Kritsa resident Yvonne Payne and her husband, Alan bought their house via Crete Homes in 2001. Since then they’ve appreciated the ability to seek our ongoing advice and support.
Our own Hilary Dawson sparked Yvonne’s interest in local history by telling her the legend of Rodanthe, the Kritsa heroine fought who against Turk oppression while disguised as a young man. In 2015 Crete Homes proudly sponsored the launch of Yvonne’s first novel, Kritsotopoula, Girl of Kritsa. Keen to maintain contact with our clients who gain inspiration from their Cretan life we asked Yvonne to tell us about her latest novel, Rodanthe’s Gift.
‘I used a folk poem as the basis of my first novel, Kritsotopoula, Girl of Kritsa. This rich source of information mentioned a rich Russian pappas (priest) who was in Kritsa on the day Rodanthe, the story’s heroine was born. This generous pappas gave Rodanthe a baptismal gift of one hundred gold napoleon coins. In my version of the story, Rodanthe’s father kept the gift a secret and spent most of the money on good causes, a decision he came to regret. In Rodanthe’s Gift we learn the reason for the gift and who inherited the balance of the money. Once again, I set much of the action in Kritsa and visitors to the village will recognise key locations. During my research I discovered Captain Kazanis, a real-life hero from my first novel, fought in Missolonghi, Greece. This set my brain racing. How did he get there? What was his role? Did he meet Lord Byron? I knew Kazanis died on the island of Naxos in 1846, so how did he survive the siege? Rodanthe’s Gift answers these questions in a tale of Greek rebellion, love and fortitude.’
Another author, Richard Clark is also a Crete Homes client. This is his view of Rodanthe’s Gift. ‘Yvonne Payne has managed to weave many of the major events in the battle for Greek independence into this rip-roaring historical adventure. Her novel reaches epic proportions as the struggle for freedom shifts between the island of Crete and mainland Greece. The author is a great storyteller, and this, in harness with her great attention to historical detail, makes Rodanthe’s Gift a terrific read.’
Kritsotopoula, Girl of Kritsa and Rodanthe’s Gift are available from Amazon via these links:
viewbook.at/Kritsotopoula and viewbook.at/Rodanthe
Good luck with your novels, Yvonne and also your new non-fiction book: Explore Kritsa.
