On a Distant Shore
An enduring love story, full of secrets, heartbreak and intrigue.
Come with me on a journey to a distant shore and enjoy the stunning locations used in my new novel.
This is where I’ve spent the last eighteen months. Lovely isn’t it?
This is Poros,
Greece, one of
the fabulous settings for my new novel, On a Distant Shore.
Poros is a small Greek
island, in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about 31 nautical miles south
from Piraeus, and separated from the Peloponnese by a 656 ft wide sea channel. It is a
popular weekend destination for Athenians.
So, I have been spending my days on deserted beaches, basking
under the hot Greek sun - eating crusty bread, drizzled in olive oil and
oregano. In the afternoons I swim in
deep, crystal clear water, then sit on the deck of a 30ft yacht, eating juicy watermelon.
My evenings are spent on the terrace of a villa, listening to the cicadas, while
drinking in the glory of a fiery amber Peloponnese
sunset. In the cool of the night I lay amongst thyme fragrant hills, dreaming
under a huge vault of stars.
I am of course only there in my imagination. I’m
just a bystander, watching the characters I have created develop their stories.
The Poros I write about is not the bustling busy touristy
place it is now, but the more sedate Poros of the early 80’s. When I visited
all those years ago, I found it truly inspiring. It was virtually unspoilt and only a handful
of people holidayed there. The sea, deep and crystal clear, lapped gently onto
deserted shingle beaches. Hillsides
smelt of wild thyme, and the people were lovely and welcomed you like old
friends. There was only one bus on the
island, which legally held a capacity of 28 people, but regularly held up to 58,
plus the odd lilo.
To get to the island, you had to take a converted fishing
boat called the Flying Dolphin from the port of Piraeus. It was a long arduous journey and you were
lucky if you managed to hold onto your breakfast. But oh, when Poros came into view, you knew
you were somewhere special.
The main male protagonist in my story is a young Greek
fisherman. He really did exist! Though the man he was based on was middle aged
when I first saw him. He was still very handsome, as you would expect a Greek to be, but his long dark hair was peppered with silver. I remember he had an air of
melancholy about him, as though his life had not turned out as he expected.
I would watch him from my hotel balcony. Every
morning, as dawn broke, he would pull his boat upon the beach and more often
than not, proceed to smack an octopus, or it could have been a squid, on the
rocks, presumably to kill it. He would then bring the rest of his catch up to
the hotel kitchens, returning to the beach to strip off his shirt and dive into the
sea.
I never actually spoke to him - though I did find out he was
called Yiannis.
With my imagination running
wild, I very soon built as story around him.
Yiannis has been sitting in the back of my mind now for a
great many years. I tried to write his story a long time ago, but shelved it. Periodically Yiannis would give me a nudge,
asking me when I was going to write his story properly. Well, now I have done it,
and along with a host of colourful characters, we have all had a rather
splendid time on this lovely Greek
Island.
Greece isn't the only wonderful location for my novel 'On a Distant Shore', as with my previous novels Mr de Sousa's Legacy and The Blue Bay Café, the tranquil river village of Gweek, on the Helford River in Cornwall, is an integral setting for my book.
This is where the story starts.
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| The bridge at Gweek, Cornwall |
I cannot write a novel without including some of the many spectacular places I love in my beloved Cornwall. Therefore I will take you on a journey to some of my favourite haunts such as
St Ives, Botallack and Church Cove Gunwalloe.
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| Church Cove Gunwalloe. Cornwall |
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| St Ives |
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Crown Mines, Botallack, Cornwall
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On a Distant Shore also takes you to Portugal -
to a little village in the mountains of Monchique.
From there we
visit Lagos on the beautiful western Algarve, where we
find the Ponta da Piedade headland - a series of highly weathered cliffs lined
with spectacular grottos, arches, sea caves.
Lagos has some stunning views, from the Ponte da Piedade you get a fantastic view of the sweeping sands of Lagos bay with the Monchique hills as a backdrop, and you can also see all the way to Sagres to the west ( the base for the 'voyages of the Discoveries' instigated by Henry the Navigator) and the popular seaside resort of Albufeira to the east
The Ponta da
Piedade is possibly the most beautiful natural feature of the Algarve
coastline. The shoreline, fringed with heavily weathered cliffs, carved into
rock pillars, tunnels and hidden grottos is simply stunning. I will never forget how beautiful the sandstone cliffs looked against the shimmering turquoise sea. If you ever visit Lagos in Portugal, I can highly recommend a trip on one of the small fishing boats which navigate through the maze of these unique
formations. It was truly amazing.
Well, that tells you about the locations in my novel, if you want to read more, see below.
On a Distant Shore
After the shocking death of her parents’ in a tiny Cornish
village, nine-year-old Laura Tempest is taken to stay with her wealthy
grandparents’ on the beautiful Greek Island of Poros. But life is far from
idyllic on this sun-drenched, cosmopolitan island. Local business woman, Eva Barzini, believes
her family’s land was unlawfully taken by the Tempests’ and is intent on
retribution, and a hidden family secret makes Laura’s grandmother indifferent
to the child’s plight.
Left alone to deal with her grief, Laura befriends Yiannis
Kiassos, her grandparents’ young handyman, himself struggling with his own
misfortunes. This tender friendship would transform each other’s lives, enduring
years of separation, as Laura completes her education back in Cornwall. Now a young woman, full of dreams
of a future with him, Laura returns to Poros, but when Eva’s slanderous lies
cause her to question Yiannis’s integrity, and secrets within her own family
begin to emerge, suddenly no one is who they seem to be.
From the picturesque Peloponnese
to the wild, romantic Cornish coast, On a Distant Shore is an enduring love
story, full of secrets, heartbreak and intrigue.
On a Distant Shore by Ann E Brockbank
I’d
like to thank in advance, every single reader who has read this blog and then decided to spend their
hard-earned money on my novel. Without you, I’d be a very miserable writer
without an audience. I am honoured that you selected my story to read and
especially grateful to all those readers who take the time to write a
review - your kind words and support inspire me to keep writing.
I
hope you enjoy reading the novel as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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Incidentally the beautiful covers from my novels are painted by Robert W Floyd - A Porthmeor Studio St Ives artist in the 80's #RobertWFloyd #BlueBayArt
Also by Ann E Brockbank
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+Greece Travel Guide +Cornwall Guide +fictionbooks4u.com +Cornwall Coast Rental Service +Trelusswell B&B, The Lizard, Helston, Cornwall +Mullion Cove Hotel +Poldhu Beach Cafe & Shop +Poldhu
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