REVIEW OF PANDORA POIKILOS' FREQUENT TRAVELLER

Recommended from the playlist for this posting:  Herbie Hancock's Rockit. 


One part travel brochure, two parts hotels’ insider secrets, and four parts dark Big Brother intrigue, Frequent Traveller is all good reading.  Pandora Poikilos has struck just the right balance to keep the sinister plot line moving while giving readers a behind-the-scenes view of their virtual vacation trip around the world.

Open with a dungeon scene from which a young lady escapes through sleazy compromises, and with a new identity and a forced mission.  Wing me away to China and tell me enticing details about the town we land in, then go right to an odd scene in a luxury hotel.  I’m loving it already! Keep me in suspense with a mysterious brown envelope regularly delivered to the dungeon girl’s new identity – oh, and make her a beautiful redhead, please.  Okay, you’ve got me hooked. 

Now show me a parade of shady characters the protagonist, Cathy Dixon, as vice president of a luxury hotel chain, must cross and sometimes humble in ways I’m pretty sure are going to bring her retributive harm; then dribble in more information about Cathy’s unsavory shackled past.  Before I can settle in too much, wing me away again to a new destination and tell me all about my new luxury vacation spot.  I know the pattern now – c’mon where’s the envelope?  And who is the latest nasty jerk Cathy has to deal with?  Omg, who just sneaked into her room …???

Get your midnight snacks ready and make up a whole pot of whatever it is you drink, ‘cause you’re gonna be up all night with this delicious read.   But first, you’ll need to click on over to Smashwords or Amazon to download your copy of Frequent Traveller by Pandora Poikilos. 

Now, allow me to introduce Pandora, who is with us today to answer a few questions and tell us a few things we’re (I’m for sure) just dying to know…Welcome Pandora.

Thank you.  I’m happy to be here, Georgia

Pandora, You make all these places seem like we just landed there and are looking at the destination with the fresh eyes of a new visitor.  Have you been to any of the locations you wrote about in Frequent Traveller?

Without giving away too many of the locations, I have been to a few of the spots like London, Queensland and Penang. All of which I adore for their history and architecture. There were a few that I discovered when researching destinations and found for it to be a good fit to the story. As the book is relatively new and reviews are only just trickling in, only a handful have discovered this tidbit - when the destinations in the book are rearranged, there's one for every alphabet. A to Z.

Wow.  That's very cool.  And adds up to a lot of research work.  

Now, we’ve already heard on your other tour stops that this was actually the first novel you wrote.  How much of you is in this novel?  Are you working out any of your own demons through this story?

Working out my demons would be an apt description. I wrote this at a time when I had literally lost every material possession and my name was being dragged through the mud when I had trusted the wrong people in my life. I fought off most of my demons with this book. The elusive relationship that Cathy has with Thomas is something I face with my partner, Peas (as he is known to my readers). Because of the sexual abuse I faced as a child, we often face unsettling periods when neither is able to cope with what happened or the consequences of these incidences that have wriggled themselves into the present.

Yeah that sounds like some serious demon exorcism.  It’s wonderful how writing helps do that, isn’t it?  Tell me, what was your favorite destination of all that Cathy Dixon visited and why?

London. No doubt about it. It is one city in the world that you can get lost in, be discovered, find love and move into the future sometimes all at the same time.

Hmmm…that’s interesting.  I’ve always wanted to visit London, but unfortunately, I don’t speak the language.  Tee hee.  No, for real, I have a serious problem understanding British English on TV.  I can understand the Spanish channel quicker than I can the Brits when they talk fast.  Go figure!

All cuzinz-across-the-pond kidding aside, I am amazed at all you manage to accomplish.  We know from other stops on the tour that you are fighting a rather debilitating disease.  Can you tell us how you manage to write in spite of all the pain, and while managing a book tour and directories and all the rest to boot?  What kind of pills are you taking?  Maybe we need some, too.

I was diagnosed with Idiotpathic Intracrannial Hypertension (IIH) eight years ago. It is a rare neurological disorder and I used to be on loads of medication. Heck, I used to be a walking pharmacy. But after seven years of lumbar punctures, I was finally given the *opportunity* to have a VP Shunt inserted from brain to stomach last September and now I am no longer on pills on a daily basis. I do take some pain medication on extremely bad days but that's about it. As to how I cope with my projects, that's a question I keep asking myself too. :)) But yes, time management is extremely important to me. I keep a daily calendar which divides my time between writing, social media and Orangeberry Book Tours. It sounds a bit pedantic and it probably is but I have had numerous issues with my eyes and I tend to be a bit more careful these days.

Pedantic or not, I can’t say, but I wish I could manage my time that well.  I suppose it’s too much to hope there is a magic pill for that.  Thank you so much for being our guest today, Pandora.  We enjoyed having you.  Best of luck to you and your endeavors.

My pleasure, Georgia. 

Folks, you can read more about Pandora Poikilos and her amazing story here at the other stops she has made on her Orangeberry Book Tour. 

November 3, 2011 Guest Post – Great Expectations
http://www.eslark.com/?p=579

November 4, 2011 Unsung Inspirational Women by Niamh Clune
http://niamhclunewrites.blogspot.com/2011/10/unsung-inspirational-women-by-dr-niamh.html

November 11, 2011 Interview with Sherri Johnson
http://sherriwilsonjohnson.com/2011/11/11/interview-with-pandora-poikilos-author-of-frequent-traveller/

November 12, 2011 Interview with Niamh Clune

http://theobblog.com/dr-niamh-clune-meets-and-greets-the-inspirational-pandora-poikilos/

You can stalk Pandora at

http://pandorapoikilos.com/

http://peacefrompieces.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/peacefrompieces

https://twitter.com/#!/PandoraPoikilos