The Back of Beyond

The Back of Beyond is an illustrated autobiographical account of how Sheila and Harry Hawkins, having opted for early retirement from the Royal Air Force, returned to Cyprus to settle in a remote village on the edge of the Akamas wilderness far from the main towns. Here donkeys were the main form of transport and ploughing was done with oxen and a wooden ploughshare. Slowly they built their dream home and integrated into the hospitable and welcoming local community.

In this warm and funny book the author portrays a rapidly disappearing way of life as she follows events in their lives. The sheer beauty of the region is captured in many of the descriptive passages, and her love of nature and wildlife shows clearly throughout the text. Local characters and customs come to life and her sense of humour is infectious, whether she is recalling the demise of a Christmas pig, or their own attempt a keeping chickens which they could never bring themselves to eat.

[Note: The book became a bestseller in Cyprus and was nominated for a major literary award in Ireland. Unfortunately the publisher had declared the genre as fiction on the back cover when it is entirely a work of non-fiction, and was therefore not eligible to be short-listed].

Cover paintings and all illustrations are by Harry Hawkins.

The Back of Beyond ISBN 9963-571-51-4 is currently published unedited and without a contract, but is widely available in Cyprus from all good bookshops, hotels and large supermarkets. The book has sold somewhere in the region of ten thousand copies.

Beyond our Dreams

Beyond Our Dreams is a sequel to The Back of Beyond and is now in its second edition, with the illustrations superbly displayed on the larger pages. It takes a compelling look at life in the remote Akamas village where Sheila and Harry Hawkins built their dream home.

With a wonderful eye for detail the author has captured the outstanding beauty of the area, and in recounting very personal encounters with a Scops owl and a kestrel, given the reader a unique insight into some of the wildlife of the region.

Here too, where Adonis and Aphrodite roamed, the mythology of the Akamas is explored and one of its ancient secrets briefly uncovered.

  Cover paintings and all illustrations are by Harry Hawkins.

Beyond Our Dreams (second edition) ISBN 9963-8239-0-4 is published by the Cyprus Mail and is widely available in Cyprus from all good bookshops and hotels. Well over five thousand copies of this book have been sold.

Beyond Our Dreams is also available as a talking book ISBN 9963-8239-1-2 Available only from Hawkins Studio.

Beyond Compare

Beyond Compare is the third book in the trilogy and is out of print awaiting its second edition, when the illustrations will be superbly displayed on the larger pages. The reader is taken back to the undivided Cyprus of 1971, where colourful scenes of old Limassol, together with some of its unforgettable characters, are portrayed alongside beautiful and detailed descriptions of the north of the island.

There is an insight into the lives of British service families and, following the coup d'état, the agony of the Turkish invasion in 1974 is captured. Sheila and Harry return to the UK, but in 1980 fate steps in and hands out another posting to Cyprus. It was during this second tour of duty that they purchased the land on which they subsequently built their home.

Full of warmth and humour this powerful personal account clearly shows the author's great love for the island.

Cover paintings and all illustrations are by Harry Hawkins.

Beyond Compare ISBN 9963-8377-1-9 is published by the Cyprus Mail and awaits its second edition, having now sold its first five thousand copies. Soon widely available in Cyprus from all good bookshops and hotels.

Anthology From The Akamas

Anthology From The Akamas is a collection selected from features written over a five-year period by Sheila Hawkins in her regular column in the Sunday Mail. Working from her home in the Akamas, the author wrote mainly about the people and the unique flora and fauna of the region in which she lives.

Warm and full of humour, tinged sometimes with an acerbic irony or wit, sometimes with nostalgia, her writing is vividly descriptive of the island she loves so much, and her magical portrayals of local wildlife bring hitherto unknown, or unnoticed, creatures to life.

Cover drawings in line and watercolour wash and all illustrations are by Harry Hawkins.

Anthology from the Akamas ISBN 9963-8377-3-5 is published by the Cyprus Mail and is widely available in Cyprus from all good bookshops and hotels.

 

Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time is a collection of short stories in Sheila Hawkins' first attempt at writing fiction. The author has used real locations and much of the folklore of Cyprus to weave tales of mystery, intrigue, pathos and passion. Beautifully and sensitively written in her own inimitable style, the book brings vividly to life local characters and also events that might have taken place on this island...once upon a time.

Cover paintings and all illustrations are by Harry Hawkins.

Once Upon A Time ISBN 9963-8377-5-1 is published by the Cyprus Mail and is widely available in Cyprus from all good bookshops and hotels.