GUEST: Kindness of Strangers Tour – Sunny Spain

June 18, 2009 in Authors by admin | No comments

Author, Mike Harling, has written this guest article for your enjoyment.

Another Kindness of Strangers Tour milestone: I’m in Murcia, Spain, courtesy of my publisher, Debs Jenkins of Lean Marketing Press. It’s the first visit to a country that is not the US or the UK, but it won’t be the last.

After running thither and yon, it’s good to find a place I can just sit and relax and let the jet-lag seep away, and this veranda—with a stunning view of the Sierra de Carrascoy mountains—is just the place. The only down side is I have to be careful to keep out of the sun. My pale northern European skin doesn’t tan very well, it just goes pink, then peels and I’m back to fish-belly white again.

Debs, on the other hand, is looking good. Even though she’s a Brit she’s been here long enough to acclimate and has a nice, healthy glow about her. She also speaks passable Spanish, or what sounds like passable Spanish to me. For all I know she could be speaking Klingon and telling me it’s Spanish.

I plan on spending a few days here. Since Lean Marketing Press didn’t front the tour (you have no idea how much this virtual travel is costing me) I can at least impose on the CEO’s hospitality as long as I can get away with it. I kid, of course, Debs is being very generous with her time, her food, her beer, her tequila…

One of the things that came out of this visit, however, was the reminder that this tour is supposed to be about selling my book, not me sponging off of other people and generally enjoying myself; it’s work. This conversation came about after I helpfully pointed out that there wasn’t any Corona left in the fridge. So, okay, back to work: BUY MY BOOK! BUY MY BOOK! BUY MY BOOK!

Can I have another Corona now?

I think I’d better get some sleep; this jet-lag is making me a tad cranky. And Debs told me that after I get some rest, and if I promise to behave myself, she’ll take me on a tour of the nearby village market and introduce me to some of the locals. She even promised to teach me the traditional Spanish greeting so I can try out in town. It goes something like this: “Soy un idiota, me golpeo con el pie.”

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