Greek Island Romances: ELEPAP Charity

All royalties from The Greek Island Romances, The Shepherd’s Lodge Trilogy, and other titles listed here, both digital and paperback, are paid directly to ELEPAP – Rehabilitation for the Disabled, Chania, Crete — Forever!

All available on Amazon. Previously written as William Gordon.

 

The Shepherd’s Lodge 3rd Generation

LEMONIA July 2020

The mitato, a shepherd’s lodge high in the Red Hills owned for generations by her family, now belongs to Lemonia. It was that stone building, and more importantly the occupant, who filled Lemonia’s thoughts – and dreams.

The shepherd who tended her flocks asked for no remuneration other than to live in the mitato, away from contact with the outside world. She respected his wishes, conscious of the debt she owed him. Widowed at a young age, her disastrous marriage had left her almost bankrupt until the stranger volunteered his services. Over the years he had come to mean more to her than merely an employee. Lemonia wanted more, but was afraid to force the issue. Better by far to dream – dreaming poses no risk of rejection.

Maggie, a young Englishwoman, travels to Tritinos on an epic quest: to find a man she has never met – a man who vanished years earlier. Despite her determination to locate him, she is concerned as to the outcome.

Neither Lemonia nor Maggie could have predicted the course of events. Nor could they have guessed that, as with previous generations, the mitato would cast its magical spell.

The Shepherd’s Lodge 2nd Generation

CHLOE May 2020

Chloe is a radio presenter and singer, but despite the success of her burgeoning career she is discontented with life. Her only romantic attachment when she was younger led to betrayal and disillusion, causing her to leave her home on the island of Tritinos and build her future in Athens. Now she avoids men, gaining her the reputation of ‘The Ice Maiden’. However, a series of traumatic events leads her to re-evaluate her solitary existence – and dramatically revise her low opinion of people who had once been close to her. Chloe realizes that she must try to rectify the wrongs caused by her misjudgement and return to Tritinos. But will she be believed? Can she convince those she rejected that she is now sincere?

Chloe reaches home seeking forgiveness, but a potent reminder of the past appears – in highly tangible form; shocking her parents and long hidden truths are revealed.

Recovering from their stunning news, Chloe knows she must go to the family’s mitato, the shepherd’s lodge on the upper slopes of the Red Hills.

Will she discover the happiness that has been missing? And in echoes of the past, can the mitato demonstrate its magical powers yet again?

The Shepherd’s Lodge 1st Generation

ANASTASIA  April 2020

Close to the summit of the Red Hills in one of the most remote areas of the tiny Greek island of Tritinos, there is a mitato, a stone-built shepherd’s lodge.

It’s 1941 and the shepherd is being hunted by the German invaders for his resistance activities. Near the mitato he cares for his flocks, safe in the wild terrain. His daughter, Anastasia has taken shelter with him as she mourns the death of her fiancé, and hides from the aggressors.

A severely injured British soldier, unconscious and almost on the point of death, is found in the hills by the shepherd. Only Anastasia can tend his wounds, but with nothing more than mountain herbs and no medical knowledge, his survival prospects are slim.

Despite the odds the soldier begins to recover, but when tragedy strikes the young couple are left alone, forced to remain in the mitato. With risk of capture they know that when the winter snows sever all contact with the outside world, they will be safe until spring. Unable to rejoin his unit, there is no escape from the island; he will be classed as a deserter – unless fate takes a hand.

During their long sequestration, Anastasia and the soldier discover the magical quality of the humble dwelling – a kind of magic that will enchant future generations.

FOR LOVE OF MATA  August 2019

Niki is leaving the island of Tritinos, heading for university on the mainland. As she boards the ferry, unwilling to leave, but knowing she must, there is no one to say goodbye. Watching some distance from the quayside is her twin brother Gavriil – sad to be separated from his sister, wishing she wasn’t leaving.

But Niki has a secret, a secret that will keep her away from the village, away from her family and friends. As the years pass she builds a successful career as an investigative journalist, but fate takes a hand and circumstances force her back to the island. What she finds will change not only her future – but the lives of those around her.

THE ORANGE GROVE  November 2018

George is without doubt the hero of the hour. All eyes are on this man; the whole of the nation is praying for him. In Athens, fire ripped through an apartment block where the courageous fireman rescued a young girl but sustained serious injuries. Following a long recovery and with no family or friends, he is sent to recuperate on the island of Tritinos. There it is hoped he will find some peace from the twin traumas of the fire, and his tragic past exposed by the media, now tormenting his mind.

Yanna, a successful businesswoman, is increasingly discontented. Betrayed at both a personal and business level by those she trusts, she is at a crossroads in life. Now her beloved uncle has died and she must head for Tritinos to decide what must be done with his home and the orange grove.

Her decision sets her and George on a collision course; the outcome of which will be felt by many people far and wide.

THE GARDEN OF HEALING  March 2018

Dimitri Grigoris had lived in England since the Second World War and revealed little of his past. He left the village of Kipos on the island of Tritinos abruptly, bearing a secret he never revealed. Why did he anglicise his name to Gregory? And why did he never return or speak of the island?

Years later, the future looks bleak for Dimitri’s grandson Paul. Discharged from the army on medical grounds and struggling to come to terms with his wife’s death, the grieving ex-soldier must care for his teenage daughter Emily.

