greek writer life today

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The Greek custom of Lady Lent and my Lent Monday traditions

Greek Lent Monday and seafood go hand in hand…

My husband and I are creatures of habit. Lent Monday always finds us having the same kind of day, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are blessed to live in a small seaside town and other than a beautiful seafront and a lovely beach near home, we also have a mussels farm in the area and roadside stalls that sell all sorts of seafood all year round.

The latter comes in handy on Lent Monday more than any other time of year.

We always start the day with a walk on the seafront, we buy the traditional unlevened bread (Lagana) from the bakery and get some fresh seafood from the stalls, for our special ouzo feast and lunch of the day.

Lent Monday is a day of reminisching for me. In the old days, when I was young and living with my parents, my grandparents from Corfu tended to be visiting this time of year.  Mum would be tethered to the kitchen stove all weekend preparing a feast for the big day. I’d never seen so many dishes on one single table before, folks, and it only happened once a year, on Lent Monday!

My sister, two male cousins and I would spend the whole weekend flying kites in the nearby fields. The boys would teach us how to mend them, and we always wound up running to Mum to get us some flour so we could make glue with water to mend the broken sails with newspaper. Ah… Those were the days!

Mum made cheesepies from scratch on the eve of Lent Monday, as this is called Tyrini Sunday and it’s a day to eat cheese, as the name suggests. This is an old tradition from the days when it was practical to use up all the cheese in the pantry as the fasting back then was strict and no cheese would be eaten until Easter. It was a total abstention from all animal products, to be exact.

On Lent Monday we fasted strictly, to honour the tradition.

Neraki is a small town next to my town of Nea Peramos, and this is the place where the roadside stalls are.

We buy mussels there all year round but on Lent Monday we also get clams (cockles) to enjoy with some ouzo. 

The cockles go down nicely with lashings of lemon juice, the lemons just cut from the tree in our front yard. Lunchtime, I always make my signature mussels risotto, using the super-fresh locally farmed mussels we buy from Neraki.

It makes for a perfect celebratory meal accompanied by the various treats of the day, like dolmadakia (vine leaves stuffed with rice), broad beans in tomato sauce, pickles, lagana (flat bread with sesame seeds), and chalva (semolina cake).

Here are some photos from the seafront, the stalls and the typical Lent Monday lunch at my place

If you’d like to try my Greek mussel risoto with ouzo, go here for the recipe!

Lady Lent (Kyra Sarakosti)

The Greek custom of Kyra Sarakosti entails hanging in the home a picture of a lady, just like this one, which serves as a calendar during the perood of Lent. It is a rather rare custom these days, but some Greek families do still keep it with their children.

Lady Lent is depicted with a scarf and a cross on her head (because she attends church), with her hands laced together (because she is praying) without a mouth (because she is fasting), and, most importantly, with seven legs – one for each Lent weekend.

According to custom, Lady Lent is hung on a wall and each Saturday the family cuts off one leg – the first one on the Saturday after Lent Monday and the last one on Holy Saturday.

Housewives in the old days would hide the last paper leg inside a dried fig and serve it to the family with other figs. The person who found it would be considered very lucky. In some parts of Greece, the last paper leg would be put inside the ‘Anastasi’ bread (Ressurection) made for Holy Saturday dinner. Again, luck was said to follow the person who got to find the paper piece in their bread.

In some parts of Greece, Lady Lent would be made with a salty dough instead of paper. It was inedible, but it helped to preserve the dough during those 7 weeks. In other parts of the country, Lady Lent would be made using fabric and feathers.

I found this beautiful photograph on the site Workingmoms.gr while looking for a dough recipe for ‘Kyra Sarakosti’ to share with you. Thought you may like to bake it with your kids like some Greek families still do today.

