I am really happy to be part of a huge blog hop for John Searancke, whose name is familiar as he is also a member of the FB group We love Memoirs. But first things first.
ALL JOHN’S BOOKS ARE ON SALE FROM MARCH 31, 2019 THROUGH APRIL 2, 2019 for 99¢/99£
John Searancke is restaurant reviewer for the Tenerife newspaper Island Connections. Born in 1943 at Derby Royal Infirmary, a war baby, he lived his early life in Ashby-de la-Zouch and was sent away to be educated at Kings Mead Preparatory School, Seaford and afterwards at Rugby School. Later commissioned into the Territorial Army, he has been variously a director of a light engineering company, an hotel and restaurant owner, director and chairman of a marketing consortium, and latterly a partner with his wife in a commercial legal services company. He has enjoyed working in England and Switzerland and has homes in England and northern Tenerife, where he now lives with his wife Sally.
His latest book is
A Memoir
Available Wide in eBook, Paperback
ASIN: B07LB7WLZM
ISBN-10: 1789017572
ISBN-13: 978-1789017571
Non-fiction, Memoir
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LB7WLZM/
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07LB7WLZM/
Amazon Smart Link: smarturl.it/TheRelHotelkeeper
Universal Wide Link: https://books2read.com/b/ReluctantHotelkeeper
A rescue mission originally thought of as lasting for a year or two turned into a 35 year lifetime love affair with a beautiful old building.
There were to be battles royal with neighbours not wanting their status quo to be altered, and with the local fire authority who sought to impose draconian new safety measures.
John Searancke came to the role of hotel keeper almost accidentally, and most definitely with much reluctance. After his parents’ marriage fell apart, he was dragooned in, at the age of 22, to pick up the pieces of their new venture, a barely-trading country house hotel that had, frankly, seen better days. Not only was it posting an annual loss, but the fabric of the building was crumbling and there was no money left to make improvements.
Over the years, and with the steepest of learning curves, the grand old building was renovated and transformed to meet the requirements of the modern discerning traveller. Accolades for the hotel and its restaurant were won; together they became a well-regarded destination for a number of celebrities – and those that deemed themselves to be celebrities but were not. Stories abound featuring idiosyncratic guests, overbearing public bodies, fractured family life and animals of all shapes and sizes. The local fire station next door was demolished one foggy night, people were frightened by flying dogs and snakes in the long grass, and there were, as befits a country house, strange goings on in the night. Many were the guests who checked in who really should not have been seen together.
This is a tribute to all the people behind the scenes who helped to make the hard-won transformation into a great success.
With a rave 5 star review from Readers’ Favorites, I can back up Matma Madhaven’s comments: “There are a lot of interesting stories about eccentric guests, how many guests who checked in should not have been seen together at all, and how it ended up being one of the favored stops for a number of celebrities. The author goes through the entire process, speaking about transforming the hotel methodically and in detail, taking readers along with him and his experiences while getting the old building renovated to cater to the needs of a modern traveler. There is not one boring moment in this memoir and the positive narration and outlook make this memoir an encouraging and motivating read. The author’s story and experiences are enriching, and the ups and downs of his life and the accolades he received for the hotel and its restaurant will encourage many readers out there to become hotel keepers.”
I’m not sure about that last sentence, but I sat and read John’s book in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Other books by John:-
Dog Days In The Fortunate Islands: A new life in hidden Tenerife
https://books2read.com/b/DogDays
Prunes for Breakfast: One Man’s War: Based on a True Story.
https://books2read.com/b/Prunes
Like most of us these days John has numerous addresses and if you want to find out lots more about him click on one of these.
Website: https://www.johnsearancke.com/
Newsletter sign up: https://mailchi.mp/57550f38f321/joinjohnsearancke
Author Interview: https://www.rukiapublishing.com/an-interview-with-john-searancke.html
FB: https://www.facebook.com/johnsearanckeauthor/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/JohnSearancke
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/john-searancke
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/John-Searancke/e/B00J787XZ6/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7956383.John_Searancke
All the very best John for your new book.
Till next time, take care
Lucinda
lucinda E Clarke 