We moved to Sedella, as you may know a small village in Andalucía, just over 20 years ago. We had been running a guest house in Cumbria and my wife, Wendy, was working as a speech and language therapist. I had wanted to move to Spain for quite a few years, and after Wendy had been on a riding holiday in southern Spain, she also thought it would be a good idea. We therefore started looking for somewhere to buy in this area, and on one of our house hunting trips we found the house we now live in. After we had been here for about 10 years, I developed age related macular degeneration, and because I could not read books any more, the print being too small, I got a kindle so that I could increase the print size. This led to the discovery that I could self-publish books, as both EBooks and paperbacks, through Amazon. I had written several stories since we moved here and some had been published in local magazines. I really enjoyed doing this so we took the change and went for it.
We therefore put together a collection of 12 stories which we published as ‘Andalucían Mysteries’ in 2013. Following this we then published a second book ‘More Andalucían Mysteries’. Both books are set in this area and contain short stories of crime and mystery, all with a twist in the tail. For anyone thinking of visiting or buying in Spain, the stories together try to give a picture of the area, from the beaches of the Costa del Sol into the mountainous hinterland. The day to day life, the fiestas and the interplay between the local populace, the expat community and the hordes of holidaymakers who together inhabit the region. The books are available from Amazon, and have also sold well through bookshops in this area. They have also been translated into German and Spanish. Now A third book, ‘Twisted Tales’, has just been published, and as well as containing stories set in this area, also has some set in the UK, Biblical Palestine and Madrid.
In 2015, we decided to re-publish the first two books as one volume, ‘Malaga Mysteries’, which has been published in England by Matador, and unlike the others can be bought in bookshops throughout the UK and obtained from libraries there. A trailer about this book can be seen at: Trailer Malaga mysteries. There is also a free short story, ‘6.10 from Darlington’ which can be downloaded from the John Hardy website where there is also more information on all the books and myself. Please enjoy my view and interpration of live in Spain, and in particular Andalucía. Maybe you will also fall in love with this great area, just like we did!
Un saludo cordial,
John Hardy
Buy your dream house without worries
We have no shop window or many properties for sale on this website because we believe in personal attention & tailor-made offers; therefore we always work on a specific request basis. From experience we know that buying a home in Spain is different than in your own country, therefore we make every effort to make it run as smoothly as possible.
Reviews from Our customers
We daily work with great pleasure on fulfilling the needs of our customers. During the years we have been able to help many people find their dream house here on the Costa del Sol. We are quite proud of this and have asked them to share their experiences with you as who can better explain how Team Second Home Andalusia works than our customers themselves?
From THE Netherlands to B&B in ANDALUSIA
For us, moving abroad was always beyond any doubt, but one of the biggest question to answer was where to go to. Finally, after some deliberation, we decided to go to the Axarquia region in Andalusia. With the help of Second Home Andalusia we started Cortijo La Zapatera, our beautiful Bed & Breakfast.
Authentic Finca in Andalusia
After many years of spending holidays and short breaks in Andalusia we finally realised our old dream of buying an authentic property in the Andalusian interior; with the help of Second Home Andalusia we fell in love with a renovated old finca with beautiful grounds including olive and fruit trees, our own vineyard and spectacular views towards the Mediterranean Sea and its lovely sunsets.
Cosy finca in Arenas with a mango farm
When Sjaak took early retirement in the beginning of 2016 the idea of having a house in Spain came to mind again. Affected by our friends René and Sonja, who had just bought a house in the Axarquia and by Jan and Marita, our friends who have been living in the Axarquia for several years now..
Finca with a nice view on Canillas de Aceituno
Actually, we have never had the intention to buy a house in Spain, but when we started thinking about our retirement and we realized that we liked coming to Andalusia, we then contacted Second Home Andalusia to talk about the options. Their help was crucial in the whole proces; now we are the proud owners of a beautiful Finca near the white village of Canillas de Aceituno.
Our own holiday home in a white village
My wife and I have been visiting Sedella and the Axarquia since 2001 and our first visit we had been harboring the dream of owning our own property here. In early 2016 our long-held dream became a reality, without any worries, and that is entirely down to the team at Second Home Andalusia!