Visit their post on Lady Lent and get a quick and easy recipe for the salty dough. Just make sure the kids don’t try to eat it, LOL

To get more ideas on how to make Lady Lent, even with coloured dough, go to this Google images page

 

Check out more of my posts on Greek culture here: https://effrosyniwrites.com/category/greek-culture/

 

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Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
For delicious Greek recipes, go here

 

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FREE books, Christmassy Athens, stunning Macedonia, and a delicious hot drink

CHRISTMAS IN THE RAIN AND A BIT OF GUINNESS IN ATHENS

SEE THE PHOTOS ON FACEBOOK

Hubby and I picked the wrong day to visit Athens for our Christmas shopping this year and we weren’t even prepared for it. The weather forecast had promised dry weather, partly sunny skies even, and instead, we found ourselves driving into Athens centre in the rain. By the time we parked it was a proper downpour.

Luckily, we had an umbrella in the car, and we shared it during our 10-minute walk to Monastiraki (a touristy area under the Acropolis with a flea market and many eateries and shops) but our pace was snail-like.

To make matters worse, I had sneakers on made of fabric, and quickly enough my feet were drenched to the bone. Too many puddles to manage to avoid them all.

I began to whine in a typical Greek manner as we made our way, while trying to persuade Andy to go with me back to the car to return the next day. We Greeks hate the rain with passion and avoid it at all costs, that’s my excuse hehe! But he, being a Brit, was happy as can be getting wet and he wouldn’t have it.

On retrospect, I am glad he insisted, because we made it fun anyway, despite the difficulties. Anyway, we made it to Monastiraki, each drenched on our side of the body that didn’t fit under the umbrella.

We made a beeline for Mamoz, the cafe we always like to sit, as it offers a wonderful view of the Acropolis and is situated right at the entrance of the Ancient Agora.

The view to the Acropolis was rather grey but beautiful as always, and it helped to restore our dampened (literally!) spirits. Especially mine ha ha.

By the time we had a coffee and caught our breaths, the rain had stopped, allowing us to walk around the flea market for a little while.

It came back with a vengeance soon enough, so we had to use the Metro to Syntagma as we wanted to see the Christmas tree and to go shopping in the big store called Public that stands at the edge of the lower square (it is housed in a beautiful neoclassical building).

Once the shopping was done in Public, we walked back to Monastiraki along the cosmopolitan Ermou street to absorb the festive city vibes fully. At that point, I was so full of the Christmas spirit I didn’t care any more if it was raining unstoppably.

Our shopping bags from Public got wet soon enough but a nice lady at a bookstore where we made purchases later was kind enough to give us plastic bags to use instead.

The only thing that worried me? If you’ve walked around Ermou, you know it’s a pedestrian street paved with marble. Let’s just say that my trainers had turned into skates. I didn’t dare let go of my husband’s arm for a second.

As we made our way to Monastiraki I kept sliding every two seconds, it seemed. He saved me a million times from a fall. And I was so glad he had opted to put on sturdy boots that day!

By the time this culinary masterpiece manifested before me I was well prepared for it!

Having chosen our favourite hangout in the whole of Athens for lunch, the James Joyce Irish pub in Monastiraki, it had to be Steak and Guinness Pie with a glass of Guinness to satiate our extreme hunger after all that walking (and skating haha)

Returning back at home, the happy vibes of the day lingered on in my heart.

I had to literally peel my socks off my drenched feet, but I was still happy and laughing (as I lathered my feet with soap, then antifungal cream, of course haha)

SEE THE PHOTOS I TOOK IN ATHENS

A WARM BATH ON A COLD DAY

Just looking at this photograph makes my heart sing.

Dipping in that warm natural bath was one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life.

I visited the natural Pozar baths in Central Macedonia on a 2-day trip up in that amazing region of Greece, staying overnight in Edessa – a beautiful town with a stunning waterfall park.

We visited Litochoro at the foothills of Mt Olympus on the way back to Athens and other places too.

I have a plethora of photographs to share with you in the months to come from various amazing places.

Early December found me at Litochoro Pierrias with Mt Olympus on the background, covered with snow. What a view…

I confess that since the loss of my father last August I have been in a bad place. Emotionally, mentally and physically. Doctors advised me to take anti-stress pills in order to manage the crippling psychosomatic pains that wouldn’t let up in my neck and all over my head, but I opted for excursions instead to heal myself emotionally first, thus assisting my physicality to follow suit.

I figured, I might as well give my money to travel operators rather than spend it on doctors. And it was a good decision.

The excursion I mentioned earlier is the third group coach excursion I’ve been on since I made that choice last October.

