This Spring a children’s book was published by author Rachel Lawston, called Finns Garden Friends. The book combines a great children story with some fantastic themes set around nature and animals and the joy they can bring in life. It's a hugely inspiring book that not only tells a story but shows children that nature is everywhere you look.

Book Description
Nature loving Finn's life has been turned upside down by a move to the city. 
But Grandpa has a surprise for him! By taking Finn to his allotment, he learns that nature is right there in the city, as he begins to take care of a hedgehog and befriends a fox. 
Rich in detailed wildlife illustration, hedgehog and fox facts have their own dedicated pages.

I loved it!
This is a truly wonderful book for children. The story, which is beautifully told, really resonates with current themes such as protecting and looking after wildlife, as well as exploring and learning more about the outdoors. It’s centred around Finn and the time he spends with his grandad on an allotment where Finn discovers many things about nature and wildlife, including hedgehogs and foxes! 

Not only is this a lovely story but the illustrations by Lia Visirin are beautiful. Rachel and Lia's talented work complement each other perfectly! The book is so bright, colourful and intricate, making it completely appealing for younger children.

I loved this book. The story is so engaging, as well as incredibly important. It shows that even if you don’t live in the countryside, there’s still so much nature around us just waiting to be discovered. Finns Garden Friends is definitely a children's book I’d book recommend, be it for home, primary school or a library. Children everywhere will love the story and learn so much from it.
For some it may even become their favourite read!
 
Learn more about the author and Finns world at https://rachellawston.com/

Since Among the Olive Groves was published I have been asked by many readers, "What happened to the character Athena from Among the Olive Groves? I want to know more about her life."

The last readers saw of Athena was her leaving the island in a boat. Many readers wanted to know more about her life and why she gave Kate up for adoption. 

After a lot of thought I agreed to write a follow up, to explain more about her life, which is now being written and called A Night of Thunder. I planned the whole book out and hoped to write approximately 80,000 words. The almost finished first draft is now at 75,000 words. 

Unfortunately, I've not only been unwell, which has slowed progress, but the story has turned out to be much larger than I ever intended! So, because of this, there will now be a third and final book in what will now be known as The Zakynthian Family Series.

Book 1 of the Zakynthian Family Series ~ Among the Olive Groves
Book 2 of the Zakynthian Family Series ~ A Night of Thunder
Book 3 of the Zakynthian Family Series ~ Hope Under Blue Skies

We hope that Book 2, A Night of Thunder will be out sometime between October 2021 and Spring 2022, and Book 3, Hope Under Blue Skies sometime between Spring and Autumn 2022.

To follow the progress of the books, you can follow me on my Facebook page or join the Among the Olive Groves group dedicated to the book.

Thanks for your continued support, it  means so much.

A Night of Thunder Book Description
After escaping the clutches of the Germans on the Greek island of Zakynthos during World War Two, Richard Edwards finds himself adrift at sea looking after the daughter of a resistance fighter who saved his life. Unexpectedly landing in enemy territory Richard has to deal with threats at every turn as he tries to flee the enemy, protect a child that isn’t his own, and return home to England.

In the dusty bombed ruins of the city of Bristol, in England, Alice Morgan tries her best to carry on with her life as World War Two continues to ravage the country. Not knowing if her fiancé is alive or dead, Alice does what she can to get through each day and survive living a life that she did not choose, nor want and that she isn’t proud of. 

The loss of Elena Petrakis, the mother of his missing daughter Athena, haunts Angelos Sarkis daily. His will to survive diminishes as the months pass. Only the love for his remaining daughter Sophia keeps him alive, when all else has been lost.

From the chaos of war torn Bristol and Zakynthos, to the horrors of the Greek mainland plunged into Civil War, A Night of Thunder is a haunting story of finding faith, having trust and living with the fragility of humanity.

