Wuhoo! Today I’m bursting with excitement to share the news of my next book, The Amulet, a supernatural romantic comedy set on the Greek island of Sifnos. Think golden beaches of fine sand, deep blue and shimmering waters, whitewashed little villages and blue-domed churches. Paradise on earth.

Sifnos is one of my favorite islands of the Cyclades. My short story of sweet romance, An Old Promise, is also set in Sifnos and you’re most welcome to download it here. It’s included in my FREE book, Poetry from The Lady of the Pier.

Anyhoo, I digress! The Amulet is still at the early stage of editing and it’ll take a while for me to set a publication date… But, to get me motivated I decided to make the cover early on. I just received it from my wonderful designer, Alex Saskalides of 187Designz, and it’s a pleasure to let you be the first to take a look today:

*DRUM ROLL*

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Katie Pavlides works in a dreary office in Athens. After a row with her loopy boss she gets fired and, on the same day, a gypsy woman hands her an amulet for good luck. Soon, she lands a job as hotel receptionist on the Greek island of Sifnos and everything seems perfect, except for the overbearing hotel owner, Mrs. Matina. One of the guests, freakishly tall and gorgeous Aggelos Aggelides, keeps saving the day whenever Katie needs help. As she falls in love, she grows all the more intrigued by him and his quirky friends, including a little girl who keeps turning up on her own. Add a psychic, half-mad, color-clashing elderly woman into the mix and you’re in for a few laughs. Things are not what they seem in this small, family hotel and get even more complicated when the gypsy woman shows up again. Will Katie ever work out that Aggelos is a guardian angel that came with the amulet? And if she does, will she be able to keep him? It may take a miracle. But on an island as magical as Sifnos, anything is possible!

Watch the book trailer:

These days, I’m busy editing the first draft. It’s going to need the TLC of my fabulous beta readers, and laborious editing from my British husband Andy and me in the next few months. Andy and I make one cracking good editing team but life keeps getting in the way, so this will probably take a while . . . but we’ll try to finish as soon as possible, hopefully, sometime this fall.

Stay tuned because I have more big announcements to make in the following weeks. For now, I’ll just say one of them involves those in my audience who only read in Greek. I’ve been neglecting those lovely folks, despite my best intentions, but soon I’ll make it easier for them to read samples of my work. My parents and sister are among them and many other members of my adorable, extended Greek family and friends. I am already crossing my fingers so I don’t disappoint them all. “Very nerve-racking,” says the fragile little girl in my psyche, I’ll tell you that!

I may not be living on a gorgeous Greek island but I can’t complain. My little seaside town near Athens can be paradise on earth too, especially during summer (see the two above pics I took from our seafront to show you). I hope you’re enjoying the summer so far! Over here, I got my swimsuit, mumu, and beach bag ready, and I’m itching to hit the beach for the first time this year but the weather refuses to behave . . . We had another thunderstorm yesterday and today it’s cool with grey skies. Hope the weather behaves a little better in your corner of the world!

Keep smiling!

SPECIAL OFFER: Would you like to read The Amulet for FREE when it’s out? Go here and find out how!

Do you love Greece? Check out our guide to Corfu on this site! For delicious Greek recipes, head over to Effrosyni’s Blog. Sign up to Effrosyni’s newsletter for her news and special offers (very sparse emails).