Gill James's Blog, page 3
November 2, 2020
News 2 November
So, here we go. Into another full lockdown. We were already in Tier 3 here in Greater Manchester though when I went out on Friday to the dentist it was hard to believe; the traffic was like pre-pandemic days.
The dentist was a little spooky however - quite appropriate I suppose as it was 30 October, one day before Halloween. He was wearing so much protective gear that he looked and sounded like Darth Vader. You have to wait to be let in and they take your temperature. The chairs in the waiting room are spread out. They leave ten minutes between appointments and they have great extractor fans that take the air out of the room. Huge yellow tubes hang from the windows. You go out via the back door.
My appointment was delayed a little as he had a nervous patient who was having an extraction. The patient was sedated so he decided to do a filling while he was still “under”. That wasn’t a problem – expect that a whole family then arrived in the waiting room and it really did become difficult to maintain social distancing.
No trick or treaters this year. In fact we only had two last year. But we’d stacked up on goodies as we didn’t know what the rules were going to be.
Ah well, we carry on. Glad we bought decent mini chocolate bars which we will just have to finish. Do we have your sympathy? Especially as we missed the lovely costumes?
News about my writing and other creative projectsI’m still carrying on much as before: The Round Robin, the fifth book in the Schellberg Cycle, Not Just Fluffy Bunnies, and I’m still working on The Business of Writing. And of course I’m interspersing this with short stories and flash fiction.
I’m also continuing to write stories relating to what might happen after the virus leaves us – if it does. This is Aftermath, an invitation to write speculative and near future fiction about what may happen after the virus. Reflective writing about what is actually happening now is also welcome, along with stories set now or a little into the future. Just four more stories needed? Will one of them be yours?
I've had another article published on Talking About My Generation. Read my account about my firt part-tiem job:
https://talkingaboutmygeneration.co.uk/crew-cut-gets-the-donut/
I'm also please to have another piece of flash fiction published by Page & Spine:
https://pagespineficshowcase.com/crumbs/gill-james9593297
The Young Person’s Library
The full catalogue is now at https://www.theyoungpersonslibrary.co.uk/
I’ve added new this month:
Ada is Ada Lovelace who went some way towards inventing the computer. This is a YA text.
The Golden Sceptre by Elizabeth Arnold
A fluent reader ghost story and historical novel.
Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz Another thriller for teens. Indigo's Star by Hilary Mckay Real life story for early teens. Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz
More about Alex Rider.
The Last Wolf by Mini Grey A delightful picture with a new take on Red Riding Hood. Russian Roulette by Anthony Horowitz The final story in the Alex Rider series though it’s mainly back story and more about another character than about Alex. Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson and E.B. Lewis A picture book with a powerful message about the effect of kindness and also about regret. The story is a little unresolved. Current reading recommendation
I’m recommending this month Salt by Catrin Kean. This starts off in Cardiff in the late 1800s. The story is based on Catrin’s great- grandparents who married in 1878. This was a mixed-race marriage.
Ellen goes to sea with Samuel and they lead a pleasant romantic life as they make their way across the world. However, when they return to Wales they encounter prejudice.
It’s quite a topical read.
It is beautifully written and the language reads like poetry.
There are big gaps between paragraphs and this feels odd at first but this layout actually enhances the rhythm of the words.
Interestingly I read this book because I know Catrin. She also made it easy for me to buy it by providing a link. Soon I’ll be blogging about how I buy books and how we might examine our book-buying habits when we market our own work.
You can find the book here.
GiveawayNote: these are usually mobi-files to be downloaded to a Kindle. Occasionally there are PDFs.
The month I’m giving away my YA paranormal romance, Spooking. I suppose it’s appropriate for the time of year. But it’s not really a scary one and it was just the next on the list anyway.
Please, please, please review it if you read it.
You can download lots of other free materials here
Note, that normally my books and the books supplied by the imprints I manage sell for anything from £0.99 to £10.99, with most on Kindle being about £2.99 and the average price for paperback being £7.00. Writers have to make a living. But I’m offering these free samples so that you can try before you buy.
