The Backpacking Housewife - Cover Reveal day!

 

It's Cover Reveal Day!

Today is a dream come true! Last summer I was traveling in Asia while also working on a new romantic adventure novel entitled Island In The Sun when I was approached by Charlotte Ledger, the Editorial Director of Harper Impulse to write for them. Harper Impulse is the romance imprint of Harper Collins UK Publishers in London and Harper Collins is one of the world's largest publishing companies - one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster. (Source Wikipedia) Well, you can imagine how totally bowled over and thrilled I was!

I’ve been working as a published writer since 2004. Since then I’ve written a grand total of thirteen titles. The Backpacking Housewife is lucky number thirteen!

I am told it’s unusual these days to be given a contract from a major publishing house before the book is actually written. I found my initial euphoria at being offered such a fabulous opportunity tempered with trepidation over signing a deal with such a tight deadline to meet with the publishing schedule. I knew that travelling around Asia (we were in Vietnam at the time) and not having a daily routine wasn’t going to be conducive to meeting such a deadline.

So my husband and I did something radical. We decided to stop travelling for a while and we registered with a homesitter’s website – listing ourselves as available to housesit for several months. A UK couple with a property in South West France got in touch with us and after several emails and a Skype video call we were offered the assignment to care for a beautiful 500-year-old chateau, a couple of gites, and a cat called Mr Smudge.  We immediately booked several connecting flights from Asia to Bordeaux France.

And, in that beautiful chateau in October 2017, I started work on The Backpacking Housewife. As I was writing a work of fiction that was loosely based on my own travel experiences I wanted to be sure that my commissioning editor was in full approval of my ideas for the book. So, I actually wrote three completely different versions of the all-important first three chapters for her consideration. Only once we had agreed on how the story should start did I begin work on completing the manuscript.

I then worked every day but to a weekly word count. This allowed a bit of flexibility in the daily writing schedule and also made sure I could complete the manuscript on time and to the length required. It wasn’t easy. I had good days and bad days. But, eventually, I finished the story and I now feel extremely proud of what I have written and of my achievement.  All those who have written a book will know this feeling!

And, just in case you are wondering what happened to the other book I was writing? Well, that is now finished too and being edited right now. ‘Island in the Sun’ will be published later this summer.

It has been a team effort with Harper Impulse to progress The Backpacking Housewife from a manuscript to a book. There have been structural edits and revisions. The book has been copyedited and checked over and over. A publication date has been set for 6^th July for the ebook and 12^th July for the paperback. The Harper Collins PR Department has been fully briefed and will be working with me to reach readers.

I was asked to write a cover brief and from that the cover was designed. I was so excited and thrilled and proud when I saw the beautiful cover and I was desperate to show it off to everyone - except I knew I couldn’t – at least not until the cover was officially revealed by the wonderful team at Harper Impulse. It was especially hard not to share when friends attending The London Book Fair told me that the cover of The Backpacking Housewife was being displayed on a giant screen at the Harper Collins stand and sent me the photo!

The Backpacking Housewife on display at the London Book Fair

So I'm really happy to be able to share with you at last - The Backpacking Housewife. Ta-darrrrr!!

In case you missed it - here it is again!

What is the story about? The Backpacking Housewife is a story about an ordinary woman - a housewife with two grown-up children. When she comes home unexpectedly one day to find her husband of 25 years in bed with her best friend, she is so distraught and traumatized and betrayed that she grabs her passport and her handbag and heads out of the door to the airport. What follows is an adventure of a lifetime.

This is the official book blurb: Lorraine Anderson was meant to be making a Sunday roast, not swanning off to Thailand, backpack in hand! But when she finds her husband and her best friend in bed together there’s only one thing to do – grab her passport and never look back! Now, with each mile travelled Lori sheds the woman she once was and finds the woman she was always meant to be. A woman of passion and spirit who deserves to explore the great unknown…and to indulge in the temptation she encounters along the way!

Today is Cover Reveal Day and ALSO the day the book goes up for PRE-SALE!

