Gabriel Hemery's Blog: Gabriel Hemery, page 16

Book Reviewers Wanted

My next book, a collection of short stories, is published on 30th June. I am looking for reviewers, who in return for a free advance review copy (ARC), would be willing to post a review to help guide future readers in whether or not to purchase a copy.

[image error]Tall Trees Short Stories Vol20. Published 30th June 2020.

Reviewers should be prepared to write a fair and balanced review, and to post this on a book platform such as Amazon, Goodreads, Google Books etc. If you also have your own website where you regularly post book reviews, that would be great too.

I request that every reviewer clearly states that their review was undertaken in exchange for a free advance review copy provided by the author.

I’ve created a simple form where you can get in touch and express your interest in receiving a review copy. ARCs will be distributed at the end of March, while reviews cannot be published by reviewers until the book has been published.

Loading…

You can also view the form here

Thanks for your interest.

You People

[image error] You People, by Gabriel Hemery. From Tall Trees Short Stories Vol20. Published June 2020.

YOU PEOPLE

Scarce and irreplaceable?
232 of our rarest and most vulnerable,
Threatened, you say.
You people.

Protect ancient woodland at all cost!
All very well if it’s not your money,
That’s easy to say.
You people.

It’s not destroying,
Nor smashing by hordes.
But building a greener future.
You people.

Losing 108 woodlands,
A few ancient trees and some rare butterflies.
Can’t you see, we’re saving the majority?
You people.

Not green.
Not a tool to fight climate change.
You don’t know what you’re talking about.
You people.

Highly complex ecosystems,
Cannot be undone.
Save us from techno-babble and hyperbole.
You people.

Net zero, that’s what we’re about.
Progress first, mop up after.
Trains not trees, we know best.
You people.

About the poem

I was inspired to write You People after following a vitriolic ‘debate’ on Twitter last year. The poem will be included alongside several others in my next book Tall Trees Short Stories Vol20 coming out in June.

[image error]

About the photo: This is a pedunculate oak tree that I planted 28 years ago. Image captured with Panasonic GX7 with LUMIX G 42.5mm lens, 1/1250sec, f1.7, ISO125.

Photo Ⓒ Gabriel Hemery

Westmorland-Upon-Sea

Westmorland-Upon-Sea is a new short story completed for my forthcoming volume Tall Trees Short Stories Vol.20. Readers who sign up to my newsletter before the end of January can download the story for free (and access a new story every month afterwards) – details below.

“Westmorland-Upon-Sea is a place where mountain and sea meet as if by accident, where geological time was eroded in an instant by a natural cataclysm. So abrupt is their meeting there can be only one plausible explanation: long ago, a giant from the deep emerged from a fading Niflheim and with a single bite removed the whole peninsula.”

Westmorland-Upon-Sea, from Tall Trees Short Stories Vol20 (released 30th June 2020)

[image error]Westmorland-Upon-Sea

I wondered, lonely as a thorn
That clings on high o’er cliff and hill,
When upon an early morn,
I spied a flock of those who kill;
Across the prairie, deprived of trees,
Roving and slaying in the breeze.

To download your free copy, join my newsletter and sign up as a reader here.

Find out more about Tall Trees Short Stories Vol.20

Terra

A deadly mission leads to a new life and a new world

Terra is a new short story completed for my forthcoming volume Tall Trees Short Stories Vol.20. Readers who sign up to my newsletter before the end of January can download Terra for free.

[image error]

My birth name was Green. Reckon my mother was an optimist or something. The name you know me by now was earned not long after those rains started.

Terra, from Tall Trees Short Stories Vol.20 by Gabriel Hemery

To download your free copy, join my newsletter and sign up as a reader here.

Find out more about Tall Trees Short Stories Vol.20

Peter Savill DBH

At the end of last month, my lifetime professional colleague and friend Dr Peter Savill sadly passed away. I had the great privilege of collaborating widely with Peter from the very beginning of my career in forestry. He was a true gentleman, humble and generous in equal measure, and will be sadly missed.

[image error]

Dr Peter Savill

Together we planned the creation of Britain’s first research woodland dedicated to hardwood trees, and helped develop a programme dedicated to their genetic improvement. We worked together as trustees for a woodland charity, and he was my academic supervisor for my DPhil at Oxford. We conducted research together, including an epic tree hunting expedition to Kyrgyzstan, and co-authored many scientific papers. Peter later became a trustee of the Sylva Foundation, a charity I co-founded with Sir Martin Wood in 2009.

Foresters around the world will know Peter, either through his respected books on silviculture, or as one of his students he taught while a lecturer at Oxford University.

This morning I had the honour of presenting a short eulogy at his funeral service. While I won’t offer the full text here, I include a short poem that I wrote to remember Peter. For those that knew Peter, I hope this resonates. I’ve titled it ‘Peter Savill DBH’.

