Greenacre Writers

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noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Sat, 07 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Channelling Your Emotions Positively While Writing by David L. Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 00:31:00 +0000

I have occasionally been asked about channelling emotions into my writings, and how I manage to do that, in the context of not becoming completely wrapped in the thought and distracted from the process of writing. My answer is very simple. It all depends on whether you are writing of emotion as being 'in the moment', or describing the emotion to someone else.

When you are simply describing the emotion (ie: not what you are feeling), the task is significantly easier. You are restricted, only by the extent of your own vocabulary, and the point you seek to make, at that given point in the text. It's not about you, so you can be a little more blunt, a little more brutal, than you might otherwise have been with yourself and your own feelings.

In the moment emotion (when it is about you) requires you to relive the experience, to sit back, close your eyes, and imagine, as if you were actually there in that moment, at the point of writing. You need to be sensory aware, in that you can feel the air on your face, as it happened at the time, the smells as they were, touch the scene, interact and inhale the experience, as if it really was in the here and now. This can be an extremely difficult endeavour, as inevitably, as you sink into that emotional abyss, you become consumed by the cognitive and physical reactions to the emotion itself, at the detriment of writing down what you are actually feeling. In essence, it can be debilitating.

To overcome this issue, I voice record this part of the process as I travel through the scene, until I have extricated myself from it at the far end. I then, inevitably almost, take a short break (always take care of yourself) to re-balance myself, especially if the emotional recollections involve an element of personal pain. Then and perhaps, most importantly, while it is still fresh in my mind, I replay the recording, and wrap it in appropriate words into the book.

It may also be appropriate to visit that routine several times on any singular issue. Some issues are emotionally damaging, painful, hard to condense even after the rub of time, and I take a 'time chunked' approach to revisiting them. I will take the memory so far one day, and then leave it, returning the next to potentially complete the job. It might also be prudent, as I have found, to bundle emotions within a chapter, prior to the point that you start writing, and map out how you are going to inter-mingle the writing and the emotional exploration, because after-all, we are seeking not only to control the emotional output, but to use it constructively within the chosen text.

The presumption here is that a chapter of text, may in fact be endowed with a wide range of emotional ties, and many of those emotions may be competing. They can involve pain, death, happiness, birth, success and failures. During the writing process, I found that I needed to manage how I permitted myself to interface with those emotions, in such a way as to reap, maximum benefit from minimal disruption to the writing process. Again, 'chunking' or 'bundling' will help. Bundle the harmful from the pleasurable, successes from the failures, or link them in small but connected bundles, that represent the specific chronology in which they occurred (ie: The elation of having a parent at your graduation, followed by the despair of that parent dying shortly afterwards). Two very conflicting emotions, that are chronologically linked to a small timeframe within the context of your writings.

In my personal opinion, the absolute key to channelling emotion into your writing, above all else, is to start from an emotionally cold disposition. If the thoughts are truly emotive, truly heart-wrenching, truly awe-inspiring and the rest, then they should be capable of bringing you to that state from cold.

You all know what I mean. We have all been in the position of happily watching a film, only for a particular scene to suddenly leave us with a lump in the throat, trickle of water in the corner of an eye, etc. We move from a state of happiness and contentment, to raw emotion almost in the blink of a tear-stained eye. That’s the impact you are looking for in the words that you eventually write.

Dave knows all about channelling your emotions positively while writing about trauma. He's just finished his first book about growing up in institutions.

This is a harrowing personal voyage into the 1960-80s childcare system as experienced first-hand by the author and many like him. It was a brutally horrific system, that made countless victims of the very children it was designed to protect. These brutally horrific regimes, founded upon extraordinary levels of inhumanity, cruelty, violence, fear, and intimidation, brought children to their knees, brutalised, cowed and often in fear for their very existence.It was a stark, depressive, and oppressively dysfunctional system, that imposed perpetual physical suffering and mental hardship, upon its most vulnerable charges. It was a pernicious cycle of ritualised systematic abuse, inflicted on some of the most vulnerable children society could offer up.This was the environment that the ‘Unfortunates’ found themselves embedded in during the 1960s. It was a system that lacked care, thought, and all things humane. A system where the imposition of brutal physical and sexual abuse had become normalised, legitimised, embraced and ultimately, forcefully accepted. This was life in a local authority home. These were the homes of ‘the Damned’, where a catalogue of daily horrors were inflicted for the personal pleasure of those charged with the care of this hidden, and often forgotten, sub-culture of children who, through no fault of their own, were forced to embrace these traumas, and endure a fight for their very survival.

Follow Dave on Twitter @OYFthebook

Creative Writing Workshops

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 12:52:00 +0000

Greenacre Writers is organising a community workshop to be held at Friern Barnet Community Library*

Saturday December 8th, 3pm.

Novel Planning Workshop

with Katie Alford

Cost: £10 with all proceeds going towards Friern Barnet Library (£3 for those out of work/sick/retired)

A beginner’s guide to novel planning. For those who enjoy creative writing and want to venture out into the world of novel writing. Moving from short stories to novels is a big step which can feel daunting to many writers. This workshop will help you develop a novel plan starting from a single sentence summary and developing it into full novel outline from which you can then build your novel.

To book your place, email: greenacrewriters@gmail.com

Katie is author of Atlantis and the Game of Time (2014), Katie writes mainly speculative fiction and is also the Video Games Editor for the Sci-fi and Fantasy Network. She has written many novels over the years and won many short story competitions.

*Friern Barnet Library is a community library set up after The Occupy Movement re-opened the library when it was closed by local council.

A Conversation With Jackie Buxton

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 08:44:00 +0000

Jackie Buxton is a writer, editor and teacher of creative writing, living in Yorkshire with her husband and two teenage daughters. Jackie is the author of self-help memoir, Tea & Chemo, voted Live Better With's 'Best Cancer Book, 2017', and her first novel, a 'domestic 'noir' and popular book group read, Glass Houses(both Urbane Publications, November 2015, July 2016). Her short stories can also be found in three anthologies, as well as in Chase Magazine and on-line.

When not writing or reading, involved in domesticity or teenage taxi driving, Jackie can often be found running, cycling or tripping up though the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. Jackie's ambitions range from drinking more coffee with friends, to film deals to secret twenty-eight hour days.

Glass Housesby Jackie Buxton

'When she sent that text, all our lives changed for ever...' 51 year old Tori Williams' life implodes when she sends a text while driving on the M62 motorway and allegedly causes the horrific crash in which three people die. Public and press are baying for her blood, but Tori is no wallflower and refuses to buckle under their pressure or be a pariah in society. Instead, she sets about saving the nation. But can she save Etta, the woman who saved her life? Or will Etta's secret be her downfall? This incredibly topical and contemporary morality tale appeals across generations and will find favour with fans of authors such as Liane Moriarty, Marian Keyes and Kathryn Croft.

Tell us of your journey as a writer

I was your classic diary scribbling teen, chronicling the ups and downs of love and life, until my diary took on a more serious tone when my first love was tragically killed as he fell from Ben Nevis at the tiny age of 17. I was devastated but my diary played a big part in eventually getting me back on track. I think this is when I first appreciated the power of words, not least in the writing of them. Add to this my English Language O-level curriculum, specifically, the go-ahead to write twelve assignments, or, rather, stories – a qualification just for spending an evening indulging your creative juices? Well, it was studying Utopia – and the writing itch had been planted.

However, it was to be years before I considered writing as a potential career choice as opposed to a hobby, and a few more before I could find the time, and funds, to do this writing thing. Redundancy from my career in charity PR and fundraising shortly before getting married gave me that opportunity, or the push, to set myself up in freelance copywriting: time between projects being when I would write fiction. I scribbled down an idea for my first novel on serviettes (back then I didn't carry a notebook) on the flight back from honeymoon when everybody, including the new hubbie, was asleep. I was hooked and so began a new phase in my life of constantly searching for pockets of time to scribble a few hundred words.

Fast forward to 2013, the first novel was stashed in the ‘back of a drawer’ – great learning experience - I’d had some success in short story competitions, was having fun with my blog and more often than not, was receiving requests for the final manuscript of my second novel, Glass Houses, from publishers and agents. Even when rejected I was receiving fantastically useful feedback which filled me with enthusiasm for a re-write. However, the euphoria at being asked for the full manuscript waned when I’d reached double figures of requests but still hadn’t made that leap to an agent or publishing deal. Something needed to change. I signed up to the most wonderful online course in 'Self-Editing', run by the fabulous Debi Alper and Emma Darwin (formally of The Writers' Workshop, now relaunched as Jericho Writers) which gave me the tools and confidence to turn around the latest re-write. The next time I submitted, Glass Houseswas picked up by Urbane Publications as well as a second book, Tea & Chemo, a self-help memoir, which was still very much in the embryonic stage.

Meanwhile, in 2012, one of those, ‘right place, right time’ opportunities had presented itself to me when the local adult education network was looking for a teacher of creative writing. Even though I was terrifically insecure about my lack of experience, I so desperately wanted to teach that I pushed myself forward and got the post. It was the start of a new career which spilled over into editing and now I’m lucky enough to be totally immersed in all things writing, where I enjoy the teaching and editing almost as much as I love writing itself.

How do you see your role as a writer?

I guess I see myself as a storyteller. I’m dreadful at remembering facts and names – you’ll only ever invite me to be on your quiz team once – but I can always remember a story in glorious detail and I love to share it. If something dreadful, amazing and, most usually, excruciatingly embarrassing happens, I can’t resist the urge to tell someone.

And, even more than telling a story, I like to write it down because then I get the opportunity to edit myself. Brevity is not in my make-up.

My aim with fiction is to entertain and provoke discussion in equal measure. I’ve always been fascinated by what it is to be human, by our foibles and our inconsistencies, but the very loveliness of being human, too. My favourite stories to tell are those of people in dark places who through enormous personal endeavour, climb up to a better place, even if only metaphorically. If in the process my readers question, laugh and cry in equal measure, then I’ll have achieved what I set out to do.

What do you like most about it?

Please may I have two? (I told you brevity wasn’t my forte…) I like every aspect of the process of writing, from the first splurge of the idea, to re-writing and more re-writing and on to the final edit. I know some people feel the writing process loses its excitement beyond the first draft but I see it differently. I see the re-writes as the process of transforming the words that have spilled on to the page all in a rush, into the picture you have in your head, and I find that really exciting and fulfilling.

