Professional Writer/author
New Book!
HOW TO VACATION IN A TUSCAN FARMHOUSE
You’ve Read the Books. You’ve Seen the Movies.
Now Rent an Italian Farmhouse of Your Own!
Wake to the gentle sound of doves “cooing” in the eaves. Open the shutters to see the misty dawn settle on the hills and valleys as they undulate out before you. Take your fresh-brewed cup of Italian roast out the kitchen door, past the rosemary bushes, and up to the comfy lounge chairs set on a hand-laid terra-cotta tile patio that looks out over the rows upon rows of grapevines.
That’s the way every day begins when you vacation in your own Tuscan farmhouse. And if you think it’s a vacation only the wealthy can take, I’m delighted to tell you that you’re mistaken.
I have been planning, coordinating, and carrying out these kinds of vacations for family, friends, and friends of friends since 1997. Following some simple guidelines in this book, you can arrange it all so that, for each guest, the house costs less than a comparable hotel stay.
While I used to work with specific brokers to find and rent these farmhouses and villas—and mostly still do for a variety of reasons—that process has opened up a bit with the advent of Airbnb and Vrbo, making it easier than ever.
However, while finding the houses may be easier, there are still questions you need to ask: What kind of trip do you want? What locations do you want to visit? What will your guests need? What are your responsibilities as the trip coordinator?
With this book, I provide answers to all those questions, encouraging you and your guests to abandon the crowded, generic, and overpriced hotels in larger Italian cities to discover the friendly environment, fabulous views, unforgettable food, easygoing ambience, and relative cost efficiency of renting a farmhouse or villa in the Italian countryside.
A temporary clinic position takes Dr. Vijay Aloosamy into the small and culturally isolated world of Port Simon. A fish out of water, Vijay begins to uncover ugly secrets – including the criminal activities of the town bully, Frank McNeil. Vijay’s budding romance with a local single mother is one thing that keeps him from fleeing. But, if he stays, he must face his deepest fears and conquer not only McNeil, but his traumatic past as well.
Dangerous Practice
He rounded the deck to the back and heard waves. He looked up and had to catch his breath. Large, white-capped waves rolled onto the beach, and moonlight glistened off the Gulf of Mexico.
He walked toward the water and the
usual panic rose.
Instead of wispy sand dunes, he saw muddy brown patches peeking through wind-blown sea grass as pelicans wafted in low, loopy drifts. In the near distance was an old lighthouse.
From the porch, he took the six stairs down in two strides, then hustled to a big tugboat docked at the end of the pier.
To his left, he was startled to discover an expansive estuary – small islands of sea grass growing in shallow water near the shore.
