About the Author

 

Author:
Harvey Alexander Smith

Born on a ranch in Wickenburg, Arizona, Harvey Smith spent his early years in Phoenix and Scottsdale. After attending the University of Virginia, he moved to Guadalajara, Mexico where he resided for 11 years finishing his studies at the Institute of Technology and later directing his own publishing and real estate development firms. Returning to the United States, he spent the next several decades working both sides of the advertising and public relations desk in Southern California, Wisconsin and Florida. His first novel El Idolo: In Search of a Legend, published in 2003, tells of a young man in Mexico seeking a career as a singer complicated by the image of his idol, Pedro Infante, Mexico’s most famous singer and actor. Smith is an avid outdoorsman who has tried his hand at a variety of activities ranging from skydiving, SCUBA and hard hat diving to flying and equestrian show jumping.

Smith currently serves as Honorary Consul of El Salvador following two years in San Salvador as Advisor to the Minister of National Defense and to the Director of National Civil Police. Moving to the Greek community of Tarpon Springs, Florida, long known as the sponge-fishing capital of the world, Smith penned his second novel, Danger Beyond the Reef, a tale of two Greek families in the late 1970s faced with the challenge of an arranged marriage. Imbedded in this exciting adventure pitting two brothers against a dangerous xeni from outside the community is a colorful focus on the history and culture of Tarpon Springs and the beautiful island of Kalymnos, Greece that offers a compelling reason to visit both destinations.

Smith’s third book, Margaritas Are for Tourists, is an autobiography now in the works about the author’s life as an “ex-pat” in Central Mexico during the free-wheeling 1960s.

With:
Beverley Billiris

Beverley Billiris, mayor of the City of Tarpon Springs and long-time resident of the Greek community, married into the family of sponge-fishing pioneer, George Billiris.  Active in city and county government as well as community programs, Billiris owns her own business in Tarpon Springs.  Her many official and personal visits to the Greece islands of the Dodecanese Archipelago have given her an unbiased insight into the differing Greek traditions, culture and customs between Tarpon Springs and the beautiful island of Kalymnos.