JulieRyanBooks

Welcome to a special post where I have the opportunity to introduce five other Greek biased bloggers via a Christmas blog hop. First though, at this special time of year, I'd like to tell you about the first Christmas I spent in Greece. My first Greek Christmas                                        I remember feeling quite excited about spending my first Christmas in Greece. Of course, it would be different and I'd miss my family but not having the money to fly back to the UK, I told myself this would be a Christmas to remember. Working in Athens back in 1986, I was particularly looking forward to a few days of peace and quiet on the nearby island of Aegina. Having visited the island during the summer, it had fast become a favourite and when a Greek friend offered us the chance to spend the holiday at his family's villa there, we jumped at the chance. Not knowing what facilities, if any, would be open on Christmas Day, I packed a bag with a few essentials, and our

Release Date:  October 13, 2015  “Dazzling Greek Isles can hide sinister secrets.” Synopsis Leaving town, heading to the Greek Isles without telling husband or friends, is heady medicine for a failing marriage. Seduced by Grecian sun and sky, Jenna innocently buys a bewitching urn that tangles her into the web of a criminal world more sinister than she ever imagined. Romance is always afoot in the Greek Isles and Jenna gets a large helping with the seductive Nikos. Family is important in Greece, and Nikos helps Jenna learn all the richness it brings, and pass it on to the next generation. Twenty-five years later, Allie takes this same journey, and a little time travel, a big “what if” dream, a fated meeting with a taxi driver and a sprinkle of paranormal intrigue intertwine in a story that spans the lives of a mother and daughter. Twisty as the streets in a Greek island village, full of unexpected characters found on a faraway vacation along with frightening threats fro

Quite often I find my writing is inspired by places I've visited, especially the South of France, Spain, Italy and Greece. I love being transported to sunnier climes where you can almost smell the lavender as a gentle breeze wafts by.  So, I had the best of intentions to model my garden on a Mediterranean theme  when we first bought the property ahem ten years ago but needless to say, money, time and a few wet summers soon put paid to that idea and as I looked out of my kitchen window, instead of a calming oasis, all I could see was a dumping ground for years' worth of unwanted materials from our constant DIY. Not a very inspiring sight, nor one that you would choose to relax in. So, this summer, I resolved that I would devote a little time each day to remodelling my patio. Step One The first step, as with any makeover, was to clear the rubbish so that I could see the space I had to work with. It took two trips to the tip and twelve bin bags but I had a vision of how my

Booklovers – which Greek island should you visit? Map from Lonely Planet I was looking at my bookshelves when I thought it would be fun to tour Greece taking in the settings of the books.   If you fancy touring the Greek Isles this summer, why not take a journey there with me through fiction? I thought we’d start our journey by stopping off at Crete, one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean and one of my favourites. With its 4000 year history there’s plenty to see and do. More recently, it has gained fame through Victoria Hislop’s book, The Island, which tells the story of Spinalonga, a leper colony just off the coast of Crete. Having visited the South of the island, this is definitely on my list for my next visit. The next book that jumped out at me was ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandalin’ by Louis de Bernieres. Set on Kephalonia during the early days of the Second World War, it’s both a war story and a love story.   Ever since reading the book I’ve had a desire to v

                                                                            As anyone who knows me will avow, I'm a total bookaholic. I think it must have started in childhood when each Friday as my mother did the supermarket shop, I could be found in the book aisle sneakily reading the first chapter of an Enid Blyton book before deciding which one to buy. Needless to say, I still have this prized collection today. Since then though my insatiable desire for books seems to know no bounds. I have a wall of books as you come into the house and three large bookcases upstairs plus two downstairs and most of my books still haven't been unpacked from the boxes down the cellar yet. It wouldn't be so bad if my husband shared my passion but unfortunately being dyslexic, he doesn't get the same pleasure from a good book that I do. I keep meaning to stop, honestly I do, and when he bought me a Kindle in the forlorn hope that it might reduce the amount of 'clutter' in t

                                                                                   I’ve been asked a few times about the setting for my Greek Island Trilogy. Is it a real island? Which one? What was it like living there? Well, first of all I was compelled to write about Greece after living there during my twenties. I’ve always wanted to write but funnily enough until I started writing the Greek mysteries, I never got beyond penning a few short stories. My fascination with Greece began as a child when I was given a book about ancient Greece. I absorbed the myths and legends and couldn’t believe that such an idyllic, magical place really existed. Blue became my favourite colour and I dreamed of visiting these mysterious islands where Odysseus, Athina, Zeus and Hector once lived. It remained just a dream until I finished University when I got a job as a language teacher in Alexandroupolis in the North-East of Greece. I hadn’t heard of it either but it sounded nice, a sma