Falling In Honey
Falling in Honey is the true story of how I made my way to life on a tiny and remote Greek island – I call it a bumpy but beautiful journey to Mediterranean sunshine. A lot of people think I came here for love, but in fact it’s more like I came here to get away from a series of disastrous relationships. The book is about giving up on that game of snakes and ladders, on that route to contentment I had no control over, and finding happiness instead in sun, sea and spanakopita – looking after myself and being true to myself. It’s also a portrait of this island I now call home – the heat and the salt on your skin, the smell of the herbs on the hillsides, the sounds of goat bells, the taste of honey straight from the hive. As it turns out, after giving up on men, I ended up finding someone – which led to a surprising twist in the tale.
Where did the idea of three gifts come from for the story?
In my thirties I’d been struggling to find the right man to settle down with and start a family, but finally I thought I’d managed it – when he changed his mind. I was in a fairly miserable place that winter. Left alone with all our plans smashed to smithereens, I decided to do something drastic. I couldn’t wait for the right man to make me happy – it was time to take a good hard look at myself, aged 40, and decide what I would like to do next with my life now there was only myself to think about. And I started off by being kind to myself and giving myself three things that would instantly make life better: Freelance Fridays (one day a week to pursue something creative), the Vow of Celibacy (six months without getting emotionally involved) and Tilos (a month alone on a tiny Greek island).
Why did you decide to take the story to Greece?
Greece had always meant a lot to me because we had wonderful family holidays there when I was growing up (I was born in Manchester and grew up in Saddleworth, on the edge of the Pennines), and I’d spent a year as an English teacher in Greece after I finished university and had endless adventures. I left to pursue a career in Canada and then back in England, but my heart was always in Greece and I had recurring dreams, especially during the grey days of winter, of Greek islands with pretty whitewashed villages and deep blue sea. There’s a timeless beauty here and a respect for the simple pleasures of a quiet life. I know so many people who feel the same – I now write a blog about life on this Greek island and people tell me it’s their lifeline to Greece during the rest of the year between holidays.
The book has been compared to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Eat, Pray, Love, Mamma Mia and Shirley Valentine, so how does this make you feel?
It’s amazing to be compared to such hugely popular feel-good stories – and I would love to see Falling in Honey end up as a film! I tried to write an entertaining story with a bit of a serious message about life being too short not to reach out for what makes us happy. There is an element of romance at the heart of my book, but it doesn’t end with Mr Right. I find Mr Right, but something very strange happens that I never saw coming. Yet although it’s fairly devastating, I end up with what I wanted in the end. It’s a great female lead role…
Why do people get so wrapped up in work that they forget to give themselves gifts?
I think we’re always pushing ourselves to be better in various ways, and it’s easy to believe that if we just keep working at it a bit longer we won’t have to worry about money; we’ll be in a position of more freedom. But generally I think the pursuit of success is self-perpetuating and the truth is we’ll never be completely satisfied by work, and who knows if you’ll have chance to enjoy retirement the way you want. But the good news is that if you want a different kind of life, you just have to choose it, and it’s easier today than ever before. You may have to give up certain things, but you can make it happen.
What is the appeal of getting away, whether it is away to another country or just away from the norm?
I remember one sunny winter morning when I was walking the South Downs Way, I realised that hiking in beautiful countryside was more important to me than my career. For me, a month alone on a small, tranquil island just walking and looking at the sea gave me time and space to think about what I really wanted.
Why do people find it so difficult to move abroad and fulfil their dreams?
It isn’t always easy. I have no children, my parents are young and healthy, I had only myself to think about. I’ve lived abroad several times and know that if you’ve had enough of a particular chapter in life you can always move back again. But still it meant a lot of arrangements, and a change in my income. Lots of things are harder when you don’t live in your native country. But it can all be done, people are doing it all the time, and the everyday benefits, the quality of life, can be phenomenal. It seems to me wrong to allow yourself to feel trapped in one place or one routine when we only get one crack at life. Fulfilling your dreams is the important part, in whatever way.
Why is it important to be honest in your writing?
I write about lots of personal things – is that what you mean? People say it’s brave, but I love to read about the nitty-gritty of real life, warts and all. So I write about the good and bad of relationships, my feelings about trying to get pregnant, what happened when the man I’d been living with for almost two years turned out to be not what he seemed. I hope it’s sometimes funny and sometimes rings true to people, and readers can identify, even if they haven’t been through the same things. It helps so much when people speak out about things that are seen as taboo. We all have different problems and challenges we struggle with, and you never know what’s round the corner. It helps to read we’re not alone, that no-one’s life is as perfect as it might appear, and there’s always a way through. That’s why I love it when people find my story inspiring – it makes me happy to have written it.
Who are your favourite reads?
I don’t have a favourite author as I like to dip into all sorts of things, but the novels I’ve enjoyed most in the last year I think are The Thread by Victoria Hislop, The Long Weekend by Veronica Henry and Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. In non-fiction I like reading of ordinary people who’ve done extraordinary things – I’m lucky enough to work as an editor of those sorts of books. Two of the best I’ve read this year are The Urban Circus by Catriona Rainsford and Head Over Heels in France by Samantha Brick, and I also loved Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert.
What is next for you?
There’s been interest in a sequel to Falling in Honey – people are curious to read about my life on the tiny Greek island of Tilos. But I have to figure out how to tell the story. It took me several years to write Falling in Honey after publishing my previous book about the time I spent in South Korea – I’m not the fastest writer!