Sara Gethin's Blog, page 5
October 11, 2017
#WelshWordWednesday
Today’s Welsh word, for readers of ‘Not Thomas’ who aren’t familiar with the language, isn’t a word at all, but a title. It’s Calon Lân and it’s the name of a well-loved Welsh hymn that’s often sung at funerals.
Calon lân translates as ‘a pure heart’:
calon = heart
glân (which loses its ‘g’ when it mutates after calon) = clean.
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On page 123 Miss mentions to Mrs Jones, the school cleaner, that Nanno had planned her own funeral. Calon Lân was Nanno’s favourite hymn and she wanted Tomos to sing it back at home after the chapel service. Of course, Ree had other ideas…
And since I never miss a chance to play my favourite version of the hymn, here’s Cerys Matthews once again.
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from bookshops.
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October 10, 2017
Not the Booker Final Public Vote
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The final public vote has just opened to help decide the winner. I know the original vote was fraught with problems because of the Guardian’s fiendishly difficult website, but if you’d like to vote for Not Thomas and have the energy to tackle that voting page again, this is the link.
Hopefully, having navigated the page once, second time around it won’t be quite so horrendous.
Of course, you’re still able to vote even if you didn’t vote in the first round. Click in the box that says ‘join the discussion’ near the bottom of the voting page.
The Guardian would like your vote to start with the word VOTE then the title and author of the book and a 50 word review. Your previous review should still be online, and if you click on your username it should take you to it.
It’s been a weird couple of months on the shortlist
and I have yet to take part in the Big Green Bookshop event, where I’ll meet some of the other authors, which I’m really looking forward to, and my scathing reviewer, Sam Jordison, which should be rather interesting. I’ll be reporting back when I get the chance!
In the meantime, thank you so much for your support of Not T and me – I appreciate it very much indeed.
Bye for now & diolch o galon,
Sara x
P.S. Here’s that voting link again
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from bookshops.
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October 5, 2017
#MusicTherapyThursday
#musiciwriteto #thecivilwars #20years
There’s a note underneath your front door…
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from bookshops.
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Not the Booker Goes Silent
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All six shortlisted novels have been reviewed by Sam Jordison, who runs the prize, and one novel, in a shock announcement, has been removed from the competition by its author. There’ve been no more books to review and no comments from readers, as the threads under each of the novels are closed. And so it’s been a very quiet week on the Not the Booker page.
So what happens next?
As there’s no up-to-date information yet this year, I’ve looked back at what happened last year, and I’m assuming there’ll be another online public vote, where readers can choose their favourite book from the shortlist of five. The voting will probably open this weekend, or soon after, and run for the whole week.
I’m guessing that, like last year, people will be asked to vote for only one novel on the shortlist and to write a 50 word review – half the number of words required in the previous round.
If Sam follows last year’s system, the book that wins the public vote will get two points. No points will be awarded for second place.
Then it’s the turn of the judges.
Sam will choose three judges from people who’ve reviewed this year’s books in the comment threads on the Not the Booker page. Last year, the judges were announced when the public voting opened. This year, surprisingly, the judges don’t need to have read all of the shortlisted books, only three. Each judge has one vote, and in the case of a tie, Sam has the casting vote.
The winner will be announced live online.
Last year, the judges discussed the shortlisted novels with Sam via Skype on the morning after the public vote closed. Maybe that will be the case this year too. I expect Sam will let us know soon. But until then, all the above is speculation.
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So this week has been a pause for breath.
Next week will be busy, with public voting open again, that dreadful Guardian site to help would-be voters navigate and a live event at the Big Green Bookshop in London. Four of the shortlisted authors are expected to be there, including this one, and Sam will be chairing the discussion. Oh the joy – Tomos and I will need all the positive vibes you can send us!
I’ll update my blog when I have more definite information but until then, thanks for reading,
Sara x
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from all good bookshops.
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October 4, 2017
#WelshWordWednesday
Today’s Welsh word, for readers of Not Thomas who aren’t familiar with the language, is croeso – a word you’ll see very often around and about in Wales. It means ‘welcome’.
It’s found on page 92 where Saint (that friendly drug dealer) whispers the word through Tomos’s bedroom door after Tomos has thanked him for helping work out when school starts again (two more sleeps).
It’s also after Saint has shamed Brick into helping Tomos get his lovely new red truck out of the box.
Sadly, that doesn’t go well.
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from all good bookshops.
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October 2, 2017
A Trio of Book Launches
It’s been an exciting summer and early autumn for Honno, the Welsh women’s press.
I’ve been to three Honno book launches – four, if I count my own launch for Not Thomas back in June.
[image error]Helen with Judith Barrow
The first was in July for Helen Lewis’s The House with Old Furniture
It’s a contemporary ghost story set in Pembrokeshire, where Helen and her family live. As well as being a very atmospheric otherworldly story, it’s also a very perceptive novel about grief and what it can do to families, especially children. It’s Helen’s debut novel and I thoroughly recommend it.
[image error]Judith with Christoph Fischer of Llandeilo – and me too
The second book launch, the following month, was for Judith Barrow’s fourth in her family saga series. It’s called A Hundred Tiny Threads .