Secondly, there's a moment when you're sitting at your desk, minding your own business, wading through emails and admin, praying your pc doesn't crash AGAIN, and an email pops up, or a review, which is basically thanking you for writing your book and explaining just what the book has meant to this particular reader. That's the second thing I love about being a writer. It makes every minute of all those hours cooped away absolutely worthwhile.

Have you ever created a character who you dislike but find yourself empathising with?

Hmmm. Empathise, perhaps not so much but sympathise, certainly. I love an unlikely hero and I’m as fascinated in life as much as fiction by the stuff and nonsense behind our less than perfect behaviour. I believe that there are very few people who, underneath it all, aren’t fundamentally decent but our environment, the rough edges of life, can play havoc with our relationships and actions. Even with Gerald, a deeply dislikable, narcissistic character in Glass Houses, I still wanted to grab him, shake him, tell him to let go whatever it was that had happened to him to make him so intent on ruining other people’s lives. The trouble is, he can't bear not to be the centre of attention and he'd rather be despised than ignored: narcissism at its core. Why is Gerald a narcissist? Why is anybody a narcissist? Did they choose to be? I don't think so… so yes, I sympathise with Gerald but please shoot me if I ever behave in that way.

If you could be transported instantly, anywhere in the world, where would you most like to spend your time writing? And why?

Apart from any café anywhere – I write prolifically when in cafes, when I switch off wifi and the rest of the world, take out my hearing aids (oh yes, it's a great silver lining) knowing that I'm unable to stop what I’m doing to ‘just’: just put the washing on, pay some bills or tidy my desk - my writing paradise would be Hanson Island, off Vancouver island, Canada.

I was lucky enough to have the family trip of a lifetime last year when we travelled by boat to this remote island and from there kayaked every day to be amongst sea creatures, including orcas and sea lions. The experience on the water was pretty amazing in itself but I also remember sitting on the edge of the island, looking out to sea, sharing the sunset with my family and the rest of our group of holiday makers, as we listened to the sound and sight of dolphins, orcas and humpback whales, travelling past our island, only a few metres away. And I had an over-whelming desire to write. I mused about returning and spending all day, every day, on that island, the calls of the sea creatures, and the waves they created, the only sound - apart from my pen scratching madly on the paper, of course.

What is the one book you wish you had written?

There are so many! Anything by Maggie O’Farrell or Rachel Joyce would be the short answer as I think they are masterful at what they do: creating a multi-layered concept or observation in minimal words. I am also in awe of Aldous Huxley and George Orwell, in fact, many writers of a future dystopia, where they predict a damaged world in breath-taking clarity – and yet we refuse to heed it.

But one book I remember more vividly than all others, is the Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. It has everything. It's evocatively and poetically written with hugely engaging and appealing characters and a fast moving, heart-aching plot where from the depths of despair, people are constantly saved by the kindness of others. It’s based around a tormented boy who finds sanctuary in boxing. I hate boxing. That’s how good it is.

What advice do you have for would be novelists/writers?

I'm going to steal this from R.J. Ellory when he was speaking at the York Festival of Writers in 2013. In his key note speech he asked what the difference was between a published writer and an un-published writer, with the answer that the un-published writer gave up. In short: stick with it! There's nothing easy about writing a book or getting a book published but the joy, not to mention the life satisfaction in achieving this, is huge. Hard work and tenacity with a thick skin to shield the blows of rejection and yet a sensitive hyde to take on board the feedback which will ultimately make your book a better read, will propel you towards that publishing deal.

What are you currently working on? What can we look forward to reading?

I'm currently working on a story about four strangers (and their driver) who are forced to share a long taxi ride home when all trains from Birmingham station are cancelled. The passengers’ lives and pasts unfurl and connect and each one of them is changed by the most unexpected on the journey.

My next deadline is for the completed manuscript to go to my early draft readers at the end of October, with re-writes and further beta reads to follow, and the aim of submitting, 'This Remarkable of Days' to the publisher in spring. I'm on schedule so far…

Who is your favourite literary character from childhood and why?

It’s Kizzy in the Diddakoi. I was fascinated by the nomadic life when I was a child, still am really, and I remember aching, physically aching for Kizzy as her beloved grandma died and before she could begin to come to terms with this, her home, her caravan, burnt down. Kizzy was forced to go and live a more traditional life with a new family and the painful trials of this were vividly described. I was fixated with Kizzy and her terrible plight in this awful village. Really, I think I wanted her to come and live with us.

Follow Jackie on Twitter: @jaxbees

Table Manners and Other Stories by Susmita Bhattacharya

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 09:08:00 +0000

Book review by Greenacre Writer Mumpuni Murniati

To many Van Gogh is famous for his five sunflowers paintings, each a masterpiece in its own right. Few hear about his water colour ones. He admitted they weren’t great.

In a short story it’s all about getting its message across; the details a writer has chosen can be likened to the palette of colours for the lighting in painting. Table Manners and Other Stories is eighteen exciting tales offered by Susmita Bhattacharya, the author of the highly-acclaimed The Normal State of Mind. She gives dapple grey depictions to her protagonists; her narratives flow in such a way that each piece entices different sensations in its denouement. Her observations on the intricacies of customs of different cultures are endearing. Time and place are like the crisscrossing lines over the troposphere on a clear day.

Some of the stories in the collection have appeared in various publications. ‘The Taste of Onion on His Tongue’, captures a blade of loneliness glinting in the moonlight. Bhattacharya marvels at discussing why a widow whose windows face a couple across the street is doing what she’s done; her succinct telling is without a hint of judgment. In ‘Good Morning Miss Molly’, the lighter mood displayed in the absence of tears conceals little of the pains in the aftermath of a loss.

In her vibrant settings her endeavours to embrace British multiculturalism is refreshing; the distinctive voices she favours move with ease from the Taj Mahal to Venice; from Singapore to Cardiff whereby a physical location is a mere element of their actions. The dynamics in her prose allows clashing viewpoints, unconventional thoughts and darker blobs blend on her ‘canvas.’

Her experiment with various lightings in her blend of contrast is stupendous. In ‘Comfort Food’, the scene of a business dinner in a high-end restaurant attests her main character’s relationship with food; the awareness of what’s coming to Li Xian is unexpected, wrapped in her physical presence in an ambience she feels connected in the least. By the same token, ‘The Summer of Learning’, which depicts a Welsh girl’s lifetime’ holiday in an Indian town explores a deep-seated memory that leaves an indelible mark from the onset: ‘when Lali stole Dad’s money, she stole my childhood‘. In a similar nuance, ‘That Face’, Like a Harvest Moon recollects an uncommunicated matter, a no-go subject in Indian society, highlighting those who suffer in silence and carry on nonetheless.

She has little intention to distance herself from the current political atmosphere. ‘Letters Home’, bites on 7/7 bombings to whom which is perceived to share the same identity with the perpetrators. ‘Marked’, brings forward the taboo of an interfaith marriage with Brexit gloom as the icing of the cake. Likewise, ‘A Holiday To Remember’, seems like a People’s Friend’s story at first with a twist. Yet halfway through a freezing caravan holiday for an Indian couple and their baby the cracks in the couple’s viewpoints are opening and hoovering in the pleasant air of their fresh start in Britain.

Van Gogh regards his water colour piece as a study; his learning as to which light works. For many painters understand the cost of a slightest doubt in stippling marks using water colour. Bhattacharya’s way of penning her thoughts is bold but not overpowering and her plots work well. Yet, just as what the Dutch man learnt, a change in a shade of colour could alter the feeling of a piece.

Some jarring facts wouldn’t alter the whole picture but do leave a slight snag. For instance, it’s arguable whether a man who lives by his ready-meal supplies would recognise the difference in smell between lemon grass and garlic in Chinese cooking. Is a Bengali man who comes to Cardiff to work in a restaurant able to write in fluent English about his new life to his pregnant wife? Would a daughter’s arrival really be a cause of celebration in Pakistani culture? Besides, it seems there is more to reveal in some stories that would suit a longer story or even a novella.

Van Gogh’s sunflowers wouldn’t have materialised without the hundred-and-fifty studies he did. Table Manners and Other Stories perhaps can be seen in this way too. Bhattacharya’s contemporary issues are very relevant; an outlet for more conversations on issues that have been simmering in the midst of life.

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 06:41:00 +0000

Review by Greenacre Writer Vasundra Jackison

When Frances is offered the job of surveying the follies and garden buildings of an old English country house, she is keen to see the neo-classical architecture with the possibility of finding an elegant Palladian bridge. Her mother has just died and she is ready to escape the city and take on the challenge. From America, the new owner arranges for her to stay in the crumbling mansion.

The owner has also commissioned someone to report to him on the condition of the house and its fittings. Frances is expecting to see an older man joining her in the house. But when she meets the glamorous Cara and the handsome Peter living in the rooms below her, she is taken aback. This couple are young and full of life; confident, self-indulgent and pleasure loving.

The memory of my first sight of Cara stirs me: a pale, long-legged sprite. I hear her shouting outside on Lyntons’ carriage turn.

Frances is nearly forty years old. All her life she has toed the line and followed a routine.

I knew, of course, right from wrong. My father, Luther Jellico, had instilled it into me before he left and then mother had continued in her way: payment will always be due for any wrongdoing, don’t lie or steal, don’t talk to strange men, don’t speak unless spoken to, don’t look your mother in the eye, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t expect anything from life.

Frances does not have many friends and is used to people walking past her. But to her surprise, the couple wants to befriend her, cook for her and spend every day with her. At first, she shies away from them. But soon, she is pulled in by the eccentric Cara, who fascinates her even as she listens to her strange stories. And by Peter who seems to want to confide in her.

Something is not right, and Frances cannot work it out. When she finds a peep-hole under her bathroom floorboard, she cannot resist spying on them. She knows it is wrong, but she gets swept away by their company; living decadently and dangerously. Not much report writing gets done by any of them.

The weekend passed without us noticing it was the weekend. We ate and we drank and we smoked.

One person does try to pull her back from the brink of disaster. Victor, the local vicar visits her at Lyntons and feels the need to advise her.

As I said yesterday, I don’t think this is a good place for you. I think you should leave. Go back to London, or somewhere else.

Many years later, Victor is still trying to save her.

Victor tenses, hopeful for a net that he can use to save me. A child’s net on a stick that he can thrust into the rushing water where I spin and turn in the eddies. He would scoop me out if he could. But there’s nothing now that will stop me flowing downstream with the current.