Genre: Historical Fiction/triple timeline
Locations: Bristol UK, Mainland Greece, Zakynthos
Follow-up to Among the Olive Groves, book 2 in a 3 book series

Hope Under Blue Skies Book Description

The book description hasn't been confirmed for this book yet, but I can tell you that it follows Athena's life and the story takes readers through lots of great destination in Europe, including Athens, Crete and Zakynthos. We will also meet some old characters from Among the Old Groves as well as some new ones!

Genre: Historical Fiction/dual timeline
Locations: Bristol UK, Europe, Zakynthos  ​
Follow-up to Among the Olive Groves/A Night of Thunder, book 3 in a 3 book series

The last year has been a difficult one for many, due to worldwide events. The reason I've been so quiet is that I've been unwell with long Covid, I won’t go into all the details, as I don’t want to bring up things that are now in the past. I'm now thankfully slowly starting to turn a corner, but I'm not 100% yet. We all need support in life, especially when serious illness hits. That support can come from many places. Family and friends are incredibly important, so are doctors and hospitals. There are also people out there who run small businesses specialising in helping others and I've been lucky to have help from such a business whilst unwell.

Zante Zest is a family owned and run business, based in Greece, specialising in health, well-being, nutrition and physical wellness. Their exercise and health professionals are experienced in real life, fun to work with and dedicated in their fields, and believe that taking care of yourself and your health doesn’t mean you have to live like a monk, you can still have fun in life too.

I found that Zante Zest's meditation really helped me with my low moods and the problems I was having with insomnia, gradually the mood settled and the insomnia lessened until it disappeared altogether. Exercise however, was a big issue as I was floor bound for a few months other than being able to get up for the bathroom, food and bed. I felt as though every ounce of energy had been sucked from me. I desperately wanted to join Zante Zest's online Qidong classes but was unable to. I have now got some physical and cognitive rehab which is helping to rebuild my stamina, so hopefully I may be able to finally join in the future!

Life can be really cruel sometimes, we can be thrown situations or periods of time, where we get low, become seriously ill or have life changing things happen to us. Learning how to deal with them and finding support really is the key. I will never be able to thank Julie and Zante Zest enough for all the support they have given me this last year. You have helped me get my life back, and that deserves the biggest thank you possible. ​

As many of you know I've already published eight books, and I'm working on a few more. As promised here's a breakdown of all published books, and those I will be publishing in the future.

The Zakynthian Family Series
Among the Olive Groves, published in 2014, is the first book of this series, set in wartime Zakynthos, Greece.
I'm currently writing book two, A Night of Thunder and book three An Island called Home, of the series, both of which should be published in 2021/2022.

The Ionian Dreams series
This is a spin off series to Among the Olive Groves. It's NOT a sequel, it picks up the lives of some of the characters, and introduces readers to new characters, creating spin off stories set on Zakynthos. 
A Ionian Dream Wedding, a short story, published in 2019, is the first book in this series, set in modern day Zakynthos, Greece. I'm currently planning the other books but don't have a publication date yet.

Historical Fiction stand alone (non-series) books
Wind across the Nile is set in Egypt and was published in 2018
Nabataea is set in Petra, Jordan and was published in 2008, my first book to be published! It's now out of print and no longer available to buy.
Under a Scorching Sun is the new title name for Nabataea which is currently undergoing a re-write/edit. It's hoped that Under a Scorching Sun will be published in 2021/2022.

The Moon Series - Thrillers
Integrate and Temperance are books one and two of The Moon Series, a series of thriller novellas. These books were published in 2013 and 2015.
​Book three of the series, Retribution, is currently being written and will hopefully be released in 2021/2022.

Short stories and poetry
I left my heart in Petra, Jordan is a short story written for the Sunlounger competition, that was published in 2019. 
The Secrets is a collection of poetry and short stories that was published in 2016. 

Zakynthos Flower of the East
And finally, I'm currently in the process of co-writing a comprehensive history book about Zakynthos, with the talented author Louise Inzk, called Zakynthos Flower of the East.
​The book is in the last stages of being written before going for editing. It's due for publication in June 2021. 

