When a trip becomes a blog becomes an Ebook

WGT founder Sigrun Buckley checks in at the mid-point of her sabbatical.

Greetings from Amsterdam from what I vaingloriously call our European Tour. As many of you are aware, hubby and I embark on multi-home swaps, exchanging homes with likewise adventurous travelers who have more dash than cash. How else could you afford to stay in Europe for a month or two?

Maybe you are even following my blog: www.Intrepidhomeswapping.blogspot.com. It’s worth a look just for the number of beautiful snapshots of each area. Then, of course, there are little stories and info. 

I started recording our trips on this travel blog and the first eBook was born. We’re now into Season 3.

Otherwise we would be traveling in style and reside in a Grand Hotel on nice côte or on padded loungers of a fashionable resort. Maybe even a cruise around the world.

We’re halfway through this year’s summer trip, having stayed in the former West German capital Bonn first, currently looking at sunsets or rainy night skies in Amsterdam and are almost getting ready for our last stop of three weeks in Swabenia, near the Black Forest.

The weather gods meant it very well with us this year, but too much of a good thing — without air-conditioning — can become tedious after a while, too. With the temperature at 33 degrees Celsius today, I hate to leave the house. A jump into the lake doesn’t have as much appeal to us as it does to the natives. How healthy can this murky brown liquid really be with ducks and swans around, the odd pile of flotsam that serves as nests for feathery friends, and spiders. We even spotted water rats, which probably have to be expected when you live on the water.

We enjoyed the experience of a different life and space — mostly the lack thereof, however — on a houseboat, even though we could have done without the mould in the fridge, some rotten floorboards that send off too much of an unpleasant whiff to our nostrils. Definitely the fleas were de trop! Yes, fleas. Three big flea spray cans later, the critters were alive and still hungrily biting.

I hear you say “Well, I would never entertain the thought of having strangers in my house.” But honestly, it’s not so different whether you have strangers sleep in your bedroom or you’re sleeping in a hotel.

And until now, we never encountered stuff this bad. This is our first swap among five that turned out undesirable. We’re very hopeful about our next prospect.

In a week’s time, all of this will remain a funny incident in our travel chest, a mere episode that might make it into a story. By then I will describe the situation in more detail, because by then our exchange partners will have vacated our precious flea-free home in Florida.

Thanks to you, readers and contributors whose loyalty keeps us going. And a very big thank you, of course, to the current man in charge, our dear friend Scott Bury.

Sigrun Buckley

On FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Intrepid-Home-Swapping-Insider-Secrets-for-Successful-Home-Swaps/144338212328193

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Intrepid-Swapping--Successful-Homeswapping-ebook/dp/B005N0N3CO/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375458727&sr=1-4

"The change will do you good"

 

Whenever I picked up the Irish Times at my local news agent’s, the owner would smirk, handing me some pennies back. “Here’s your change…The change will do you good!”
How about you? Are you afraid of change or do you welcome it?
Change affects all parts of life: political change, climate change, job changes; fashion & lifestyle are all subject to change; women know this because they go “through the change.” Some changes we humans have no control over—only our attitude towards it.
Some people hate change because of the uncertainty involved. Some find it easier to deal with the devil they know. The opposite isn’t desirable to me: being stuck in a rut, a predictable outcome, no change for the better? No thanks!
However this is not meant to be a philosophical treatise.  You may have noticed some changes to this website. Due to a two-month sabbatical that is taking me on another home swapping trip to Europe to see my family and hopefully finish my book, Scott Bury will mind the shop. He is a very experienced editor, published author and return contributor who kindly agreed to keep this website afloat in my absence. Now you can follow us on @WritersGT. Submissions will go to his email address for the time being. There have been some changes in layout.
What will not change is our mission statement to publish excellent content by bloggers and writers from around the world while providing a platform to highlight your work. The goal of WGT has been to offer exposure to readers through a growing network of dedicated authors who promote each other’s work. The more…the merrier: So tweet and network away to your heart’s content!
We all love comments! Don't hesitate to give us some feedback. Everybody needs encouragement!
Thanks to everybody contributing here and making this site a success. Wishing you a productive and safe summer,  I’m only an email away on the other side of the pond. Cheers!
Siggy Buckley 

Sun, Sand and Sex

It’s hard to resist the allure of the sun.  In the early morning its rays beckon me to come to the beach, following my Adonis just as dawn announced itself, first with pink, then buttery orange colors.  The slim sickle of the moon is disappearing, giving way to another hot day.
The air is full of smells, more pungent in the early hours of the day, of seaweed and little critters that lay scattered on the silvery sand, stranded over night by the receding tide.  Sea gulls start their morning feed, parading down the beach in search of fish bits and sand fleas.
The chosen spot on the sand, flattened by our bodies, now feels smooth and warm under us.  I stretch my exhausted limbs and reach for the tanned man beside me.  His hands run the length of my body, caressing my curves, and placing one on my breast.  His fingers feel the line of my lips, nose, and eyes.  He places two featherweight kisses on my eyelids.
I open one lid, blinking against the sunlight.  Waves are crashing on shore.  Content with the world, I close my eye again.  I don’t want to come back.
But it wasn’t the ocean; it was the rain outside that was banging on the windowpane.  Drops splattered from the roof onto the windowsill.  The room felt chilly and the only aromas permeating were those of Patrick frying bacon and eggs in the kitchen.  I crawled out from my duvet.
The actual coastline was sunken in autumn fog.  The seagulls had taken cover out of sight.  Below my window, people in the little estate got in their cars to go to work.  Reality was waking up.
(Excerpt from : Next Time Lucky) 

Siggy Buckley

http://www.junipergrove.net/featured-author-siggy-buckley-giveaway/

ran an author interview with me plus a book giveaway yesterday. If you want to win a copy or read up on me.