The Schellberg ProjectThe posts may be helpful for teachers who are familiar with the Schellberg stories or who are teaching about the Holocaust and also for other writers of historical fiction.
Sometimes I also write about what might be of interest to other writers.
I provide an excerpt for the book in A comical figure and a serious boy This deals with the civilian attitude to the realisation that Germany was losing the war and was about to be invaded by enemy soldiers.In The nature of the bystander I define the girls as bystanders. Were they completely innocent? Were they indoctrinated? Towards the end of this latest novel – which I’ve decided now to call The Class Letter – the girls are certainly overcome with guilt. Is it also shame?
School visits
I’ve suspended these until further notice. I’m now starting work on a series of on-line materials.
Some notes about my newsletters and blogsThey do overlap a little but here is a summary of what they all do.
Bridge House Authors For all those published by Bridge House, CaféLit, Chapeltown or The Red Telephone or interested in being published by us. General news about the imprints. News for writers. Links to book performance. Sign up here.
Chapeltown Books News about our books. Sign up here.
The Creative Café Project News about the project and CaféLit – for the consumer rather than for the producer. Sign up here.
Gill’s News: News about my writing, The Schellberg Project, School Visits and Events. Book recommendations and giveaways. Find it here.
Pushing Boundaries, Flying Higher News about conferences and workshops to do with the young adult novel. (infrequent postings) Sign up here.
Red Telephone Books News about our books and our authors. Sign up here.
A Publisher’s Perspective Here I blog as a publisher. Access this here.
The Creative Café Project Listings and reviews of creative cafés. See them here.
CaféLit Stories Find these here
Gill James Writer All about writing and about my books. View this here.
Gill’s Recommended Reads Find information here about books that have taken me out of my editor’s head and a reminder of the ones I’ve highlighted in this newsletter.
Gill’s Sample Fiction Read some of my fiction here.
The House on Schellberg Street All about my Schellberg project. Read it here.
Writing Teacher All about teaching creative writing. Some creative writing exercises. Access this here.
Books Books Books Weekly offers on our books and news of new books. Find them here.
The Young Person’s Library I am gradually moving the children’s book catalogue over to this site. Access it here.
Fair Submissions Find it here.
Opportunities for writers are added several times a day. Roughly once a month I send it out to a list. If you would like to be on that list, sign up here.Happy reading and writing.
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
October 24, 2020
An interview with another of our Waterloo winners.
Today I'm talking to Jeanne Davies.
What do you write? Why this in particular?
Since first picking up an anthology by John Wyndham in the school library, I became eager to read and later to write short stories. There is something about the form which encourages the reader to want to reach the end without putting it down, like the challenge of taking a breath and swimming under water for the whole length of a pool.
What writers have inspired you?
As a child my mother enjoyed reading dark tales like those of Edgar Allan Poe, which frankly terrified me! I enjoyed a lighter read like the stories of Oscar Wilde, the Selfish Giant still reduced me to tears when I read it to the children later in life, as did the Velveteen rabbit. I admire the writings and imagination of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, who in their way have all inspired me to write.
When did you decide you could call yourself a writer? Do you do that in fact?
Although I have had countless short stories published in anthologies over the years, I have still found it difficult to call myself a writer. Since having my own anthology of short stories Drawn by the Sea published by Bridgehouse in July 2020, I have on a few occasions plucked up the courage to tell people I’m an author, but it still feels like I’m blowing my own trumpet!! I really cannot thank Gill James enough for suggesting the anthology and her tireless energy and hard work in publishing it; with Martin and Debz they are an amazing team, a fantastic independent publisher.
Do you have a dedicated place to write?
Inspiration for most of my stories comes from walking my dog in places of natural beauty that are open to the sky, whether it’s sapphire blue or the most miserable grey. I find that exploring magnificent green spaces or wandering along the seashore with the serenity and chaos of the ocean allows the imagination to be free. Of course it helps to have a voice recorder in my pocket to remember thoughts and, as you can see from the photo below, I usually rush home and write notes with my canine companion taking an interest … well actually, she usually gets bored and snores beneath the table!
Now, about your story.
Tell me about your story in the collection.
