Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Cultivating A Fuji, organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.

I have a guest post from Miriam, plus a giveaway, but first here’s what the book is about…

Convinced that his imperfect, solitary existence is the best it will ever be, Martin unexpectedly finds himself being sent to represent his company in Japan. His colleagues think it’s a joke; his bosses are certain he will fail. What does Martin think? He simply does what he’s told. That’s how he’s survived up to now – by hiding his feelings.
 
Amazingly, in the land of strange rituals, sweet and juicy apples, and too much saké, Martin flourishes and achieves the impossible. But that’s only the beginning. Keeping up the momentum for change proves futile. So, too, is a return to what he had before. Is there a way forward, or should he put an end to the search now?

Gradually, as you’ll see when Martin looks back from near the end of his journey, life improves. There’s even a woman, Fiona, who brings her own baggage to the relationship, but brightens Martin’s days. And just when you think there can be no more surprises, another one pops up.
 
Throughout his life, people have laughed at ‘weirdo’ Martin; and you, as you read, will have plenty of opportunity to laugh, too. Go ahead, laugh away, but you’ll find that there’s also a serious side to all this…

Purchase Link – mybook.to/cultivatingafuji 

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Now over to Miriam with her guest post..

I do like to be beside the seaside

I grew up in London, but family holidays were invariably spent beside the sea, be it Brighton, Folkestone, Land’s End, Prestwick or Llandudno. Bournemouth tended to be the location of our shorter trips, the ones for which my parents splashed out for a hotel, rather than a self-catering apartment. Here we walked for miles along the promenade and occasionally went in for a dip. In Bournemouth, the beach was sandy and the sea generally calm.

Years later, my parents retired to Bournemouth and I loved taking my children to stay with them. We’d go walking, swim in the sea or a swimming pool, and play mini-golf. No wonder I chose to set my latest novel in this beautiful town.

View from Hengistbury Head

There’s something special about watching the sea. The rhythm of its motion, constant and yet differing. The higher, more forceful waves amongst the gentler ones. And then there are the sounds of the sea, and its smell. It almost seems as if it’s alive and toying with your emotions. You can lose yourself, becoming insignificant in its enormity.

Toft zig zag path

Martin, the main character in Cultivating a Fuji, feels the same way about the sea. It helps to save him, although it is very nearly his downfall. Fiona, who appears later in the story, also loves the sea. It’s a sentiment they are delighted to share. Near the end of the novel, they sit together on the sand, watching their two young charges, who have travelled far from their home sea to jump and shout with joy in this strange one.

One summer, while staying in Bournemouth, I took my young children on a boat trip to the Isle of Wight. The journey out was very pleasant. The journey back was anything but! I never expected the sea to be so rough in summer. I felt sick all the way, one child was sick and the baby in the pram kept crying. Fortunately, the woman who ran the shop down below – who’d closed the shop because none of the passengers felt like buying food in those conditions – helped out by picking up the baby and swaying with her against the tilting of the boat. I’ve never been so glad to reach dry land!

Winter Gardens

When I knew that Cultivating a Fuji would be published and began to prepare for that event, I realised it would be nice to have photos of Bournemouth and, despite the many times I’d visited, I only had a handful of photos, and all of those had people in them and were of poor quality.

Visiting again before the publication date wasn’t possible, but help was fortunately at hand. I was so lucky to get in touch with Lee Sherred (author of Lines of Justice: Aždaja) who grew up in Bournemouth and was planning a visit. He not only took some wonderful photos around the town and beyond, but he also helped me to discover a flaw in my story – a hospital that didn’t exist at the time that part of the novel is set. The change was very small, but I’m indebted to Lee for all his help.

*Photos Courtesy of Lee Sherred*

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About the Author

Miriam Drori has decided she’s in the fifth and best stage of her life, and she’s hoping it’ll last for ever. It’s the one in which she’s happiest and most settled and finally free to do what she wants. Miriam lives in a delightful house and garden in Jerusalem with her lovely husband and one of three children. She enjoys frequent trips around the world. She dances, hikes, reads and listens to music. And she’s realised that social anxiety is here to stay, so she might as well make friends with it. On top of that, she has moved away from computer programming and technical writing (although both of those provided interest in previous stages) and now spends her time editing and writing fiction. NEITHER HERE NOR THERE (currently unavailable), a romance with a difference set in Jerusalem, was published in 2014. THE WOMEN FRIENDS, co-written with Emma Rose Millar, is a series of novellas based on the famous painting by Gustav Klimt. SOCIAL ANXIETY REVEALED (non-fiction) provides a comprehensive description of social anxiety from many different viewpoints. CULTIVATING A FUJI takes the social anxiety theme into fiction, using humour to season a poignant story.

Social Media Links –  Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Instagram, Wattpad, website/blog and social anxiety blog.

Amazon page: Author.to/MiriamDroriAtAmazon

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Giveaway

To win copies of Neither Here Nor There and Social Anxiety Revealed  (Open Internationally) please click the Rafflecopter link.

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.