#MMBBR Riding a Strong Wind by Robertson Tait

A collection of romantic short stories set in glamorous locations, from Italy to the Caribbean, passing through Scotland and Santa Barbara. Nine fairy tales for grown-ups.

Villa d'Este: A handsome TV personality is bewitched by a mysterious young beauty. 
Florence – La Certosa: “In the distance a church bell peeled, perhaps from the Certosa itself, and the atmosphere seemed somewhat surreal ... It looked so old, so ancient. It was not hard to imagine oneself to be back two or three hundred years, drinking wine and watching the dying sun burn the clouds into every kind of crimson.” 
Rain in Rome: The slippery slope of love in the Eternal City. 
Amalfi Coast: Poor but hopeful, two young lovers find joy and upset on the beaches of Southern Italy. 
Amsterdam: Walking home from his night-shift through the red light district, the last thing he expected was an offer of sweet kindness. 
Santa Barbara: “He landed in Tokyo, Japan with a great California tan, a lot of fitness and no shoes.” 
Barra: A remote Scottish island casts its spell on a troubled American movie star. 
Montmartre: He pitched his song in Paris and found he made a hit. 
Tobago – Having Lost The Boy: Down and out on a tropical beach, there was one more thing he could salvage.

Here is what some readers had to say: “... enjoyed the sensual, poetic style of the language” 
“Some would kill for such elegance” “The writing is stellar” “... charming and bewitching ...” “... velvety language” 
“This story is delightful and romantic. I was sold by the second paragraph.” 
“Your storyline is so shamelessly, grandly romantic ...” 
“the dialogue is fabulous, and the action/romance/everything is pretty inspired.”

Robertson Tait was born in the Highlands of Scotland. He has been writing since University and his contributions have appeared in a variety of web sites.

From an early age, Robertson has had the opportunity to travel extensively and his experiences are woven into his writing. With this collection of short stories, he reaffirms his unapologetically romantic views, imbued with a passion for beauty, art and the good life. He is also a singer songwriter and currently lives with his wife and three cats in the wine country of Bordeaux, South-West France.

Find out more at: http://robertsontait.weebly.com/

Q.​What inspires your writing?

A.​Oh it can be so many different things. Sometimes it's just the feel of summer or the autumn that can give the spark to an idea, but so much of my starting point is based on 'feel'.  It could be the way the breeze brushes on the skin in the heat of summer that brings back a feeling, and my mind conjures up a scene like in a movie and as I watch it I have my characters there before my eyes.     

Q.​What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

A.​Getting to inhabit the world my characters live in, and for sure, I'm always going to make it a little idealised. But why not, this is fiction, and if we're going to imagine, why not imagine things at the better end of the spectrum. There's enough to concern us in our daily lives so why not indulge and relax in a little fantasy. 

Q.​What is the toughest part of being a writer?

A.​Well being honest it would have to be 'getting noticed' or 'read'. There are so many books nowadays that for an author to gain any visibility they would need many, many, reviews before they will ever surface from the mountain of books burying them on Amazon. Now, for those of us who do not have friends and relatives to get the necessary review numbers in that Amazon honeymoon sweet spot of the first two weeks, well then it is very hard to have one's book see the light of day and rise to where it could be noticed.  

Q.​If you could not be writer, what would you do/be?

A.​I'd be a songwriter, and I guess as an ASCAP member, well I guess I am. But not famous, or successful, yet, although I do have quite a few of my songs on file at  Hollywood music supervisor offices as Movie Soundtrack potential placements. We just need the right movie with the demand for the right mood, and then who knows. But yes I love music and I suppose it goes along the same lines as writing fiction. I have three of my compositions woven into my narrative in my stories. There is an addendum in Riding A Strong Wind with the full lyrics of those songs.    

Q.​What would the story of your life be entitled?

A.​Ouch, that's a very tricky question isn't it?  In honesty I can't really think what I'd come up with. I don't think of myself as vain, and I hope I'm not, so I would leave it to others with a better detached view, to sum up the essence of how to title my life. I suppose if I was really pushed I'd go for  “He Tried”.

Q.​What is your favorite book of all time?

A.​Another difficult question, because there are some really great authors but it kind of depends on where one is at in life and one's mood, For example when I was much younger I really loved the Wodehouse, Jeeves series books, but then as one gets a bit older, although they're still wonderful, they lose a bit of the freshness and can seem slightly repetitive; although, 'what repetition !' – delightful stuff.  But I'd say Oscar Wilde's plays are real favourites of mine, and I consider him the greatest writer ever. And for gossamer light charm my favourite two short stories are F. Scott Fitzgerald's  “”Love In The Night” and “Last Kiss”. Although I recognize his brilliance, I don't like all of Fitzgerald's work but these two are writing magic.  

Q.​Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A.​James Bond ...absolutely, ...no question.

Q.​What character from all of your book are you most like?

A.​Oh my, that's another tricky one because most of my male characters are so much more accomplished and attractive than I, however if pushed, I guess I'd probably have to go with John Bentley, from my opening story “Villa d'Este” from Riding A Strong Wind.  

Q.​Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

A.     My own Riding A Strong Wind – I mean, that way I get to go to the best places in Tobago. Rome, Montmartre Paris, Amalfi Coast, Amsterdam, Florence, and Santa Barbara California.        

Q.​What is your favorite season?

A.​Summer.

Q.​What inspired your book cover(s)?  Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A.​My book cover is a photograph I took myself of the Michaelangelo David statue that sits in the Piazzale Michelangelo Florence, commanding a glorious view across the river Arno towards the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo. This square is the location for a  discussion between my characters Hector and Alessandra in “Florence – La Certosa”, about their future.   

Q.​Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A.​Well, once I was asked about how I invented, or researched the major athletic competition background facts for my story “Santa Barbara”. So I had to admit I had done no research at all, but having been in the national team and competed at the World Games in the story, I felt my facts and narrative could bear scrutiny.   

Q.​Are you working on something new?

A.​Yes, I am completing a second part to my novel “Kyle Harrison: Movie Star” and  just need to finish the proof reading and having my copy editor tell me about all my mistakes, and then it should be good to go. I may fold the second half into the current book, because Amazon give the book a ridiculously low page count when in Kindle and the when one goes paperback the page count  pretty much doubles. But I'd like folks to have the second half and I think if one has bought the book, Kindle will update to the newer longer version at the reader's option, so I'd like for readers to have that.  

Q.​Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A.​In September, I will be putting both books “Riding A Strong Wind”, and “Kyle Harrison:Movie Star”, on Countdown sale at Amazon.

“Kyle Harrison:Movie Star”  will be at 99cents starting 02 September for 7 days.

“Riding A Strong Wind”        will be at 99cents starting 21Sept for 7 days.

And I would like to take this opportunity to thank Emily for allowing me to come on her blog. Getting the chance to talk directly to you is a great help and I enjoyed answering the questions. It was fun.

Here's a  final question, but from me, Am I the male beachcomber character on the deserted beach in Tobago ?  -  “He was a grey and grizzled figure, slouched in his chair, watching the birds wheel and dive in the cool morning air. He loved to watch swallows dive.”