The Secret In My Garden…
Retirement boredom led Patricia to unearth local secrets, as well as a talent for writing…
After taking early retirement, my husband and I found our place in the sun, on the island of Crete. However, I soon realised that lying on a beach all day with nothing to do was my worst nightmare.
I decided to set myself a challenge. Each year, I would try to master a new skill, to be worked on like a real job for three hours a day. Among other things, I learned to dive, sail, paint, build a house, catch fish, play classical guitar and become a photographer – all with varying levels of proficiency.
After living in the tourist area of Crete for many years, we moved to a 200-year-old cottage in the remote village of Amiras, high in the mountains. The year flew by, refurbishing the property and getting to know the local people and customs.
The following spring, in a year dedicated to gardening, I bought half a dozen strawberry plants from a local agricultural shop in the town of Viannos. I stopped for a coffee under an enormous old tree, and started talking to an elderly sightseer who was passing through. Peggy from Merthyr was tracing her Greek roots. Together, we sat under the thousand-year-old plane tree and drank coffee. Peggy claimed to be the great-granddaughter of a Greek villain who had escaped the local law by stowing away. Her story made me glance at the other clientele under the tree. How many of them had a fascinating tale to tell?
Back at our cottage, I decided to dig a trench for the strawberries. I hit metal and out of the dry, red soil, I pulled a rusted machine gun.
I took the gun to the Amiras kafenion, which is a café for the local men. The occupants told me several moving stories about how war had affected the local community, especially in 1943.
Later, in the nearby town of Viannos, I handed the gun over to the mayor, for the local war museum.
Over the following months, the village matriarchs told me their personal stories about their history. Some of the women recounted events they had kept to themselves
until then. I was honoured and humbled that these women, mostly in their late eighties, shared their real-life accounts with me.
The more I heard, the more I felt these stories had to be told.
I decided that my challenge for the following twelve months would be to learn how to write a novel.
The year after that, based on the facts I had learned from the women of Amiras, Wikipedia, and the local war museum, I started writing Island of Secrets.
Although the book is a work of fiction, I have used many of the stories that were told to me, and I’ve filled in character details as necessary. However, out of respect to some of the women still living in the village, I left out the more unspeakable atrocities.
Ultimately, Island of Secrets is about strength and triumph, the story of a mother and the sacrifices she will make to protect her children, and a story of love between three generations of charming women.