ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL VISIT TO GREECE

Three weeks was hardly long enough, but I made the best of it.  I spent three days at my favorite place, the Maragas Camping on Naxos.

From there I took the sea-jet ferry to Irakleion, Crete.

 Venetian harbor

The Lion Fountain

 I visited some of the sites, including Knossos, and met my writer/mentor friend Dr. Jack Dempsey, for the first time in person. (We've been communicating for a number years on-line). We spent a wonderful few hours talking about our writing at a seafood restaurant by Iraklion's Venetian Harbor. He's an authority on the Minoans and has written two books about them: Ariadne's Brother and People of the Sea. 

Jack and me

 KNOSSOS

I got around town there on the hop-on-hop-off bus which took me to several sites over two days including the Archaeological Museum and the Natural History Museum.

 Finds from Knossos

 Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum

 I also visited the grave site for writer Nikos Kazantzakis up on the city wall where he was buried because the Orthodox Church wouldn't allow his burial in the cemetery.

Then I returned to Athens for two busy weeks of book readings at the Canadian Institute and the American Community School where I read to a class of 50 grade nine students and conducted a writing workshop/reading with a smaller group of older students.  The following week I did another successful reading at the Athens Centre with a lecture titled 'In Alexander's Footsteps'.  All three centres have invited me back next year!

Reading at the Canadian Institute, Athens.

 The class of Grade 9 Students at the American Community School

 writer's workshop

 Reading at the Athens Centre

My time sped by there. I didn't didn't get much chance to travel around.  We did see the new Niarchos Community Centre in Pireaus.

 Then I went to Salamina for a few days where I explored a few new archaeological sites.

The monument to the warriors of the Battle of Salamis

 Then it was time to head home.  Too fast, but a successful trip nonetheless. And for sure I'll return next year!

BACK IN ACTION!

Well here I am again after several months absence!  I left my home the end of August for an extended trip to Europe, starting with London which included a walking tour of the Cotswolds. Then on to Caerphilly Wales to visit cousins. From Cardiff I flew to Alicante Spain and was met by my travel writer friend Inka who hosted me at her home in Torrevieja for several days. Then I traveled by bus to Malaga where I stayed with friends from Vancouver who run an English school there. On Sept. 10 I flew to Athens, Greece where I spent the rest of my vacation which was partly fun and partly writing related work. I went to Naxos for a week of rest and meditation, staying 3 days in a bed-tent at Maragas beach and 3 days in a lovely hotel near Agia Ana. Managed to draft 5 poems and the beginnings of a new chapter for my current w.i.p. Dragons in the Sky.

There were many highlights of this wonderful trip but mainly I want to refer to those related to my writing.  That is, the excellent reading I was invited to do at the Canadian Institute on Oct 7 in Athens.  This was quite a thrill for me. A week earlier I'd been introduced to a group of Greek academics at the Hellenic Institute for Strategies and was treated like a visiting celeb. Many of them attended my reading of SHADOW OF THE LION: BLOOD ON THE MOON at the Canadian Institute.

I have been so well received by the Greeks and by these organizations in Athens who invited me to read. The Canadian Institute has invited me to return next year when book two THE FIELDS OF HADES is published. And I also received another invitation from the Athens Centre where I read last year.

I had many adventures on this trip and most of them were related to finding new travel writing ideas. I'll be posting on my http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com  soon but here's one of the highlights from Greece related to historical writing.

A visit to the Cave of Euripides

The Greek poet/dramatist Euripides was born on the island of Salamina and live for a while in cave up on the mountainside.  When I went to visit my friend on Salamina she told me about climbing to the cave but said it was a steep climb. This year I was determined to make an attempt to reach it. It turned out to be not as difficult as I'd anticipated as it was a switchback trail.  What a thrill it was to stand outside the cave where this renown writer had penned some of his famous dramas!  Apparently there were nine rooms in the cave. You aren't allowed to venture in now as it would be dangerous because of some erosion. But just to stand there and take in the magnificent view down the mountain toward the sea was an inspiring experience for me.

I'll post more writing news here soon. I'm scheduled to go on a radio program next week for World Poetry to talk about my adventures and the book.  SHADOW OF THE LION: BLOOD ON THE MOON has been well received and I'm anticipating the next volume to be ready by next year. Hope to start the final edits on it soon!  While I Athens I also visited some bookstores to inquire about translations and gathered a bit of info for my publisher. The Greeks are very anxious to see this novel translated so I hope this eventually will be possible.