I first entered the Waterloo Short story competition in 2019 with Everything has Changed, which was in response to the anthology’s theme of Changing Being. It is a story about grief and coming to terms with the inevitable change associated with it. The theme for the anthology Changing Communities for 2020 inspired Utopian Trend. My daughter, Katie, became vegetarian at thirteen and then two years ago became a strict Vegan; she has extraordinarily strong views, which I respect.This story explores how one person’s views and beliefs might be able to change communities, or even to change the world.
It is strange how sometimes stories evolve all on their own when mixing fact with fiction, the characters seem to take on their own personas as the story unfolds almost by itself. I often look back and wonder if I have actually written the stories at all, but the journeys were always such fun … like living lots of other lives.
Do you have any tips for new writers or writers seeking publication?
Finding a place where you can be alone with your thoughts is essential in my case and a voice recorder can be a useful piece of equipment. I have a battery lighted pen in my bedside drawer, so I won’t disturb my husband if I wake in the middle of the night (which I often do) and need to make some notes. I have always been an avid reader and am never without a book on the go; I find when you read more it encourages you to write more. I would also recommend putting your stories out there by entering competitions from time to time.
Utopian Trend
Jeanne Davies
Melanie zigzagged down winding lanes, sunshine darting through beech trees onto her dusty window screen. A year had passed since she’d visited Sussex. She reminisced as she approached Burpham, a tiny village saddled to the back of the south downs, before veering off down the quiet lane where she was born. Claypit Lane had been developed, but Perrymead Cottage hadn’t changed. Dismissing cascades of tears, she marvelled at Dahlias, and lanky Foxgloves, all testimony to her mother’s gardening skills. Nearby Grove Farmhouse had been demolished and replaced by a huge grey building without windows, the adjoining horse-field a vast car park for supermarket lorries.
The heart-wrenching sound of cows as calves were taken still haunted her dreams. Melanie would gaze at fluffy white lambs bouncing in fields, innocently asking her mother why farmers couldn’t buy their meat at Sainsbury’s like they did. She became vegetarian at twelve, but soon realised this still condoned cows being forcefully impregnated for milk products, so she became vegan at sixteen. Over the years she discovered that being free-range wouldn’t save a hen’s life; as she aged, and her productivity decreased, her poor worn out body would be used in cheap chicken products like pies and pasties. One-day-old male chicks were destroyed because they couldn’t lay eggs. After investigating the dairy and meat producing industries, Melanie created Animal Utopia, with their slogan being “Freedom for anything with a face”.
Realising the time, she sped off in the direction of the crematorium hoping to see her mother before the service commenced. Visiting her parents over the past ten years had been sporadic since becoming head of Animal Utopia. She toured many countries giving lectures on how communities and their environments could be changed by veganism. After thirty years of campaigning, forsaking marriage and the chance of a family, she finally saw the fruits of her labours when the government started to pay farmers to produce more arable crops. The landscape in the countryside became transformed with the absence of chicken-coops, pigsties and cattle grazing in the fields.
October 23, 2020
Write Time Short Story Competition
1. Entries must be in English.
2. Entries must be a maximum of 1500 words on any theme.
3. Entries must not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere.
4. Entries submitted by post cannot be returned.
5. The closing date for entries during the rest of 2020 is 31 December. Winners will be notified within six weeks of the closing date.
6. By entering the competition you are agreeing to publication on the website. The results of the competition and the winning stories will be published at www.writetime.org/storytime
7. Entering the competition gives Shoreham Press CIC the once-only permission to publish the story in the WriteTime anthology.
8. Extracts from stories may be used as examples of good practice in the WriteTime newsletter.
9. Entries will be judged anonymously and the judges will not know the name or gender of any author.
10. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
11. No corrections will be accepted or refunds given.
12. Copyright remains with the author.
13. Entries not complying with competition rules will be disqualified.
14. Submission of an entry or entries implies acceptance of these rules.
Submitting your entry
15. All entries must be prepaid.
16. Entries should be submitted through this website or by post. See How to Enter for full details.
L Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future
The most enduring and influential contest in the history of SF and Fantasy
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new writers of science fiction and fantasy to have their work judged by some of the masters in the field and discovered by a wide audience.