Peter Savill DBH



An undefined acronym would never escape
I can imagine in the margin
A green biro question mark
And a circled ‘RIP’

Generations of foresters
Nurtured and inspired
By basal area and DBH
That’s diameter at breast height

Silviculturist, scientist, tutor, and friend
At 1.3 metres
His heart had the greatest
Diameter at breast height

Peter Savill, DBH
Distinguished
Brilliant
Human

Books for Christmas

Do you enjoy shopping online but wish you could support your local bookshop more? Then read on . . .

While I appreciate the convenience, value and choice that some of the big online providers like Amazon can provide, I’m also a huge fan of shopping locally especially at an independent bookshop. Shops like The Edinburgh Bookshop provide a place in the community for book lovers and readers of all ages to browse and discover new books.

I may be late to the party but I’ve recently discovered a new way of shopping online in a way that can support your local bookshop. The service is called Hive. The online site offers books, ebooks, DVDs, CDs, and various gifts, much like some of the larger online stores, but what’s unique is that it gives a proportion of every sale back to local bookshops. Even better, you can choose which independent shop should receive a percentage of your sale. All these benefits, plus it provides free home delivery within the UK.

[image error]

I will adding links to my books and other products on Hive in future. Customers can then choose to shop online and support their local independent bookshop. I will also receive a small fee if you click through on my links, so you will be supporting my blog and writing too!

[image error] ');

If you click on an affiliate link on this page and make a purchase, I’ll get a small commission that supports the cost of running this blog. The price of any purchase you make stays the same. It’s a win-win!

Thanks for your support.

Terra

Terra is my latest short story, written just for my readers. It has a dystopian eco-futuristic theme.

I’ve set myself a challenge to write a short story every month during 2020. Each story will be released free to my readers and remain unpublished until the end of 2020 when I intend to release them together in a volume. I’ll be releasing more information about this soon.

Since completing the manuscript of my latest full-length novel, I’ve been gearing up for my self-imposed 2020 writing challenge. Terra is the result and it seemed a shame to hold it back. Consider it a bonus, if you will.

If you’d like to receive a copy of Terra make sure you subscribe to my newsletter during December.

[image error]

A deadly mission leads to a new life
and a new world

Terra by Gabriel Hemery

[image error]

Subscribe to my newsletter

The Martin Tree – a special gift to my readers

Usually, around the end of the year, I post a summary of my stories during the previous 12 months, and provide a round up of seasonal gifts for the nature and tree enthusiast. This year I thought I’d do something a little different and, I hope, a little more special. I’ve written a short story just for my readers.

The Martin Tree is a new and unpublished story I’ve written and dedicated to my regular readers.

Join them by signing up to my newsletter today and you’ll receive a copy of my latest short story absolutely free, delivered direct to you in the format of your choice (pdf, mobi, epub).

[image error]

Memories of nature reveal a surprising past.
Sign up today

Heaven and Earth on radio

A chance meeting with a radio broadcasting team provided an opportunity to talk about books, trees, astronomy, heaven and earth.

Last week I attended the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Bookfair) to give an invited talk – read more. The next day I enjoyed walking round the bookfair with my fellow speaker, astronomer Stuart Clark. During a gorgeous wood-smoked salmon sandwich, we found ourselves sharing the crowded picnic table with a team from Euradio Nantes who were recording interviews with delegates. We were invited to contribute, and here’s the recording of our conversation:

Thanks to Christine Evain and the Turning the Page team for sharing the recording.

Talk at the Frankfurt Bookfair 2019

Last week I was invited by His Highness Dr. Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah, to provide an address at a dinner marking the opening of the 2019 Frankfurt Bookfair.

[image error]At the dinner hosted by the Sharjah Book Authority, at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019. Left to right: astronomer Stuart Clark, His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, and Gabriel Hemery

I focussed on the importance of trees to life on earth. I wrote a short story dedicated to His Highness, which I read out in part. During the talk I included the precious gift of a single fertile seed from Ziziphus spina-christi also known as Christ’s thorn jujube. This is thought by some to be the Lote tree at the end of the seventh heaven, where incidentally, if I were really an angel I would not be allowed to pass.

  “My gift to the Ruler is the seed of a tree. My gift to His Highness is life.”

Gabriel Hemery, The Ruler and the Author. October 2019

My co-speaker was astronomer Stuart Clark, who talked about the night sky and our relationship with it over time. Stuart and I discovered that we shared many interesting views and perspectives. You could say it was a meeting of two minds representing heaven and earth.

During dinner after the talks, His Highness told me he had seven million seeds conserved in a seed bank. I replied that he now had seven million and one!

About Frankfurter Buchmesse

Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with over 7,500 exhibitors from 109 countries, around 285,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and some 10,000 accredited journalists and bloggers in attendance. It is the most important international marketplace for content – from novels and children’s books to academic databases and stories for films, games and virtual reality experiences. Publishing professionals from around the world meet here with partners from the technology sector and from related creative and cultural industries, sparking new partnerships and business models. A strong conference programme ensures that Frankfurter Buchmesse is a major source of inspiration for content experts from around the world. Since 1976, the book fair has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. Frankfurter Buchmesse organises the participation of German publishers at around 20 international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers & Booksellers Association). Visit the website