The novel tells the background to some of the characters in Judith’s other books, so is an ideal introduction to the series, as well as a revelationary read for those who have read the first three. I’m reading A Hundred Tiny Threads at the moment, and I’m thoroughly enjoying losing myself in Judith’s wonderful storytelling. I just know I’ll have to re-read Pattern of Shadows when I’ve finished to remind myself what happened next; and then Changing Patterns and Living in the Shadows…
So many books, so little time!
[image error]Carol and me
And the final launch in this Honno trio was one I attended just last week. It was for Carol Lovekin’s second novel, Snow Sisters.
It was held in Lampeter, at the Old Hall of the university. Carol read a spellbinding chapter from her new novel, which has all the hallmarks of being as brillaint as her debut, Ghostbird. I’m really looking forward to reading the magically beautiful Snow Sisters – preferably in front of a log fire on a snowy evening, although I very much doubt I’ll be able to hold out until the weather turns that cold!
So that’s my Honno book launch round-up.
To all authors everywhere about to launch a new book, may your launch be full of friends, family and smiling faces (and maybe some cupcakes – I’m thinking of you, Dyane Harwood!).
Most of all, relax and enjoy!
Sara x
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from all good bookshops.
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September 28, 2017
#MusicTherapyThursday
I heard this song on the radio this evening and couldn’t resist adding it here. Not exactly a song I write to, but one of my all time favourite music videos. Is it meant to be funny?
It reminds me of a youth group I belonged to when I was fourteen. Say no more…
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from all good bookshops.
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September 27, 2017
#WelshWordWednesday
Today’s Welsh word, for readers of ‘Not Thomas’ who aren’t familiar with the language, is duw – which sounds like what you might find on your lawn in the morning. It means ‘god’.
On page 86, when Tomos is the only one left without a bacon butty, the fair-minded Saint says: “Duw, you’re a heartless cow, mind Ree.”
And it’s often said twice after hearing a surprising piece of news, for example:
“Mammy turned up for the Christmas concert.”
“Duw, duw.”
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from all good bookshops.
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September 22, 2017
Not the Booker SHOCK Announcement
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Wow! What a week for the Guardian’s Not the Booker prize.
Everything was going along swimmingly – albeit with some pretty choppy waves for a couple of us on the shortlist – and then crash! Out of the blue, Ann O’Loughlin, author of The Ludlow Ladies’ Society, gave Sam Jordison quite a shock.
Ann has withdrawn her novel from the shortlist.
In a statement published by the Guardian, she said:
“I feel a great sense of relief to be moving away from a competition that caused so much stress in my life and that of my family.”
Ann already has a very large, faithful following of readers, and as she points out in her statement to the Guardian, her novels have been translated into eight languages and are published in the US. As she says, she didn’t ask to be nominated, and she was worried from the start about what she refers to as the “unjustifiable criticism” that appeared in the comments section from people who hadn’t even read the book.
And she’s quite right.
There are a few people on the Guardian page who clearly don’t read the nominated books but still enjoy leaving a barbed comment or two. All that is par for the course, as far as I’m concerned, but then I’d followed this prize for a few years and knew exactly what to expect. Had I been going into this without a clue what it could be like, then I might feel, like Ann, that it wasn’t worth the stress.
And yes, it is stressful at times – and I imagine it will be even more so, now that mine is the only novel left on the shortlist that Sam has been particularly scathing of.
But for me it’s worth that bit of stress.
Unlike Ann, who’s been writing novels for a number of years and has a few under her belt, Not Thomas is my first novel for adults. I don’t have a ready-made fan base – although I’m incredibly grateful to my wonderful readers who have championed Not Thomas and brought it to the attention of others, and who nominated it for the Not the Booker prize and voted it onto the shortlist.
I always said that being part of this prize was like building a platform for Tomos – giving him a headstart in a world jam-packed with new books.
Not Thomas is a debut novel, published by a tiny publisher, and Not the Booker has brought it to a wider audience than would otherwise have been possible so soon after its publication.
I’m really sorry Ann has decided to leave the competition, but I know her novel will do very well, with or without the publicity of Not the Booker.
The other week I went into Easons, the huge bookstore on O’Connell Street in Dublin. Ann’s novel The Ludlow Ladies’ Society was very prominently positioned on a table near the main door. It had a similar position in many of the other Dublin bookstores I visited too. I have no doubt it’s going to fly off the shelves in Ireland and beyond.
So, au revoir and all the very best to Ann.
While the five of us left on the shortlist will be squirming for a while yet – and me in particular – I know The Ludlow Ladies’ Society will be doing just fine.
Thanks for reading – please let me know your thoughts!
Sara x
P.S. Don’t forget the Narberth Book Fair in Pembrokeshire tomorrow, 23rd September. At 11am I’ll be chatting to Jan Baynham about writing ‘Not Thomas’ and my experience of being on the Not the Booker prize shortlist. It’s free so come along!
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from all good bookshops.
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September 21, 2017
#MusicTherapyThursday & Narberth Book Fair
‘Orenau i Florida’
Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from all good bookshops – and this Saturday is available from Narberth Book Fair too.
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