Frances is now too involved in the lives of her two companions. She is addicted to them. and cannot extricate herself from her part in the unfolding events. Events that escalate to such a shocking ending that none of them comes away unscathed.

There are detailed descriptions of the house and garden in this book which make the place come alive on the pages. The feelings and thoughts of the characters are also extremely well written. The year is 1969, and there are many references to British life in that period which help the reader picture everything from the clothes, to music to food. The history of old English mansions is well researched, as is the artistry of famous painters and sculptors.

This is a twisting and winding tale of love, self-doubt, desire and danger, all written in a simple, easy-read style. It is a compelling read which will leave the readers wishing for more.

Follow Claire on Twitter: @ClaireFuller2

Follow Vasundra on Twitter: @VasundraJay

Writers Meet-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 19:57:00 +0000

Greenacre Writers host a Writers Meet-up for writers who want to get together and write.

Come and join us for Writers Meet-Up in Finchley. 1st Saturday of every month.
Next meeting: Sat 4th August 10.15-Midday, Write for 40mins, have tea, write for 40 mins. Refreshments provided. £3.00 RSVP: greenacrewriters@gmail.com.

A Conversation With Gail Aldwin

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 11:49:00 +0000

Gail Aldwin is an award-winning writer of short fiction and poetry. As Chair of the Dorset Writers’ Network she supports writers by connecting creative communities. She is a visiting tutor at Arts University Bournemouth and author of Paisley Shirt a collection of short fiction. This collection was long listed in the best short story category of the Saboteur Awards 2018.

Paisley Shirt is a fascinating collection of twenty-seven stories that reveal the extraordinary nature of people and places. Through a variety of characters and voices, these stories lay bare the human experience and what t is like to live in our world.

"I had my favourites – I thought “Stone” was wonderful, perhaps the shortest but, for someone who reads with the heart as I do, the emotional impact was immense. “Accidental Brother” moved me deeply too – its construction perfect, and a story I’d be happy to see expanded into something a little longer. “Packing” is perhaps the simplest – a list, rather than a ‘story’, but with so much meaning in the content…I’d urge anyone to step outside their comfort zone a little, and take a closer look at short fiction – and if you’re looking for an introduction, I doubt you’ll find much better than this beautiful collection from Gail Aldwin." - Award-winning book blogger, Being Anne

Thank you to Gail for joining us in conversation. We wish her all good things with the lovely Paisley Shirt and forthcoming novel.

Tell us of your journey as a writer

I started as a letter writer. In 1981, l left London to travel overland to Kathmandu on a double decker bus. We were stuck in France for three weeks waiting for visas to be issued so that we could cross Iran and then the adventure began. My mum stored all the letters I wrote in box files and later when I was studying to become a teacher, I used the anecdotes contained in the letters as a basis for short stories. The short stories turned into novels and eventually I began to write about imagined characters and situations. I now write novels, short fiction and poetry. I also co-write comedy sketches.

How do you see your role as a writer and what do you like most about it?

I have important stories to tell about the human qualities of resilience and trust…and I enjoy being in a strong position to share these stories.

Have you ever created a character who you dislike but find yourself empathising with?

I haven’t actively disliked any of my characters but some of their behaviours are appalling. I dig deep to find the vulnerability and frailty that causes my characters to make horrible mistakes. Some of these mistakes can be rectified while others compound to make the character burdened.

What has been your experience of writing about diverse characters?

My stories include issues such as domestic violence, alcoholism, homelessness and disability. I aim to create unique characters without stereotyping them.

If you could be transported instantly, anywhere in the world, where would you most like to spend your time writing? And why?

So long as I have a desk, a comfortable chair and a laptop, I’m happy to write anywhere. Sometimes idyllic locations cause more distraction from writing than my little room at home.

What is the one book you wish you had written?

I’d like to write as well as all the authors I admire but keep my own subject matter. There are many influential books so I can’t nail it down to one. My most recently read favourite novel is Out of Africa.

What advice do you have for would be novelists/writers?

Enjoy being part of a writing community through membership of writing groups and links on social media. Share resources and information about competitions and open submission windows. Celebrate your own successes and those of others. Appreciate the intrinsic satisfaction that comes from writing.

What are you currently working on? What can we look forward to reading?

I’m working on a novel called This Much I Know with a six-year-old narrator called Mikey. He responds to the friendly approaches made by a disabled church member because he is lonely. Mikey’s parents are suspicious of Leonard which leaves Mikey completely confused. The novel explores issues of trust and questions why it is becoming increasing difficult for adults to talk to children without raising concerns.

Who is your favourite literary character from childhood and why?

At school I was made to read by learning phonics. This became nothing more than hard work and I never saw books as a source of interest. As a result, I didn’t read for pleasure until much later. When I became a teacher, I liked to share books that challenged and engaged children. One of my favourite characters is the protagonist in The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler but I can’t tell you why as that would spoil the surprise.

Follow Gail on Twitter: @gailaldwin

The Devil's Half Mile by Paddy Hirsch

noreply@blogger.com (Greenacre Writers) — Sun, 15 Jul 2018 08:58:00 +0000

Book review by Greenacre Writer Mumpuni Murniati

In the aftermath of The Panic 1792, Francis Flanagan was found hung in his home. There could be no doubt he’d committed suicide.

Spring 1799. The New York State’s legislature adopted the measure of gradual abolition; every offspring of a slave born after 4th July 1799 was a free person but only after twenty-eight years of ‘apprenticeship’ for males, and twenty-five for female. Twenty-year-old Justice Flanagan returns to New York after four years’ away. Having qualified as an attorney-in-law, he’s come back for a mission and one mission only: to catch his father's murderer.

In 1800 New York’s population is recorded at just over 66,000. Looking at what has become of the former New Amsterdam, the magnitude of the growth of the once-only a large town at the bank of the Hudson river is extremely remarkable. Much of the city’s expansion was largely due to its having been a refuge for fleeing slaves, the irony of the economy built on the bidding wars of human commodity c. Who couldn’t have missed Wall Street - The Devil’s Half Mile?

Against the backdrop of a well-played plot, the modern-time equivalent of gang culture and collusions, Paddy Hirsch yarns upbeat narratives on the impacts of the first financial crisis in American History. He couldn’t have picked a better setting nor a time; the author of Man vs Markets: Economics Explained (Plain & Simple) is an old hand on Wall Street. In the gripping scenes that flow throughout the novel, the complexities of the abolition of slavery is depicted with ease; no sooner has the young lawyer protagonist disembarked the ship than he begins to ruffle some feathers –albeit the wrong ones and dwells further into the labyrinth of corruptions and betrayals of the people he thought would help. Nonetheless, never has he realised the ripple effects of his dropping a pebble or two in the uncharted waters.

In the orphaned son of a stock trader, Hirsch creates a new breed of Irish identity. ‘I doubt any of them [Irish] would have named their son Justice. The Irish tended to name their children after the saints, and names like Justice, Hope and Charity smack of Protestantism…’ It’s a small wonder that his hero was born after Independence with a strong sense of identity about his heritage. During his time away from home, he took part in the bloody summer of 1798 at Kildare; an intriguing aspect whose relevance still rings true to this day. For had Justy lived three centuries later, he would’ve been branded a terrorist and lived in exile.

What’s exciting about historical crime fiction is the stretch of imagination an author has to use in order to recreate circumstances with all the marks of similar struggles happening in today's society. Hirsch’s colourful interpretations of characters from eighteenth-century New York City, allow Justy to cross paths with famous names: The King Of The Alley William Duer, Isaac Whippo, Jacob Hays the New York Marshall and the former Secretary of Treasure, Alexander Hamilton.

Furthermore, his take on the lives claimed and tangled because of the crash and the law are hard hitting. He’s careful with the bits of history he’s chosen to omit, although sometimes this requires filling in the gaps and further reading for readers. The variations of pace in the book are well balanced, whereby he manages to deploy subplots that do not steer away from the hunt of justice but they still catch the reader off guard.

Following Justy’s viewpoint, the readers observe the revealing of hidden conspiracies - brutal and uncompromising. Hirsh ensures his combatant have flaws in many ways; his only uncle for a start is the fearsome The Bull, a don who controls the port and the water ways. Yet, the greater shame is endured in the discovery of his father's significant part in The Panic, and a pawn in William Duer’s Ponzi scheme. In spite of his trying to separate himself from his uncle, Justy's safety relies on The Bull’s mercy. Besides, his inexperienced moves contribute to his digging a deeper hole in the process and the net is closing on him in the hands of the ingenious Kerry O’Toole – an old friend supposedly. Would his mission be accomplished in time?

In the anti-climax of the penultimate chapters, the shadow of slavery hangs like mildew clinging on one’s foot. Hirsh's focus on The Panic and his imaginary of Duer's Ponzi scheme and ‘the Brazil gold’ stocks are applaudable. Nevertheless, there seems to be hesitations to include the important details on the extent of slave trades that become the foundation of shaping Wall Street to its current status. Also, Alexander Hamilton is still a hero that saves the day, whereas his close relationship with Duer tends to be seen as unsavoury.

Be that as it may, this debut crime fiction is one to watch. At any rate the novel is as entertaining as educating and tips the balance of what New York was and is in the face of Western History. No doubt that Hirsch’s warrior will grow much more in his subsequent cases pairing with his half Norwegian sidekick Lars Hokkanssen.

‘Absorbing as it was to learn how Wall Street changed in the wake of the Panic, discovering how New York changed in the same period was even more so. The city was little more than a large town in 1799, when Justy Flanagan stepped off the Netherleigh. What eventually became the Five Points was still a freshwater lake, and the tiny village of Greenwich was surrounded by open fields. But the city would double in size over the next twenty years, straining its capacity, its tolerance and its way of life.’

1446 slaves were recorded in the city in 1810 and 528 in the following decade. On 4th July 1827, all slaves in New York were freed.

Thank you to Corvus for the review copy.

Follow Paddy Hirsch on Twitter: @paddyhirsch

Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Sun, 01 Jul 2018 15:05:00 +0000

Review by Greenacre Writer Vasundra Jackison

Ailsa Rae was born with a heart defect and has had to undergo many operations to keep her alive. She knows she is lucky to have lived for 28 years. But now her heart is failing, and she desperately needs a new one.

It’s only a question of time before I get too weak to survive a transplant, and then it’s a waste of a heart to give it to me.

