Saturday, August 25, 2018

What Happens When You're Alone on an Island Paradise


Photo by Thanasis Krikis (Mykonos Confidential)


Jeff—Saturday

I can’t believe how quickly the summer’s flown by!  My Texas granddaughter and grandson already are back in school, and my New York granddaughter is gearing up for her entry onto the Long Island kindergarten scene.

Over here on Mykonos, the tectonic shift in tourists is underway. The hard partying young Southern Europeans have moved on, the Gay XLSIOR Festival crowd has moved in for a week, and all the island awaits September with its promise of returning old Mykonos hands lingering on into October.

I’ve spent many an August on Mykonos, and to be honest, I no longer feel affected by the dreaded August madness—other than incidentally impacted by the choking traffic, late night marauding crowds, and steeply escalated prices.  No doubt that’s because I rarely leave my writing garrets.  That’s plural, because I have several, depending on my mood. 

Outdoor office #1
View from OO#1
Outdoor office #2 
Outdoor office #3



Indoor office #1
Indoor office #2

Deadlines must be met.  It’s a curse I’ve labored under since my days as a lawyer, and mine always seem to fall at the end of summer.  This year, I started writing Kaldis #10 during the last week of May, aiming for a stride of 1000 words per day.  I hit that mark, and once Barbara abandoned me to the island for August (see above for reasons why), my output increased considerably.  After all, what else could there possibly be for me to do on Mykonos without her?

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. For example, I bet you can’t imagine the sorts of responses I received to this simple research question: “What are high season rates this year on Mykonos for prostitutes?”  Trust me, it’s integral to my story line.

One would expect such a question to raise an eyebrow or two, but each person I asked answered matter-of-factly, as if I’d asked for the time of day.  Was that reaction indicative of how islanders have come to accept the sex industry, and all it represents, as part of a new island normal?  Or were they simply treating it as just another of Jeffrey’s “crazy writer questions.”

Whatever their reasons, I obtained the information I needed, wrote my book, and two days ago, transferred it from the screen to hard copy pages for the next stage in the process. 


I’m comfortable in knowing that the book will meet its deadline (puh, puh, puh), and all I’ll have left to worry about is whether this is the Kaldis novel that will have me “swimming with the fishes.”

No matter, once Barbara returns, we’ll be off for a bit of vacation among the Greek Isles.

Ah, the joy of being a crime writer living on an island paradise.  You get to fictionalize its intriguing warts, while enjoying its honest pleasures.

—Jeff

16 comments:

  1. The promise of September has never meant as much as it does having spent our first August in The Mani. (Not all the tourist hordes head to Mykonos)!! ;-)

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    1. For sure. The upside is that you can stay in one place and get to experience so many other cultures as they get to experience all that you hold dear. :)

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    1. Thanks, Michael. I know that you know how it feels to emerge on the other side of that vast wasteland of blank pages (or electrons, in my case.).

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  3. I pick indoor office #2. Congratulations on the book progress!!

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    1. Thanks, Carol, and to you on Bouchercon 2019--the 50th!!!

      On the office, yes #2 is a favorite, though the view can be distracting.

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  4. Those look like pretty harsh working conditions, Jeff. How do you manage to bear up under it??? Congratulations on the new book!

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    1. Thanks, EvKa. Yes, one must persevere, not matter the temptations.

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  5. I have office envy!
    Congrats on the book progress

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    1. Thanks, Debbie. I try to spread myself out among the offices so that no one will be quite sure where to find me. :)

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  6. Do I have to wait to read the book to find out the rates :P I'm only on book three, but as fast as I read, might be ready for 10 when it debuts. Actually, I'm on book 2 but read Santorini Caesars first because I wanted to read about Santorina the way Donna Leon writes about Venice. Then I got hooked. You planned it that way, didn't you.

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    1. Aha, Eliska, you found me out! Thank you for those VERY kind words. As for rates, well, these days all one needs to do is Google the subject. Unbelievable, but true.

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  7. You are so lucky. How many writers (and just regular people) would love to be sitting in any of those outdoor or indoor offices, writing, drinking wine, people or scenery watching? What a life.

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    1. In all honesty, Kathy, it’s largely a matter of prioritizing what matters most to you in your life...and that bit of luck. :)

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  8. And the funds to do it!

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    1. Which in many cases is a product of prioritizing!

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