Tales of a Gypsy Hotelier is a collection of unique travel adventure stories and letters home detailing the author's experiences while visiting 43 countries, living and working in 7 countries, and managing hotels in Kenya; Zanzibar and Arusha, Tanzania; St. Lucia, Caribbean; and Tonga, South Pacific. Several stories are inspirational, others illustrate the unimaginable difficulties that can arise from living in undeveloped countries; some are romantic, but all are gut-wrenchingly honest and from the heart.

Inside, stories range from a Thelma & Louise style adventure driving across Tanzania twice; sales trips to Australia and Martinique; seated next to a young soldier with an AK-47 strapped on and ready, heading north on a Kenyan bus as defense from getting held-up by Somalian thieves; wearing a dirndl at the Front Desk of a 4-star spa hotel in the Black Forest, Germany; sailing to a hotel job interview on an Arabian Dhow off Lamu, Kenya with stoned Captain Happy; firing cooks in St. Lucia and Tonga; being car-jacked in Tanzania twice; cooking competitions on a sailboat in the Grenadines; following love into the bush of Tanzania: encountering the elusive orange fish known as Nemo and stunning soft corals in Fijian waters; tailor-made dresses in China and Ghana; circumnavigating Skiathos, Greece; Hotel Consulting and Fire Dancing in Tonga; a Maasai Wedding in our garden in Arusha, TZ; to the ultimate exotic destination - the spice island of Zanzibar.

People often lament that there just don't seem to be many good travel books available these days, yet a huge demand exists, including from armchair travellers. So, sit back with a cuppa or something stronger. And read on.