To fulfil a promise he made to his dying wife, Paul sets out to visit Tritinos in an attempt to reclaim the family property. Help comes from unexpected sources, but his route is paved with unforeseen obstacles and local belief in a legend he knows to be untrue. His challenge to rumours that are entrenched in the island’s history brings about danger and hostility, and he realizes the prejudices stem from an allegation of betrayal.

Will uncovering the secret and resolving old differences bring healing for Paul and Emily . . . and hope for their future?

THE FOUNTAIN OF DAPHNE  March 2017

On the surface, Nick Taylor had everything going for him. A successful, highly-rated restaurant plus his status as a celebrity TV chef gave him an affluent lifestyle. He shared this with his wife, an ambitious TV presenter, until one day a chance remark caused Nick’s world to fall apart. An acrimonious divorce, sued by the TV company, and losing his restaurant, has left him with nothing. He vows never to set foot in a kitchen again or let any woman near him.

Nick is convinced matters can’t get any worse when he receives some information which casts doubt on his past. With nothing more to lose he leaves for the Greek island of Tritinos to discover more, and to gain solace from his troubles.

There, he encounters Milena, feisty taverna owner, outspoken in her dislike of men and ferocious in her loathing of chefs. It seems that Milena and Nick have nothing in common – except that both of them have witnessed the rare appearance of the Fountain of Daphne, a waterfall reputed to have mystic properties.

SEA NYMPH July 2016

At nearly fourteen years of age, Jack Foster is an introvert, a book-worm, with no interest in computer games, sports, or girls, but loves his artwork and music. When he goes abroad on holiday for the first time with his parents to the Greek island of Tritinos, he meets Nerissa, a girl from the village, and the two become instant friends. But circumstances cause adults to misunderstand their closeness, and their friendship is threatened when the two are separated – literally oceans apart.

As years pass and Jack’s life begins to spiral out of control, he clings to the memory of the girl he now realizes he loved – and lost. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Nerissa is pursuing a successful career in journalism.

When an accident robs Jack of all memories, good and bad, he is left with only a tiny scrap of evidence of Nerissa’s existence. Unaware of the clue’s significance, he is also oblivious to the danger it represents from those who have sworn to kill him.

SOFIA’S HOUSE November 2015

Sofia’s love life has ended in disaster. Having lost her London home, she now lives with and cares for her Greek grandmother, matriarch of the family, astute business woman, and widow of an English man. Sofia hears stories from the past, of her grandparents’ meeting and life in the remote coastal village of Galini on the Greek island of Tritinos. When her grandmother dies, she bequeaths to Sofia the family house in Galini, with one condition attached. Her final wish is that Sofia will find the same happiness in life as she did. The house, uninhabited for years, is currently in the midst of a dispute regarding redevelopment of the village. Sofia heads for Greece, but can she keep her promise to never sell the old stone house?

PEACEFUL ISLAND July 2014

Lois Carter, successful model turned business woman, has it all. Sheer determination has gained her a reputation many envy. Her stunning looks attract men like moths to a flame but they are all spurned; Lois has no intention of letting anything or anyone get in her way.

But the long hours take their toll and Lois is forced to take a break. A quiet fishing village on the Greek island of Tritinos offers her seclusion and anonymity. While staying there, she discovers a small island with potential for a holiday complex to add to her extensive property portfolio; she determines to have it. When a storm forces her to remain on the island, Lois finds all is not as she  thought. And who is the man with the goat in the boat?

THE LAST RESORT July 2012

As you sit on your sun-drenched beach in the Mediterranean have you ever wondered what the resort was like before the tourists came? Or what the locals had to do in order to convert a fishing village into a holiday destination?

On the small Greek island of Tritinos, the tiny fishing village of Agios Petros is dying. Only a few inhabitants remain, as the younger generation move to the mainland to find work. Then Nikos has an idea – why not open their doors to tourists?

Their attempts to overcome the pitfalls they encounter often have comic side effects, and as they strive to cater for their first visitors some of the villagers find romance is on the menu.

WATERING THE OLIVES June 2012

Watering the Olives is a light-hearted, often poignant, sometimes heart-rending collection of tales from a Greek Island. On the island of Tritinos, the women are strong and determined, especially in the ways of the heart. But what stories they can tell of the lives they have lived and the loves they have known.

When an English author who calls the island his second home decides he needs a wife, he determines to look among the village women whom he admires. Will he succeed? Or succumb to the talents of the women expert in getting their own way – often without appearing to.

Flowers on my Grave

Do you believe in ghosts? Not many people do. But sometimes – just sometimes, something happens that can be a little too strange, a little too much of a coincidence, to be simply explained away. Here are thirteen stories that pose the question . . . What if?

Love Changes Everything

A trilogy of love stories with a twist

Nobody Does It Better
Following his wife’s tragic death, Nick Foster struggles with his grief as he brings up his young daughter. Then he receives a shocking message. Is it the work of a sick prankster? Nick’s world is about to be turned upside down, but will he find peace of mind?

I Can’t Stop Loving You
Private investigator Paul Fletcher met Ginny Long in Ibiza when they were teenagers; they fell in love, an innocent holiday romance. Twelve years later Ginny reappears, begging Paul for help. Is she really in the danger she fears? Or has she an ulterior motive?

Just One Look
The sole occupant of the isolation wing at a hospital in Cumbria is known only as Patient Fifteen. As he recovers, he learns that he is an expendable decoy in a deadly game of cat and mouse. He has only one ally, a girl with beautiful eyes – but can he trust her? Or is she part of the conspiracy?