Hello, blog readers. I am happy to announce that my third travel memoir, set in southern Greece, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
Called A Scorpion In The Lemon Tree: Mad adventures on a Greek peninsula, the book charts my second long odyssey in the southern Peloponnese with my partner Jim and our crazy Jack Russell dog, Wallace.
While the first two books were set in the Mani, the central peninsula, this one takes place in and around Koroni at the tip of the Messinian Peninsula, where we stayed for 14 months from early 2014.
Marjory, Jim and Wallace in Koroni.
At the window of Palio Spiti (the old house), described in the new book.
Why we ended up in Koroni, when we had our heart set on living once more in the Mani, forms the basis of the book and reveals how you can plan your life down to the last detail but it will be derailed in the end, especially in the wonderfully spontaneous, and sometimes chaotic, place that Greece is. There are more perilous and funny adventures along the way as we try to find long-term rental accommodation and finally come to terms with living in a house that we didn’t expect we’d end up in. If you read the book, you’ll find out why.
A lemon tree at Villa Anemos overlooking the Gulf of Messinia.
You might be wondering about the title, A Scorpion In The Lemon Tree. There are specific reasons why I chose this title and apart from being unlucky enough to have these pesky critters calling on us quite a bit, the title is a kind of metaphor as well, and you can make your own mind up about what the scorpion represents in the context of the narrative. And in case you’ve missed it, there is a scorpion in the lemon tree on the cover illustration. Can you spot it? Wallace the dog should give you a clue.
View of Koroni from its old Venetian castle.
The artwork was produced by the talented London artist Anthony Hannaford, www.anthonyhannaford.co.uk, who created the fabulous covers for my first two books. Once again, he has managed to capture all the colour and vibrancy of Greece. And cheeky Wallace got a front-row seat this time. I also have to thank Jim Bruce for his great editing and formatting of this edition www.ebooklover.co.uk
In this memoir we will make friends with a new cast of heart-warming characters, while connecting again with old friends in the Mani, including our dear friend, goat farmer Foteini, with whom we have several humorous encounters, as always.
Long sandy beaches along the gulf side of Koroni.
While we may have started our latest odyssey disappointed at not being able to live once more in the Mani, we fell in love with Koroni in the end. What’s not to love? It is in a remote part of the (left-hand) Messinian peninsula and I was surprised that there had been so little written about it in the past, so I am thrilled to be able to highlight this region and I hope I will entice more of you to visit. It is a haven of peace and quiet where you won’t see the outward signs of economic crisis, or the effects of recent migration to Greece.
Koroni is set beside a lovely old harbour, with a castle on a high acropolis above and narrow winding streets ascending to it. It is atmospheric and unspoilt, with the Messinian gulf on one side and the Ionian Sea on the other. On either side of the promontory are wide sandy beaches, old churches, and thriving villages within easy reach.
Over the coming months on the blog, I will focus on other aspects of Messinia, as mentioned in the book including some of the hidden corners of this area, and a few curious and unexplained phenomena, like The Hand of God Tree. Watch this space!
I hope you enjoy this memoir, the third in my Peloponnese series. Like the other two books, the narrative is such that you can read it on its own and understand what our travels in Greece have been all about, but you will get a better understanding of how we connected with this region, and its people, if you read the other books as well, starting with Things Can Only Get Feta. The first two chart our adventures from 2010, when we first left our Scottish village to relocate to a remote hillside village for a year, despite the economic crisis. But the year became four in the end. Four of the most fascinating years of our lives.
Enjoy the new book, which is currently available as an ebook and a paperback on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other outlets. I thank you all for your ongoing support of my work. I always appreciated comments on the blog and if you have liked the books, a small review on Amazon will also be most welcome. It is the lifeblood of authors.
Marjory’s new book is on all Amazon sites:
On the website www.bigfatgreekodyssey.com you will also find a ‘books’ page with other information about the books. Or visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/ThingsCanOnlyGetFeta
To buy either of my first two books please click on the Amazon links below:
Thanks for calling by. x
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Fabulous – cannot wait to read your newest book, as well as your next blog!
Hi Pamela,
Thanks so much for your comment. I hope it makes you smile. I hope you’re enjoying the ‘heatwave’ in Greece.
Rain today in the UK.
Filakia polla,
Marjory xxx
I was so happy to see this after reading your previous two books set in the Mani. I hope it’s the third in your Greek tetralogy! (Or pentalogy!) I found it particularly touching that you were worried about imposing at the memorial meal you were invited to after Fr. Theodoros’ mnimosino. I’m Orthodox and in our tradition the kollyva (boiled wheat) and memorial meal are offered in memory of our departed loved ones, not just to remember someone we know and love, but to do good in their name. (Historically the memorial meals would have been served not primarily to family, friends, and other churchgoers, but rather to the community’s poor and destitute.) So I wouldn’t worry about imposing in such situations, it’s an opportunity for us to honor our departed. Plus we Orthodox just love to feed people!
Hi Marc,
Thanks for your message. You are quite right and as a foreigner (even with some Greek), I still forget how inclusive Greeks really are and that their kindness and hospitality usually always extends far beyond the immediate family, something that in the west we find harder to deal with. I have been to a few mnimosina by invitation and that one I mentioned by accident and they are quite special. But you have explained very nicely the broader meaning of the service so that next time I am invited quite unexpectedly, I won’t feel so shy about going.
A Scorpion in the Lemon Tree is the third in the series, yes. I hope you liked it.
Thanks for making contact. And by the way what part of Greece do you originate from?
Regards,
Marjory
Congratulations once again ! Koroni my mother’s homeland has become famous to the globeland thanks to you. I will definately get it when the capital controls cease or democracy returns back to Greece ..
Hi Lambros,
Great to hear from you. Thanks for your kind words. Yes, after the lovely Mani, we spent a year in Koroni. I will be in touch with you via email. I hope everything is going well for you in Greece.
θερμες ευχες,
Μαργαρητα.