This means that if you order the book on PRE-SALE you are placing an order for the book at the PRE-SALE SPECIAL PRICE. But you will not be charged for the book until publication day on the 6^th July for the ebook or 12^th July for the paperback. So why not get your order in right away?

Click here to browse the book and find out more on Amazon

The ebook is also available from:   iBooks on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.

And at:  Kobo and Google Play

What do you think of the cover and the story blurb?

Have you pre-ordered yet?

I’d love to read your comments!

Our Adventures in Hong Kong!

During the first few days of September this year, we were in Macau – the Vegas of Asia – and you can read all about that fabulous trip in my previous post. From Macau, we took a Turbojet High-Speed Ferry over to Hong Kong. We were there in the wake of a terrible typhoon and although the weather was sometimes cloudy and a little wet - as you'll see in the photos - that didn't stop us from having the most fabulous few days there.

Hong Kong has long been a fascination to us. We were thrilled to be there at last and determined to make the most of every minute of our visit. We had a lot planned but found it actually impossible to do and see everything that Hong Kong has to offer in the time we allowed.

The first thing we did after checking into our hotel – the Holiday Inn - was to put on comfortable shoes for a long sightseeing walk. This is of course the best way to see the sights and attractions and to browse the shops and markets and street food stalls – of which there are thousands!

We must have walked along the street and the entire length of Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour. Feeling pretty tired afterwards, we hopped onto a traditional tram all the way back to our hotel. The transport system around the city is really good and there are a constant stream of buses and trams and trains and subway trains and taxis and boats to take you quickly and easily and cheaply (not sure about the taxis as we never used one) to wherever you want to go.

On the corner from our hotel was a restaurant called Dim Sum Square and this was where we ate on two occasions because they had the best dim sum we have ever tasted. As you might expect, the best dim sum is in Hong Kong!

We also ate at several other small restaurants – not the fancy western ones or hotel linked ones – but in the side streets where the locals ate and we found the food delicious and reasonably priced. I did see various unusual and strange bugs and insects and sea creatures and parts of animals being cooked and eaten in Hong Kong and, although I'm normally quite adventurous with food, I have to admit that I stuck to what we consider to be normal Asian foods, like fried rice and shrimp and chicken and duck etc.

One thing that fascinated and also appalled me in equal measure in Hong Kong was the amount of traditional medicine shops that are selling very strange things as tonics and remedies. I won’t go into the details.

The next thing we did was to take the famous and charming Star Ferry boat across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon. This is the most inexpensive way to see the famous city skyline and to experience a beloved icon and traditional mode of transport that has been in operation since 1888.

We spent some time in Kowloon, exploring once again on foot, until we eventually ended up at the famous Temple Street Market – the last remaining example of a traditional market in Hong Kong. This is a famous market in its own right for shopping and souvenirs and street food but also the star of many a movie – as it is every movie makers ideal China Town.

One of my very favourite things to do in Hong Kong was our visit to The Peak on The Peak Tram. Not only will the tram take you to the top of Victoria Peak – to the Sky Terrace and a 360 degree fabulous view over the whole of Hong Kong and its skyscrapers, the harbour and all the surrounding islands - but you get there on the world steepest funicular railway. It was an amazing experience and the views – oh my goodness – they are truly breath-taking.

The night before we left Hong Kong we did something so memorable and so iconic that I will forever hold it dear to my heart. We took an old junk boat - an old traditional boat with its billowing red sails - out into the harbour after dark to watch the spectacular nightly light show from the best vantage point possible.

The Symphony of Lights – a light show set to music and colourful lasers and spotlights and LED screens flashing and streaking across all the tall shiny glass and steel buildings around both sides of the harbour is now recognised as a signature icon for Hong Kong – and was simply stunning.

I will forever hold Hong Kong in my heart as a wonderful, romantic, happy and exciting and memorable place. But we were ready to leave simply because our flight the next morning was to take us to Seoul in South Korea – where for the next ten days we would be visiting our family there – our son James and his wife Sujeong and our beautiful two-and-a-half-year-old grandson Aaron and our in-laws, the lovely Kang Family.

