My Holiday in Croatia

The Croatian Village of Mlini

I'm not sure whether to call my holiday a trip to Croatia or a three country tour.

My main reason had been to fulfill a lifetime wish to see Dubrovnik which is on the Dalmatian coast. That thin strip of Croatia that is separated from the main part of the country by a narrow band of Bosnia Herzegovina.

Yes, I saw the walled city of Dubrovnik and it lived up to my expectations. And I visited two other countries - on day trips.

The first was south to Montenegro where we drove around one of the fabulous fiords to visit the walled city of Kotor. Following that we continued our journey to Budva for the lunch break - hotel picnic lunches are not to be recommended! Then it was a stroll around that small walled city.

Another day we went to Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina. Yes, that much bombed city of the Balkans War. We ambled through the Turkish Quarter and saw the rebuilt Old Bridge which is the city's symbol and which, along with the other five bridges was destroyed.

Mostar isn't for the faint-hearted with its bombed out buildings and the cemeteries. But, give it a few more years and the buildings will have been restored and the bright white tombstones will have mellowed and everyone will want to go there.

Me? I appreciated it, Croatia and Montenegro. It is heartening to see how the countries are recovering and rebuilding.

I will be writing articles about these fascinating places and putting them onto http://www.thetraveleditor.com/ so keep checking. There will, of course, also be some of my photos.

Great Update on my Books

"Homicide in Hampshire" now has 5* on Amazon.com along with a fantastic review and the recommendation that everyone should read this book!

"Writing can be Murder" is selling well and am keeping my fingers crossed for another fantastic review.

Thanks to everyone who has bought the books which, as well as being available on Amazon.com/co.uk/fr/de, is also available on Smashwords - especially for those who prefer to download to their computer.

www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barbarabothwell

I would love it if you were to recommend my books to your friends, relatives and acquaintances.  Even the boss!

"Writing can be Murder"

Yes, sometimes we writers can find it murderous - especially when the ideas don't work! But in this instance I am, of course, talking about my latest e-published book, Writing can be Murder.

The action takes place in Florida where Trudi Johnson lives. She is a travel writer and is befriended by Marcia Annenburg who introduces her to a writers' circle. There Trudi makes friends with Lucia O'Mahoney. Marcia is a realtor with ambitions to be a writer. She copies other people's ideas and presents them as her own. Is it a member of the circle who got fed up with this and killed her and another circle member? From information garnered by Trudi and Lucia, Detective Ricardo Gomez solves the crimes. Nearly too late for Trudi and Lucia who almost become victims.

As I lived for many years in Florida it was inevitable that I would be tempted to write at least one book set in the Sunshine State. Although the town in which the action takes place is situated on the Gulf Coast, it is an entirely fictitious one.

This book is now available via Amazon/Kindle and from Smashwords for other formats such as Apple I-Pad, Barnes & Noble, Diesel, Kobo and for downloading onto the computer.

I have had many favourable comments about my previously published book "Homicide in Hampshire" and am looking forward to hearing from readers of "Writing can be Murder". Thank you all for your continued support.

Christmas and Diamonds

Yes, I know it's the end of September and I imagine that those of you who follow me on thetraveleditor.com think I'm crazy for putting a Christmas related article on there this early. The fact of the matter is that the Bluebell Railway is already advertising and selling its very popular Christmas events. Which, of course, means booking early. http://www.thetraveleditor.com/article/8113/Things_to_do_Attractions_Historic_Railway_Christmas_Entertainment_on_the_Bluebell_Railway.html

The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace close to the public on 2nd October. That is, until 2012 which is also a very special year for the Monarchy. Not because of the Olympic Games, but because it will be the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Needless to say there will be loads of special events around the country, including at the various royal castles and palaces.

So far planned for the Buckingham Palace opening is "Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration". This will show how diamonds have been used by British monarchs over the past 200 years. On display will be some of Her Majesty's personal jewels - inherited and acquired during her reign. The exhibition will also show how many of these stones have been re-cut or incorporated into new settings. This exhibition is, at the moment, expected to be open during August and September 2012, but additional dates may well be added. As they say - watch this space.

For my book fans, sales of "Homicide in Hampshire" continue and I am now currently working on the manuscript of another crime novel which I hope to publish within the next few weeks. This one is set in Florida and I suspect that my fans there will be looking forward to reading it.

"Homicide in Hampshire"

First I want to thank all of you who have bought copies of the book. For those of you with a Kindle the good news is that the book is now available on Amazon.

Now to clear up a misconception. The other day someone told me he hadn't downloaded a copy of the book because he thinks e-publishing is the same as vanity publishing. (Vanity publishing being where the author pays for publication). E-publishing IS NOT vanity publishing.

Before the book is accepted for e-publication it is vetted.

If you still aren't convinced, check the author's qualifications. For example, I am a member of the Society of Authors and of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. Both well-respected organisations for professional writers.

Now I have to get back to work on the manuscript of one of my others books that I am planning to e-publish in the near future. 

Buckingham Palace, Faberge and a Wedding Dress

This summer there have been two special exhibitions at Buckingham Palace. One is of items from the Royal Collection of Faberge. Absolutely exquisite. I could have spend hours looking at them. Some of those wonderful Easter eggs, miniature furniture, animals, cigarette cases - almost anything you can think of.

The other exhibit is THE wedding dress of the year. That worn by Kate Middleton when, in April, she married Prince William and became the Duchess of Cambridge.

Seeing it on display is the only way to get the full impact of the beauty - and the delicate handiwork - of this gown. Magazine pictures just don't do it justice. Delicate hand-made lace attached to the fabric with miniscule stitches, the buttons down the back and - the matching shoes.

Buckingham Palace and these two exhibitions are open the public until 3rd October, 2011.

A very good idea to save queuing and, of course, to make sure you get in is to pre-book via www.royalcollection.org.uk/

http://www.thetraveleditor.com/article/7086/Things_to_do_Historic_Castles_Palaces_Buckingham_Palace_State_Rooms.html



The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery

riding past Buckingham Palace.

Remembering Slovenia

This past week or so I've been working on some articles about Slovenia, one of my favourite European countries. I first visited it on a day trip from Italy when it was still a part of Yugoslavia. On that trip we went to Lipica and the caves at Postojna before being driven to the coast to take the ferry back to Italy.

My next visit was two weeks at Kranska Gora, a ski resort - except that I was there in the summer. Unless you are into walking and climbing, not a lot to do but, as a writer, I was able to keep myself occupied in this beautiful village. Since then my trips have been press ones and I've now covered almost the whole of the country from Maribor in the east to the Adriatic Coast and, of course, Lake Bled in the north.

If you want to read about some of these places then I suggest you go to my page on www.thetravelwriter.com. The three articles which I put on this past week have proved to be very popular - the number of people reading them even surprised me! One article is about Maribor and Ptuj, another about Lake Bled, Lipica (lovely picture of a Lipizzana) and the caves at Postojna and the third article about the capital, Ljubljana which has a wonderful mix of architecture and loads to do both during the day and in the evenings.

An update on Homicide in Hampshire - still selling well. Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy. This is available in all formats including downloading onto the computer (using Adobe Digital). Also thank you to everyone who has contacted me with their lovely comments. I'm so glad you like the flamboyant Cleo.

Now it is time to get on with writing another book.


              Lake Bled and the Julian Mountains

Links:  www.thetraveleditor.com/authors/6261/Barbara_Bothwell/
           www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barbarabothwell