Column: Thrill of seeing my first book in print

Carol Forster's debut book is now available

It can be found in the Amazon bookstore.A few years ago I spent some time in the beautiful baroque town of Lecce where I was teaching English in a private school. It proved to be an interesting experience and one which prompted me to start writing a book about my time there and the impression it had on me.A blend of fact and fiction, the book is mostly humorous, as you would imagine, and describes some of the quirky characters I met there as well as the ‘moments’ I lived – some positive, others not! It also aims to convey the joy felt at returning to Italy after a very long time, some 25 years after I had lived in Barletta doing the same job. As you can imagine this was quite something after such a long time and there was a curious mix of things which had changed and things that seemed to have been frozen in time. Including the theme of nostalgia, the book reflects on a distant past and how life used to be. It is essentially a blend of the present and the memories of an earlier life.It was a strange sensation to be reliving my past while having a completely new experience. At times it felt like bisecting time lines, or a parallel universe!Although the book is based both on facts and true events, some things have been embellished or altered, and for that reason it’s essentially comfortable in the genres of both fiction and non-fiction.Writing the book was a fascinating experience – certainly enjoyable and, at times, a revelation. Main themes of the book include time, empathy for the street vendors and the effects of our environment, as well as the feelings felt through my time there. In essence, you will find the whole gamut of emotions, from ecstasy to sorrow.It took a couple of years to write, and a lot of time and energy went into it, but I feel very happy to have done it. So, I do hope you will pick up a copy of ‘Eight Months in Lecce’ which is available both as an e-book and in paperback form in the Amazon bookstore.Any feedback or reviews would be very welcome too.Happy reading folks!