So next time here on the blog, I’ll be in South Korea. Join me soon!

Love Janice xx

Rainy season on (เกาะช้าง) Elephant Island Thailand

After an amazing and exciting month in Malaysia during the whole of June this year - exploring caves in Kuala Lumpur, helping out at a turtle conservation in the Perhentian Islands, seeing Orangutans and Sunbears in the wild in Borneo, and riding through towns and jungle on the North Borneo Railway, all of which you can read more about by clicking back through my last few posts – Trav and I decided to head onto somewhere for the month of July where we could take things easy for a while and I could get down to some serious writing and Trav could do some serious diving – all while not having to pay too much for our travel or accommodation costs.

As an easy option and with the help of a bargain-priced flight with Air Asia, we looked at travelling back to Thailand for a few weeks. We know Thailand quite well by now – having travelled extensively throughout the country - although we had still yet to discover the eastern part of Thailand and Trat Province. On this side of the Gulf of Thailand there are a string of tropical islands that are known for snorkelling, diving, jungle hiking and waterfalls. The larger of these islands in the archipelago is known as Koh Chang or Elephant Island (เกาะช้าง).

These islands are also reportedly much quieter and less-touristy than other islands in Thailand – like Phuket or Koh Samui for example – so they sounded exactly like our kind of place. There was only one catch - in July it is rainy season in this part of Thailand.

In the off-season, especially on island resorts in Thailand, you have to be aware that not all hotels or restaurants or shops will be open. Some close up for the whole season but for those that remain open in off-season that also means lower prices for tourists. We managed to bag two whole weeks in a luxury resort on Koh Chang using Booking.com for a fraction of its high season price.

If you are flying into Thailand (with a UK passport - other passports holders may be offered different entry visa options) on arrival you will get a thirty-day entry visa. We intended to stay for the month and then perhaps look for an even cheaper hotel deal for the second half of our stay.

It couldn’t rain there all month, could it?

We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Pattaya in Thailand. Pattaya is a town with a seedy reputation for crime, prostitution, and drugs - so not our kind of place at all - but it was a necessary transiting point for us on our way down the coastline. 

In Pattaya, we booked a room for one night at the Holiday Inn – always our preferred hotel chain - as we benefit hugely from collecting points for stays with their customer reward programme called IHG.

On checking in at the Holiday Inn Pattaya Beach we were given a penthouse suite upgrade with a wraparound balcony and spectacular views of the beach as well as club access at the rooftop bar – meaning complimentary cocktails and canapes. Score!

The next morning, as you might imagine, it was difficult to leave our luxurious surroundings, but after breakfast, we had arranged for a taxi/minibus to take us on the seven-hour road trip down to Koh Chang.

Yes, really, seven hours – including a ferry crossing - and this is the only way we could see how to get there. The Google map shows a five and a half hour journey - but if you are heading to Koh Chang from Pattaya then be prepared for it to take you a little longer.

The journey was a little laborious but we had a very good driver, and on the ferry, we were delighted to meet a Buddhist monk in his orange robes. He was happy to speak with us and to practice his English. One of the things I love most about travelling is the wonderful people you get to meet along the way.

It was overcast and raining as we travelled but still incredibly warm and humid, and as we approached Koh Chang island, it looked beautiful in the mist. But we still had another hour or so to get to our destination – a resort on Klong Prao Beach – and our driver and car were still with us on the ferry.

On arrival, our hotel far exceeded our expectations – we had a lovely room in a palm-thatched deluxe bungalow with a covered private balcony overlooking the gardens and the pool. I decided that even if it did rain the whole time we were here, I really wouldn’t mind.

Of course it didn’t rain the whole time – only about half the time – but then I did have lots of writing to do. Trav didn’t mind the rain either because he planned on going diving and so he knew he would get wet anyway.

Sometimes, though, when we did venture out on showery days – to find a 7/11 shop for essential supplies of snacks and wine and beer - we ended up sheltering in a street side café or bar.

Not such a hardship - and it was hot rain after all!

