03 December 2012


When The Sun Goes Down

~ Island stories ~


I'm so excited.

Roll up roll up Oyez oyez! (or however I trumpet news abroad these days) ... just this very second heard from Maria Strani-Potts that her collection of short stories is out ... well, not Maria personally, you understand, she didn't pop out of the screen and go like

"Yo! Chris, darling, Καλό μήνα! and all that and while I'm popping out of your screen, let me tell about my must-buy stories ...".
No, these days, a discreet chappie in cocked hat and gaiters knocks on your in-box and very politely announces,
"Beg pardon, sir, sorry to bother but Miss Maria Strani Potts requested that we send this e-mail.
If you have questions about Amazon.co.uk, please visit our Help Department."
Then pouf! Orft he waddles. No, wait, there's more. A click on a secret panel reveals ..."Product Description [ugh! at least call it jacket blurb or something - but product description?]
"This powerful and varied collection of short stories, by the author of the novel The Cat of Portovecchio, Corfu Tales captures the atmosphere and distinctive character of several different islands in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
  • Swimming in Bermuda concerns an encounter between two women. A foreign visitor meets a local Bermudian woman. Tragic events from the past are gradually revealed.
  • Rehearsing I Do is an affectionate comic sketch set on Ile de Ré, a small French island off the Atlantic coast, opposite La Rochelle.
  • The Exploitation of Panorea is a hard-hitting tale about the environment and the ruthless exploitation of an island in the Ionian Sea.
  • On the Beach is another intense and dramatic Ionian Island story. Five women enjoying their regular evening ouzo are confronted by the sight of a dead body floating in the sea.
Maria Strani-Potts was born in Corfu, Greece in 1946. She graduated from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London. She has lived in Ethiopia, Kenya, England, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Australia. Maria now divides her time between Greece and England.Bermudian ~ I do like this usage - so much better than corny 'Bermudan'. Rather like me annoying a certain Saloon Bar bore at my local watering hole by referring to the saint as 'Spyrithion'.

Free reader ~ downloaded the gizmo. Now to guess what I click next to get the actual book in view.

Comment link: Sickert's Ennui.

1 comment :

sibadd said...

Top right picture, a dead ringer (except it's just you) for Sickert's Ennui
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/sickert-ennui-n03846