Hearts in the sky and on the beach

Well, here we have Blog number two.  It's a bit like a second album for a band – it's harder than the first!  There are so many expectations...OK, I'm exaggerating a little bit, I know, but you understand what I mean...

As you can see from the photos I've added so far, hearts have an important part to play in my novel, Aphrodite's Child.  Both pictures were taken by me last time I was in Cyprus.

This one above, is a heart made by the Red Arrows above RAF Akrotiri.  They come out every April to practise their routines and they feature in my story.  The heart in the sky becomes a symbol in the novel...you'll have to wait to find out why.

It was pure coincidence that they happened to be practising last time we were on holiday.  I grabbed my camera and quickly took this shot - as you can imagine, the heart dissipates almost as soon as it's formed, so I had to act quickly.

When I lived on the camp at Akrotiri, I got quite blasé about seeing the Red Arrows – they did three routines every day above the married quarters.  Emily, the main character in my novel is so excited the first time she sees them.  Two planes form the heart and then a third flies through it like an arrow.  She's standing in her garden and the heart is right above her head.  It makes her think.

The other photo, in my first blog, is of pebble hearts.  If you ever visit Cyprus, no doubt one of the places you'll visit is Aphrodite's Rock, perhaps the most famous view on the island, in the picture below.

 This is where the Goddess Aphrodite rose from the waves and came ashore.  She was born as a fully formed adult.  Cronus cut off Uranus' genitals and threw them in the sea and Aphrodite rose from the foam that was formed.  Her name means 'she who shines from the foam'.

She is known as the Goddess of Love, Beauty and Procreation – her Roman equivalent is Venus.

This place is known as Petra Tou Romiou and lovers go there to swim in the waters around the rock.  It is said you may get pregnant there and also you may look ten years younger.  When we visited in April this year, I noticed that there are literally hundreds of pebble hearts on the beach and in the scrub land – hearts of all shapes and sizes.  Some lovers have climbed the rock and engraved hearts and initials on its surface.  There is also a tree festooned with materials where lovers make wishes.

 I'd written about half the story when it dawned on me how appropriate the myth of Aphrodite was.  The Goddess is almost synonymous with Cyprus – it was too good an opportunity to miss.  The myth of Aphrodite gave my story a focus and a title.

In the blurb on the back of my book, if my publishers allows me to have my own words, I will say that my book is 'a modern take on the myth of Aphrodite...' – you'll have to read it to find out why.

See you next time.