Jane Wenham-Jones's Blog, page 4
January 21, 2019
Absolutely Fabulous line-up for BroadstairsLit in 2019
Here at BroadstairsLit, we are excited to announce our 2019 programme of events – featuring a dazzling array of personalities from comediennes to men of the cloth, radio stars and prize-winning chefs to one-time jailbirds.
We kick off on January 27th at Broadstairs Pavilion when I shall be “in conversation” with actress and celebrity Helen Lederer. I have interviewed Helen several times before and she never fails to be hilarious. I shall be quizzing her about her time on celebrity Big Brother, her role in Absolutely Fabulous, her recent one-woman show and, as they say, much, much more.
Come and meet Helen and get a signed copy of her entertaining novel Losing It (Pan). Group discounts available.
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Two Tales of Imprisonment
[image error]Being in prison is the theme of not one, but two of our events this year. On the afternoon of Sunday May 19th, I shall be talking to Terry Waite, the former envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury who spent 1,763 days in captivity – the first four years in solitary confinement.
Terry is a remarkable, humbling man – when I last interviewed him on stage at Chipping Norton you could have heard the proverbial pin drop. I do recommend this chance to listen first-hand to his enthralling story.
Captivity of a slightly different nature will be chief topic of conversation on November 3rd, when Jonathan Aitken comes to town. Mr Aitken was, of course, MP for South Thanet before his fall from grace and subsequent time doing porridge for his crime of perjury. But what an inspiration he has become, turning this episode into something so positive. Jonathan is now an ordained prison chaplain who works tirelessly to support those serving sentences and to encourage prison reform. Tickets – which once again include a cream tea and Prosecco – we do like our glasses of fizz here at BroadstairsLit – are already selling like hot cakes. Don’t leave it till winter to get yours!
December 23, 2018
Christmas Survival Tips – tried and tested
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Dreading the rellies? Christmas can be a minefield when today’s modern – often blended – families are suddenly brought together. But you can survive them with a little forward thinking…
Make a seating plan. Grannies will like sitting next to their grandchildren and can deal with their runny noses and dodgy eating habits. Second wives can be put at the opposite end of the table to the original spouses, and alcoholic uncles placed away from the wine. (Make a plan even if it’s not your house and enlist an ally to help herd all into position.
There is a fine art to judging how much alcohol to serve and to whom. As a general rule – for anyone likely to fall asleep, as much as you can get down their necks. Those with grievances to air? Hide the whisky!
Prime younger members of the family on suitable topics of conversation, and remind them that while they may consider a baah-humbug farting sheep a hilarious centrepiece, Great Aunt Hilda probably won’t.
Talk of sex, religion and politics can all add spice to the proceedings. Put a ban, instead, on discussion of parenting skills, divorce rates or anything that happened “in my day…”
Invite non-family too. Relatives will behave better, and may offer polite chit-chat instead of bickering over the remote control and dragging up what Uncle Roger did in The Great Christmas Row of 1996.
Prepare a fund of “rescue subjects” to distract and divert if tensions are rising. New babies, holiday plans and the short-comings of other relatives not present, will usually go down well.
Serve all food in quantity. It is harder to be argumentative when stuffed to the gills.
If you have a cream sofa – cover it.
If all else fails, whip out the Trivial Pursuit.
Try deep breathing, mindfulness techniques, meditation or yoga. Repeat to yourself: “I am relaxed, I am calm, I am enjoying this.” Then hit the gin early, grin a lot and remember in a few hours it will all be over.
Extracted from the back of Mum in the Middle (HarperImpulse) by Jane Wenham-Jones.
(If you now feel so moved to treat yourself – or one of those relatives – to a copy you can download or get the paperback here.) Happy Christmas!
October 19, 2018
Very thrilled by this lovely review. Thank you Emma! x
[image error]Very thrilled by Emma’s review:
I’ve known Jane Wenham-Jones for years. A real life-enhancer, usually sporting rainbow-coloured hair, Jane writes novels, short stories and columns, interviews authors at literary events and often pops up on TV and radio too. It’s been a while since she wrote a novel though so I was eagerly anticipating her new book, Mum in the Middle.
I’m pleased to report that it’s a cracker of a book, mainly because Jane has chosen a subject that’s all too pertinent to our lives.
Tess, the star of the book, is the archetypal sandwich mum. In other words, she’s desperately worried about her mother, who’s showing the first signs of dementia and has a tendency to wander off unexpectedly, often in her nightie, and about her three children, who are supposed to be grown-ups but keep boomeranging back to the family home. At the same time, divorcee Tess is desperately trying to make a new life in a new town, find friends and keep her freelance designer job on track.