On the days when the sun shone, it was really beautiful and we made the most of them. We sunbathed and swam in the hotel pool, or we took walks along long empty beaches, that I’m told get incredibly busy in high-season.

We also strolled along jungle tracks looking for elephants. There really are lots of elephants on Koh Chang, so we made sure to always take some apples with us so that we could feed them and stroke them and talk to them. Some are left wander freely in fields or some you meet just strolling along the road and being ridden by their mahout (elephant keeper). They are such lovely animals and this was the first time I’d ever been up close to an elephant.

There are several elephant trekking camps on Koh Chang where tourists can ride on the back of an elephant through the jungle. As I don’t agree with elephants being ridden, I didn’t go near them.

You can learn more about elephant camps on Koh Chang HERE.

One of the most wonderful things we did on a sunny day was a jungle trek by foot to the nearby Klong Plu Waterfalls. It was a testing walk uphill on slippery muddy steep tracks, but it was so worth it, as the waterfalls were magnificent – another bonus in rainy season - and we could swim in the water pools that were full of beautiful fish.

In the evenings, we were entertained with live music at our hotel bar. Sometimes we ate at our hotel and other times we went to other restaurants and bars. We also ate street food – some of the best we’ve ever had. Our favourite bar was called Sabai Bar on White Sand Beach where they had a fire dancer show on most nights (when it wasn’t raining obviously). Many of the nicer restaurants on Koh Chang will pick you up at your hotel for free in an open back truck/taxi and our favourite restaurant who offered this service is called Iyara, which is famous for its yummy seafood and river estuary location.

On one beautiful clear and starry night after having dinner at Iyara, Trav and I took a ride in a small boat along the riverbank to see fireflies. It was a magical moment to sit in the dark and the silence and to see all the trees and bushes on the riverbank twinkling with tiny white firefly lights.

Painting (public domain) Fireflies at Ochanomizu by Kobayashi Kiyochika. 1847-1915

After our two weeks at our beautiful resort, we would have loved to have stayed on but reluctantly we had to find another hotel on the island. The reason for this was an upcoming week-long Thai holiday, that we hadn’t previously known about, which would put our resort’s prices up to high-season levels.

We were lucky and found an inexpensive but very nice hotel further along the beach. This was a newly built resort and although it wasn’t fully open in the off-season as their bar and restaurant were closed, they rented out rooms, which were small modern villas built around a swimming pool that we could use. Hence the lower prices.

We decided this would do us fine. The resort was quiet and I was still working hard on structural edits for my next book. Over our month on Koh Chang, I’d planned to rewrite 30,000 words of the mid-section of the book and add another 20,000 words to the storyline bringing the novel to around 90,000 words. It was a grueling task that meant spending many hours at the laptop but at least I had a swimming pool available to swim away the knots from my shoulder muscles and plenty of Thai massage places to go to if I needed it - which I did on quite a few occasions!

By the end of July, we had had a wonderful time on Koh Chang but Trav was bored with me writing for so much of the day and the weather and rain on Koh Chang was getting steadily more persistent and that was causing bad visibility in the sea and so he wasn’t diving either. I heartily agreed that we both needed a change of scenery, so we decided to move on to somewhere where the weather might be improved, and where we could also have a bit of fun together.

So we headed back the same way we arrived in a taxi/mini-bus but this time we stayed in Pattaya a few nights so that we could make our new travel arrangements. While we were there we explored the town and saw that it was indeed a bit of an eye-opener!

But where to go next? We did our research carefully because while some regions and countries in South East Asia are in the middle of their rainy (monsoon) season in July and August, others were just finishing theirs and others were just coming into it. Spotting a bargain flight, we decided to head over to Singapore for a few days and then take a ferry boat over to Batam Island - which is part of Indonesia and stay at their Holiday Inn Resort - which we paid for entirely with our IHG loyalty points.

So in my next post, I'll be blogging about our amazing time in Singapore where we went to Universal Studios for a day and had a lot of fun - and also our lovely week spent at the Holiday Inn on Batam Island in Indonesia - before we headed back to our south-east Asian home hub of Kuala Lumpur to make the decision on where in the world we would travel to next!