And I have another short break coming up for the New Year.

I am feeling a lot better by now after all these trips. My heart is light again, and the pains are less intense and frequent. I’ve even started to write again! I have this novel I’ve been trying to finish for over a year. And now, at last, it seems possible to finish it, as my mind begins to let go of painful memories and shifting to joy and positivity.

And I’ve done it pill-free, a feat in this dark world, as I perceive it, where every doctor out there nowadays pushes pills that battle stress or depression. I was asked twice to try pills and twice I turned them down flat.

But I cannot take full credit for finding a path to healing that worked. It’s my faith in the Divine that’s kept me strong, no matter what, all through the last 7 years of caring for my parents through unbelievably hard-to-take-and-to-accept circumstances.

So, yes, God has proven to be the best doctor for me and the excursions are my ‘anti-stress pills’ of choice. And, so far, this patient is healing well.

There will be many more travel reports to share with you. I do not intend to stop now. And I’ll tell you all about the Pozar baths in the new year. The pictures and videos I took there serve very little to convey the beauty of the place, but I’ll do my best to show you.

GO HERE TO SEE A SHORT VIDEO I MADE AT POZAR FOR YOU. YOU’LL GET TO SEE YOURS TRULY AND MY HUSBAND SAYING HI!

A SPECIAL TREAT FOR YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Okay, so this is not a Greek recipe, but I had to share.

Golden turmeric tea tastes amazing whether you use almond milk or coconut milk, though I do prefer almond.

I urge you to try this highly nutritious Indian drink. The health benefits are endless and it could make a special treat for your family and friends this holiday season.

For me, it’s wonderful to enjoy in a cold afternoon as I get all cozy with a book on the sofa.

GO HERE TO GET THE RECIPE!

That’s all for now, and we’ll talk again ‘next year’ haha! Have a wonderful holiday season and may the New Year find you smiling and enjoying happy times with those you love.

In my latest newsletter, I am sharing a bunch of FREE kindle books! Check it out HERE! Enjoy, and happy holidays!

 

OOPPAAA! SIGN UP TO MY BIMONTHLY NEWSLETTER AND GET 3 BOOKS FROM ME AS A WELCOME GIFT! SEE BELOW FOR THIS OFFER!

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

Fun news from a Greek author and FREE books for all! #FICTION #bloggers #Greece Share on X

 

Get Effrosyni’s FREE books with your signup to her bimonthly newsletter! Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

NEW! A historical paranormal romance box set. This is the timeless love story that will stay with you forever. Set in Moraitika, Corfu and Brighton, England. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3HEvMPG
Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

 

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A post about my father, may he R.I.P.

SEE THE PHOTOS HERE

It is with great sadness that I am announcing today that my father passed away earlier this month, at the age of 81.

In the end, there was nothing I could do, no matter how hard I tried at home to make my father strong again with the help of two highly experienced and attentive nurses. His three long stays at the hospital since June while taking endless courses of strong antibiotics to fight the many infections caused irreversible damage to his organs.

He tried so hard and he was so brave, and now he is finally rested… I am comforted to think of him in heaven now, reunited with my dear mother. The fact he didn’t feel the slightest twinge of pain in his last days is also a great comfort for me, and a good indication that your collective prayers did a miracle to make his passing as easy as possible. And, for that, I will always be grateful to you all.

My father had a great affinity for horses, having been raised on the island of Limnos with various farm animals, including horses, thanks to his father’s job–he was a merchant of livestock. In the army, my father was put in charge of the horses, and he loved that. He was a bit of a horse whisperer too, in the sense that he could tame even the most wild ones – at one time surprising even his father with this skill when he was still very young.

Dad has always been super strong, despite being thin, thanks to his Greco-Roman wrestling training that he did as a youngster. In the army, he used to lift his friends up into the air while posing for photographs. I am sharing these pictures today with you all, as I find them very comforting.

I prefer to think of my father like this, rather than the way he looked on those dreadful last days, trapped in a skeletal, broken body. He is clothed in the glory of God right now, anyway, surely looking in heaven exactly as he does in these pictures: Forever young and able-bodied, eyes sparkling, face beaming.

