Benvenuti and Welcome to all my Lovely Friends and Followers around the World
Now, for me, I cannot think of anything nicer than unwrapping a book or three at Christmas and with this in mind, I have discounted the price of my three paperback books by around 20% from now, right up until Christmas! The discount is available on all worldwide Amazon sites. If you prefer e-books, then you can download in an instant! Go to Click to buy now!
Meanwhile, here is a little festive competition for you! I love this sort of thing, and you can do it on Christmas Day by telling your family you want an answer to be found in a certain book. So they all dash off to find the book, then scour it for the answer to your question. If you do it several times, you will end up with a pile of books in the middle of the floor, but you can later occupy the children by having then replace the books back on the shelves, for a reward of course, whilst you relax in front of the fire with another glass of warm punch!
And here is your question! In my book ‘The Bolivian Connection’ what was the real full name of the Female Italian Assassin code-named Sapphire? Her two christian names and surname please. (Hint – Chapter 27) And your reward? The chance to win the complete Trilogy in paperback, signed and dedicated by me, or left blank if you prefer. The three runners-up will receive one book of their choice, signed or not, the choice is yours. Send your answer to me by email to arrive no later than Saturday 9th December, and your name will go into my man’s Father Christmas hat. On Sunday 10th, he will dip in and withdraw four names. I will then personally email to let you know if you are a winner. So, if you have the answer, send it to me at june.finnigan@virgin.net Exciting, isn’t it? I can’t wait to hear from you!
Now if you want to be absolutely sure of obtaining a signed book, you can purchase one on my website and pay with paypal. Go to My website
Next weekend, I’ll be sending you a normal blog, with lots of news about the build up to the festivities in our little bit of Tuscany.
Meanwhile, do drop me a line, I love to hear from you and don’t forget to visit my Official Author Website at My website
Salute June x
PS The competition is open to all readers, so do not hesitate to forward this to friends and family!
The Trilogy – The Continuing Adventures of Joanna Wilde.
Meanwhile, first thing this morning we enjoyed coffee in Fiano and picked up on the latest news in the papers. I was excited to read, for you other Rock fans out there, that Guns N’ Roses will be performing at ‘Firenze Rocks’ in Florence between 14th and 17th June 2018! And there’s more; also listed are Ozzie Osbourne, Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Pearl Jam and lots more! I’ll post a link for tickets as soon as I hear more. It was nice of them to check that these dates did not clash with my own concert, which is on 22nd June! If you would like a personal invite to my Garden Party Rock Concert in Tuscany, email me at june.finnigan@virgin.net Foto La Repubblica.
Continuing on the same subject, we must not ignore that fabulous Italian Rocker Jovanotti, who has just announced his tour dates for next year. My daughter and granddaughter went to one of his concerts in Florence, and raved about it for weeks. The tickets are on sale NOW, so you had better get your skates on if you want to nab some. Foto La Repubblica. Go to 
Anyway, for those of you who would like a little more about our beautiful bit of the Chianti countryside, here’s a nice ‘good morning Tuscany’ foto, which I took just two days ago from a window at back of our house. In our part of the world, in between the clouds the sky is a brilliant blue, all year round. Ah, life eeeez good! Foto J Finnigan
Now, before I go, just a quick mention about the pile of felled tree trunks that, you may recall, were dumped just down the track below our front gate. It’s now four times the size and has a red a white crime scene tape around it! Did someone guess we were having devious thoughts about pinching a few, or is there a body underneath? Either way, we decided to leave things alone, use our own logs and light the first log fire of the season, and very nice it was too! Foto J Finnigan
Anyway, enough of that, lets look back at the week, after all, that’s why you are here. Well, like most other countries in the world, Italy celebrated Halloween. In fact, the Italians go crazy for it, young and old dress up in the most outrageous costumes and parade around the streets wearing death masks! The next day is All Soul’s Day, or Day of the Dead, when everyone remembers their dear departed family and friends. The graveyards here are quite spectacular, always lit by red candles or lights, and masses of flowers both fresh & false, so the effect is a glittering welcoming place. There is a mix of concrete buildings where the dead are laid one on top of another, family tombs and graves in the ground, all attended regularly and kept bright and cheerful. I think some of the larger cemeteries should be included in Cultural Tours; I’m not sure if that would be allowed, but you can nip in and walk around anyway. Foto La Repubblica.
In the run up to Halloween, all the shopkeepers enter into the ‘spirit’ of things, including my man’s favourite Panetteria in Certaldo. In the picture, you will see the staff behind the counter wearing little hats and the counter loaded up with cakes and goodies for the festivities. On Saturday mornings, whilst I do the fruit, veg and cheese shopping in the mercato, my man pops down Via Giugno to get bread and sometimes Pizza for supper. He says, it is the best bakers in the whole area! Foto P Finnigan.
Meanwhile, back in our little bit of the Chianti countryside, the last two weeks has been busy with olive picking. Foreign faces are everywhere; some come for the much-needed work, whilst others treat picking olives as a fun holiday. Brightly coloured nets are spread out under the trees and not one little olive will be overlooked. Sadly, the harvest has been rather small this year, following the terrible summer drought. However, the resulting oil is absolutely delicious. Foto J Finnigan.
There has also been lots of tree felling. Mostly small-leaved oak trees, that are now in a big pile a few yards from our front gate. It’s a sad sight, I always feel a little bereft at the thought of any tree being chopped down, but I guess the woodland does need managing to some degree. My man bought a new chainsaw last year and he has yet to use it. The temptation to go out there with his boy’s toy, is eating away at him! He reckons we could pretend that we thought it was our own log delivery! O Dio! Anyway, behind the pile of logs the vineyard is looking very beautiful and it won’t be long before all the vines are bare. So we should relax and enjoy it, not think about pinching other people’s logs! Well,on the other hand….. Foto P Finnigan
Gosh, it’s nearly lunchtime and I should go and get changed. It’s currently thundering and raining, so we need to go over to C’era una Volta’ in Lucardo and enjoy the hot food, wine, the company of good friends and forget the weather. On arrival my man orders some fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil and toast, because he wants to taste the new stuff. The oil is Paolo’s own and the colour alone tells you how recently it has been cold pressed. Yummy! Foto J Finnigan
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