Interview by Despina Dimotsi, ENGLISH EDITION, Issue 8, Fall 2025
Australian Author Shelley Dark’s Debut Travel Memoir Hydra in Winter Holds #1 spot on Amazon Australia for three consecutive months
Book follows author’s search for infamous Greek pirate—her family’s relative
Since its release in November 2024, Australian author Shelley Dark’s debut travel memoir about her transformative solo journey to a storied Greek island, called Hydra in Winter: An Island Escape in Search of a Greek Pirate, held the #1 spot in at least one Amazon Australia category, and sometimes all—Travel Writing, Humour Essays, Solo Travel, or Travel Tips—from December 2024 through March 2025. It was also nominated as a Notable Book for 2025 by one of Australia’s top literary critics, Samuel Bernard, in Australia’s national newspaper, The Weekend Australian.
DD: When did you decide to start writing?
SD: I didn’t really decide—writing just happened. After decades being a cattle farmer, my husband and I retired to the coast and a family bombshell dropped: my husband’s great-great-grandfather was a Hydriot with a talent for trouble. My new obsession was unlocked.
DD: Starting your writer journey in your 70s?
SD: Seventy is when the training wheels come off. I sold subscriptions to my travel diary, flew to Hydra in winter to investigate our wayward ancestor, and came home with the idea for a book and a burning desire to keep going
DD: How did the book Hydra in Winter come about?
SD: I was drafting the historical novel when my Hydra diary elbowed to the front and said, “Me first.” So I polished it into HYDRA IN WINTER—which has become a curtain-raiser to the pirate saga.
DD: Why did you write HYDRA IN WINTER?
SD: Because those quiet, chilly nights on Hydra filled me with joy. I wrote my dairy for the joy of it—no grand plan—then I realised it might make other people smile too.
DD: How were you inspired by Hydra?
SD: I felt as if I was walking through a much-loved movie set. White-washed stone mansions, stone steps, sea air, church bells, winter light. The archivists were warm and helpful, and without the summer crowds, strangers became co-conspirators. I walked the hills and came home with a head full of words to describe what I’d seen.
DD: Is Greece a favourite? Why?
SD: Yes. The filoxenia, the food, the wonderfully formal good manners, the light—especially winter’s soft silver tones. Summer in Greece dazzles; winter whispers secrets.
DD: How did you enjoy Hydra?
SD: I rented a harbourside apartment in a Voulgaris mansion and basically time-travelled. No cars, no hurry. As a woman on my own I felt the island adopted me.
DD: About HYDRA IN WINTER and its recognition
SD: It’s a joyful travel diary about place, ageing, marriage, and finding a new obsession late in life. Readers pushed it up the Amazon charts and The Weekend Australian called it “one hell of an entertaining read.” I’ve been blushing for months.
DD: When you’re not writing?
SD: I’m happiest with my husband, family, friends—and a plane ticket—then straight back to the keyboard.
DD: Future plans
SD: SON OF HYDRA lands November 2025—the pirate’s story. Next will be DAUGHTER OF CORK, about Mary, the Irish girl who matched Ghikas stride for stride. After that, more travel memoirs…and possibly a guide to my life’s greatest quest: the perfect cream bun.
DD: Tell us about the next book
SD: SON OF HYDRA begins on Hydra during the Revolution, with Ghikas believing that the best things in life are power and wealth. It touches Ermionida (the Voulgaris land there gets a mention), detours via Malta (where he and his friends are given death sentences) and Portsmouth (where they’re held on a hulk), and sails to New South Wales where a shepherd’s life—and Mary—teach him what really matters. The records didn’t reveal why he made his questionable choices—so the novel imagines a true-to-history path between the facts.
DD: Anything to add?
SD: Seventy isn’t a speed limit. If you’ve got a dream, start. Climb a mountain, stitch a quilt, learn a language, start a business, write the book—make time for what you love. I found mine on Hydra in winter, and it changed my life.
And if any families in Hydra or Ermionida have Voulgaris papers or stories, I’d be honoured to hear from you: shelleydarkwriter@gmail.com. HYDRA IN WINTER is at the Hydra archives and on Amazon.
I’m on Instagram @shelleydark, and my website is https://www.shelleydark.com/.
See you across the gulf soon.
