Category Archives: Books & writing

A Free Book for August

August 1, 2023 James Collins

Well, a free book for five days (1^st to 5^th) and possibly not one you’ll be interested in, but if you click the link at the bottom of this post, you’ll get to the book’s Amazon page and see what I am talking about. Not now! Wait until you get there…

By the way, these links to Amazon often lead you to a page that says ‘Not available in your area.’ Ever had that when trying to buy a book? If so, don’t panic! What it means is you’ve gone to, say, Amazon.com (USA) when your account is based at Amazon.co.uk (UK). The book is available in your area, but you need to find it on your own country’s Amazon site. So, either copy the ISBN number from the details, or the title and author, head to .co.uk or .whatever, and search out the title that way. Then, you should have no trouble ordering the Kindle or paperback. (I guess it’s to save you postage from USA to UK, or something. I don’t really understand why Kindle downloads are affected, but we’re not here to talk about all that…

We’re here to talk about shrimps and August.

The Symi Shrimp Festival happened on Sunday night, and by the sound of it, it was a success. Neil was called in to work the evening at the Rainbow Bar, and when I vaguely saw him around 2.30 on Monday morning, it sounded as though he’d been very busy, and the party went on until well after midnight.

We’re now in August, of course, so happy month to you; Kalo mina. (My spell check changed mina to main. It’s one of those words that when typed, has a mind of its own, so apologies if Kalo mina is ever printed as Kalo main, a little-known consequence of the Spanish colonisation of South America.)

I’m not sure who’s coming to visit in August. If you are, leave a comment on this post on Facebook so we can look out for you. After the heat of last week, August may well feel positively chilly, though it’s usually one of the hotter months. I know it’s terrible weather ‘up north’ in Denmark, the yUK and other northern-European places, and apparently, that has something to do with the changing Jet Stream, or some such. Well, if you can, drop ‘down south’ to escape it. Rhodes is now as back to normal as it can be, and lots of businesses and individuals are putting around publicity saying just that and inviting tourists back. The island, like the rest of the country, relies on tourism, and it’s fair to say, the European press hasn’t helped in recent days. (See my post ‘Village Views’.)

I escaped the news and my writing routine on Sunday morning and went for a short walk, taking today’s snaps as I went. This is the lane that runs off the village square. It does a couple of sharp bends and then a gentle slope and takes you around the back of the Castro to where you can see over Yialos and the hills. If you keep going straight until you can’t go any further and have to turn left or right, you will come to the Kataractis (if you turn right). These are the ancient steps/slopes down to the back of Yialos. I didn’t go that way, I had chapters to write and sofas to sit on, which is probably what I am going to go and do right now.

Enjoy August, and we’ll chat more tomorrow. Meanwhile, here’s that free book which may interest you or someone you know:

Free book on Kindle from 1^st to 5^th August. Click here.

Share on Facebook

Books & writing

Wiping up a storm

July 12, 2023 James Collins

No, I’m not talking about a weather spillage, the recent high winds, or the storms that occasionally batter the island, nor did I mean to write whipping. I’m talking about my WIP. As I mentioned last week, one of the things this blog is now to do is direct interested readers over to my other blog, the one that’s all about my books under my pen name. Every Wednesday, I write up a WIP, a Work In Progress update on whatever is production in the typowriter. Currently, that’s book two of a new series of mysteries set in Victorian England (1892). So, if you’re interested, click over to www.jacksonmarsh.com and every Wednesday, you can read the WIP blog, and every Saturday, something else, because I post twice per week.

Not the Best Photo Ever

The other evening, we came up from the harbour by bus. Along the way, I wanted to get a shot of the wonderful sight of the sun setting behind the Turkish mountains, with the sea bathed in gold, and the hills becoming silhouettes as the sailing boats made their lazy way to safely port, and the lights along the quayside began to sparkle like gems scattered on a wine-dark the sea… And what I got is this:

That’s because the bus has advertising along its windows. Had I been sitting on the other side, I’d have more easily seen through the thousands of dots that make up the external image, but as I was right next to the window… Anyway, you can still see a marvellous view as you come up the hill on the bus or in a taxi. If you want to see an uninterrupted one, get off the bus at the crest of the hill by the windmills, and walk a little way back down the road from where you can see across the harbour. My photo still wasn’t wonderful as I was looking directly into the sun, but it’s a nice view at any time of day or night. Just watch out for the bikes and cars before you reach the pavement, and when you do, watch out for the uneven, stony surface which was clearly not designed for walking on.

By far my better view was facing forward.

If you’re new to the island or the bus service, it leaves from Yialos every hour (apart from a few per day, but there’s a timetable to check), and heads up the hill to the windmills, thence, down and right, up to the village at Kampos, and from there, to Pedi. It leaves there on the half hour to take the same route in reverse. If we’re coming to the village, we get off at the windmills and take the (righthand) road down into the village from there. (It saves using the slope up by the car park at Kampos.) There’s a shortcut just past the bins, and that brings you out at the Village Hotel. It’s only a short walk. If you’re taking the road through the village, though, watch out for bikes coming at you the wrong way up the one-way street, and cars coming the right way from behind you. The road narrows and takes a sharp bend, and it’s a fair old slope, especially if you are walking up it.