No entry fee is required and entrants retain all publication rights.
Entries in the Writers of the Future Contest are adjudicated only by professional writers. Prizes of $1000, $750 and $500 are awarded every three months. From the four quarterly 1st Place winners each year, a panel of judges select one story as the grand prize winner. The writer of the grand-prize-winning story receives the L. Ron Hubbard Golden Pen Award and an additional $5000 cash prize.
Enter the Writer Contest1st Quarter 2021
Deadline: December 31, 2020
This Contest will run from October 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020.
Deadline is 11:59 p.m. December 31, 2020 Pacific Standard Time.
Blue Mountian Arts Poetry Contest
Blue Mountain Arts Announces Its Thirty-Seventh Biannual Poetry Contest
Deadline: December 31, 2020
1st prize: $350 * 2nd prize: $200 * 3rd prize: $100
In addition, the winning poems will be displayed on our website.
Please read the following, then scroll down to submit your poem.
Poems can be rhyming or non-rhyming, although we find that non-rhyming poetry reads better.
We suggest that you write about real emotions and feelings and that you have some special person or occasion in mind as you write.
Poems are judged on the basis of originality and uniqueness.
English-language entries only, please.
Enter as often as you like!
Poetry Contest RulesAll entries must be the original creation of the submitting author. All rights to the entries must be owned by the author and shall remain the property of the author. The author gives permission to Blue Mountain Arts, Inc. to publish and display the entry on the web (in electronic form only) if the entry is selected as a winner or finalist. Winners will be contacted within 45 days of the deadline date. The contest is open to everyone except employees of Blue Mountain Arts and their families. Void where prohibited.
How to SubmitSimply complete the contest form below, or if you prefer, you may send a hard-copy* of your submission to us:
Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Card Contest
Editorial Department
P.O. Box 1007
Boulder, CO 80306
*Please do not send us the only copy of your work. If you'd like your entry material returned, enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Please label each submission with your name, mail address, phone number, and email address (if you have one).
Poetry Contest Submission Form Name * First Name Last Name Address * Address 1 Address 2 City State/Province Zip/Postal Code Country Email Address * Poem Title (Not required, but recommended) Your Poem * Poem Subject Category * (e.g. Mother, Love, Support, etc.) I agree to the contest rules * I have read the rules below****All entries must be the original creation of the submitting author. All rights to the entries must be owned by the author and shall remain the property of the author. The author gives permission to Blue Mountain Arts, Inc. to publish and display the entry on the web (in electronic form only) if the entry is selected as a winner or finalist. Winners will be contacted within 45 days of the deadline date. The contest is open to everyone except employees of Blue Mountain Arts and their families. Void where prohibited.
Other Ways of Being
Other Ways of Being is my latest collection of short stories. An earlier collection contained what I would call my “every day, real life stories”. This one has stories in different settings: the supernatural, near future, fantasy and back in history. Hence the title.
Some of them have been published before.
We’re often asked “Where do you get your ideas from?” So here’s a list of what sparked the stories.
I forced myself to write a story that included the were-wolf / vampire conflict – but they went and fell in love.
I explored the backstory of a fantasy I’ve written for children.
A colleague made a chance remark that she could do with cloning herself so that she could get all of her work done. I wondered how that might work.
What if the infrastructure breaks down?
How might an alien see our planet? This came from an exercise at Winchester cathedral when I was doing my MA.
A newspaper article about the disappearance of a couple on a boating holiday sparked an idea.
There was another newspaper article about a young man who had been living wild in the forests. I coupled that with similar stories I’d heard about people fleeing the Nazis that way in the 1930s and 1940s.
What would it be like to be the mind of a blue whale?
What happens when the money runs out?
And if we no longer use money how could we repurpose the old ATMs?
I noticed that religious people respect one another’s places of worship, even if they don’t believe the same things. Might churches then become a place of refuge?
What might we discover if we really could freeze people and bring them back to life?
