Apéro, European Stories

Apéro, your passport to sample Europe’s rich culture, spectacular landscapes, and delightful diversity. Ten enticing stories transport readers to unique destinations from snow-packed Iceland to sun-splattered Greece. Your itinerary includes visits to London, Paris, Stockholm, and Amsterdam. Excursions to the Scottish Highlands, Ireland’s lush green hills, and Holland’s dazzling tulip fields showcase the continent’s postcard-perfect countryside.     Place figures prominently in this collection along with an array of colorful characters and compelling stories. Banned from the Ritz is the tale of an aging punk rocker. Afraid of loneliness and obscurity, Jack Petrillo returns to London where decades earlier he found fame and an unceremonious boot from the Ritz Hotel. A fog of desperation clouds his judgment and might doom his comeback hopes. In Fire and Ice, you’ll meet Lukas and his girlfriend Alena. The young couple travel from Slovakia to Iceland for seasonal employment. The arrival of tempestuous, Mila causes a seismic jolt to their relationship. Chocolade explores the bittersweet relationship between a Flemish chocolate maker steeped in tradition and her brash new business partner, a handsome Walloon schooled in American capitalism. Unexpected competition threatens their delicate détente. Whisky Trail examines the troubled life of Indiana native Eric Boyle. Drinking wrecked his marriage, cost him his job, and estranged him from his teenage sons. But Eric isn’t looking for a divorce from drink, merely a trial separation with visitation rights. Putting his part-time temperance to the test, he books a trip to Scotland’s Whisky Trail where he meets Murielle, a woman with her own mysterious past.