At the eleventh hour, someone dies, and Ailsa is the fortunate recipient of their heart. Six days after surgery, she opens her eyes to find her mother Hayley at her bedside, smiling through her tears. They have been through a lot together, just the two of them.

I’m here, hen. I’ve been here all the time...You’re safe now. You’ve done it.

Physically, Ailsa recovers well. But emotionally, she finds the day to day “living” like other adults who know what they want, where they want to be and what they plan to do in the future very challenging.

When I was dying I was special and I was protected…When you might be dead the next week, what you’re doing with your life isn’t really an issue.

Now she has to work out what her priorities are, and she has to make decisions. She avoids this by writing a blog and asking her followers to decide for her. She runs a poll regularly, asking her readers to tell her what she should do with her life, which clothes to wear, what words to choose to describe her feelings, and much more.

There are many things that trouble Ailsa. She desperately misses her friend Lennox who died before a new heart could be found for him. She worries about upsetting her mother by moving out and looking for her long-lost biological father. Life shouldn’t be so hard. After all, she is lucky to have “Apple”, the name she has given to her new heart.

I’m alive, thanks to a freak set of circumstances, which includes someone else’s misfortune. And I think of that every day.

Ailsa’s spirits are lifted when she meets Seb Morley, a television star who is recovering from a corneal transplant. He seems to understand her emotional roller coaster rides. Their email exchanges are funny, witty and sweet. However, even their friendship is not without its problems.

There are moments when Ailsa appears to be quite frivolous about the heart that saved her life. And at times she seems too morbid. But these are the ever-changing moods and coping mechanisms that many transplant patients go through. Organ donation saved Ailsa’s life and its importance has not been forgotten. Ailsa reminds us by stating quite simply:

Please when you die, when someone you love dies, help to let someone else live.

Despite all the uncertainties, Ailsa’s story is a happy one filled with hope. The details of her medical treatment are well researched, giving the reader a wonderful insight into the world of transplants in modern day UK. There is humour in this novel, despite the seriousness of the topic, and there is warmth. Overall, this book is enjoyable, engaging and very thought-provoking.

Thanks to Zaffre for the review copy.

Follow Stephanie on Twitter: @under_blue_sky

Follow Vasundra on Twitter: @vasundrajay

A Conversation With Katy Massey

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 16:01:00 +0000

Katy Massey grew up in Leeds in the 1970s and early 1980s before attending boarding school in North Yorkshire. After university, she moved to London and eventually worked as a freelance financial journalist, writing short fiction and memoir in her spare time. In her late 30s she returned to education, a journey which culminated in a self-funded PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Newcastle in 2010. The PhD allowed her write her own family’s complicated story, while researching memoir and discovering why the lives of some groups of people are much less likely to be recorded, and lauded, than others.

So now, alongside her own writing, she organises and raises funding for writing workshops and publishing projects which aim to give marginalised or ignored people a voice. These have included Tangled Roots – a unique anthology of memoir by more than 30 members of mixed race families, which also included a live literature tour and portraiture exhibition. ‘Who are we now?’ is a collection of memoir responses to the Brexit referendum and a post-European future a free download is available on the website. Recently, a piece of Katy’s autobiographical work has was accepted by Unbound publishers for the Kit De Waal’s edited collection Common People. She is also working on The Cleansing, a novel imagining post-Grenfell London after a large-scale attack.

The phenomenal growth of the the UK’s mixed population is one of the most significant social trends of the 21^st century. Yet precisely how this social revolution has occurred remains something of a mystery. So Tangled Roots asked five leading writers – Diana Evans, Bernardine Evaristo MBE, Sarfraz Manzoor, Hannah Lowe and Charlotte Williams - along with 25 writers from UK mixed families to write about their lives. The result is a shockingly honest, funny and heart-breaking collection of memoirs which reveal the human stories behind the massive success of ‘mixed Britannia’.

Greenacre Writers is very pleased to welcome Jayne Saul Paterson and Katy Massey in converstion. Jayne devised the questions for Katy to answer. We wish Katy every success with this very important and needed text.

What was your primary motive for bringing the stories of mixed raced writers together into the book Tangled Roots?

I had the idea from talking to friends that mixed people (as well as those who grow up in mixed families or have parented one) had many experiences in common, but I couldn’t find a book that described these shared experiences. I then went back to university to study for a PhD in memoir and autobiography, and I found that this is because there are very few accounts of mixed lives published within these genres. So, I decided to bring as many real-life stories together as I could in a single anthology, so that current and future generations can better understand, and gain an historical perspective of, their experiences. The result is Tangled Roots. It is an unusual anthology with its historical pictures and mix of work by both renown authors and amateur writers. This is because I wanted the book to reflect the resilience and diversity of the UK’s mixed population as closely as possible.

The book was published in 2015, what sort of reactions and responses have you had to the book ?

The response to the book has been overwhelmingly positive, with many readers telling me that though they found all the stories interesting, there are one or two that resonated particularly deeply for them. I am always happy to hear this!

One of the mixed race writers, struggles outside of writing to describe herself in racial terms, and this is a theme for many of us, including the need to authenticate or align ourselves with our ‘blackness’; - do you think it is important for mixed race individuals to choose their own ways of describing themselves, rather than accept typical labels given to them and to embrace their individuality and why do you think writing is an important medium for this?

I think it is important for mixed people to do what they want to, and to resist pressure to do, or say, or identify with anything which does not feel authentic to them. One important factor informing Tangled Rootsis the sheer range and diversity of mixed people and how people choose to self-define. For some this is a racial description – they are Nigerian-British, or Anglo-Indian for others it is a metaphor, like Robert Ippolito’s piece where he sees himself as a ‘bridge’ between his various racial, geographical and cultural influences. I think writing could be important because it allows exactly this sort of imaginative leap – but there are visual artists producing mixed race art too. In fact, across the arts there are many writers, performers, and makers who ponder the limits of assigned identity and the possibilities of creating new ones. I see Tangled Rootsas contributing to that stream of thought.

In your introduction to the book, subtitled ‘Tinting the gene pool’ you talk about how the writers of the book, ‘insist on their notion of here-ness, the situated-ness of their lives’ – why do you think this is important in the current social and political climate of modern day Britain?

Part of the point of Tangled Roots is to record how well-established mixed people and mixed relationships are within British society. Areas of the UK such as Tiger Bay in Cardiff, or parts of Liverpool and Bristol have been mixed for hundreds of years. We are not a sudden phenomenon. Though we are now the fastest growing ethnic group in the country, this has come from a long history: of resilience on the part of minority populations, and increasing tolerance in the majority population, a combination of factors which have developed over centuries, and demonstrated in political and legal human rights legislation over the past 50 years. This is a proud history that current populist and right-wing strands of political thought seek to erase or ignore. Instead, they favour peddling an anti-immigrant, anti-other narratives of ‘arrival’ and ‘take over’ which is designed to stoke fear and resentment, and is in danger of damaging the carefully woven fabric of British society.

In a previous interview you mention how you are ‘tired of all the angst and stress coming from editors and publishers in the industry as well as the characters in … books. We have a sense of humour too!’ Can you mention a few of the writers in the book who really bring out this sense of humour in writing their own stories.

All of the pieces in Tangled Rootstreat the idea of different races inter-marrying and having intimate relationships as a completely normal, everyday experience, even when the community surrounding the couple or the mixed person disapproves. This is important, as anxieties about racial mixing are still bubbling away under the surface of our society, and mixed characters in fiction are still often portrayed as confused outcasts, leading to the ‘angst’ I refer to above. A sense of humour is a personal, subject thing, but for me, I am always looking for a sideways, ironic way of looking at the world in the writing I enjoy. I would refer readers to Robert’s piece mentioned above, but also ‘American Coat’ and ‘Auntie’. with a lightness of touch which is rare in mainstream publishing.

Apart from the writers who feature in the book, which other writers from a mixed race background, would you recommend either in the UK or from outside the UK?

I can only comment on the UK literary scene, I’m afraid, and the renown authors in Tangled Rootswere chosen precisely because there are so few writers of mixed heritage covering this ground. In fact writers of non-mixed heritage writing about mixture would be fantastic too! It is important not to confuse a writer’s biographical information with their work – which may take on quite different subject matter. The story of mixture belongs not only to mixed people but their parents and friends and family too – who may be ‘mono-cultural’.

Outside of the writers featured in Tangled Roots, there is of course, Andrea Levy, much of whose oeuvre explores the experience of Caribbean settlement and integration in the UK. And Dorothy Koomson, another of the few regularly published female novelists of colour in the UK, writes popular novels which feature multi-racial casts of characters (The Ice Cream Girlswas adapted into a TV drama) though she is not mixed-race herself as far as I know. And I am sure your readers know the work of Zadie Smith – and if you have previously stuck to her novels, I recommend her essays, which are particularly acute.

So, although they are featured in Tangled Roots, I would say the best place for readers to start would be the work of Hannah Lowe (particularly her poetry collections and Long Time No See, her memoir) and Diana Evans’ 26a– a masterful study of a mixed family in London in the 1970s and 1980s. Similarly, if readers are unfamiliar with the books written by Bernardine Evaristo, her novel Blonde Rootshas exactly the quirky sense of humour I refer to in the quote above and which is so rare in this field.

Thanks to Katy for the review copy.

You can follow Katy on Twitter: @TangledRoots1

You can follow Jayne on Twitter: @doorswillopen

The Ghosts and Jamal by Bridget Blankley

noreply@blogger.com (Greenacre Writers) — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 19:21:00 +0000

Book review by Greenacre Writer Mumpuni Murniati

Every muscle in Jamal’s body shakes hard. His head spins; the smell of nutmeg wafting in the air amid the taste of blood in his mouth. Shivering on the ground, he’s lying there exhausted and wait until the spirits leave.

The spirits visit him regularly. Every time they do, it makes Jamal ill. And drives people away. Nobody must touch him nor go near him. He has to live in a hut alone, outside the village compound.

There was too much smoke. It didn’t tickle his nose any more, it was grabbing at his throat, squeezing the air into his stomach in wrenching coughs. He was choking, gasping acid breaths till suddenly his ears were bursting with noise. He fell to the ground, his blanket slipping across his twitching body, hiding his face under the heavy cloth. That was when the pick-up drove past.

Until one day after light he hears no sound but the yellow smoke that has caught him off guard. Then the spirits send him unconscious and the people in the pick-up decide to leave him there.