What was it like in biblical times as those events we now know so well were actually happening? For instance, the journey of the Magi and the feeding of the five thousand?
What was that strange experience of telepathy all about?
They’re talking about driverless cars. Let’s explore that and add a bit of spooky magic.
There you have them and I’ve written a heap more since then. It’s always a matter of exploring the “what if”?
October 17, 2020
Girl in a Smart Uniform
"Girl in a Smart Uniform" is the third book in the Schellberg Cycle, a collection of novels inspired by a bundle of photocopied letters that arrived at a small cottage in Wales in 1979. The letters give us first-hand insights into what life was like growing up in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.It is the most fictional of the stories to date, though some characters, familiar to those who have read the first two books, appear again here. Clara Lehrs, Karl Schubert and Dr Kühn really existed. We have a few, a very few, verifiable facts about them. The rest we have had to find out by repeating some of their experiences and by using the careful writer's imagination.
Gisela adores her brother Bear, her gorgeous BDM uniform, and her little half-brother Jens. She does her best to be a good German citizen, and is keen to help restore Germany to its former glory. She becomes a competent and respected BDM leader. But life begins to turn sour. Her oldest brother Kurt can be violent, she soon realises that she is different from other girls, she feels uncomfortable around her mother’s new lover, and there is something not quite right about Jens. It becomes more and more difficult to be the perfect German young woman.
We know that BDM girls set fire to the house in Schellberg Street but got the children out first. This story seeks to explain what motivated the girls to do that, and what happened to them afterwards.
October 10, 2020
Stories all day long
When I was still working at the University of Salford I remarked to a group of my colleagues that I actually enjoyed marking. They gave me a curious look.
Then one of them beamed. “Ah, that’s because you get to read lots of stories.”
He was right. I was marking mainly short stories, extract of novels for young adults and other bits of fiction for other young readers. Yes, there were also reflective commentaries, some essays, some bits of memoir and a few poems. There were also stage, film and TV scripts; these also contain stories. So yes, about three quarters of what I was marking was story and anyway the commentary on it was interesting and added to my understanding and appreciation of story.
And it goes on even now that I’ve retired.
A typical day looks like this.
As soon as the alarm goes off I get up and make a cup of tea and then read while I drink it. About three-quarters of what I read is fiction.
Mornings I spend up to three hours writing and editing my own work. Again, three quarters of what I’m reading is fiction.
Afternoons are for admin but also some editing. Stories again part of the time. If the admin is very boring I’ll put on the TV in my office while I work. I enjoy reruns of dramas. Stories yet again.
Evenings are spent largely working on other people’s prose. Again, I’m reading fiction.
I relax later by watching a little TV. There is some excellent drama around. Fantastic stories.
And I read in bed just before I go to sleep.
When I’m out and about I find myself making ups stories about people.
So, I often watch The One Show for a bit of a contrast. Okay, so all the stories here are true but they’re still stories.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
I believe the world needs story-tellers – probably more than ever now. Stories help us make sense of the world. I hope I remain part of that community but anyway I’ll never stop reading stories and consuming them in other ways. I’m sure I’m not alone. This bodes well for those of us who write.
October 1, 2020
News 1 October 2020
I was very pleased with the two events we held this month: 1940s’ Readers and Writers (17th September) and Meet Some of Our Writers (26 September). I’ll certainly consider doing more of these in the future.
My work with the Culture Champions continues. You can hear all about this at the Sonder Radio: https://www.sonderradio.com/listenback.html#Bury Culture Champions. All of the programmes are interesting. I take part in the recording about the Jinnah centre.
This work has led to me working with Talking About My Generation. I am now a “staff reporter” and here is my first article: https://talkingaboutmygeneration.co.uk/a-midsummer-nights-zoom/ Part of the rationale behind this web site is that idea that older people have something of value to offer.
News about my writing and other creative projectsI’m still carrying on much as before: The Round Robin, the fifth book in the Schellberg Cycle, Not Just Fluffy Bunnies, and I’m still working on The Business of Writing. And of course I’m interspersing this with short stories and flash fiction.
