Back in the UK (for the summer)

Wow, back in the UK after a  trip back through Spain which was uneventful except that at the Picos de Europa I drove directly into a cloud, visibility nil, 2 minutes from the invisible top I lost my nerve, nearly panicked but managed to turn the car round and get back down. Phew. Then it rained and Misty crashed the insect net door of the tent so we shared a joyous night in the company of buzzing mosquitos.

In Santander we had to take the dog to another vet because the Torre vet had misclaculated the departure time by 2 hours, 30 euros please bla bla so we could make the boat - typical!

Well, then came the drive through hell: The M6 was totally traffic jammed what with it being friday, bank holiday, roadworks, accidents etc. 

 

It took 12, yes twelve hours to get to Edinburgh.

 

Today we actually have sunshine hurray and I have just watched my grandson dancing flamenco with his schoolmates. Oh joy, lots of parents taking pictures of their little darlings dancing in a circle...

 

My son, Luke, tells me he can record me, (for an audio book version) so that's cool. 

 

What I have done? Well started to do, is scraping polystyrene tiles (do you remember them from the seventies?) off the bathroom ceiling. It's a pig of a job and everything gets covered in the little white bubbles. Meantime the dog has a daily roll in badger s**** by the river and then sneaks into the house to attract hundreds of flies. Ah, life in the country! 

 

But soon back to writing.............more to follow.

PS The first print run has sold out, 2nd reprint (without errors) happening as we speak............

Another Review

This from Nik Morton, published author

"In May 2006, 53-year-old grandmother Heínke decides to follow in reverse the route taken by her hero poet Laurie Lee through Spain. She’s short of funds, sex-starved and accompanied by her clever dog Misty Blue and the inestimable Messrs Whyte & Mackay. Touring via campsites, she encounters nature in the raw, gets lost more than once, weathers rain and mist, and subsists on tea, bread, tomatoes – lots of tomatoes! – and sardines.

Heínke Pauly has a great turn of phrase, a wonderful sense of humour and a keen observant – and sometimes surreal – eye.

Ignore the few publisher’s typos and the occasional glitch in paragraph justification and enjoy a truly original travel book."

Thanks Nik, and I promise to get the publishers typos sorted out in the next print run.

Better then Easter Eggs!

Had this from a member of Torrevieja Writers Circle:

"I have six copies of Heinke's book and have given three instead of easter eggs to friends.  One of my friends has a finca near Caravaca and is really thrilled with the book.  The other one is MS who did not have the cash on her to buy it and is over the moon and the third is a journalist friend of mine who is also German and is really enjoying itl  I have sent a copy to my daughter who loves it and have enjoyed reading it myself.  I can really hear her talking through the book. cheers, Ann B."

Thanks Ann - healthier than chocolate!

Wordplay Ezine

I am a member of the Wordplay writers group who produce a monthly Ezine - and I was included in this months edition:

http://www.wordplaywriters.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/wordplayezineapr2010.pdf

Camping With Wolves - another review

Review of Heinke´s book CAMPING WITH WOLVES (Written by Joy Lennick)

CAMPING WITH WOLVES is a “smiley” book, to enjoy while curled up on a couch, or while lounging on a sun-kissed beach.  It soon becomes plain that author, Heinke Pauly,

is not your average German Frau!   On reading ´As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning´ by Laurie Lee,´ Heinke immediately fell in love with the dead poet, and decided to follow in  some of his footsteps, backwards.  (You have to read it!)  Suffering a spartan diet of mostly tomatoes and sardines, our author travels in her ´red rust bucket´ accompanied by her faithful blue merle border collie, through ever changing scenery.

Heinke meets interesting, sometimes odd strangers, stays in camp sites – their only stars above her head!  She has fun with her Spanish: Pero estoy muy embarazada de mi cara (But I am very pregnant of my face) referring to a cold sore on her face like a small tortoise… Name places such as Archivel, Los Odres, Caravaca , and Calasparra et al march across the pages, as do her many adventures. Spanish history and fiestas feature, and of course Don Quixote appears.  The “free spirit” which embodies Heinke Pauly  is imprinted on each page.

                                                                                                                        Joy Lennick

Thanks Joy - great to get a review from another published author!

One of the Reviews

BOOK REVIEW

CAMPING WITH WOLVES - Heinke Pauly

Heinke Pauly, born in Germany, has led a colourful and somewhat surreal life which is reflected in her humorous writings. After stints living in Manchester, the Hebrides and Edinburgh, she found herself in Spain a few years ago and has been writing ever since. Her book is based on a travelling and camping adventure across Spain retracing the footsteps of a dead poet that she had fallen madly in love with. The poet was Laurie Lee and the seminal work that turned her head to mush was ‘As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning’. What follows is an hilarious escapade of her adventures and misadventures along the route. She has a wonderful way of drawing the reader into her odd, offbeat world. From cultivating a tortoise on her upper lip and having semi-lucid conversations with her dog Misty Blue, (pictured above) to spending her nights with Messrs. Whyte and Mackay, peeing up trees and sitting in toilet blocks in empty campsites playing her electric organ and singing at the top of her voice, she lives the free life of a funky-monkey grandmother on the run. Ignore the printing errors (publisher‘s fault not the author’s) and you have a rollercoaster journey through the strange and colourful kaleidoscopic domain of Ms Pauly. 

Written by TJ Miles

Further reviews here

How to get a copy of the book

As regular blog readers will know I have experienced some printing problems but I now have a supply of my book - albeit with some minor printing errors (I might run a competition to see who can spot them all!)

However friends who have read the book say these do not detract too much from the story and so if you want a (slightly misprinted) copy please let me have your details and I can arrange shipment for 6€ plus P&P.

Or go to AMAZON here