An orphan’s tale with epilepsy is at the heart of Bridget Blankley’s enthralling tale in The Ghosts and Jamal. Set in Nigeria, it follows Blankley’s protagonist’s quest of making sense of the disorder and ‘the ghosts’ that wipe out his entire tribe. A sole survivor of a gas attack, Jamal’s adventure is harrowing from the onset but heart rendering; his courageous voice is wrapped in bitter sweet experiences throughout.

Blankley wastes no time in dwelling into the social stigma and the social exclusion resulted from epilepsy; through Jamal’s eyes she’s encouraging a sensible narrative in the Young Adult genre that challenges the common perceptions to people living with such a treatable condition. Her sensitive elaborations about disability strike the right cord that go beyond words. Moreover, her well-balanced plot ensures that issues surrounding epilepsy remain the main focus towards the end.

Sometimes they put their hands under the tent and wiped him with cold cloths. Sometimes they put a small stick in his mouth and told him not to bite it. He thought that strange. Only babies bite sticks and he wasn’t a baby. They brought him food and water to drink and sometimes a very small drink in a very small cup. He didn’t like the small drink- it made him very sleepy – but he liked the other things they brought him so he took the small drink when they gave it to him and he didn’t complain.

Her flagging support on the matter carries weight possibly from having Asperger’s Syndrome herself. She’s an old hand in the art of expressing very little about oneself for fear of being judged and misunderstood. Her evocative words echo farther than the walls of the hospital that brings a brief respite to Jamal and the minor characters that colour the man-child in him seeking answers.

Nevertheless, Jamal is unable to stay there for long. The idea that he wouldn’t be able to track ‘the ghosts in the red canister’ once he lives in the confinement of an orphanage sets him up for an escape. Being oblivious to the dangers awaiting him ahead, Jamal plunges himself back to the circumstances he has miraculously escaped from in the first place.

Blankley’s choice of setting is arguably arresting; a Muslim boy caught up in an ongoing violent conflict reverberate the unfortunate reality of millions of children nowadays being in a similar situation in other countries. Particularly their small voices that are usually forgotten in books of the post-colonial genre.

Having grown up in the sixties in Southern Nigeria, Blankley is apt at capturing the discernible beauty of the country’s landscape. Yet her awareness about the tangled mess concerning the tensions between of the north and the south might not be as extensive as her understanding about disability. On the one hand, she has an outstanding impartiality in tackling terrorism. On the other hand, the so-called terrorism that involve a religious-based ideology with a demand of independence for the north is much more than meets the eye.

The latter point is reflected in Jamal’s little comprehension about the attack; his naivety bears empathy but may cloud the message Blankley has wished to convey to the Young Adult readers. By the same token, whilst it’s palpable that children, regardless their faiths, are unfairly displaced because of acts of terrorism, the imposing issue concerning to which side Jamalshould belong is only being discussed in the penultimate chapters.

‘I need to think about what’s right,’ said Jamal.
‘You can think. But you must think here. You have a choice: accept your destiny or go to jail.’
That wasn’t a choice, Jamal thought. That wasn’t a choice at all. This madman wanted him to die and Jamal didn’t want that at all.

Can he make the right decision for himself? There ought to be more than a cliffhanger ending when Jamal’s life seemed to have turned for the better. Do we have to wait for the next book to find out what happens to Jamal?

Thank you Bridget Blankley and Hope Road Publishing for the review copy.

Follow Bridget on Twitter: @BridgetBlankley

Setting the Pace

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 08:36:00 +0000

What keeps the pace of a novel going?
What drives suspense?
Are there writing techniques and aspects of craft that can be learned to improve these things or add them to a narrative?
What is a successfully paced narrative?

These questions - and no doubt a few more - are the starting point for Greenacre Writers midsummer workshop on 30th June. Led by Josie Pearse of Pearse & Black, we’ll look at ways other writers have approached these issues and do some simple but satisfying writing exercises. We can also attempt some creative problem solving, so come prepared to discuss (not read) a passage you’re struggling with and run it by fellow writers.

The workshop takes place Sat 30th June, 10.15am-2.00pm in Finchley, N12 0HU. COURSE NOW FULL!!!!!

Josie Pearse runs the day-to-day operations of Pearse & Black. She lives in Barnet.

She gained her PhD from Cardiff University with her thesis, Writing and Not Writing on the Cusp of Life and Fiction.

Josie has taught creative writing for most of her life. She has been a writer in residence and has worked at all levels of skill. She runs a closed group which supports writers working on long projects and runs site-specific one-off workshops.

She bases her approach simply on the principle that you learn to write by writing. And for a writer at any level of skill, the knowledge of your process – including what your block might be trying to tell you – will help you sustain the writing of a whole book. Josie helps each writer master his or her process.

She has published two novels under a pseudonym and is working on a TV adaptation.

Follow Josie on Twitter: @jojowasawoman

My Mother's Secret by Sanjida Kay

noreply@blogger.com (Greenacre Writers) — Fri, 25 May 2018 11:31:00 +0000

Review by Greenacre Writer Carol Sampson

My Mother’s Secret is told through three characters: Lizzie, Emma and Stella.

Lizzie fell pregnant and married Paul Bradshaw before she had the opportunity to complete her degree. When their son, Dylan, is six months old Lizzie decides to take a part-time job in Leeds, leaving Paul and Dylan at home in the Lake District for part of the week while she earns money to contribute to their limited finances and studies to complete her degree.

While in Leeds she witnesses a serious crime which ultimately defines her future.

“There was a sickening thud, like the sound of a cricket bat hitting a watermelon, and Arjun screamed. The boy gave a cry. She ran to him, her fingers slipping from her phone. But she was too late.”

Emma, wife to Jack and mother to eleven year old Ava and fourteen year old Stella is anxious, bordering on neurotic, where the safety of her family is concerned. She has all the family’s daily activities scheduled with everyone notified of each other’s whereabouts. Every day she escorts the children to and from school and any activities they have.

On a family outing at the weekend Emma becomes distracted while taking photos and Jack, Ava and Stella wander off. Suddenly, realising they are no longer there, Emma’s paranoia takes hold.

“I can’t see them…There’s no sign of them, no sign that anyone else even passed this way. I start screaming their names, over and over, the names of my family, my loved ones, the people I cannot live without. My heart is beating so hard it’s painful.”

Stella, a feisty teenager, finds her mother’s behaviour stifling. She is eager to gain independence and cannot understand why she is denied the freedom permitted to her peers.

“It’s embarrassing to have to wait for your mum at my age, and be in charge of an annoying little sister. I keep telling Mum we should get the bus, but she says she likes picking us up.”

When her mother’s time-keeping starts to become erratic - showing up late to collect them from school and arriving home late from work - Stella suspects something is not right.

“I can't remember my unspontaneous mother ever doing anything without notifying us in triplicate.”

As she determines to find out why her mother is distracted and behaving out of character Stella uncovers secrets that threaten the stability of their very comfortable family life.

My Mother’s Secret is a well written novel which, although not a page-turner, draws the reader in to the lives of the characters making it difficult to put down. Sanjida Kay has created three very distinct voices in Lizzie, Emma and Stella drawing on their vulnerabilities to enhance empathy. It is through their complex characters that issues of morality, responsibility, identity and loyalty are tested.

Initially the timeline is confusing with respect to Lizzie but as the story unravels, her connection with Emma and Stella becomes clear. Kay has captured the voice of Stella brilliantly: the recalcitrant teenager who is desperate to grow up but becomes unnerved when faced with adult issues requiring responsible decisions. Extremely intelligent she realises when she is out of her depth and struggles to cope with the threat her mother poses to the family.

The short chapters and alternating voices make for easy reading as the story meanders through a minefield of revelations - some of which are predictable; some not quite so. It is certainly a thought-provoking story that poses the question: what would I do in those circumstances?

A very enjoyable read.

Thank you Sanjida Kay and Corvus at Atlantic Books for the review copy.

You can follow Sanjida Kay on Twitter: @SanjidaKay

The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Fri, 18 May 2018 17:23:00 +0000

Review by Greenacre Writer Vasundra Jackison

This is a story that will grab your attention from the very start.

I was born with blood on my hands. I killed my mother on the 22^nd of August, in the year 1642, the day the first King Charles turned traitor and chose a battlefield over a throne.

Immediately, you are pulled in and there is no turning back. This is a historical novel with a deep dark theme of ghosts, evil shadows and a malevolent presence that will keep you on edge.

It is the story of Mercy Booth, a young woman who has grown up in the shadow of this evil presence. It hangs over and around her home, right in the middle of the wild Yorkshire moors. Many in the village are superstitious and afraid of the terrifying tales of death and destruction in the area, passed down through the ages.

But Mercy is not like them. She is strong, determined and hard working. She knows and loves the rough landscape of the moors, despite the rumours and dangers.

There’s a fog gathering, sitting heavy on the hills, sinking into the valley. I know the paths across these moors like I know every stone and slate of Scarcross Hall, but when the fog comes down it’s fast and unforgiving, and even us helfted ones can lose our way.

Her father is ill and very rarely leaves the crumbling walls of Scarcross Hall. Mercy runs the farm, tending to the sheep and working the unforgiving land like any man who comes looking for employment.

When Ellis Ferreby turns up, the tavern keeper directs him.

You can’t mistake the place. Find the church and follow the old coffin path that runs up towards the moor top. You’ll not miss it.

What he is not told is that the coffin path leads to a place where the most horrific events are said to have taken place; a frightening and forbidding place.

Mercy is suspicious of this quiet stranger. She feels uncomfortable around him and senses a disturbing watchfulness from him. There are also increasing episodes of alarming events which are unnatural and inexplicable. She senses something threatening. I sense it like a rabbit sensing a fox: there are eyes on me.

Her faithful dog begins to growl and slinks to her side more often than usual.

I’m not one for superstition and scaremongering and I’ve never before felt truly afraid. This is different: there is harm in it. My hackles rise. I’m a field mouse sensing the hawk, my pursuer invisible to me but every instinct telling me to run.

Despite her misgivings, she employs Ellis for the lambing season. She grows used to him and starts to depend on him. He helps her handle the challenges faced by all farmers during that period in history. It is tough work in the harsh climate on the moors. Against the backdrop of the foreboding mood, the author gives us an interesting insight into life on the Yorkshire moors in the 17^th century.