I'll keep you updated as soon as there's more news, but this should help explain what's been published so far and what's to come.

My Aunt Gerry was an incredible woman. She had a heart of gold, was funny and worked as a model. I was in complete awe of her as a child. Gerry taught me to cook pasta with tomato sauce (and helped me cover up stains on a plush white carpet, after I spilt it, so that her boyfriend Pete didn’t see them). She snuck me into the cinema to watch films that weren’t of my age limit, meaning that she and Pete would have to sit with their hands over my ears or eyes dependant on what was happening on screen. She even bought me tortoise for my birthday once! She was so much fun, and I loved spending time with her, she was glamorous and lead an incredible life.

But then suddenly one day, she was gone.
I was only eleven years old when Gerry died. She was only twenty-seven years old. The loss was a huge shock, and completely unexepected and quite honestly I didn’t believe she was actually gone. Being so young I was unable to go to the funeral, so for many years I didn’t really understand what had happened. I thought she’d just gone away on one of her trips and hadn’t been able to contact us. I truly thought that she'd walk back though the door one day and everything would be the same as it always was, but it never happened. Gerry never came home.
The loss of my Aunt was the most traumatic event of my life and it affected me deeply. It took decades for me to finally come to terms with what had happened, but even today, it’s a loss that’s still hard to bear, and one that I’ll never quite get over.

I wish Gerry was still here. I miss her greatly., sometimes so much that it hurts and I still can't believe she's no longer here.
I wish she was here though so that I could show her what I’ve achieved, to show her that I did believe in myself, and to show her that I’ve stayed true to myself and done what I wanted to do; write my stories. But sadly, Gerry isn’t here, she’s a mere memory, and I’ll never be able to make her proud, or show her how hard I worked to make it happen. For me, this is the hardest thing about writing. To know that I can’t ever share my joy, hard work and success with her, and I wish I could.  I know she would have loved every minute of my writing journey, and would have been so very proud of me and all that I’ve achieved.
I’m also grateful that I do have wonderful memories of my time with Gerry, and I treasure them. Despite her no longer being here with us, I’d like to think that she’s somehow looking down on me from wherever she may now be, giving me a big thumbs up, and pushing me to carry on, and because of that I keep writing and will always continue to do so.

In memory of Geraldine Betts, Aug 1957 to February 1985.
​Gone but never forgotten. 

January is now fully upon us, the Christmas tree, decorations and tinsel have been packed away for another year, a new year has been welcomed in and ahead of us is another twelve months full of exciting possibilities. We have another spring and summer to look forward to, when the world brightens with flowers, green grass and blue skies. When the sun shines and life starts anew and days lengthen. I do love winter and all it brings, there's still so much to see and do, but I’m also every excited about the year ahead.

I’m excited about all the work I have before me, and the projects I’m currently involved in. If all goes according to plan, I hope to release at least one more short story and another full length novel, A Night of Thunder which is the follow up to Among the Olive Groves, in 2020. I'm really enjoying writing the book and looking forward to releasing it. 

I'm also working hard with my co-author Louise on our history book Zakynthos Flower of the East. The book is all about the Greek island of Zakynthos and it's been a lot of fun to write and we've really enjoyed the research process too. If you want to know more about the book then you can find more information on our Facebook  Group. 

I hope you enjoy January, it can be a hard month to get through after all the fun and festivities of December, but spring isn't far away. Have a great year, I hope that 2020 makes all your wishes and dreams come true!
​

• What are you looking forward to the most in 2020?

Yesterday I joined Bobby Gee on Zakynthos' English speaking radio station, Island FM to talk about an exciting announcement relating to my books. For this who missed it, click the link below where you can hear more about Among the Olive Groves, my follow-up book A Night of Thunder which I'm currently writing, and the exciting announcement itself! 

To hear the interview, click 'Listen now!' below, which will take you to my soundcloud account and press play!