To all those of you who have lost a loved one, I hope you are joining me in remembering that our separation from them is only temporary. Death is only for the body, after all, as the soul is eternal. Also, let us be comforted with the fact that the sadness is only for us, who are left behind, and never for those who leave us. The kind souls who move on beyond the veil have only bliss and only joy to look forward to. Love and blessings to all, till next time.

Hey, before you go! In my latest newsletter, I am sharing a plethora of FREE kindle books!

Check it out here!

 

OOPPAAA! SIGN UP TO MY BIMONTHLY NEWSLETTER AND GET 3 BOOKS FROM ME AS A WELCOME GIFT! SEE BELOW FOR THIS OFFER!

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

The latest news from a Greek author and FREE books for all#ian1 #freebiefriday #Greece Share on X

 

Get Effrosyni’s FREE books with your signup to her bimonthly newsletter! Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

NEW! A historical paranormal romance box set. This is the timeless love story that will stay with you forever. Set in Moraitika, Corfu and Brighton, England. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3HEvMPG
Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

 

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A strange event in my sleepy little town and an old Greek movie

The derelict old factory in my seaside little town of Nea Peramos (just 36 kms west of Athens) came to life last month… but only for two nights. The old factory used to produce linen and distribute them all over Greece – the brand name was Peiraiki-Patraiki, and later it was taken over by the paper company, Softex, around the 80s-90s. Then, in the 00s, it was abandoned and left to its fate, to weather away through the decades that followed. The factory, and especially its beautiful facade, became famous all over Greece in the 60s as it became the set of the legendary Greek movie, ‘I Kori mou i Sosialistria’ (My Socialist Daughter) starring the most popular Greek movie stars at the time – Aliki Vougiouklaki and Dimitris Papamichael.

Today, the factory is derelict and it’s always quiet over there, since it’s flanked on both sides by open fields for quite a distance. This is why, as I drove past one evening last month, I found it very peculiar to see cars parked back-to-back along the road, for hundreds of meters before and after the factory building.

What’s more, from a nearby field, I saw youngsters emerging in large numbers onto the road. They were walking along the field on a dirt path that was situated on one side of the building. So, if they were visiting the old factory, why were they coming out via a field and not out the main gate, which remained locked like always?

It was all very peculiar, and my first guess was that perhaps something illegal was going on. A rave party? (if these are, indeed, still happening? I wouldn’t know as I am too old, obviously haha!) Some kind of happening for sure!

The people were just too many, most of them looking barely out of puberty too. Arriving home, I checked for new posts in a local Facebook group where the people of Nea Peramos discuss events, and share advice and information among them.

Sure enough, someone had already expressed their intrigue about the parked cars and the many people sighted near the derelict factory.

‘Not to worry!’ someone commented under the post. ‘It’s just a painting exhibition. It’s happening just this weekend!’

‘Oh, now it makes sense!’ another quipped. ‘I spotted a black Jeep parked outside the building the other day. Some guys were standing at the gate and talking’.

The rest of the comments were complaints, as one might expect. ‘An art exhibition? In our town? But, how come we are not aware of this?’

‘Yes, how come?’ another frustrated local would add. ‘Why didn’t they advertise it anywhere so we can go? Who are these people going there and how did they find out then?’

My own reasonings were similar. If, indeed, this was a legit ‘painting exhibition’ then why didn’t it get advertised properly and openly? Why all the secrecy? The factory gates weren’t even opened. And how was it that the only visitors I saw at the site were youngsters? Surely, middle-aged and even elderly visitors would jump at the chance to visit an ‘art exhibition’!?

To cut a long story short, this same oddity was repeated the next evening, and after that, the factory reverted to its usual ghostly state. And that’s when we got to hear the rest of the story…

As it turned out, this was a street art exhibition, after all, and it had been prepared and opened to the public secretly, on purpose. Whoever planned this, wanted to experiment, apparently, to see if such an event could be advertised secretly and still be a success among the young.

For two years, 20 street artists visited the building under wraps to work on a total of 70 murals!

The team that organised the whole thing gave the project the code name ‘Project Peramo’ (from our town’s name, Nea Peramos). The code name had been whispered from person to person these past two years, making its way online only via private Direct Messages – never posted properly on social media. And it still became a success on the weekend of the opening.