Jane writes about all these things with wisdom, humour and real insight. Tess herself feels very real, the sort of person you’d like to have as a friend – which, come to think of it, is pretty much like Jane herself.
My favourite character of all is Malcolm, the gruff local newspaper editor who befriends Tess. Grumpy and kind-hearted by turns, he’s been married twice, drinks too much and has a tendency to fly off the handle when young reporters get stories spectacularly wrong.
Mum in the Middle is an enjoyable read, poignant and funny by turns. If you’re caring for your elderly parents while supporting your teenage and 20-something children this is definitely the book for you.
Mum in the Middle by Jane Wenham-Jones (HarperImpulse, £7.99)
October 2, 2018
Free for a limited time!
Yes! One Glass is Never Enough (published by Accent Press Ltd) is FREE for a limited time. Clicking on the cover will take you to the Amazon.co.uk store or HERE for the US equivalent so grab it now while it’s hot! 
June 22, 2018
The book’s out and I’d forgotten what it’s like…
I don’t mean the plot – though God knows I started writing it so long ago and it went through so many edits, that is hazy enough, but all the other stuff surrounding a new book hitting the (virtual) shelves. (The paperback for those who like a real book – yes me too – is out in September.)
[image error]What I’d forgotten is the obsessive checking of the amazon ratings and the looking through one’s fingers at the latest reviews (not to mention the video of one looking rather raddled and wittering on about the squeezed generation that one’s publisher put out on launch day – it was the morning after one of those nights before). The small jump of elation when some kind soul has doled out five stars, and the resigned sigh when it is slated for having a strand about dementia – apparently entirely inappropriately for a book billed as “hilarious”. (I don’t think anyone was referring to that particular storyline.)
I’d forgotten the thrill of someone taking the trouble to write to say they liked it. (And the quiet pleasure of making a small plasticine model of those who didn’t and popping it in my pin drawer
May 11, 2018
May 1, 2018
ChipLitFest 18 – it was fab!
Had such a great time at this year’s ChipLitFest. Not only did I have the privilege of interviewing – in chronological order – Terry Waite, Lucy Mangan, Laura Freeman, Reggie Yates and Robert Peston (what a line up – they were all amazing) but I got to listen to Lionel Shriver and Liza Tarbuck too. One should be president, the other made me laugh like a drain. Can’t wait for next year…
all photos by the fab Jenny Aston at Silver Apples Photography
ChipLitFest 19 – it was fab!
Had such a great time at this year’s ChipLitFest. Not only did I have the privilege of interviewing – in chronological order – Terry Waite, Lucy Mangan, Laura Freeman, Reggie Yates and Robert Peston (what a line up – they were all amazing) but I got to listen to Lionel Shriver and Liza Tarbuck too. One should be president, the other made me laugh like a drain. Can’t wait for next year…
all photos by the fab Jenny Aston at Silver Apples Photography
April 29, 2018
Jane’s latest novel… coming soon!
‘Fresh, funny and wise’ – Katie Fforde
[image error]Tess has downsized to a lively new town and is ready for ‘me’ time. But her Zen-like calm is tested by her boomerang offspring, who keep fluttering back to the nest (usually with a full bag of dirty washing) and by her elderly mother’s struggle to hold on to her independence.
Tess is also surprised to discover that there are dark resentments simmering beneath the vintage charm of her new hometown and a spate of vandalism has exposed the rift between the townsfolk and new arrivals like Tess.
Tess enlists the help of gruff newspaper editor Malcolm to get to the bottom of the mystery but when her ex-husband pays an unexpected visit and her mother stages a disappearance, Tess starts to feel her new-found freedom wearing just a little thin…
Pre-order your copy now from Amazon and available from all good bookshops online and in the real world from 15th June…
March 25, 2018
Write around the Isle – turnips, thrillers and special guests
Sir Tony comes to town for BroadstairsLit
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(c) Carlos Dominguez Photography
There were turnips on display when Baldrick fans packed The Pavilion on 10th March to welcome Sir Tony Robinson to Broadstairs.
The actor, presenter, author and comic genius who, we decided, must by now have national treasure status, delighted the audience with hilarious tales of stage and screen from his childhood start as the Artful Dodger in the west end production of Oliver to that going-over-the-top iconic Blackadder finale.
