It's crunch time for the Kerr family on their run-down little orange farm in Mallorca. After their first eventful year on the Spanish island, the honeymoon period is over for Peter, Ellie, and their two sons, Sandy and Charlie. Will all the work they've invested in restoring their finca provide them with a decent living? Will Sandy go back to Scotland, and will young Charlie be seduced by Mallorca's super-rich set? Amid the spring "snowfall" of Mallorcan almond blossom, they are helped, as ever, by an eccentric collection of friends and neighbors, none more colorful than Jock Burns, whose Hispano-Scots fiesta turns out to be a highlight of the Mallorcan social calendar.
Peter Kerr, the best-selling Scottish author, was born in Lossiemouth, Morayshire, in 1940. His award-winning 'Snowball Oranges' series of five Mallorcan-based books have sold in large numbers worldwide and have been translated into eleven languages. They recount the often hilarious adventures experienced by Peter and his family while running a small orange farm on the Spanish Mediterranean island during the 1980s.
'Thistle Soup' is a prequel to these books and is a humorous though sometimes poignant account of his boyhood in the county of East Lothian, 'The Garden of Scotland', where he eventually followed in his farming grandfather's footsteps.
Peter now concentrates on writing fiction. His first novel, 'The Mallorca Connection', was a rare mix of suspense and comedy and has been followed to date by four other equally quirky yarns, with Scottish and international settings.
In the 1960s, Peter was a professional jazz musician - the clarinettist-leader of Scotland's premier jazzband, 'The Clyde Valley Stompers', with whom he recorded the hit version of 'Peter and the Wolf' for Beatles producer George Martin.
From 1970 onwards, Peter combined farming beef and barley in East Lothian with freelance record production, hitting the jackpot with the biggest-selling instrumental single of all time, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 'Amazing Grace'.
Peter, now a full-time author, is married with two sons and lives in East Lothian. He is currently writing a historical novel set in 13th century Mallorca.
Website: www.peter-kerr.co.uk