Two years of work resulted to this event, a spotlight of just a few hours. No one knows what will happen to the murals post-event. The only thing I have found that I perceive as good news is that the old factory has recently been acquired by a construction company called Dimand and that another company – Royale Sugar – is planning to operate in the building.

The locals, including yours truly, have grown upset over the past decades to see this old gem left to its fate so this is going to excite everyone – to see it in operation again after twenty odd years.

It seems to be frozen in time, judging from the pictures I saw in a blog post online (in Greek) that reported on the street art event.

In one of the photos, you can see a chart where work shifts were being recorded back in the day. And on another, the sign of the staff canteen sports the old font anyone will recognise from the 70s and 80s…

Go here to see plenty of photographs from the street art event!

UPDATE: In 2024, works in the old factory began under new management and are still ongoing as I write this. I look forward to seeing it operational again!

 

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YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

A blogger writes about Greek life in a small seaside town #Greek #blogger #writerslife Share on X

 

Get Effrosyni’s FREE books with your signup to her bimonthly newsletter! Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

NEW! A historical paranormal romance box set. This is the timeless love story that will stay with you forever. Set in Moraitika, Corfu and Brighton, England. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3HEvMPG
Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

 

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A beach picnic, Greek cats, and FREE books!

I had a wonderful name day (September 25 – St Effrosyni Day) doing 3 of the things I love the most: I swam (cold water but not cold enough to keep me away!), had a picnic on the local beach, and a nap under the pines.

The last thing was a bit tricky – lots of ants, and we got bitten a few times, then brought some of the ants home despite our best intentions to shake them off all our stuff LOL.

But, overall, it was an ace day. I hope to go back this weekend to do the exact same things – we anticipate the temp to crank up to 37 degrees C.

Fingers crossed! GO HERE to see all the photos from the picnic.

It’s not often one sees two cats eating in perfect formation haha. I swear I didn’t set it up. I saw Loulou and Sissi eating like this and had to pick up the camera. So cute. Check out my latest newsletter for more recent photos of my fur babies as well as a plethora of FREE books for all. GO HERE and enjoy!

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

Fun news from a Greek author and FREE books for all #authors #writers #Greece Share on X

 

Get Effrosyni’s FREE books with your signup to her bimonthly newsletter! Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

 

Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.
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A playful seal, burnt wood that looks amazing, and a load of free books

Something’s out there…

What is everybody looking at? Believe it or not, they’re looking at the water waiting for a seal to come out!

A couple minutes before I took this photo, my husband, Andy, and I spotted a seal in the water, practically playing peek-a-boo with us, diving, and splashing about with its fin. We exploded in loud squeals, pointing to the water excitedly.

This caught the attention of the people next to us, and soon, everyone was looking at the seal. It didn’t seem to mind getting all that attention and just kept splashing and diving, all the while, facing the excited humans. It almost felt like it was giving a show on purpose, bless its little heart!

And that wasn’t the first time we saw a seal in these waters, would you believe? Last summer, Andy and I were far in the deep waters alone one morning. All of a sudden, this thing that I can only describe as a leathery off-white ‘plank’ surfaced and moved past us, right in front of us, at a very small distance. We both froze, and panicked too, I have to admit, in case it was a dogfish…

READ THE REST OF THE POST IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER!

You’ll find in there a load of FREE kindle books, photos from my local beachfront, and all about an ancient Japanese technique that involves blow-torching wood. My husband made this jewellery box using that technique. Doesn’t it look fab? 

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

FREE books, and fun news from a Greek author #authorlife #freebooks #Greece Share on X

 

Get Effrosyni’s FREE books with your signup to her bimonthly newsletter! Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

 

Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

 

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FREE books, sunny Greek photos, and jellyfish

Hello! Today, I am sharing my latest newsletter that’s chockful with FREE kindle books again! I’m also sharing the latest that’s fun from my life in Greece. It’s all bound to put a smile on your face! But first, to share a FREE short read I’ve uploaded on Story Origin. You’re welcome to grab it! 

