'the alpha to omega' is now available
to buy:
It should also be available at Amazon and Barnes&Noble online stores by January 2008...Watch this space.
a voyage of self-discovery thinly disguised as a light-hearted, journal-based novel, or a light hearted, journal-based novel, thinly disguised as a voyage of self-discovery...
This novel, for that it what it eventually became, started life in Athens in 1997. I'd just read a popular diary-based novel (you probably know the one) and thought, hell, I can do that. So I did. I'm not sure they'll make a film out of it, but one never knows...
Typing away in an unheated outhouse during the Greek winter was at times no fun at all. At times, I felt inspired. I hope that that comes across in places. This is the result of being locked away with my desktop for the better part of eight months, sifting through five years' worth of journals, photographs and memories and some (though admittedly, not much) actual research.
This is a work of fiction. Clearly, though, it is autobiographical in nature. Some people may recognise themselves in characters. I have drawn on people I knew - but the large majority of events, particularly those which might be considered intimate, are entirely a product of my imagination. I couldn't and wouldn't write publicly about real people in such a way.
My apologies if I have in any away offended anyone through my comments about Greece and Greek people. Nothing could be further from my intentions. There is something magical about Greece - both the country and the people, amongst whom I have found some of the most hospitable and generous souls it has ever been my pleasure to meet. Greece had a big impact on me, and in some way has become a part of me. I will always cherish the memories it holds for me and I suspect that one day soon, I will be back.
Comments in the novel represent the fictional views of a fictional protagonist...
What if?
Have you ever felt like just getting away from it all? Have you ever envisaged an exotic life abroad? An eternal holiday? Have you ever stopped to consider how your life would turn out if you took such a step? And which demons would you take with you?
Escaping a humdrum future and striking out for a new life in Greece may not be the answer. Sun, sea and copious amounts of alcohol serve as a backdrop for a journey of self-discovery and for romance.
Synopsis:
Originally “A Greek Diary”, 'The alpha to omega' is a novel in journal form. It depicts the life of a teacher in his late twenties leaving England and impending marriage behind him in search of a different future. At times an introspective and at times a travel guide, the novel follows the main character as he struggles with relationships, with the impending realisation that he is in the wrong career and with his awakening spirituality.
The novel is written in three sections, set in 1995, 1996 and 1997. It deals extensively with personal growth and is set against the backdrop of travels throughout Greece. Greek culture is extensively explored, often with a comic nuance.
The recurring theme of the novel is focussing in the ‘now’ rather than living for the future or dwelling in the past. With such a focus, the main character comes to have faith in his ability to survive without the external props of relationships and to live his life primarily for himself, shedding notions of responsibility for others’ happiness and guilt about acting in his own interests.