Meanwhile, the book promo goes on. This week I'll volunteer at the Surrey International Writer's Conference which will give me a chance to schmooze and make some new literary contacts.

My writing classes have resumed and soon I hope to be offering some more workshops.

2014: An Amazing Year of Accomplishment!

 

Signing the contract for the Athens Guide e-book

 



Here we are at the end of the year and on the brink of new opportunities.  2014 has opened new doors for me and I know, as I enter the New Year that the way is cleared for me to follow. It’s going to be even more exciting than this year has been.

It all started last February when I received an unusual phone call from Montreal offering me a trip to Egypt (which at first I thought was a scam). It was true, though. I was offered a trip to Egypt by Egyptian tourism to write favorable travel stories.  None of it seemed ‘real’ right through until mid March when the dream trip came true and I found myself sailing down the Nile, crossing the Sahara, lounging by the Red Sea,  visiting the amazing pyramids of Giza and finally, a specially arranged trip to Alexandria.

Visiting the Temple of Hatshepsut



Me and Alexander at Alexandria

You can read my Egypt blogs here: http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com

I was barely catching my breath from that amazing adventure when, in August, my novel SHADOW OF THE LION: BLOOD ON THE MOON was published. Wow! It had been a long, 15 year journey to finally see it in print. (Second volume comes out in 2016). And the incredible thing was, it came out at the same time the archaeologists in Greece announced the discovery of the huge tomb in Amphipolis, which happens to be the setting in part of my story. I was so excited to get my book that a friend drove me down to the States to pick up one she had ordered at Pt. Roberts. What an exciting day that was!

 

 

 The book has arrived!



My book, SHADOW OF THE LION: BLOOD ON THE MOON!

 



By the end of August I set off for England and Wales, first to visit my relatives in Caerphilly and then to attend the Historical Novel Writer’s Conference in London. While at the conference, who should I run into but Margaret George, one of the famous historical writers who I had spoken to a couple of years ago at the Surrey International Writer’s Conference. At that time she had told me not to worry about the length of my novel, just to keep writing it. (Her books are at least 1000 pgs long!). So imagine how surprised she was when I spoke to her again and told her I ended up with a two-book contract because my book was too long. She was very pleased and we had a nice chat about our writing. (She said she is now being asked to keep her current work in progress down to 400 pages!)

 

The statue of Alexander in Thessaloniki

 

Relaxing on the beach at Asprovalta

 



After my stay in London I headed for Greece. First I headed up north to Thessaloniki to attend local poet/friend’s book launch (Manolis Aligazakis is a Greek/Can award winning poet and will be reading at my book launch in January). I spent a couple of days exploring Thessaloniki and then headed for a few days by the beach at Asprovalta. My purpose for going there was, it was close to Amphipolis and i wanted to see if I could visit the tomb. So I took a taxi and the driver showed me all around. I’d been there twice before but this time I was shown more archaeological sites including a distant view of the famed tomb. 

Distant view of the tomb, Amphipolis

Back in Athens I was warmly received by my friends as well as some of the Greek people who had heard about my book (thanks to my friends who had done some promo work for me!) So I was invited to do a reading at the Athens Centre which included a nice reception in the courtyard. A good crowd attended including people from the Canadian Archaeological Society.

 

At the Athens Centre.



After that I went up to Larissa where I had been invited to present my book at a World Poetry Peace Conference. That was another special event thanks to Ariadne Sawyer who had introduced me to Chryssa Velissariou who heads World Poetry in Greece.

 

Young musicians perform at Larissa World Poetry Peace Conference'

 



Then it was time for some leisure, although I had work to do for the Athens Guide e-book that I was working on so I spent a lot of time checking out new places around Athens including some nice restaurants and wine bars. Meanwhile also doing more book promo, going with my friend Dina to the New Acropolis Museum library, Finnish Institute and checking out other places that might be interested in my book.  My  hostess at the Villa Olympia (Carole) kindly purchased 10 books so there were some available to friends in Athens who wanted to purchase one.

My Friends in Athens

Dina and her family, the two Andreases and young A's girlfriend.