Available in kindle, pdf or epub

Joanna boards a flight to visit the Greek island of Sifnos again after twenty years. All this time, despite the distance and her life’s circumstances, she’s been holding on to precious memories from an old summer love. Now, she’s determined to meet again the man she once left behind, hoping for a chance to prove she never forgot their old promise…

GRAB THE FREEBIE!

In my latest newsletter, I am sharing a load of free books! At the very end, you’ll find sunny photos, a jelly fish map, and an unexpected gift that wasn’t even meant for me from the start!? Enjoy, and hope it all makes you smile!

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

FREE books, and fun news from a Greek author #writerlife #freebiesfriday #Greece Share on X

 

Get Effrosyni’s FREE books with your signup to her bimonthly newsletter! Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

 

Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

 

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My springtime processes involve flowers, books, and marvellous sea views

Hello, All! Today, I am sharing about the processes I follow every spring! Interested? Curious,even? Read on, I hope it will give you some ideas to follow 😉

Springtime, for me, is a time for renewal. It’s the time to shake away the chill of the winter, and not just from my bones – from my heart and soul too, as I find winter depressing and dreary. Not my favourite time of year at all, so the spring has always been for me a time when I take conscious action to renew myself and to ‘come alive’.

At the first signs of spring, I get to work, opening windows wide and letting the sun soak every nook and every cranny of my home, while I go through it with a fine comb, so to speak, to renew it from the inside out.

Starting from the inside, other than the much-needed spring cleaning, I always make sure to go through my wardrobe, giving away what is not needed. Next, I go through the books in my heaving bookcases. Thank goodness for the local library and the eager friends, who take the unwanted ones from my hands!

I believe in the Universal Law of Recycling, which says that if you create a vacuum in any physical space, the Universe will rush to fill it with something new. More often than not, people come with offerings shorty after I’ve given things away. Always makes me chuckle!

Other than cleaning the house and giving away what I don’t need, I also tidy up all living spaces from the clutter that tends to accumulate in the winter months. I find this helps to calm and clarify my overloaded mind, which tends to get worse when I see disarray and overstuffed corners, especially when it comes to paperwork in my study.

Tidying up and getting rid of unnecessary old papers do wonders for my sense of well-being and mental clarity.

All the above are indispensable procedures I follow religiously every spring.

But that’s not the fun part. The fun starts when I venture out to my balcony and garden… where my two fur babies daily offer me laughter and affection in abundance.


Meet Loulou (left) and her daughter, Sissi. They are both gentle souls, and the only cats I’ve ever had who’ve never clawed at me. I feel so lucky to have them, as they bring me untold joy, though I may occasionally feel otherwise – that is, whenever they bring up to the balcony birds of all kinds and sizes, mice, roaches, or lizards. I tend to like them a little less, just for a little while, as I clear up the carnage LOL.

Loulou and Sissi take great interest in my activities on the balcony and around the garden – when I replant pots or pick weeds or vegetables, for example. They tend to follow me around when I water too, making me laugh with their excited manner and meows.

Every spring, especially, there is lots of that, because I tend to plant colourful flowers to place on the balcony. By miracle, Sissi, who is quite naughty, has never destroyed a single one of them, even though she tends to attack everything else!


Working from home, especially in the spring, has wonderful benefits. One of them is that I will occasionally take a small foldable table outside to sit with my laptop and work in the fresh air, sweet birdsong in my ears. Having beautiful blooms around certainly brightens my day even further.


I live in a small seaside town near Athens, which means I get to enjoy wonderful sea views during my walks along the seafront. There are beaches and a large marina with a string of cafes and eateries, and it’s all pretty idyllic.

This is one of my favorite spots for sitting to look out to sea (and the island of Salamina that’s opposite at a very short distance). Sitting on this bench, I love to empty my mind, and other times to plot my stories, or even to pray or meditate when I feel stuck mentally or emotionally. Sitting on this bench has often proved a lifesaver, my mind clearing and my heart lifting within a few minutes as if I’d been touched by a magic hand. In the spring, of course, this idle pastime serves to plan my summer vacations, too, or simply to dream endlessly about them!

