Yianoulla Nicola

Guest: Yianoulla Nicola, Author of the recently published (Feb 2008) 'Holly Blue'.

Books

Holly Blue by Yianoulla Nicola (Synopsis from back cover)
Holly Blue tells of the loves we have, the loves we lose, the loves we never forget and the loves we
will always cherish.

It is the story of a Greek girl called Sofia,and tells of her life having to live by Greek traditions ;her father's traditions.

From a young age Sofia knew what she could expect from her life.Her father made sure that Greek
traditions would be followed. He would be the one to decide her life;he would choose a Greek man for
her to marry. Perfect. In his eyes!

Yet, could she live 'happily ever after' if she wasn't married her true prince? How could she get
married without true love? Will she ever be free like the Holly Blue butterfly?

All Sofia wants is to be a normal girl, to make her own decisions and live and love how she desires.
However, all she can do is dream as she cant disobey her father for fear of what he might do.

Returning to Cyprus without him, she realises that she is now away from his manipulation. Will she
finally discover what freedom is? Will she break free of the barrier surrounding her? Will she be
able to listen to her heart?

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
Inside the abbey of a Benedictine monastery on Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina,
resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint,who,
legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion.

When Jessie is summoned home to the island to cope with her eccentric mother’s seemingly inexplicable act of violence, she is living a conventional life with her husband, Hugh, a life “molded to the
smallest space possible.” Jessie loves Hugh, but once on the island, she finds herself drawn to
Brother Thomas, a monk who is soon to take his final vows.

Amid a rich community of unforgettable island women and the exotic beauty of marshlands,tidal creeks
and majestic egrets, Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, with a
freedom that feels overwhelmingly right and the immutable force of home and marriage. Is the power of
the mermaid chair only a myth? Or will it alter the course of Jessie’s life? What transpires will
unlock the roots of her mother’s tormented past, but most of all, allow Jessie to make a marriage
unto herself.

Where does the yearning for soul-mated love come from? When it comes to love, what are the pulls
inside a woman between the ordinary and the sublime? The Mermaid Chair is a vividly imagined novel
about mermaids and saints,about the passions of the spirit and the ecstasies of the body,brilliantly
illuminating the awakening of a woman to her own deepest self.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
"Pride and Prejudice", which opens with one of the most famous sentences in English Literature, is
an ironic novel of manners. In it, the garrulous and empty-headed Mrs Bennet has only one aim - that
of finding a good match for each of her five daughters. In this, she is mocked by her cynical
indolent husband. With its wit, its social precision and, above all, its irresistible heroine,
"Pride and Prejudice" has proved one of the most enduringly popular novels in the English language.

Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley
Elvis and Me is a 1985 American biography written by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley,the former wife of
singer Elvis Presley. The book recalls Priscilla's perspective on their meeting on an American army
base in Germany and their subsequent relationship.

Joining me next week is Erotic writer Mitzi Szereto. Tune in from 7-8pm.