Zoe and me

Carola, Chris and Kim

 

The whole gang at To Kati Allo

 

 While in Greece I visited a few days on the island of Salamina (where the famous Battle of Salamis took place in the 5^th century BC between the Greek and Persian navy). Christina and I went explore to find some of the archaeological sites and one of the big thrills was coming upon a ‘dig’ and talking in length to the archaeologist who was very interested in hearing about my book.

 

Christina and me

The archaeology site, unearthing a memorial to Ajax.

Thanks to my friend Zoe, I was put in touch with the principal of the American Community School in Athens and he was happy to arrange a reading for me with the students. So I did two readings at the school for two double-sized Grade 9 kids who were very receptive and appreciative.

The students gave me a beautiful silk scarf

 



I returned to Canada in October after a few days stop in Germany to see my friend Patrick.  He arranged with his friends for us to go on a tour of the Rhine castles and we also went to the city of Worms so I could gather more travel story material.

Patrick, Juergen and me

Since returning I have done a couple of book readings thanks to my writer friend Eileen Kernaghan (we shared readings) and have made other contacts including that of the Consul of Greece, Ilias Kremmydas, who will sponsor my book launch in January.

After I returned I was also awarded an ‘inspired writer’s’ award from the World Poetry – a mini gold Oscar. That was another cause for celebration! And in December I was invited back on Ariadne Sawyer’s World Poetry radio show for another interview. (That was the second time this year!)

At the awards.

On the Air

My three morning classes “Write from the Heart” went well this past term and will begin again in January as well as (hopefully) a couple of night-school classes thru Langara. I am also doing one-on-one writing coaching and plan to do a travel writing workshop at home. And, I was just offered a job editing a non-fiction manuscript. So I enter the New Year with a lot of interesting things to look forward to.

This year I published 22 travel articles. Got my book published (volume one). Was elected president of the BC Assoc. of Travel Writers. I joined the Canadian Author’s Assoc. and was accepted as a ‘professional’ writer. ( I will soon join the Writers Union of Canada too. ) Finished the Athens Guide e-book for Hunter Publishing US and I look forward to lots more writing in 2015. Mainly I want to finish my current work-in-progress “Dragons in the Sky”.

You can order my book on Amazon.com or ask at your local bookstores

What I’m looking forward to most now is my official book launch on January 14 at the Hellenic Community Centre, sponsored by the Greek Consul. This is such an honour for me and very exciting!

Everyone is invited: 7 pm at the Hellenic Community Centre 4500 Arbutus behind the Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

Here’s to 2015!  The doors are opening wide! Let’s hope it’s another year of great opportunities and success!

A SUCCESSFUL BOOK PROMO TOUR TO GREECE & MORE ACCOLADES

My first stop overseas was a visit to my cousin's in Wales.  One night we had a small get-together in a pub and one of my cousins brought her copy of SHADOW OF THE LION: BLOOD ON THE MOON  for me to sign.  That was a thrill, signing my very first book, and with my special golden Horus pen that I'd bought in Egypt.

 After attending the Historical Novel Writers Conference in London (Set 5,6) I went to Greece to visit, promote SHADOW and do some research for the Athens Guide e-book I'm working on for an American publisher.

My first stop in Greece was a quick trip up to Thessaloniki where I attended a poetry book launch of a Vancouver Greek/Can poet friend Manolis Aligizakis. The next day I delivered a copy of SHADOW to the Society of Macedonian studies and then I toured around the city. This included a stop at the statue of Alexander the Great at the harbour of course, and later a tour around to see Kamal Ataturk's house and some other sights.

I was very fortunate to be received so heartily by the Greeks and was invited by the directors, in particular Joanna Theiakou, to do a reading at the Athens Centre (Sept 24) after which there was a reception.  There was a very good attendance and this included some people from the Canadian Archaeological Institute.  I have to thank my friend Zoe Loukopoulous for setting this up for me and putting me in touch with the right people.

Two days later I headed up to Larissa where I was invited to present my book at a World Poetry Peace conference. I spent a delightful evening there with Chryssa Velissariou, my hostess and friends. Then back to Athens on the train the next day. That contact was thanks to Ariadne Sawyer who is in charge of World Poetry here in Vancouver. I have been on her radio program and she introduced me to Chyrssa through FB.

