Guest Post by Panos Nomikos author of Fateful Eyes

Writing a summer story

Mine is a country that is blessed by a long, warm, and sunny summer that lasts from mid-May to mid-October. You can stretch your body on the sandy beach and the glittering water laps refreshingly on your toes. The bright, azure sky meets the dark blue waters of the archipelago at the precise point where the sparkle from the reflection of the midday sun rays is most intense, producing flickering pirouettes of dancing figurines, matching the rustling of the pine-trees in the soft breeze and the acrobatics of the croaking seagulls in the air.
You bury your feet in the hot, crispy sand, welcoming the hugging of the scorching sun and the refreshing caress of the salty breeze. You bury your thoughts about the awfully insignificant daily banalities and you release your inner energy to encapsulate and absorb life’s grandeur. You feel an urge to express the avalanche of enthusiastic feelings that overwhelm you. You reach for your bag, take out your ipad and start typing.
Tap, tap, tap, the plot moves on…

“Wow! What a heavenly place is this!” she marvels, looking around.
“Gorgeous, isn’t it? Hey, shall we take a swim?” he proposes, smiling shrewdly.“Well…” she hesitates, “…but… Okay then! Look away please!” she finally makes up her mind, laughing, as she starts undressing on the sand to put her bikini on.They hastily plunge into the cool, glistening water, giggling and playing. They start to ferociously throw water against each other with their hands, laughing and shouting loudly. Obviously, the stronger male quickly overwhelms the weaker female in this game of stamina and pumping power, forcing her to submerge under the surface to escape the wall of water that he is throwing at her. She retaliates by swimming stealthily, like a torpedo, under the surface, pinching him strongly in his loin with her sharp nails. “Ouch!” he jumps in the air, surprised, screaming by pain, while she surfaces laughing teasingly nearby. “Oh, okay, I’ll teach you a lesson now!” he mocks anger at her, thrusting towards her at full power, while she retreats giggling by backstroking as fast as she can, trying to escape his playful attack.Her laughing screams and the proximity of her gorgeous, wet body, boost his lust and his resolve to catch her. The race in the sparkling water between the advancing male and the retreating female is short and uneven, taking also into consideration that, probably, she would rather be caught than escape… With a few powerful strokes, he reaches her and grabs her body by her waist. She pretends fighting back for a short while, punching him hilariously in the head and kicking her legs in the air, but abruptly abandons her fight when he starts kissing her passionately. She coils her body around his, clutching his head tightly.They release their bodies into a wild, sensual, three-dimensional aquatic dance swimming, submerging, snaking, swirling, tumbling, expanding, kissing, caressing, and fondling each other, climaxing their excitement. Finally, he steps out of the water, carrying her into his arms, while she is tightly coiled around him. He lays her gently on her back, on the edge of the water, with her head and back lying on the wet sand and her torso still in the water, and gently starts fondling…

Tap, tap, tap, you lift your eyes from the screen, exiting momentarily the secluded world of the lovers to be, dizzied by the blazing sun, almost sweating and exhaling by your vivid anticipation about what is going to happen next in the plot. As you take a deep breath, trying to control your excitement and to arrange into a decent order the words that are flying wildly into your head, your stare stops dead on those large, light blue eyes who are fixed on your tablet, those eyes of this astounding beauty who is lying on the sand a few yards away, obviously wondering what the hell is this guy doing there typing like a maniac under the sun? When your gaze crosses hers and gets sucked by her magnetic resonance, momentarily she takes her eyes away, shyly and hesitantly, pretending for a short while to be looking ‘indifferently’ around, but then her stare returns steadily on your face, and she breaks a hesitant smile…

Now, at last, is the time to put that tablet away…

Fateful Eyes is a story about a life spent searching for love, accomplishments, and true fulfillment, within the world upheavals that, unfortunately, characterize the beginning of the new millennium. In his own life, Panos Nomikos (the author) has traveled in many continents, has been acquainted with many different people from different cultures, and he has also humbly attempted to comprehend the dizzying pace of events that are unfolding in such a frenetic tempo around us.
Panos aspires to share those experiences by narrating the story of “Peter”, a cosmopolitan who is traveling around the world at several exotic places, trying to solve a great puzzle, trying to locate a mysterious lady who came from his distant, youthful, and lustful past, and upset his life and his relationship with his affectionate lover. All the while, she is trying to fend-off by the threat posed by that mysterious rival in his heart.
Yet, the puzzle itself is not the essence of this novel. The puzzle is only a “pretext” to justify the exposure of Peter’s tortuous and twisted path in life, as well as to narrate the lives of everyone around him, as they all become unwittingly entangled into the rolling thunder of the world’s current upheavals, terrorism, wars, and economic crises. Like a modern Odyssey, the real essence of this novel is Peter’s long and tormenting journey towards his destination, towards the completion of his mission. Notwithstanding the mystery, the problems, and the upheavals, this story also celebrates love, affection, optimism, and the enthralling beauty of marvelous life.

Solve the puzzle and win a journey…
Read “Fateful Eyes”, try to guess the solution of the puzzle (that will be finally revealed in the forthcoming 2^nd volume) and win a trip for two persons, for one week, all expenses paid, to the beautiful country that is the final destination of the protagonist in this story, and also win books and other prizes.
Contribute your ideas at http://panosnomikos.wordpress.com/about or by email to pnomikos@ath.forthnet.gr

Author Bio

I am Panos Nomikos and I was born in 1961 in Athens, Greece, this beautiful country that has become lately the epicenter of the raging global financial crisis. During my carefree, youthful years, I roamed the idyllic islands of my home country having fun on the golden beaches under the sun with my friends and lovers. Later on, I studied for a Ph.D. in the UK and I started a career in Information Technology in the maritime sector, roaming again across the world on intercontinental business trips in faraway places in Asia, Europe and America. In the course of my career I have authored numerous essays and articles in professional publications.
I maintain a blog at http://panosnomikos.wordpress.com to write about my favorite themes related to my beautiful home country, Greece, its position within the world-wide socioeconomic transformations, and its current upheaval in the midst of the worst financial crisis that we are experiencing here. I am especially writing to talk about ordinary Greeks, those living within the country, but also those who live and distinguish themselves around the world, trying to understand their vivid pulse and their feelings of belonging to the world-wide Greek diaspora.

Fateful Eyes can be found on Amazon www.amazon.com/author/panosnomikos in paperback or e-book formats. You can also follow Panos Nomikos here:
Blog: http://panosnomikos.wordpress.com
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LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/panosnomikos