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Meet Author Ray Berry

Meet Author Ray Berry

Author Ray Berry now calls Crete home–and it’s the subject of his writing. Keep reading to learn about him and his books.

Q&A with Ray Berry 

Brit Author Ray Berry fell in love with Crete. So much so, that he made his home there and writes about his experiences. Read on to find out more.

 

ABOUT RAY BERRY

 

Where are you from? 

I was born in South East London, and we moved to the Chilterns when I was eleven. There, I attended Dunstable Grammar School and then joined the Civil Service under orders from my father. When I was 20, I resigned and walked/hitchhiked to Crete. It was as far as I could go in Europe.

 

Where do you live now? 

I live in a small Cretan Village in Apokoronas, Crete.

 

Do write full time or do you have a “day” job? 

I am long retired.

 

Cover of Secret Crete: Saarching for My Home by Ray Berry. Image of a tree in front of the sea with s sunset in the background
Secret Crete: Searching for My Home is the first book by Ray Berry

 

TRAVEL TO GREECE

 

When did you first go to Greece? 

In 1966 at the age of 20. I fell in love with the extraordinary island of Crete. I was here for a month or two and decided to live here. But I needed a lot of cash for that, so one way or another, I got a job in the Arctic Circle in the North of Norway for a very long summer until the sea froze again. I worked long double shifts in a fish factory, played chess with some Russians at the nearby Cold World War border with Russia, drank their vodka, and saved all my earnings in a Norwegian Bank. When I got back to Oslo, I discovered I had earned thousands of pounds, drew it all out in cash, bought a Renault Four and drove to Crete. I got a job with great man in Heraklion as a courier and general assistant on taking early tourists, mostly Greek Americans on coach tours all over Crete from Italian Cruise ships.

My boss was a severe alcoholic and he died after several years. His hated wife wound the company up, and my son was born in the old hospital at Heraklion. Then we came back to England and I went to college in Rugby and qualified myself as a digital engineer. After many years fixing computers for Marks and Spencer to British Aerospace; getting a divorce; and becoming a one parent family, etc.; I came back to my island in the sun–Crete.

 

What made you fall in love with Greece, particularly Crete?

The island is so incredibly beautiful. All areas differ in flora, fauna, and climate. Yes, really. I have now been almost everywhere, but not quite. I love Cretans. They all have stories to tell and they love to sing. I spoke Greek fluently until I had a stroke a couple of years ago, got over that, went back to England and found out I had cancer. So I came back to Crete and now I am in remission for the rest of my life thanks to Cretan doctors and hospitals. So yes, I have always loved Crete.

 

WRITING ABOUT GREECE

 

When did you start writing? 

When I first came to Crete I had a diary, and for many years I have written a blog and my second wife, who is here in Crete with me suggested I write a book. So I wrote two books.

 

When did you know you had to write about Crete? 

I had to share, and there is so much to tell . . .

 

What inspires you?

Everything around me, and I do lots of research.

 

Secret Crete: Working and Living ion the Island by Ray Berry. Image of a tree in front of the sea with a sunset
Secret Crete: Working and Living on the Island is the second book in the series by Ray Berry

 

BOOKS

 

When did you publish your first book? 

In 2022.

 

How many books have you published so far? 

Two.

 

How have they been received? 

They are in Kindle format and I have sold quite a few, but I don’t promote them.

 

WRAPPING UP

 

Have you published anything besides your books?

I blogged on my websites Hidden Crete and Secret Crete, but now I only write on Substack, which is imaginatively called, ‘Ray’s Crete Substack’.

 

What’s next for you?  

Apart from dying, I will continue my Substack. It really is pretty good if I say so myself. And as long as I can I will keep on driving my 20-year-old BMW all over the island to find villages and adventures I have not yet seen.

 

Anything else you want to share?

Bad Question. I can talk for hours about so many aspects of my island that I might bore you to death.

 

CONNECT WITH RAY BERRY

Hidden Crete, Secret Crete, Substack

 

 


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