Also thanks to my friend Zoe, I was put in touch with Steve Madeiros, dean of the American Community School in Athens.  We had a meeting and he was enthusiastic about me coming to read to the students. So on my last day in Athens I went and read to two double-sized grade nine kids. They were very receptive, asking interesting questions.  All the staff at the school were so warm and friendly and I really enjoy my morning there. 

Most of my time in Greece was spent in Athens either planning the readings or doing research for the Athens Guide. I did make a 3 day visit to Salamina and enjoyed exploring archaeological sites with my friend Christina.  And one day my friend Carole Barkas, hostess of the B&B where I was staying, invited me to join her on a senior tour up the coast to visit 3 volcanic islands off the north tip of Euboeia.  Carole had also invited me to read for a couple of her reading group friends. And she was very helpful in promoting the book, even ordered a box to sell for me there.

I stopped in at Mainz, Germany for a couple of days enroute home to visit my friend Patrick and do more touring for travel articles material. Then home.  And the excitement continued.

On Oct 19 I was awarded an 'empowered writers' award at the World Poetry Peace Poethon here in Vancouver.  I have a certificate and cute little golden 'Oscar' which sits on the coffee table by SHADOW. That was thanks to Ariadne Sawyer who nominated me for the award. A big honour!

Meanwhile the publisher says he has sent a copy of the book to Oliver Stone because so many people say what a great movie or TV series it would make!  And the Greek Consul, Mr Ilias Kremmydas, has been helping me organize my official book launch which will be on January 14 at the Hellenic Centre here in Vancouver. Meanwhile he told me to send my info to the Greek attache in Ottawa and she has responded with an invitation for me to come to the East (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto) on a reading tour as there are large Greek communities there. I am definitely going to plan for that and will organize something with her for later in the Spring.

https://www.prbuzz.com/books-publishing-literature/264384-consul-general-of-greece-to-host-book-launch-for-shadow-of-the-lion-blood-on-the-moon.html

I did one reading here when I got back, and there's another coming up in two weeks.  I have been busy sending out promo material about the book and will be seeing my brother-in-law this weekend as he has offered to be my publicist.  Lots to do even though the book is published so there seems no end to it and I'll appreciate the help.

Remember you can get the books at local bookstores if you ask them to order it. In the States or UK they may be on the shelves of main bookstores. In Canada Coles or Chapters will order them. Or get them thru Amazon.com   The local libraries will also be stocking them.

MY WRITER'S LIFE

Reading poetry at the Heritage Grill

It seems my writing life has taken a new turn these days.  While I am waiting to resume more edits on "Shadow of the Lion", I have been called upon to read some of my poetry.  Last weekend at the Heritage Grill in New Westminster, I read 3 poems that were published in a new anthology "Sudden Thunder" with thanks to Candice James, poet laureate of New Westminster who has become my new poet mentor.  I had not taken myself seriously as poet until Candice heard some of my work and has been encouraging me to read in public.  Not that I haven't produced or read before, but my main genre in travel and historical fiction, and poetry doesn't always 'happen' for me except unexpectedly. 

 Now I am encouraged to enlarge my collection, mainly one I am working on which will be titled "Songs for Erato" (Tragoudia yia Erato)- poems written in or about Greece.  I already have quite a few in the collection including a previously written collection "Songs for Gods and Heroes", written as 'hymns' or hymnos style when I was challenged some years ago by a Greek American poet friend to write a collection about Alexander the Great. There were written for two voices to be accompanied by music (such as a flute) and were presented at a reading some years ago at the Burnaby Art Gallery.  I will also include a couple of lyric poems from my play about Sappho, "House of the Muses", as well as some new poems I wrote the last two times I was in Greece.

I'll be reading on the street in New Westminster next Sunday and I'm one of the feature readers the following week at Poetic Justice at the Heritage Grill. 

While I am waiting to finalize the work (edits) on "Shadow" and retyping my old Celtic novel "Dragons in the Sky", I will rework some of my poems to get them ready for the collection I am hoping to eventually publish.  Who would have thought?  You know that old saying? "You're and poet and you didn't know it!"  Well, that's me.  A new way to express my thoughts.  And I'm enjoying it! Now if only I could get the Muse to co-operate!

Here's a you-tube video of me reading one of the poems: "Socrates Prison"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v​=7I6HMkp4pyc

www.youtube.com

courtesy of Candice James