they will be fine. We’ve tried to keep the price below €20.00, which sounds like a lot, I know, but it’s print-on-demand and only available online, and there’s nothing we can do about the print costs or delivery charges. Still, there will be a link in the right-hand column in a few weeks.

Bobby
I’m also pleased to report that my godfather’s biography, Bobby, was #15 in the Amazon Memoirs and Biographies charts over the weekend, which is a fair old achievement for him. I also wrote to Dame Shirley Bassey’s team, because he went out with her first manager, she and Bob were friends, and she gets a few mentions in the book. I thought she might like a copy. You can help boost Bobby up the charts by taking a look, buying a copy, and leaving a review here: https://mybook.to/bobby

Talking of reviews, there have been some excellent ones put up so far, so, thank you for those!

Other Things

The island is busy, the harbour is lined with boats, and the festival is underway. Live Greek music up in Horio last night, more in Yialos this week, and the Symi Theatre has put on their annual play.

I am onto draft two of my next book which is taking shape in an unusual way, for me. It’s going to be dark, amusing, intriguing, and one for the mystery lovers who also like cross-story connections. (What happened to a minor character in ‘Deviant Desire’, the very first book in these three series, is what drives the villain in this story set over four years later.)

I’m also pleased to report my cold has just about gone, and I’m left only with the sore nose which, I believe, has more to do with the general summer dust than it does anything else. I dusted the house yesterday, but before I did, I thought I’d put on a mask, only to find them all too dusty to do any good, so they’re going in the wash. No sooner have you got rid of the stuff from the surface than it’s back again. Mind you, with the doors and windows still open, the temperatures still in the 30s, and some breeze now and then, you can’t avoid the dust. At least it’s no Saharan at the moment; that’s even worse.

Enough of that. There are words to bash out, housework to do, books to publicise and fun to be had. Let’s see what the week will bring…

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There’s a photo that’s been doing the rounds on social media for a couple of years now. It’s one of Neil’s from a few years back, and it shows the sunrise over Pedi. It’s from the same batch/time as the ones posted here today. The thing is, some sites and individuals have shared it claiming it’s theirs, or haven’t put a note to say it’s not theirs, leaving others to assume it is. If you’ve seen it, you know the one I mean, and I only mention it because I happened across the rest of the same shoot this morning, and thought I’d post these. They were taken one June. They’ve reminded me I need to get the Symi Dream calendar finished this weekend, that’s my priority.

Another may be to finally go for a short walk. I’ve been laid up with a daft cold for two weeks, but last night was the first night I was able to sleep without breathing through my mouth and waking up at all hours feeling like I’d swallowed a sponge. Hopefully, tomorrow, I’ll take a stroll and maybe even take some new photos for this blog.

The rest of the weekend will, as usual, be taken up with writing, and I have nothing else planned but that. Oh, and maybe some more YouTube video watching for research. Yesterday, I took a walk along the River Fleet in London. Rather, below London, because it was covered over a couple of hundred years ago, and is now part of the sewer system beneath the city. I watched a video about the history, system, Joseph Bazalgette and all that (didn’t know he also worked on the Tower Bridge design and other important things, we only hear of him for his sewers), and then went for a walk. Someone had kindly been down there with a camera and recorded several minutes of wandering through the tunnels with no sound other than the constant sound of water. Fascinating to see what I’ve recently been reading about, a labyrinth of large and small tunnels, some incredibly deep, some tiny, weirs, storm gates, mechanics, the lot. Very far removed from the images today, but it’s where I have to go later this morning as I press on with the next chapter.

So, I’ll go and make a start on my day, and will wish you a pleasant weekend.

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A little self-promotion this morning following a review of my book, ‘Bobby’ which appeared on Amazon yesterday – the review, I mean, not the book. That’s been out for a few weeks.

‘Bobby’ is the biography of my godfather, written by me based on interviews where he told us his life story. I started on this project 20 years ago, but only this year was I confident enough in the fact checking to knock the thing together and put it out there.

This is the story of one gay man, born in 1919 in Tooting. Bobby’s colourful life crossed paths with King George VI, Sir Winston Churchill, the Dalai Lama, Shirley Bassey, David Bowie, Quentin Crisp, Ruth Ellis, and numerous other crowned heads, politicians, entertainers and leaders of society. However, he came from the underclass of the homeless, drag queens, and illegal lovers. There at pivotal moments of the gay 20th century, this previously unknown gay man’s richly fascinating career has previously slipped under the radar but is now getting the limelight it deserves.

Here are some excerpts from the latest review: Lovingly crafted, exceptionally well written and well researched. This is a startlingly interesting read, with a wealth of beautifully observed detail of ‘ a time past’, yet it has a contemporary voice that quite entranced me. The descriptions of Bobby’s early life have all the resonance of the memoirs of the Scottish writer Molly Wier, and at times capture these lost days and ways as succinctly and as pungently as Flora Thomson did in the ‘Larkrise’ books. More than 5 stars required. (Thank you, Dr Gardner.)

Thanks also to everyone else who has taken the time and trouble to read the book and leave a review. As usual, my serial stalker has been out and about and bunged up a three-star rating, but at least this time it was a three and not a one. I don’t know who this person is, but they make me laugh. No sooner do I put a book on Amazon than they’re there, often before they’ve even had time to read a page. I imagine a jealous and frustrated oik who thinks he can do better but never does, so satisfies himself by giving other writers one and two star ratings without even reading the book.

Anyway, none of that matters when you have words like Lovingly crafted, and exceptionally well written in your reviews.

If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can find ‘Bobby, a Life Worth Living’ via this universal link that should take you to your nearest Amazon outlet for the Kindle version or the paperback. It’s on Kindle Unlimited too.

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