Summer in fabulous Andalusia

On weekends this summer I have been working on two books at the same time. My WIP, War & Cactus: the story is currently transferred to the plains of Yucatan and deals with unstable marital relationships and globalisation.

Cacti are heavily featured in the story too, and coincidentally I’ve had several cacti blooming on my windowsill this summer. The evidence is below.

Gymnocalycium is my little sun

In my WIP2, Mr Right for Kurt & My other Experiments, the main heroine Chloe starts her master degree project on environmental toxins in the lab and tries herself as a matchmaker in parallel – disasters and hilarity ensue. The progress on the books is slow but steady, if being a scientist taught me anything – it’s patience

Ta dah! The cover for the upcoming book is ‘totes amazog’ (c), dontcha think?

Outside the artistic toil, I have been on a week break to Andalusia this August. Arabic influence gives this area of Spain its distinct charm.

the scary bridge in the beautiful city of Ronda

I shall definitely use recollections of this journey as inspiration for writing.

Me in Granada

Meanwhile, I’ve read a book about the GULAG life, Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Unlike many other works of prison fiction, this novella has hope and joy in it. The main character was imprisoned for a non-existent crime like many of his contemporaries, he’s describing his day in the ‘zona’ ‑ his hunger, fear, lack of freedom and, unexpectedly, the joy because of his little victories over all those shortcomings. Happiness is a relative thing, indeed.

I’ll get back to grumbling about the rainy British weather, but I wonder about your accomplishments and adventures this summer.

Punta de Tarifa – the southern-most point of Europe