FROM APOKERI BAY TO WHITLEY BAY BOOKSHOP

Online book purchasing might have rocketed in recent years but some would say nothing beats browsing in a real bookshop. There are a myriad of quirky, cute and welcoming options in the UK, from waterside Hillbillies, Gairloch to The Edge of the World, Penzance.

In North-East England is the award-winning Forum Books with its exceptionally knowledgeable staff. They can be found in four locations at the old chapel in picturesque Corbridge; the bound on Park View in Whitley Bay, one of the UK’s most vibrant high streets; the Accidental Bookshop in historic Alnwick, featuring perhaps the UK’s tallest bookshop bookshelf; and in the wonderful Biscuit Factory, Newcastle upon Tyne.

So how have we gone from Apokeri Bay to Whitley Bay? The answer is easy. Debut novelist Jackie Watson has partnered with the bound independent bookshop. Book lovers can now pick up a signed copy of Apokeri Bay and enjoy a slice of Greece.

The women’s contemporary fiction novel is the first part of a trilogy set on the island of Lefkada and follows a feisty young Geordie woman who arrives in a quaint seaside village full of secrets.