This week, I am delighted to be taken on a sun kissed escape to Greece with author, Ian Wilfred. Over to you, Ian…
Thank you for inviting me on to your blog, Carol. I do love a sunny escape, and so I thought I would tell you about one of the great loves of my life (apart from my husband and dog, of course), the Greek town of Parga.
Parga is on the mainland of Greece, but you do feel you are on an island as it is not that well known. Located opposite Corfu, to reach it, you fly into Preveza. From there, it’s an hour’s journey around the coast to Parga. When we first visited, over twenty years ago, we had to get on a ferry for part of the journey; now, there is a tunnel that goes under the water. It saves a lot of time, but I do miss that little ferry trip.
Parga is a town of two halves divided by a steep (and I do mean steep) hill that leads to a castle affording fantastic views of the surrounding area. On one side of the hill, the harbour has its beautiful restaurants and fabulous little shops that look out to the sea. On the other side is the main beach of Valtos. It is simply stunning! Nestled behind the beach are olive groves with a scattering of holiday accommodation. Taking a sea taxi between the beach and the harbour takes less than ten minutes – and avoids the climb up the hill. Arriving by sea taxi into the harbour, lit up at night, is magical. It is a scene that appears in all three of my Greek books.
Parga first appeared in one of my books, SECRETS WE LEFT IN GREECE, in 2018. I changed Parga to Holkamos and decided it had to be an island; Valtos became Volmos, the castle and the sea taxi with the harbour all stayed the same.
(Always ready to seize an opportunity to escape into a beautiful setting, I found this video of Parga and can clearly see why you felt inspired by the town and surrounding area, Ian.)
The following year because I enjoyed writing it so much and readers seemed to love the island I had created, I revisited Holkamos with MY PERFECT SUMMER IN GREECE. This is one of my favourite books; I loved writing Cheryl’s story.
Last year I gave the Greek islands a miss. Instead, coming closer to home, I wrote a novel set in my fictional quayside town of Saltmarsh in Norfolk and also one set in Spain based on the lovely holiday resort of Mojacar (changing the name to Graingcia).
This year I’ve headed back to Holkamos with NEW BEGINNINGS IN GREECE and Graingcia with FINDING HAPPINESS IN SPAIN. These are my two summer reads. I’m always being asked what my books are about, and I keep coming back to the same sentence: they have quite a few secrets, a little bit of laughter, of course, romance, but above all, my books are about friendships and new beginnings not forgetting lots of gorgeous sunshine and fabulous food.
Ian’s books are available in ebook and paperback editions. Why not pick one up and head off to Greece, Spain or Norfolk. Purchase here: UK | US | Spain | Australia
Thank you for the great post, Ian. I love the sound and look of Parga and really enjoyed this hint at the wonderful settings within your books. I am also in awe of your prolific writing, so many wonderful novels, I can’t wait to dive in. xx
About the author:
Ian Wilfred lives on the Norfolk coast with his husband and west highland terrier. He is wonderfully supportive of fellow authors and is a member of the Romantic Novelist Association. His debut novel ‘Putting Right The Past’ is set on the island of Tenerife and was published in 2013. Since then he has gone on to publish other books set in his beloved Norfolk, the Greek islands, Spain and Martha’s Vineyard.
Discover more about Ian Wilfred and his novels here: Amazon | Facebook | Twitter