The sense of menace never leaves the pages. It is always there in the background. In spite of the feeling of dread, or perhaps because of it, we are compelled to finish the book. We want to know how Mercy will cope with what we imagine will happen in Scarcross Hall. This book of ghosts, mystery and history is one that the reader will find very difficult to put down.

Thanks to Headline for the review copy.

Follow Katherine on Twitter: @KL_Clements

A Conversation With Amanda Berriman

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Thu, 10 May 2018 11:13:00 +0000

Amanda Berriman was born in Germany and grew up in Edinburgh, reading books, playing music, writing stories and climbing hills. She works as a primary school teacher and lives on the edge of the Peak District with her husband, two children and dogs

Meet Jesika, aged four and a half. The most extraordinary narrator of 2018.

She lives in a flat with her mother and baby brother and she knows a lot. She knows their flat is high up and the stairs are smelly. She knows she shouldn't draw on the peeling wallpaper or touch the broken window. And she knows she loves her mummy and baby brother Toby.

She does not know that their landlord is threatening to evict them and that Toby’s cough is going to get much worse. Or that Paige, her new best friend, has a secret that will explode their world.

"Heart-stopping. A need to read novel." Kit de Waal, author of My Name is Leon

Greenacre Writers are delighted to welcome and thank Amanda for taking part in A Conversation. We wish her huge success with 'Home', which is an exceptionally moving debut.

Tell us of your journey as a writer

It’s been a very long one! At primary school, I was always getting lost in a story but by the end of secondary school exam work took over, and then I went on to study music at university. I didn’t come back to writing until 2003, a few years into my first teaching job, when an idea was sparked in an English lesson. I spent the whole of that October half term writing feverishly and a year and half later, nine chapters into my first novel, I was completely hooked. At this point, I was introduced to the Writers’ Workshop and over the next few years, through them, I had a couple of manuscript critiques, finished the novel, collected many agent rejections, joined the Word Cloud forum, rewrote the novel, collected some more rejections, went to the York Festival of Writing, did Debi Alper and Emma Darwin’s truly excellent, lightbulb-inducing Self-Editing course, rewrote the novel again... Shortly after this, Debi became my mentor, I rewrote the novel again and in 2012 it was shortlisted in the Opening Chapter competition at York. But after many rejections, and despite coming very close with a couple of agents, I wasn’t getting anywhere and I decided to put the novel in a drawer and try something new.

In 2013, Debi invited me to enter a short story on the theme of ‘Home’ for the charity anthology ‘Stories for Homes’ to raise money for Shelter. I had no ideas and no inspiration but I really wanted to be involved, and then I read ‘The Night Rainbow’ by Claire King, an exceptional story about grief told from the point of view of a child. A thought popped into my head: what does homelessness look like to a child? And there was Jesika, jumping up and down in front of me, impatient to start her story. It was selected for the anthology and I returned to other projects but Jesika wasn’t done. She insisted there was more to tell, so I wrote her a novel. That took another three years of writing, rewriting and editing until finally, in August 2016, I had a draft I was ready to submit to agents. Since then everything has happened very fast! Four agents were interested in the full MS, two made me an offer and by September I was represented by Jo Unwin. I worked with Jo on some editing changes and she sent the novel out on submission in late November. Two publishers made an offer before Christmas and by March 2017, I had a signed contract with Transworld! The last year has been a steep learning curve, but fascinating and exciting, and finally seeing ‘Home’ on the shelves in February this year (almost 15 years since that first spark was ignited) was a truly special moment.

How do you see your role as a writer and what do you like most about it?

What I love most about being a writer is when a reader connects with something I’ve written and completely gets what it is I’m trying to say or sees something in it that I didn’t even consider – it’s truly wonderful to think about your novel going out into the world and evolving all by itself in the minds of readers. As to my role as a writer, I found this really hard to answer! I don’t think about my role as a writer when I’m writing. I have a story that insists on being told and I tell it. Perhaps at the rewriting/editing stage I think about it a bit more – What’s the point of what I’m writing? What am I trying to say? – and with ‘Home’ that was about creating a human angle for all the media headlines that never quite get to the heart of the real story of real people living real lives of hardship. I wanted the characters in ‘Home’ to be people that readers could identify with and feeling empathy for, and although Jesika and Paige and their family and friends are fictional, I wanted them to feel authentic enough that people started to think about the real Jesikas and Paiges out there.

Have you ever created a character who you dislike but find yourself empathising with?
Empathy is all about understanding or feeling what another person is experiencing from their point of view and I find it impossible to write even the most hideous characters without, for a short while, standing in their shoes. But it can be uncomfortable, painful, depressing... after spending some time in the head of one particular character in ‘Home’, I felt physically sick and wanted to scrub my brain with bleach! But it’s an essential part of getting to know my characters that I listen to them all, good or bad.

What has been your experience of writing about diverse characters?

It’s very easy to write about what you know, or people who are the same as you, but that’s not an honest reflection of the communities we all live in and it’s boring. When I was writing ‘Home’, I looked for inspiration in the communities where I live and work and that’s a never-ending source of interesting, diverse people who are all unique. And once you’ve got the basis of your cast, listening to these characters is fascinating because these are people who haven’t had the same life experience as you and they have stories to tell you that send you off on all sorts of interesting research trips. Writing several different versions of me would not be half as interesting!

If you could be transported instantly, anywhere in the world, where would you most like to spend your time writing? And why?

The Coromandel Peninsula, North Island of New Zealand. Follow the coastal road north until it heads inland and begins to wind its way up and down over green hills. Some miles on, there’s a farm at the base of the hills and on its vast acreage there’s a track that climbs up to a summit with views across the bay towards Auckland in one direction and out over the Pacific in the other. There are also trails along a ridge and through the bush, hidden streams and pools and a waterfall, and space and quiet to think and dream. My husband and I spent time there, on and off, in 2004/5 and it’s where I wrote a lot of the first nine chapters of that first novel. We’ve not been back since, but it’s a place I return to in my head a lot.

What is the one book you wish you had written?

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. It is the most beautiful, devastating, perfectly crafted book, and I still can’t talk about it without crying! No other book has ever done that to me.

What advice do you have for would be novelists/writers?

Writing isn’t all about writing. Give yourself space to dream and brew. Figure out what gets the ideas going – for me it’s getting outdoors, walking or cycling – and do that as much as you can. Find trusted writing friends who will give you honest feedback on what you’ve written, but be open to their ideas and be prepared for it to sting sometimes. Always give feedback time to sink in before addressing it and then ‘accept, adapt, reject’ – you don’t have to agree with everything you’ve been told! Learn as much as you can. Join writing forums, ask around about inspirational courses and festivals and workshops (and if this is beyond your budget, ask about bursaries and funded places – Twitter is really helpful for things like this). Be brave. It’s not easy to submit to agents because rejections hurt but they aren’t the end of the road and sometimes they can lead to valuable learning opportunities. Eat chocolate, drink wine, laugh with friends and then start again, but don’t give up. I lost count of the number of times I was rejected – certainly more than thirty – and it took me almost 15 years, but I made it in the end!

What are you currently working on? What can we look forward to reading?

I’m working on an idea that involves some of the minor characters in ‘Home’ - not a sequel, but more of a side-step. However it’s early days of first-draft-awfulness so hard to say where it’s going yet!

Who is your favourite literary character from childhood and why?

Anne of Green Gables! When I was growing up, there were aspects of her that I recognised in myself: a dreamer, a writer, a girl not afraid to fight her own battles and make her opinions known however ‘unladylike’ that was seen to be. Like me, she wasn’t entirely comfortable with herself and sometimes made mortifying mistakes, but her intentions were always good. And as much as she hated her ginger hair, I really coveted it because I thought brown was boring!

Home is published by Doubleday.

Follow Amanda on Twitter: @MandyBerriman

A conversation with Mary Lynn Bracht

noreply@blogger.com (Greenacre Writers) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 16:39:00 +0000

Mary Lynn Bracht completed an MA in Creative Writing at Birbeck, University of London. An American author of Korean descent living in London, she grew up in a large expat community of women who came of age in post-war South Korea.

In 2002 Bracht visited her mother’s childhood village, and it was during this trip she first learned of the “comfort women”.

White Chrysanthemum is her first novel and has earned Bracht a place on The Guardian’s list of new faces of fiction 2018.

“Bracht has fashioned her own memorial to the comfort women. White Chrysanthemum is a timely and furiously felt book” The Guardian.

White Chrysanthemum is the story of two sisters, Hana and Emi. Hana’s narrative tells of her captivity during 1943 while Korea is still under occupation of the Japanese while Emi’s story is set in 2011 and gives a reflective account of her life and how it has been affected by war and the separation from her sister.

It is a harrowing piece of history told with honesty and passion and provides an emotional and gripping read. A full review is available here.

Thank you Mary for taking part in our conversation and we wish you every success with White Chrysanthemum it is a super novel.

Tell us of your journey as a writer

I was twenty-nine years old before I allowed myself to commit to becoming a writer. At the time, I was looking back on my nearly thirty years of life deciding what I wanted to do with the next thirty years, and I thought the one thing I would regret if I never tried was to become a writer. So, I gave myself permission to take the time to write. That meant accepting that my financial life would be difficult (probably forever), that it might take years or decades to succeed, and that it might never happen. I took my first writing class, a novel writing course in Dallas, and after three terms, wrote my first novel. It took many more stories, novels and years before I finally wrote White Chrysanthemum, but it began with giving myself time and permission to write.

How do you see your role as a writer and what do you like most about it?

I see my role as a storyteller. In early human history, storytelling was an oral tradition that passed knowledge from one generation to the next. It was our way of remembering the past and understanding the world around us, while being entertained. Today, this storytelling tradition continues in many forms, but as novelists, the pace of reading allows the human mind to slow down and truly live through the stories written on the page, where a lifetime can feel like a lifetime and a cliff-hanger can keep you up well past bedtime.

I like most that the novel can transcend social and physical boundaries, often reaching far flung places of the world through translation. It is a privilege for me to have this opportunity to share my story with people in my own city, as well as those on the other side of the the world.

Have you ever created a character who you dislike but find yourself empathising with?

Yes, definitely. I think every villain, if written well, has a side that we empathise with, whether it’s a tragic childhood, chronic misunderstanding, or simply ill-judged motivations. In White Chrysanthemum, Morimoto is the ultimate villain, but he too has his own story of loss, which gives insight into his motivations.

What has been your experience of writing about diverse characters?