Living near the sea is a huge blessing that adds fun and beauty to my days all year round. Enjoying swims daily is easy throughout the summer since the beach is only a five-minute drive away from home. My husband and I love to sit under a pine tree and enjoy a packed lunch (or a bought souvlaki!) sometimes after our swims with the cricket song in our ears. During the spring, picnics on the beach are just as precious and help to bring the summer a little closer. Personally, I start daydreaming about the summer at the first sign of spring, and it tends to offer new inspiration for new stories to write too. Blessings all around!

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

Springtime processes from a Greek author #spring #springtime #Greece Share on X

 

Get Effrosyni’s FREE books with your signup to her bimonthly newsletter! Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

 

NEW BOOK! Clean romance novella.  Spyri never forgot that old summer in Corfu when she met Markos. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu! For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

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A heart-warming romance and a strange cat

Hello, All! I am writing today to share a bunch of freebies from my latest newsletter and, also, to share about a young cat that came to my garden out of the blue and wouldn’t go away!

But first, here’s a suggestion for your reading pleasure:

FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED! Two girls, their lives fifty years apart. One haunting… and one love that won’t let go. This paranormal new adult romance trilogy will keep your heart warm all the way to Christmas!

Sofia, a young student, always follows the rules of her over-protective family. But this is about to change…

Sofia is reluctant to talk to boys. Her family is strict and gossip in her village on Corfu is relentless. But Danny, a British tourist, is too charming to resist. As she falls in love, strange dreams about a woman dressed in black begin to haunt her…

“I could feel the warm sun and sandy beaches even on a cold dreary day.” ~Helen Johnson Brumbaugh, Amazon reviewer

“Moschoudi’s writing was impressive; sweet and delicate yet powerful, like a punch rolled up in silk.” ~Nicholas Rossis, author of The Pearseus series

Book 1, The Ebb, can be enjoyed as a standalone read. Only $0.99 for a limited time!

VISIT AMAZON

This kitty came to my garden out of the blue. When I tried to shoo it away it left me gobsmacked with its reaction. For two days, it caused a bit of a ruckus with my cats, but it all ended well. Read all about it in today’s newsletter. You’ll discover a bunch of free book offers in the process too!

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

FREE books, and fun news from Greece! #writerslife #freebiefriday #books Share on X

New book! A young man determined to protect his girl… A teenage boy offering prophecies… and a series of unexplained events. Check it out on Amazon: https://bit.ly/3ke2O9U

   Want The Boy on the Bridge for FREE? Grab it here!

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Check it out here

370 pages of Corfu summer bliss! This beach romance will make you fall in love… Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
To grab “Facets of Love” for FREE, go here! Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to Corfu! For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

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FREE books, pink skies and more feline naughtiness!

In an earlier post. I showed you Sissi’s currently preferred spot for catching birds. My husband took this photo the other day when he ventured outside, first thing in the morning. He took it to show me the small bits of feathers that were scattered everywhere before clearing it all up. Thankfully, he saved me from the sight of the poor birdie itself. By the time he’d found it it was much too late to change its sad fate.

On a happier note, here is a feeder my husband rustled up for Sissi and her mother, Loulou, so they could get some sustenance during our short breaks away from home last month. This meant we only had to ask our kindly neighbour to replenish the water bowl. Sissi went in straight to the feeder to eat when we placed it outside the first time, while Loulou, always skittish and over-careful, took a few moments to be convinced to go near it, let alone eat. Once she realized it had neither claws nor teeth, she was fine haha

In my latest newsletter, I am sharing a bunch of alluring photos, and even a short video, from the unforgettable experience I had of the sunset at Cape Sounio last month.

I make my newsletters fun by sharing photographs from my life in Greece and a bunch of kindle book freebies every time!

GO HERE TO READ TODAY’S NEWSLETTER. ENJOY!

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

FREE books, and fun news from Greece! #catlovers #freebiefriday #freebooks Share on X

New book! A young man determined to protect his girl… A teenage boy offering prophecies… and a series of unexplained events. Check it out on Amazon: https://bit.ly/3ke2O9U

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Check it out here

370 pages of Corfu summer bliss! This beach romance will make you fall in love… Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
To grab “Facets of Love” for FREE, go here! Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to Corfu! For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.