In November 2012 I attended a 2-hour seminar in Auckland, New Zealand. It was given by Brian Morris of New Zealand Institute of Business Studies ( www.nzibs.co.nz ) and entitled “How to publish a short non-fiction ebook”. At the end of the session I was hooked! Over the last year I haven’t quite managed to meet Brian’s publish-an-ebook-a-month challenge. However, I helped Dad epublish his book (in three parts) and a short account of his and Keith’s boyhood adventures.

The following can all be found on Amazon for Kindle and PC:

Not entirely inanimate -three short stories http://amzn.to/1sUetuT

 

Triora – not only witches  http://amzn.to/1gZJjzF

 

Triora, high in the mountains in Italy’s western Ligurian hinterland, is known as the village of the witches in memory of a cruel witch hunt and trial held here in the 16th century. However there is much more to this charming location, both within its alleys and piazzette and on walks out into the countryside.

 How the British came to Bordighera on the Italian Riviera http://amzn.to/1bjXoW3  

 

Bordighera, in coastal Liguria in Italy’s northwest, was a quiet fishing village until, thanks to Giovanni Ruffini’s romance “Doctor Antonio” it was discovered by the British in the late 1880s. By the early 1900s it was a bustling winter resort, with a tennis club, cricket grounds, an English church, library and newspaper and so much more.

 ­Several slightly spooky short stories set on and around the Italian Riviera http://amzn.to/18RxYgu

 

These short stories are pure faction. Set in the Hanbury Gardens, on the scenic railway between Ventimiglia and Cuneo and in a small town near Nice, each story unfolds against a backdrop of locations that really exist and events that really happened. Only the people and their adventures are imaginary.

 How to turn your photos into 3D greeting cards http://amzn.to/1axBD4k

 

Easy-to-follow illustrated instructions show you how to turn your favourite photos into greeting cards that your friends and family will love.

 The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Virtues – a Miracle, a Pilgrimage and an Easter picnic http://amzn.to/1bu2Oex

Looking up into the hills from Ventimiglia, the 16th century sanctuary chapel of Our Lady of Virtues  is hidden from view among the olive trees. In this ebook I take you to the sanctuary, following the route of an Easter Monday pilgrimage that still takes place today.

 An A-Z of Italian street names and the stories they tell of Italian history http://amzn.to/11I6eZs

 

We’ve all heard of Via Garibaldi, Strada della Libertà and Piazza Dante, but have you ever wondered about the people and events which gave these and other Italian streets their names?

 How to explore Ventimiglia Alta on the Italian Riviera http://amzn.to/11I5YcK

I have lived in ancient Ventimiglia Alta since 1997, in a small flat which nestles into the ramparts of the town’s 16th century defence wall. Come with me in this ebook as I take you on a guided walk around Ventimiglia Alta, and if you’re ever coming to Ventimiglia Alta (places to stay and eat are listed in the book) email me in advance if you would like me to show you my favourite corners of this fascinating location – carolynmckenzie@libero.it

 How to Get Ready to Live Your Dream as a Happy Expat in Italy http://amzn.to/12lkh1X

This book wasn’t written with the aim of telling you how to get a visa or how to travel here – that will vary from reader to reader. Rather I hope to give you some hints on how to prepare your mind for being an expat, and a happy one at that (not, lonely, homesick and discouraged), in a country where I have lived happily, in spite of the challenges, for nearly 30 years.

 How my Italian adventure began by Eddie Wise http://amzn.to/1agdgou

When Eddie told me her story I was struck by how similar it was to my own. I am happy to have helped her publish this account of how and why she first came to Italy.

 Blasts from the Past – Tales of a 1930s childhood among Kauri and Kiwi in the far north of New Zealand by Gordon McKenzie http://amzn.to/137F5sI

Gordon and his brother Keith got into, and survived, all the usual mischief of lads living a carefree childhood – too young to know that there was a Depression in progress and another terrible war pending – in New Zealand’s rural and isolated Far North. I was delighted to help Gordon, who is now in his late eighties, publish this, his second ebook.

 The Gentle Giants – a step back in time in the New Zealand bush to summer 1938 By Gordon McKenzie  http://amzn.to/1d7vwjC 

  

Gordon was still a boy in the late 1930s when he began spending his spare time with the working bullock teams that were hauling rimu logs out of New Zealand’s native forest. More than 70 years later he taught himself to use a computer and wrote “The Gentle Giants”. He relates his adventures and experiences in that by-gone age: in fact he is probably the only person still alive in New Zealand today to have witnessed the scenes and way of life that he so vividly describes. Gordon did all the drawings for this book and painted the cover picture. He took some of the photos himself: others were taken by his sister Joyce in the 1930s, and my myself. I am thrilled to have helped Gordon publish this book in e-format. “The Gentle Giants” is also available in hard copy within New Zealand from some bookshops and museum outlets, and from www.fishpond.co.nz or by contacting me at carolynmckenzie@libero.it

 

By the way, during 2013 I followed and thoroughly enjoyed NZIBS’s Proofreading and Editing diploma course. I graduated Dip Edit in January 2014.