But, before you do any of that, remember to take a look at my WIP and feel free to follow that blog, the various social media things it links to, and particularly, the links to the collection of Jackson’s works on Amazon.

Share on Facebook

Books & writing

An idea for Halloween reading

October 13, 2020 James Collins

An idea for Halloween reading

I was thinking… Halloween is coming up in just under three weeks, and if you’re the sort who enjoys a creepy story, you might be interested in ‘The Judas Inheritance.’ This is the book I wrote a while back on which a film was based. Although the book doesn’t say so, the story is inspired by Symi, though not the Symi we know. Whereas our Symi is a lively and happy place to be, in the book, the island is suffering a mysterious and supernatural curse and is not a happy place at all.

The book was written to be suitable for adaptation into a low-budget horror/thriller, and it’s told in the first person and in the third. This was to give it a more filmlike feel. One minute you’re in the main character’s head, and the next you’re essentially reading what they call the ‘black stuff’, the text or stage direction in a screenplay. Except, in the book, it’s expanded and detailed.

Also, there’s a lot of Symi history in the background of the book, invasions, change of ownership and so on, although just about everything else is made up.

The book has received favourable reviews, with readers using terms such as, ‘Heart-stopping suspense’, ‘A page-turner reminiscent of Stephen King at his best’ and ‘Brilliant storyline.’

Here’s the link to the Amazon.co.uk page in case you fancy ordering the paperback version in time for Halloween. It’s also there on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and most Amazon stores around the world. Pleasant dreams!

Share on Facebook

Books & writing

Symi, Stuff & Nonsense

April 24, 2019 James Collins

Symi, Stuff & Nonsense

[News: Yianni Poseidon will be taking the boat out on April 30th if he has enough people. Find him in the harbour during the day and book in advance.]

Before setting off on my walk yesterday, I had a look to see what was my ‘best selling’ book of this year so far. I do this from time to time as some kind of masochistic dabbling. I never really publicise the books, so I never expect large sales, and thus, I am never disappointed when I look at my stats. I wasn’t disappointed yesterday either. In terms of Kindle and print sales, ‘Symi, Stuff & Nonsense‘ comes out top of the list, followed by ‘Symi 85600’ and then the Saddling series. In terms of page reads under Kindle Unlimited, ‘Remotely’ is top of the list, followed by ‘The Saddling’ and then ‘Symi 85600’ and ‘Carry on up the Kali Strata.’ That last one, ‘Carry on’ works better on KU because it’s costly to buy, and that’s got something to do with the photos and layout, but that’s another story. KU, or Kindle Unlimited, I believe gives you so many titles to ‘borrow’ from the KU library each month and us authors get a share of the overall number of page reads. That’s million of pages read across the world each month, and for every page of one of my books read under KU, I get $0.004 – way hay!

Meanwhile, back with my feet on the ground, I tramped up the hill again yesterday, this time to the main road bridge that crosses the ravine behind the village. That’s the ravine where rocks and debris tumbled down during that horrific storm of 2017, taking out half a house at least, and several steps and causing all manner of damage. Luckily, the council had cleared out a collection of dumped white goods sometime before, and few people had thrown anything else into it between times. It’s still clear of human rubbish, I am pleased to say.

So, the photos today are from my stroll on Monday. I saw the mules again yesterday, this time running down through Leoni with Tassos driving behind. It’s at least 2.5 miles from where they live to the village, so I expect a good trot wakes them up for the day’s labouring, but I hate to think how they feel on the trudge home at clocking off time.

Share on Facebook

Books & writing

The Other Side of Notting Hill

September 19, 2018 James Collins

The Other Side of Notting Hill

I’m mentioning this soon to be released book because Roger Rogowski, the author, is a regular Symi visitor. He’s here right now, and we’re often chatting at the bar, and calling in for dinner. I’ve been following the story of his book for a year or so now and here it is, ready for publication (November) and with a special offer.

You can pre-order the book at a pre-publication discount of 20% (plus free P&P), and to do this, you can phone Macmillan Distribution (UK: 01256 302699) or email them at MacmillanDirect@macmillan.co.uk – the offer ends at the end of September. If you would like to have your name listed in the book as one of the subscribers (to this offer) you can contact Roger direct through his Facebook page: The Other Side of Notting Hill.

The book records the memories of people who lived in working-class Notting Hill before huge changes took place in the area in the 1960s. It takes us from Wartime to the Westway – from the 1940s/50s to the swinging 60s, and looks set to become a vital record in the living history project of the area. I shall be ordering my copy today.

And as for me… I took a walk on Monday, up to the main road by Agios Rafael, the small chapel behind Yialos. This is the route from the village donkey path to Agia Paraskevi and then, just beyond the newly built steps to the house up there, the right turn to the place marked on maps as ‘the Wall.’ It’s an ancient area with trees and old paths, very old terracing and some new, and gives you a gentle but rocky climb up to the main road from where you can see across Roukouniotis towards the west and the coast of Turkey. Here are a few pics, more soon.