I last posted here on July 2nd 2021. That’s a pretty long lunch break even by Greek standards, so, I thought it was high teatime I started again, at least for the time being. There are reasons for restarting the blog, and this time, there are some rules. Or, if not rules exactly, then guidelines. First, the reasons.
Reasons
Two years ago, I was retired enough to be writing as a full-time job. I still am, but now I am a little more retired than I was before. As well as keeping this blog, I was also writing freelance, but of late, that freelance work has either ended or slowed down to such an extent it might as well have ended, and that means I currently have no income other than what I make from my books and a small pension that doesn’t quite pay the bills. Contrary to popular belief, just because your novel hits the top five in a tiny niche on an Amazon list doesn’t mean you’re able to live like those famous novelists of novels and films. Those cravat-wearing, South-of-France-living dandies who give dinner parties and have Vanessa Redgrave as their publisher. Quite the opposite in fact. These days, I even have to send my husband out to work so I can afford to live.
Therefore, the blog is back to serve my self-publicity. You can see a list of the four Symi books on the right, and there are links to my Amazon page where you can order oodles more words from my typo-writer. As I write this, I am working on my 41st full-length novel. (It’s actually 37 novels and the four Symi books.)
While you are there in the right-hand column, preparing to order Kindles or paperback or adding the books to your Kindle Unlimited, you will also notice a chap called Jackson Marsh. That’s also me; it’s the pen name I am currently writing under. As the blog continues, I shall be talking more about him, as he’s my best-selling persona, and the stuff he writes isn’t what you might think it is. I mean, it’s not all naughty nookie and all that icky stuff about people falling in love. Jackson is currently my full-time job, often getting me out of bed at 3.00 in the morning to work through until 10 or 11, and again for an hour or so in the afternoon, depending on the temperature. He also has a twice-a-week blog that I need to maintain, and if you want to explore and bookmark it, you can find it here: www.jacksonmarsh.com
Rules
For those who are new, and those who may not remember, here is what the blog is about.
First, what I am not. I am not a news agency, reporter, investigative journalist or gossip, so don’t expect anything sensible or scandalous, negative or nasty. Nor am I a travel agent, and thus, am unable to deal with random and accusatory emails such as, ‘I can’t believe there is no boat to Symi after my flight arrives! I must stay a night in Rhodes! Is there a boat I can take! What can I do!’ May I suggest, use fewer exclamation marks, and don’t take your lack of forward planning as my responsibility? Nor am I a trip advisor able or willing to recommend an apartment for a family of sixteen for one night on some obscure date a year next August. I don’t recommend restaurants. I am not an A to Z, a Kelly’s Directory, the Yellow Pages or Tourist Information.
I don’t get out and about much, so I’m not a roving cameraman who attends every church event, party, dance, concert, the opening of an envelope, and late night happening (late for me is 21.00). Similarly, I am not a typist, and as I have a kind of word blindness caused by bashing out between 4,000 and 6,000 words a day, you can expect many typos and odd speelings, becasue that’s how I am. I don’t have an editor, and as long as you now what I’m trying to say, who gaves a big rat’s arras?
What You Can Expect from the Symi Dream Blog
Random posts about random things. From one or two posts per month back in the sepia days of 2005 (I think it was when I started this), I was up to six or seven posts per week before I took time off. From now on… We’ll have to wait and see. It depends on what mood I am in when I wake up, what the time is, how much I have on that day, and whether I’ve got anything to say. Even if I haven’t, I might say something. It’s like the sign Michaelis used to have on the door of the Meltemi bar; if I’m here, I’m in, but if I am not I am probably somewhere else… Something like that.
It’s just me. This is simply a platform for me to get random thoughts out of my head in the early morning, to post some pics of the island and what I see, to talk about everything and anything, and to publicise my work and jolly up some support for it. Don’t expect an in-depth analysis of Symi politics, life, and traditions; even I’m not pretentious enough to suppose I am capable of that.
