THE JOYFUL VILLAGE
I went to Villajoyosa the other day, which is located 32 kms from Alicante and 15 kms south of Benidorm. Villajoyosa is a coastal town on the Costa Blanca, about an hour’s drive from where I live, near Torrevieja.
Villajoyosa, or in Valencian, La Vila Joiasa, means joyful village, is situated in the province of Alicante. Locals know the town as La Vila. The area is famous for its chocolate industry and tourism. I visited a local chocolate factory, sampled, and bought some of their delicious goodies.
There is a legend associated with the delightful coloured houses at Villajoyosa. It is said that in the old days women used to hang coloured blankets from the balconies so their fishermen husbands and sweethearts would know, from the colour of the blanket, what had happened - be it a death, birth, or marriage. I am unable to find any reference to this ‘colour-coding.’ Perhaps it’s a ‘colourful’ tale told by the tourist guides to add interest.
The coloured houses at Villajoyosa reminded me of the many coloured little dragons in my second book of the ‘Fallyn’ trilogy, ‘Fallyn in the Forbidden Land. I give a slightly altered extract when one of the Chougans, the little people who breed them, is talking about them.
‘The male and the female dragons give a synchronized aerial display. They fly to a great height, and then spiral down performing loops and twists. The baby dragons which emerge are the last colour the male exhibits when he is performing his spectacular courting display.’’
I met a Belgian gentleman and his wife while I was waiting for the coach. He asked me what my hobbies were. When I told him they included writing, he told me he wanted someone to write a book he had in his mind for some time.
‘Ah, a ghost-writer,’ I murmured,
‘What is a goat-writer, please?’ he enquired.
I explained a ‘ghost-writer’ to him, as although his English was very good, he hadn’t heard this expression. I am taking him to the next meeting of the WordPlay Writer’s Forum, a group in Spain to which I belong.
Michael Barton, one the founder member’s of the group, has a publishing company called WordPlay Publishing. All the members of the group, who have written novels, publish through his company. Google ‘WordPlay Publishing’ if you are interested.
For anyone who hasn’t seen my video on YouTube I post it again. Please find time to visit it. Thank you.
http://youtu.be/sBii7Ix_F28
Finally, WordPlay Writers’ Forum is having a Book Week, at various venues in the Costa Blanca, Spain, and all books are free on Amazon Kindle. My ‘Fallyn’ fantasy books, Fallyn and the Dragons, Fallyn in the Forbidden Land, Fallyn and the Sea Dragons and The Rode to Justice (John Rode, 1st grade detective. murder stories) are in the top 100 in their categories. Go to https://www.amazon.com/author/kjrollinson