Ghosts, True Love & the KGB—Your Best Travel Stories

To celebrate my new travel mystery After the Ferry, I asked you to share your own gripping travel stories. Here are the four best entries who've just won a copy of the book!

 Turkish Delight by JLV

"At 42, recently divorced, I met and fell in love with a man from Turkey. He went back to Turkey without saying goodbye. Having never left the USA, I bought a one way ticket to Istanbul, applied for a short-term teaching job, said goodbye to my family and left. I did not tell my lover my plans. After doing my teaching gig, which was a wonderful experience, I tracked down my lover and, two weeks later, we were married. We have been married 10 years now. I was so scared not knowing what to expect in a foreign country and not knowing my lover's feelings. I have never regretted my decision."

 Spy Kids by Mike B.

Three friends and I were, unbeknownst to our parents, traveling through Germany and Austria—in 1967, at the height of the Cold War. We were 16 and 17 years old—riding rented Vespa scooters during the day and camping in remote areas at night. On the 4th night, we were arrested (by non-German-speaking military men; I couldn't understand them). The charge was 'suspicion of espionage.' We found out soon that we had ventured into Communist controlled Czechoslovakia at an unmarked rural border crossing. We were in the custody of the Soviet KGB. . . "

A Near Miss by Nancy Marte

"I travelled to Jamaica by myself after my friend cancelled at the last minute. Met a guy that worked at the resort I was staying at and he invited me to a party with some of his friends. I had the funny weird stomach butterfly feeling so I told him yes as I did not want him to be suspicious of me, then changed rooms at the resort and stayed away from the area he was working. This was in the 1980s. Never regretted this decision." 

Spirited Away by Sammi K

"Went on a Ghost tour on the QEII Long Beach, California with my daughter and granddaughter. When we got to the swimming pool area, they turned off the lights and boy was it really dark.  While we listened to the story, something grabbed me but I couldn't see what. When the lights came back on I didn't see anything. I left the area rather quickly and won't be going back."

Thank you to everyone who took the time to send in their travel stories. I loved hearing your tales of shady travellers, feisty friends, unexpected soul mates and seriously close shaves. I'm sorry I can't give you ALL a lovely prize, but I have chosen FOUR winners instead of three, as promised. So, it's a big CONGRATULATIONS to the subscribers, above, whose stories all captured my imagination. 

You have all just won yourselves a FREE copy of my latest eBook AFTER THE FERRY. I'll be in touch soon with details on how to claim your prize.

Everyone else can grab their own copy by clicking here.

Happy reading, everybody!

xo Christina

The true story behind the real SS Orient

“The SS Orient, kiddoes! It’s a sign from Dame Christie herself!”

Missy Corner, Murder on the Orient (SS)

At last, here it is... 

If you enjoyed the first book or are just looking for a classic whodunnit, the Agatha Christie Book Club is back, this time on a nautical adventure called Murder on the Orient (SS), now available for pre-order at Amazon.

Murder on the Orient (SS) follows our beloved book lovers as they embark on a "quiet cruise" (cough, cough) between Sydney, Australia and Auckland in New Zealand.

Naturally, the first dead body shows up within 24 hours, but it's not really until a second body goes missing—this time with a loud squeal and an ominous splash overboard in the dead of night—that the club decides to pull on their Poirot mo' and investigate.

Based on a real ship

Like all my mysteries, this one was a lot of fun to write, but it was even more fun to research. Anyone who knows me, knows I love to sink my teeth into crusty old documents, dusty old reference books, and pages and pages of web material to get at the truth.

I'm a research junkie with no desire to kick the habit.

And this book was research (Acapulco) gold. The SS Orient really does exist. Or it did, back in 1879 when it was first built. And while the steamship only sailed a mere 30 years or so, mostly between London and "the colonies", it was also literary gold as far as I was concerned.

I quickly created a modern-day replica of the SS Orient and lured my book club aboard.

Not only does the ship have the perfect name—“The SS Orient, kiddoes! It’s a sign from Dame Christie herself!”—it was the ideal setting for an old-fashioned style whodunnit, the kind of ship Dame Christie (Miss Marple or Poirot) might have voyaged on had the opportunity come up.

It's elegantly designed and decorated and has few mod cons like CCTV and WiFi to get in the way of a good story. After all, there's no chance of sneaking into someone's cabin to bump them off on the Pacific Princess what with all those pesky cameras catching your every move.

Based on a favourite story

Now that I had the setting I just needed a great plot and I may—or may not—have borrowed from the Queen of Crime. I wanted there to be echoes of the original Murder on the Orient Express without being a carbon copy. Some elements are similar, some are wildly different, and Agatha Christie aficionados will enjoy a little trainspotting as the story progresses.

Just don't expect it to be handed to you on a silver platter. Like Christie's books, I provide a stack of clues and some fishy red herrings to keep you guessing right until the 'great reveal' at the end.

Or at least that's the plan.

I'd love to hear your thoughts once you've read the book. For now, jot me a line and let me know what you think of the cover, the setting and the basic premise of the story. Or simply sign up for your early copy at Amazon here.

Murder on the Orient (SS) will be officially launched on Friday, May 13. Yep, that's black Friday.

Unlucky for some.

If you haven't read the first in the series, The Agatha Christie Book Club, grab a copy now or look out for future discounts. There'll be plenty of those.

Until then, happy (retro) reading, everyone!
xo Christina