Growing up in a military town with a multi-ethnic community of people from all over the world, writing diverse characters comes naturally to me. In my novel, I write about Koreans, Mongolians, Japanese and Soviets.

Who is your favourite literary character from childhood and why?

When I was a girl, I fell in love with Eeyore because he was beautifully flawed. I think it was his blue point-of-view that made him so loveable.

If you could be transported instantly, anywhere in the world, where would you most like to spend your time writing? And why?

I would want to be on an empty stretch of sandy beach, listening to the waves as they crash upon the shore and feeling the warmth of the sand beneath my bare feet. I live in London, and right now it is cold and wet. I’m desperate for some sun!

What is the one book you wish you had written?

I wish I had written The Power by Naomi Alderman. She successfully flips misogyny on its head to reveal the real-life suffering of women currently happening all over the world through a fresh perspective.

What advice do you have for would be novelists/writers?

If it is your dream to become a writer, then read as much as you can, write as much as you can, and never give up. And join a writing group ASAP! Joining the writing group at my local library helped me find great critics for my work, as well as friends who understand the pursuit of what can often be a lonely dream.

What are you currently working on? What can we look forward to reading?

I’m currently working on a novel and hope to have it written before the year’s end. It’s about the bond between a mother and her daughter, tested over tragic events

You can follow Mary Lynn Bracht on Twitter: @marylynnbracht

Kill Me Twice by Simon Booker

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 13:16:00 +0000

Book review by Greenacre Writer Mumpuni Murniati

From HMP Dungeness Anjelica Fry protests her innocence: she didn’t kill the father of her baby – Karl Savage. Neither did she set his Dalston flat on fire. But all the evidence points at her.

Two years after her daughter Lissa went missing, Morgan Vine takes on a case that is riddled with depravity and vindictiveness. In the wake of her best-selling book on a miscarriage of justice, the kick-ass investigative journalist is in two minds whether to trust Anjelica, but is piqued by minutiae details in her account of events. Little does she realise that the case still has a touch of Lissa in it - but only darker.

In the second instalment of a Morgan Vine Thriller, Kill Me Twice ‘whips’ its readers up from the onset - opening with an attack on a mother and daughter who are having a walk round a cliff. He gets better; having moved on from filling in readers with lengthy prose about his heroine’s background, he instead feeds them with drip-narratives concerning the depth of Lissa’s involvement in her mother’s case.

Meanwhile, Morgan needs to explore all avenues to confirm that Anjelica’s has indeed been framed for murder and Savage is in fact a dead man walking. Although the police found his body and Savage was identified by his dental record. Traces of liquid in the empty petrol canister found in Anjelica’s car is the same as the one retrieved from Savage’s burnt-down flat. And her DNA is on a certain Spaniard brand of matches found at the crime scene.

Booker is curt and furious in depicting Savage 'the demise'; in interspersing chapters Booker paints the making of a sociopath in him. Yet he also portrays the still fragile Morgan living in the long shadow of her teen trauma and her struggle as a single mother.

An old hand in dealing with suspense, Booker’s balancing act for vicious twists and keeping the lid tightly screwed on until the penultimate ending, is outstanding. His adrenaline-pumping narratives follow the topsy-turvy turn of events through Morgan’s viewpoint in another extraordinary cliffhanger encore. Also, despite being a pantser in her investigation, Morgan then emerges as Savage’s Nemesis.

The Whistler is a regular fixture these days. Weekends only. Seemed an OK bloke, at first. Cooked a nice beef stew, brought it down to the cellar. Watched Karl eat every morsel.

-Nice?

-Not bad. Thanks.

A grin.

-You know it was dog food, right?

-Seriously?

-Yeah. And stop snivelling. Boys don’t cry. Your dad sounds like a right poof. We’ve got to toughen you up, kiddo. You need to learn to take a joke.

Karl shudders, trying to banish the memory of the dog food.

He’s doing his best to forget the game too. The one The Whistler makes him play when he comes down into the cellar at night, while he’s sleeping.

-Our special game.

Another shudder.

Kill Me Twice can easily tick all boxes for a perfect crime perusal; Booker’s plot is watertight and his plain but striking words are effective. The crisscrossing of characters is smartly done but not over the top; his minor characters fit well like the cogs running smoothly in an engine with their distinguished voices.

One thing.

The risk-calculated Savage, being brought forward gradually, a survivor of systematic child abuse who manages to break free and end the tortures. No doubt his terrible experiences have hardened him added to what Anjelica has recalled to Morgan as his abandonment issues. On the surface nonetheless he’s imbued with an unusual charm that draws women into his trap.

On the one hand, Booker has created a sound killer with an extreme anger about his past that lingers. Savage’s gruesome acts are plausible, enforcing the adage that violence bears greater violence. Besides, the variations of Savage’s characters spread in many crime novels. On the other hand, would every orphan with a cruel mother end as a murderer? If anything, there is Oliver Twist, Anne of Green Gables and Harry Potter, too.

How different would it be had Karl Savage been a spoilt upper-class child like Holden Caufield? How had his interest in older women evolved - like Morgan - and his entrapment for her? Perhaps in crime fiction, however, the pull towards the likes of Hannibal and Lord Voldermort are inevitable. Alas, it’s a disappointment. Once more, the known stereotype -the messed-up orphan- is being reinforced.

Be that as it may, the curtains fall leaving Morgan to ponder over her biggest dilemma of how she can keep Lissa.

Thank you to Simon Booker for the review copy.

Follow Simon on Twitter: @simonbooker

How to Measure a Cow by Margaret Forster

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 08:41:00 +0000

Review by Greenacre Writer Vasundra Jackison

Tara Fraser has committed a serious crime and paid the price for it. After eleven years in prison, she is finally free to start all over again. But she has to move away from London.

London was full of weird people. Once, that had been part of the thrill of living here, but not now. Where should she go?

Randomly, she chooses a small town near the sea in Cumbria. The authorities help her find a small terraced house and a factory job where she can hide away from prying eyes. It will be a dreary life, but she is determined to live it quietly and privately; very different from before. She has a new name: Sarah Scott. She will stay in the background, talk to no one and keep to herself.

She was aware that in trying so hard to be anonymous she was presenting herself as odd, a strange, nervous, bland woman.

Her elderly neighbour, Nancy, is extremely curious about her. She watches her every move from behind her curtains. She can see her through the open curtain in the bedroom. She knows exactly what time she leaves for work, how long she is away and how still she is when she lies on her back in bed.

This woman entered her house in the dark and put no lights on for a full ten minutes or more. How did she manage to see her way round?

Tara does not want to make any friends. Even her old school friends are dead to her. They had let her down when she needed them most. But when she receives a letter from one of them inviting her to a reunion, she is tempted to go, just for the “possibility of relishing someone else’s guilt or remorse.”

Tara is under no illusions about her own faults. “I’m full of lies, and I’m sorry,” she tells Nancy on one occasion. She knows she has a temper and can lash out. Her foster parents had tried to give her all the love and attention she needed. But she had been a difficult child and a very problematic adolescent. Her friends’ parents thought she was a bad influence and could not understand why children were drawn to her, wanting to follow her.

She’d had time even before she became Sarah, during all those years of reflection, to realise she had always been a dangerous person.

Tara does not really like Nancy’s company, but she realises there are times when she needs her. This is usually when she wants something from her. She likes the fact that Nancy does not “prod and poke and drag out any history.” But several times, she hurts Nancy’s feelings.

Nancy worried that Sarah had been mocking her. Had she been trying to suppress laughter? But there was nothing funny about measuring a cow.

The two of them develop a strange relationship, though it cannot be called a friendship. Nancy comes to the “conclusion that Sarah had some sort of fence around her. No, she didn’t mean fence, not a real fence obviously, but a barrier of some kind which gave off a Do not approach me signal.”

The time soon comes when Tara realises she need to return to her old life and face the people she has left behind. It is going to be difficult, but she has to try.

It was like trying to leap over a huge crack in the ground, beneath which a stream of memory raged. There was no bridge, the jump had to be made, and once made she would be safe, in new country.

But will she really be safe? And will people around her be safe? This is what the reader will wonder about, because Tara’s character is so complex. She is difficult to befriend and even more difficult to live with. She needs help, but it is not easy to help her. The story is quite disturbing from many points of view. But it is fascinating too. The author keeps us guessing about the crime Tara has committed, and when we find out, it is quite a shock. The book is unsettling, but it is hard to put down. A compelling read, written beautifully by an accomplished author.

Five Get Snowed In At Greenway

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 12:04:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, five writers - Rosie Canning, Ingrid Jendrzejewski, Nicole Fitton, Jane Lomas and Michelle Cunnah - travelled from various parts of the country towards the National Trust property, Greenway, near Brixham for a writing retreat organised by GW. On the way down there was serious flooding, trains were cancelled and had to go through Tiverton very very slowly putting an extra hour on the journey for those travelling from Paddington.

Rosie Canning about to board the 4.50 from Paddington.

The writers had to leave a few hours earlier than planned due to the snow which turned into a blizzard quickly rendering parts of Devon impassable. There were road accidents, abandoned cars and closed roads. Getting home was an all day into early evening affair but they all agreed, it was so worth it.

This impressive Georgian house was built in about 1792, but the Apartment is decorated as it was when the house was refurbished for modern living in 1938. Greenway was the holiday home of author Agatha Christie and her family.

"One day we saw that a house was up for sale that I had known when I was young... So we went over to Greenway, and very beautiful the house and grounds were. A white Georgian house of about 1780 or 90, with woods sweeping down to the Dart below, and a lot of fine shrubs and trees - the ideal house, a dream house." - Agatha Christie

This atmospheric house is set in the 1950s, indeed when you walk in through the doorway, it’s as if Agatha and her family have just popped out for a walk and will be back at any moment. The family were great collectors, and the house is filled with archaeology, Tunbridgeware, silver, botanical china and books.

In the garden a large and romantic woodland drifts down the hillside towards the sparkling Dart estuary. The walled gardens are home to a restored peach house and vinery, as well as an allotment cared for by local school children.

The book most clearly influenced by Greenway was Dead Man's Folly (1956). In this story Greenway house, garden, Boathouse and local area are all described and in 2013, ITV filmed their adaptation of Dead Man's Folly here.

The house overlooks the river Dart and is set in a spectacular part of Devon. The apartment in 'the' house has four double bedrooms and the writers used these as their writing areas (apart from Ingrid who preferred the extremely large bathroom) - though there is a kitchen/dining room, sitting room and private garden and these were available too.