The queue for signed copies of his memoir No Cunning Plan (Pan Macmillan) – stretched a while…
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Tiverton Books
[image error]And on the subject of paperbacks – six years ago, Carol Clarke invited me to visit the bookshop she’d opened in Cliftonville with her husband, Dave. It sounded delightful – I love a second-hand bookstore – and I promised to pop along. Last Sunday I finally made it!
Tiverton Books is tucked away beneath the Smiths Court Hotel and offers good quality, used books across a range of subjects and genres, quirkily laid out without category headings under a system that Carol knows like the back of her hand, but which is suitably cryptic to ensure the potential buyer gets to have a good browse.
With everything from Blyton to Dickens to Jilly Cooper to a tome on quilting, there is something for everyone (I left Carol a couple of my own works – pristine and unread – if you want a bargain) without breaking the bank. I came away with four thrillers for under a fiver. Wish I’d got there sooner!
Tiverton Books can be found “Down the Steps” at Smiths Court Hotel, Eastern Esplanade, Margate CT9 2HL
Open every Sunday from 10 am to 2pm. www.tivertonbooks.co.uk
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Kent Festival of Writing
For anyone with writing dreams of their own, the Kent Festival of Writing started life 3 years ago and welcomes “all writers from absolute beginners and those writing just for fun, to would-be and established authors at all stages of their careers.” The day aims to provide “inspiration, support and the opportunity to develop skills with hands-on workshops designed to encourage and inform.”
Director Sue Basset is a writer herself and has recently acquired an agent for her Gothic thriller which is currently being submitted to publishers. “I know how important it is to meet other writers,” she says. “Their support and encouragement, along with the advice I have received from published authors and tutors, have been invaluable on my journey. I wanted to provide something similar for aspiring writers which was accessible and local.”
Events include workshops on blogging, finding your writing voice, interviews with published writers and a mystery book swap. (I’d be there myself but I shall be teaching elsewhere – at the fabulous Chez Castillon – if you have dreams of writing with sunshine and wine, check this out too www.chez-castillon.com)
Kent Festival of Writing will be held on Saturday 14th April 2018
Whitstable Community College, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1PZ
For details and tickets see https://www.kentfestivalofwriting.co.uk
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Back here in Thanet, the writing scene is flourishing too with the well-established Isle Writers group being regular and entertaining contributors to the monthly Broadly Speaking sessions hosted by BroadstairsLit. The group meet regularly for discussion and critique sessions and have produced an anthology Small Things. Find them on facebook https://www.facebook.com/IsleWriters/
If you have a story to share, or would simply like to listen, Broadly Speaking is held on the last Sunday of each month at the Yarrow Hotel, Broadstairs from 7.30pm. Visit https://broadstairslit.co.uk/broadly-speaking-3/ for the full lowdown.
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Don’t miss Hunter Davies!
[image error]And if you really like a good yarn, then the BroadstairsLit guest for April has more tales than you can shake a stick at. In his memoir A Life in the Day (Simon & Schuster) witty raconteur Hunter Davies reflects on life in London in the Swinging Sixties, his time as editor of Britain’s first colour weekend supplement The Sunday Times Magazine; his friendship with the Beatles (he wrote the only authorised biography of the group) and his partying with and ghost-writing for some of the biggest names in television, film and theatre of the day. We’re talking Sir Michael Caine, George Best, Melvyn Bragg, Dame Joan Bakewell, Sir Sean Connery, Cilla Black, Paul Gascoigne, and Wayne Rooney among others. It is also a moving account of his deep love for and marriage to the acclaimed novelist Margaret Forster who he sadly lost to cancer in 2016. Hunter will be joined by their author daughter Caitlin Davies, whose latest book Bad Girls (John Murray) is a fascinating look at the history of Holloway prison. Both will be in conversation with me, spilling the beans about all of this and more. Come along – it’s going to be riveting!
Hunter Davies and Caitlin Davies will be at The Yarrow Hotel, Broadstairs from 7pm 6th April. Tickets at £15 include a welcome drink and canapés. Please see https://broadstairslit.co.uk/events/ to book
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Still to come…
Friday 11th May – Extra Time with James Brown. The TalkSport host talks about male friendship and his love of football
Thursday 21st June Being David Archer. Tim Bentinck (David Archer) and Sunny Ormonde (Lillian Bellamy) take us behind the scenes at Britain’s favourite radio soap.
Details of all events and how to book https://broadstairslit.co.uk/events. Original article at https://theisleofthanetnews.com/jane-wenham-jones-write-around-the-isle-turnips-thrillers-and-special-guests.