I’m also continuing to write stories relating to what might happen after the virus leaves us – if it does. This is Aftermath, an invitation to write speculative and near future fiction about what may happen after the virus. Reflective writing about what is actually happening now is also welcome, along with stories set now or a little into the future.
The Young Person’s Library
The full catalogue is gradually moving from http://www.gilljameswriter.eu/p/blog-page_81.htmlto https://www.theyoungpersonslibrary.co.uk/
I’ve added new this month: Letters of a Lovestruck Teenager by Claire RobertsonThis is an early new-type young adult novel, written in 1990.
Snakehead by Anthony HorrowitzAlex is certainly maturing. The adventures are getting edgier. And the books are getting longer.
Mates, Dates and Pulling Power by Cathy HopkinsA great teenage romp with a slightly more serious side. Chicklet-lit.
Wolves by Emily GravettA delightful but quite sophisticated picture book.
The Beautiful Game by Jon BlakeThe beautiful game here is snooker. This is a teen high-low and also a coming of age story.
Here We Are by Oliver JeffersA sophisticated picture book that helps the child to understand their place in the world.
Ark Angel by Anthony HorrowitzAnother adventure for the young secret agent.
The Boy at the back of the Class by Anjali Q RaúfA fluent reader text about bullying and refugees.
Current reading recommendationAlas, I have now finished all of the Anne Shirley books and what wonderful escapism they’ve been. Yet they’re not without their shadows: Matthew Cuthbert dies suddenly at the end of the first book, Anne’s first baby dies as a very young infant, and this final book is impacted by the Great War.
Rilla of Inglesideis for Rilla, Anne’s youngest daughter, a coming of age story. At the beginning she is a girl of fifteen and by the end a young woman of nineteen. Her brothers and fiancé have gone to fight in the Great War. The ending is upbeat and makes us feel good. Yet there are ups and downs throughout the story and we get much detail about what is happening on the war front.
L. M Montgomery was way ahead of her time. Yes, she has a shifting point of view and very occasionally she takes on an authorial role and lectures the reader but only a little compared with other writers of her time. She achieves as well if not better than many 21st century writers a strong sense of time and place. Her characters are rounded and believable. We are close to them and have empathy for them. There is plenty of story as well.
GiveawayNote: these are usually mobi-files to be downloaded to a Kindle. Occasionally there are PDFs.
Unusually this month I’m giving away a paperback. This is a non-fiction book about language learning. The Complete Guide to Learning a Language, the first trade book I ever had published. It is a guide for the hobby language learner and informed by my twenty-six years of teaching languages. It covers the four language skills- listening, speaking, reading and writing, gives tips on how to get free help and discusses different ways of learning.
It’s a matter of “while stocks last”.
If you’re interested, let me know your contact details and I’ll post one out to you.
Please, please, please review it if you read it.
You can download lots of other free materials here.
Note, that normally my books and the books supplied by the imprints I manage sell for anything from £0.99 to £10.99, with most on Kindle being about £2.99 and the average price for paperback being £7.00. Writers have to make a living. But I’m offering these free samples so that you can try before you buy.
The Schellberg ProjectThe posts may be helpful for teachers who are familiar with the Schellberg stories or who are teaching about the Holocaust and also for other writers of historical fiction.
Sometimes I also write about what might be of interest to other writers and that is certainly the case this month.
In A Necessary Cut I write about how I’ve edited my latest novel. In Creating a Sense of Time and Place in the Historical Novel I write about some useful tools available to the writer of historical fiction.
School visits
I’ve suspended these until further notice. I’m now starting work on a series of on-line materials.
Some notes about my newsletters and blogsThey do overlap a little but here is a summary of what they all do.
Bridge House Authors For all those published by Bridge House, CaféLit, Chapeltown or The Red Telephone or interested in being published by us. General news about the imprints. News for writers. Links to book performance. Sign up here.
Chapeltown Books News about our books. Sign up here.
The Creative Café Project News about the project and CaféLit – for the consumer rather than for the producer. Sign up here.
Gill’s News: News about my writing, The Schellberg Project, School Visits and Events. Book recommendations and giveaways. Find it here.
