Black Butterflies: The Greek Village Series

Black Butterflies: The Greek Village Series

Marina is a gentle soul who makes a modest living in her corner shop. Her husband died years ago, and her children have grown up. Life is pleasantly predictable, if a little dull. But not even her daughters know that thirty five years ago Marina spent lonely months on a nearby island, and the events of that summer have haunted her ever since. Now Marina's daughter is planning to move to the same island and the past and present threaten to collide with dreadful consequences. Black Butterflies follows Marina reluctantly revisiting the island. She has a plan, of sorts, to avert possible tragedy but in doing so she will come face to face with the consequences of her long kept secret. Will she be in time, and why does she never go anywhere without her big black bag? Packed with a troupe of colourful characters that intertwine in a gripping story, Black Butterflies is by turn uproariously funny, touching or sad. Exploring themes of bigotry and how doing what we think is for the best can unwittingly harm those we love, this is a gentle journey to one woman's redemption. If you enjoyed Black Butterflies, you may like the other books in the series: The Illegal Gardener The Explosive Nature of Friendship The Gypsy's Dream The Art of Becoming Homeless In the Shade of the Monkey Puzzle Tree 'It bounces along at a fair pace, taking the reader on an emotional ride through an idyllic landscape inhabited by a cast of sympathetic and believable characters. And this is where the beauty of Alexi's writing lies, she manages to steer a course through the human reality of life in a Mediterranean paradise, without sentimentality. The characters are real, and their lives are dictated by the claustrophobia of living in a small conservative community.' 'The story takes you straight back to Greece and its culture, customs and geography. However, it's the detail of the characters' personality - moods, emotions, actions, habits, etc - that I enjoy so much about Sara Alexi's writing. She really has an eye for detail and people.' 'If you liked the first in this series, get ready because this one is even better. Cant wait for the third, (The Explosive Nature of Friendship) just downloaded it.' 'I am thrilled to report that Black Butterflies is a worthy sequel to the wonderful Illegal Gardener. Spinning her story off from the family history of one the minor characters from her first book, Alexi weaves the kind tale of heartbreak and happiness that is universal to so many women of a certain age. Complex and engaging characters dance around each other before the pieces of the family jigsaw ultimately, and very satisfyingly, fall into place. The great news is Alexi is creating a world full of characters whose stories are all crying out to be told!' 'The book follows Marina, the village shopkeeper as she dashed to and from a nearby island. It started off gently despite the tension between mum and daughter. I wondered where it was leading and when the butterflies would arrive? That was merely the calm before the storm and suddenly the pace changed and I was gripped in tension and suspense! A great read which transported me back from the grey, damp days of England to the blue sky of Greece.' Sara Alexi was born in Oxford, England. She has travelled widely and now spends much of her time in a tiny rural village in the Peloponnese, in Greece, where she has renovated a ruined stone farmhouse, whilst observing the Greek way of life and absorbing the culture, to enrich her vision for both writing and painting. As a qualified psychotherapist Sara ran her own practice for years. Her artistic nature was, at that time, confined to painting and she exhibited widely. Her move to Greece was the catalyst for her writing.The 'Greek Village Series' has been very well received and provides a keenly observed, compassionate insight into the Greek people and culture, and the human condition in general. Join Sara at: facebook.com/authorsaraalexior write saraalexi@me.com