Do pop back soon – and please consider signing up to my mailing list on the top right of this page. I only send out newsletters when I have news or offers or something exciting like a new book release to share with you and you will get a free download of my bestselling book ‘How To Party Online’. Thanks!

Love, Janice xx

Adventures in Borneo (2) Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

We flew from Kota Kinabalu to Sandaken in the Sabah region of Borneo to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to see Orangutans in the wild at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre – the precious home of the last wild Orangutans of North Borneo.

The centre, in 43 square kilometres of virgin equatorial rainforest, was set up in 1964 by an English woman called Barbara Harrison and it was the first centre in the world to dedicate itself to the rehabilitation of orphaned (as a result of illegal logging and deforestation) Orangutans or those that have been displaced (due to being caught and illegally kept as pets). Today, as well as caring for young orphaned Orangutans, it looks after dozens of other wildlife species including Sunbears, Gibbons, Sumatran Rhinos, and Borneo Pygmy Elephants.

Walking through the jungle to the feeding stations, we managed to spot some pigmy elephants. The jungle was so dense that we walked along wooden gantry pathways to keep us above ground level and safe from snakes and other dangers. All around us the trees were so incredibly ancient and tall and it was a fabulous experience to see both young and older Orangutans swinging through the tree canopy above us towards the food station.

My photos really didn’t do our experience here justice but then being behind the camera wasn’t the point of being here, so for once, I didn’t take many snaps. I just stood in awe and wonder as these beautiful Orangutans sat and ate or swung on ropes or through the trees around me.

The word Orang-Utan means ‘Man of the Forest’.

Check out these short video clips of wild Orangutans at the feeding station

Sightings at the feeding station are not guaranteed but we were fortunate in seeing lots of Orangutans on that day.

On the website (which you can find following the link HERE) it states “The orangutans that come for this free feed are wild and therefore can be dangerous, so there are staff on hand to make sure interactions do not occur, for the safety of both visitor and orangutan. Because they are wild, it can never be guaranteed that many will come for the feed, if any at all (especially during the fruiting season). This is where some people leave disappointed, but the truth is if no orangutans come, then it is a positive thing - it means they are not reliant upon the feeding to survive.”

Afterwards, we went to visit the outdoor nursery to observe the juvenile orangutans on their final stage of rehabilitation before release.

The whole experience was amazing and (watching the DVD presentation in the Orangutan Appeal UK presentation and video) is highly emotional.

Five amazing things I learned about Orangutans

There are only two species of Orangutan in the word: the Borneo Orangutan and the Sumatran Orangutan.

The Orangutan is the only great ape outside Africa.

The Orangutan is strictly arboreal - it lives exclusively in the trees - making it the largest tree living mammal in the world.

96.4% of our DNA is identical to that of the Orangutan.

The Orangutan has the longest childhood dependence on the mother of any wild animal in the world.

The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is owned and run by the Sabah Wildlife Department, from which it receives some funds.  Additional funding comes from the entrance fee charged to tourists. The charity Orangutan Appeal UK funds projects at the centre including the renovation of enclosures and equipment, as well as funding five members of the care team, including a veterinary nurse.

Our visit to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Northern Borneo is an experience I will cherish all my life.

In my next travel post we are heading back to Thailand - to an area and an island we haven't yet explored called Koh Chang - which means elephant island. It's rainy season there so the weather is bound to be a mixture of sunshine and showers - but in off season there are hotel resort bargains to be found and I need some down time from travelling as I have a book to write and revisions to work on. We'll fly from KL to Pattaya and then take a taxi and a boat over to Koh Chang.

See you next time here on the blog - in the meantime - please do consider signing up to my occasional newsletter for updates on the writing as well as offers and news of my next book. The link is at the top right of this page and all subscribers automatically get a download of my fun 'How To Party Online' ebook in Kindle and PDF formats completely FREE as a thank you!

Love from,
Janice