The tales of an unlikely holiday rep who fell in love with Switzerland

After four years in the making, I’m excited to have finally pressed the ‘publish’ button on my book about Switzerland from the perspective of a holiday rep.

It’s a Wunderbar Life: The tales of an unlikely holiday rep who fell in love with Switzerland

With an unexpected job offer and a leap of courage, a first-time holiday rep from Birmingham sets off to the Alps.

Meet a shy and retiring holiday rep with dreams of deep powdery snow, rugged mountains and learning to ski. First, she must survive her new reality: chaotic airport transfers, cranky guests, nerve-wracking welcome meetings and the relentless ringing of her emergency 24/7 phone.

This light-hearted memoir reveals the highs, lows and opportunities of holiday repping. Running alongside is a celebration of all things Swiss: the people, the places, the cheese, the trains, and the Toblerone. It’s a book for skiers, hikers, travel lovers and anyone who has ever wondered if they, too, could be a holiday rep.

Click here to read sample pages on Amazon!

The day I decided to write a book about Switzerland

Four years ago, whilst on furlough during Covid, I decided I needed to write down everything I could remember about my three and a half years living and working in Switzerland. What if I can’t remember as I get older? I panicked! As I wrote, and wrote some more, I soon realised I had enough material to write an entire book about Switzerland.

My book writing journey

What followed was a steep learning curve of how to turn my repping reportage style mind dump into a story that somebody might enjoy reading. I read book after book to learn how to write life stories, how to bring characters to life, how to incorporate speech and lots more. At the same time, I read memoir after memoir for inspiration.

I rewrote and rewrote my manuscript. Then I edited, cut, swapped the order and rewrote again. My husband gave me harsh but fair criticism. I rewrote some more.

I pounced on work colleagues and friends and begged them to read and give me feedback. Happily, a few fell for it. I eagerly listened to all the comments and made more changes. But it was surprisingly difficult to persuade people that I wanted to hear what they didn’t like rather than what they did like.

At its largest, it was a huge 110,000-word document. Far too long! So I cut and amended some more.

‘Make it funnier and more about the people, ‘ said my sister. Cue more changes and more editing.

My husband decided it would be a good idea if he read it out loud so we could pick up parts that didn’t work. It was a good idea, but sometimes challenging when I was in Greece and he was in the UK. We had some long phone calls. I rewrote some more.

My publishing journey

My husband and I must have both read this book around 30 times each. Finally, we’d done all we could physically do.

I decided to find a proof editor. She was amazing. I made a few more changes.

I hired a book cover designer. That was a fun part, and I love the result! I wanted it lighthearted and Swiss, and she totally pulled that off.

Then began the battle to format the manuscript for an e-book. Then, for the paperback, cue a crash course in typesetting.

Then Amazon KDP. I only cried once.

I’m eternally grateful to everyone who helped me along the way. But, It’s a Wunderbar Life wouldn’t have happened without my husband. He was with me every step of the way and somehow managed to acquire the skills of a developmental editor, proofreader and typesetter. You can find my full acknowledgements on the back pages! I hope you enjoy it and that it inspires you to travel, hike, and ski in the most beautiful country in the world.

You can read more about me here.