Pushing Boundaries, Flying Higher News about conferences and workshops to do with the young adult novel. (infrequent postings) Sign up here.
Red Telephone Books News about our books and our authors. Sign up here.
A Publisher’s Perspective Here I blog as a publisher. Access this here.
The Creative Café Project Listings and reviews of creative cafés. See them here.
CaféLit Stories Find these here
Gill James Writer All about writing and about my books. View this here.
Gill’s Recommended Reads Find information here about books that have taken me out of my editor’s head and a reminder of the ones I’ve highlighted in this newsletter.
Gill’s Sample Fiction Read some of my fiction here.
The House on Schellberg Street All about my Schellberg project. Read it here.
Writing Teacher All about teaching creative writing. Some creative writing exercises. Access this here.
Books Books Books Weekly offers on our books and news of new books. Find them here.
The Young Person’s Library I am gradually moving the children’s book catalogue over to this site. Access it here.
Fair Submissions I am gradually moving the Opportunities List to this site. Find it here.
New ones are added several times a day. Roughly once a month I go through it and take out all of the out of date ones. At that point I send it out to a list. If you would like to be on that list, sign up here.Happy reading and writing.
Image by Mediamodifier from Pixabay
September 24, 2020
An interview with Jeanne Davies
Today I'm talking to Jeanne Davies about her book Drawn from the Sea.
1. Tell me about your book.
Drawn by the Sea is an anthology of short stories, including a few one-hundred-word flash fictions, many of which have been included in competition anthologies. Stagnightwon first prize in a flash fiction competition and gave me my first financial reward and two of the short stories were taken by an American publisher.
2. Tell us about your research for this book.
Nearly all the stories required some research or other, some more than others. I delved quite deeply into Buddhism whilst writing Waiting for the Light, looking at the lives and practises of Buddhist monks. The story is set in Tibet and I really enjoyed researching Tibetan landscapes, eagerly visualising being there. I found myself referring to passages in the old testament for The Tinderbox, as well as probing the idiosyncrasies of the Church of England. The Day Sussex Died (which was based on a true story about my Grandfather) required research into World War One and the part played by the Royal Sussex Regiment.
3. What inspired you to write this?
Inspiration for nearly all these stories came from a love of walking with my Labradors in places of natural beauty that are open to the sky, whether it is sapphire blue or the most miserable grey; exploring magnificent green spaces or wandering along the seashore with the serenity and chaos of the ocean allows the imagination to be free. Stories can also pop out of a conversation … like my husband and I randomly discussing the prison service one day which inspired one of my favourite stories, Whiteout,which is set in the not too distant future. Waiting for Susan was written after helping a nervous little girl walking home from school for the first time alone and the story still evokes emotion in me when I read it. It is strange how sometimes the stories evolve all on their own and seem to write themselves with the characters taking on their own personas. I often look back and wonder if I have actually written the stories at all, but the journeys were such fun, like living lots of other lives.
What's next after this?
Bridgehouse have been fantastic publishers and Gill has intimated that they may be interested in publishing a further anthology in the future. I will continue to enter competitions as I find the discipline of having a subject to write about often focuses the imagination, especially with writers’ block. I’d love to write a full-length novel someday, but I am still hung up on the excitement of the short story.
4. Tell us a little about your journey as a writer.
I began scribbling down poetry in junior school and one poem got printed in the local newspaper who also gave me a voucher for WH Smiths! My Aunt, who is sadly died before I had any stories published, encouraged me a great deal throughout my childhood; she was a Head Teacher and author who won many prizes for her work. I struggled to contain and modify my writing at school and my English teacher once said she wished my spelling were as good as my imagination!
5. Do you have any tips for new writers?
Finding a place where you can be alone with your thoughts is essential in my case and a voice recorder can be a useful piece of equipment. I have a battery lighted pen in my bedside drawer, so I won’t disturb my husband if I wake in the night and need to make some notes. I have always been an avid reader and am never without a book on the go.
6. How can we get a copy of the book?
Drawn by the Sea is available on Amazon in Paperback as well as Kindle. (Click on the image above an you'll be taken directly to the book on Amazon)
