On the Verge

Janet's story behind the book

Why did I decide to write, On the Verge?  Well, after completing Timotheus Pserimos Puss, I wanted to move further into fiction.  I had a number of ideas as a story line for a novel; all filed randomly in my head.   The question was, how to present these?  

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I am a blogger, posting blogs twice weekly on my website Overstrand Life www.overstrandlife.online.  Over the past ten years my website has built a base of regular visitors who read my blogs.  This follows a trend in the popularity of blogs and diaries in various formats.  ‘A Year in Provence’ by Peter Mayle and ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ by Helen Fielding are good examples.  Both these books are best sellers which were subsequently made into films. I don’t have any aspirations to emulate these two authors’ successes, but they did have an element of influence when it came to deciding; the format for ‘On the Verge’ would be founded on diaries. 

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Based on the ideas in my head, the main location was destined to be Greece and rather than choose a specific area I settled on a fictitious island which I named Aspros, reflecting the island's snow capped mountain.  The characters for the book came easy, some we met during our trips and others, particularly those in the UK, I created.  Our knowledge of Greece and our experiences during our visits feature extensively in the book and I have also drawn on those I have collected from personal conversations, emails and letters etc.

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There are a plethora of romantic, comedy-drama, life in Greece based books on the market.  On the Verge is different; Polly’s recollection of her life, through her diaries, contains several messages.  At least one of these messages will, I am sure, be pertinent to the reader.  

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About 'On the Verge'

Polly is a successful business woman but a series of events push her to the point of being; on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  Taking her doctor's advice,  Polly leaves her life in the UK behind to spend a five month sabbatical on the small Greek island of Aspros.

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The question is, will the sabbatical enable Polly to regain her equilibrium?  Or, will it push her further to the edge?  Or, could the outcome be totally unforseen?  

 

The only way to find out is to read Polly's story and follow her life, as it unfolds through the pages of 'On the Verge'.