The five writers stayed in the beautiful apartment located on the first and second floor, here two of them, Jane and Nicole tell us whether they achieved what they set out to do.

Jane Lomas:
I enjoy writing flash fiction and short stories and have been published in Microcosms Fiction, Carers UK, Reflex Fiction, Speculative 66, Paragraph Planet, Ad Hoc Fiction and FlashBack Fiction. I have also had non fiction pieces in the Guardian, and Caring Magazine, and I wrote regularly for two local newspapers. I am an avid fan of Twitter: two tweets have been used by Mslexia, and one was chosen for the Canadian edition of Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig. I am currently working on a women's commercial fiction novel but am easily distracted by ideas for flash fiction stories.

My goal for the retreat was to work on two key scenes in my novel. I'm really happy with the way they turned out and I went on to draft a flash fiction piece (you see, I can't keep away from it!).

The retreat allowed me the time and space to write. Set in beautiful, spacious surroundings, I walked around the grounds twice a day and my mind felt clear and focussed when I sat at my desk overlooking the river. Having set mealtimes worked really well as it added structure to the day - no time for procrastination. And staying with a warm and welcoming group of ladies was so inspirational - I thoroughly enjoyed the times we came together to discuss work or socialise.

Nicole Fitton:
I'm a freelance writer who has lived in such glamorous locations as London, New York, and Croydon! I currently live in Devon with my family. My career has spanned 3 decades working in PR and marketing within Europe and the USA. I currently work within healthcare management in the UK. I write mystery thrillers with a splash of romance. My novel 'Forbidden Colours' was released in December 2016, and has been described as a 'contemporary high octane suspense thriller, worthy of Ron Howard turning it into a blockbuster movie'.

Alongside novels, I write short stories. Over the last two years, my stories have been both short and longlisted in the following: Exeter, Screwturn Flash Fiction, Black Pear Press, Fiction Factory and the Finchley Literary Festival Short Story competitions. My short story 'Soaring' features in the Black Pear Press anthology 'On The Day of The Dead and Other Stories'.

Greenacre Writers retreat was the perfect place for me to edit my current work in progress, a historical thriller set in 1912. My goal was to complete the first edit and get the first few pages as tight and ready for publication as I could. I am happy to say, unbelievably, I achieved both of these goals and am now sitting smugly patting myself on the back!

There was so much I enjoyed about this retreat but the combination of the surroundings and my fellow writers were what made it so special. I'm deliberately not mentioning the snow!

The surroundings - creatively beautiful, serene, inspiring.

My fellow writers - supportive, creative, fun loving and all slightly wonky like me!

Follow Jane on Twitter: @completelyjane
Follow Nicole on Twitter: @MisoMiss

A Conversation with Bridget Blankley

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 07:47:00 +0000

Bridget Blankley spent most of her early life in Nigeria. She has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and has been an engineer, educator and fulltime carer. Bridget came late to writing and had her first piece of fiction published in her early fifties. Her work swiftly won prizes, including the Winchester Writer's Competition, 'Writing Can Be Murder' 2013, and the Commonword Diversity Writing for Children Prize, 2016. In the same year she was runner-up in the Alpine Fellowship Writing. Her latest award is the Hammond House Short Story Prize. Bridget lives in Southampton, UK.

The Ghosts & Jamal is an intriguing story, touching on religion, terrorism and Nigeria’s internal conflicts, following a young orphan who is negotiating an unforgiving society.

Waking up in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, 14-year-old Jamal tries to piece together what has happened whilst simultaneously trying to evade capture by the attackers. It soon becomes clear that he has been living in a separate outhouse from his family on account of the “bad spirits” that plague him. As he wanders around his family’s compound, he comes across red canisters leaking yellow gas, which he works out were the weapon that killed his family, and he begins calling the gas “ghosts”. With his family dead, he begins to search for his grandfather who he hardly knows; when his grandfather turns him away he keeps walking. On his journey he passes out and is picked up by a patrolling soldier. He is taken to a hospital where he is treated for the “spirits”, or rather, his epilepsy. Jamal escapes and on doing so, he wanders bewildered around the city. On the way he meets prejudice, exploitation and friendship, before finally discovering that it is people, not ghosts, that have killed his family, and they have plans to keep on killing.

'Jamal is a compelling and a resourceful hero in a world that tells him he doesn't belong. A beautifully written tale of survival and bravery.' Patrice Lawrence

'Pacy and moving. I couldn't stop reading.' Rebecca Smith

'This is a clever story that releases its secrets slowly. With big ideas and lots of heart, it pulls you in and then - whack! What a great ending!’ Melvin Burgess

Greenacre Writers are delighted to feature The Ghosts and Jamal, and wish Bridget many congratulations on the publication of her first novel.

Tell us about your journey as a writer

I haven’t been writing for that long. I come from a family of story tellers, and story readers, but there has never been a reason to write anything down. My mother would make up stories for us at bedtime. Am ashamed to say that my siblings and I didn’t like her to read to us as she didn’t ‘do the voices’ like my father did. But she could make up stories and we enjoyed them. So, when I had children, I would sometimes read to them and sometimes make up stories.

Once the children grew up I didn’t think much about stories until I left work to become a carer. Then, when I was looking around for something to do while I was at home, I saw an evening class in Creative Writing and signed up. I enjoyed it. I wasn’t convinced that I was very good, I wasn’t interested in many of the topics that we were asked to write about, but it was relaxing. I began to think that maybe I could write stories for my grandsons as I didn’t see them often enough to read to them. Unfortunately, it turns out that I’m better at adult and young adult fiction, but I guess they’ll grow into it.

I’ve enjoyed making up stories and I’ve been lucky enough to win a few awards for my writing, so I guess I have an excuse to keep doing it, at least for a while.

How do you see your role as a writer and what do you like most about it?

I think I’ll reverse this question and answer the easy part first. What do I like most about being a writer? That’s easy, it gives me the excuse to say ‘go away I’m reading’ to anyone who wants me to do almost anything. What other job has a requirement that you buy, and read lots of good books?

There is also the fact that there is very little pressure. If you start a story and find you’ve hit a brick wall, then you can just stop and write something else. No one is looking over your shoulder insisting that you get a report finished or an audit completed.

Although there are disadvantages, but not many, so I think that I’ll stick to saying how lucky I am to be able to write.

As to the other part of your question, I’m not sure. Do writers really have a role in society? Maybe if I wrote serious analysis of current affairs, or if my books had an important political message or a warning about possible dystopian futures then maybe I could claim to be usefully employed. But I don’t my work is entertainment and adventure. Stories of people doing their best in difficult situations and, sometimes, finding their way out the other side. Thought I guess as reading is never a waste of time, then someone has to do the writing and I feel lucky to be able to fill that role.

Have you ever created a character who you dislike, but find yourself empathising with them?

I wrote a short piece of writing for a competition a couple of years ago, 'Eyes in the Park'. It was narrated by an unnamed murderer. Quite different to the sort of thing I normally write. I can’t say that I empathised with the character. They were thoroughly unpleasant, but it was very enjoyable to write. I found I wrote it piece very quickly, following the protagonist’s thoughts, often speaking them aloud as a wrote – not something I usually do when I’m writing. Looking back, I wonder if saying, rather than thinking, what the character said helped me to keep my distance. I was almost as if I was listening to what someone else was saying rather than saying it myself. Maybe I’m reading to much into this I don’t know. But in general, I think you have to be able to connect with the characters you are creating. Even if you are creating a character that you want your readers to despise. Perhaps I should try writing about a few more murderers to see if the same thing happens.

What is your experience of writing about diverse characters?

I cannot say that I look to specifically write about diverse characters. I just try to write about the characters that particular stories need. That sounds a bit pretentious, let me try to explain myself a little better. I wrote a short story recently. It was about two sisters. I wrote it after I was shown a newspaper article about a pair of slippers that had been found in the charity shop. They were trying to find the owner – I can’t remember why. I remember thinking that I would know if it was my sister’s shoes, because her feet were different sizes, then I thought about the other people who we met when my sister was in hospital. One thing led to another and the story just developed. It became a about Osteogenesis Imperfecta, not deliberately, but because that fitted in with the narrative. Similarly, when I wrote The Ghosts and Jamal, I didn’t set out to write a story about a child with Epilepsy, but I needed a reason for Jamal to be isolated from his family, and I needed an explanation for the way he saw the world. I spoke to a family friend who had been a nurse in West Africa and Epilepsy fitted with the needs of the story. I was once lucky enough to have tea with Mary Hoffman, author of Amazing Grace, she put it very well when she said, just write the stories you need to and the right characters will present themselves to you.

If you could be transported instantly, anywhere in the world, where would you most like to spend your time writing? And why?

Again, this is a tricky question to answer. Firstly, because I have had most success writing in the living room of my mother’s flat in Southampton, so maybe I should stick to what I know, but also because it depends on what I am writing. I have a fondness for the north Norfolk coast. I love the big skies and wide horizons. I like the way the pines curl up against the wind and the enormous shorelines when the tide is out. So I guess if I could only have one place to write it would be in Norfolk, preferably in the winter. However, have been discussing a book that will be set in the Egyptian desert so it would be good to set my writing tent in Siwa for a while to get the feel for my heroine’s home. But I’m not sure I would want to stay there for too long, I tend to overheat these days.

What is the one book you wish you had written?

I’m afraid I’m going to hedge a little here. Because Anthony Marra wrote a book, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, which is beautifully written and juxtapositions absolute horror with observations of the beautiful. I would love to be able to write like that, and I would recommend it to any aspiring novelists. But I would hate to have lived though the violence that inspired the novel. So maybe I’ll settle for The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by T E Carhart. It was Carhart’s first book and it is a beautifully written work. Gentle and evocative, and the result of getting slightly lost in Paris on a summer afternoon. So, on balance, and largely because of the life you must lead to write your book, I would love to have written Carhart’s book.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Well so many people have said this but it’s true; ‘if you want to be a writer you’ve got to sit down and write.’

You need to set yourself a target, 100 words a week or 1000 words a day, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you stick to it so that you develop the habit of writing.

The other piece of advice is to have more than one piece of writing on the go at the same time. I know that this doesn’t work for everyone, but I find that if I get stuck writing one story, you can ‘give your brain a rest’ and look at the other piece. The second piece doesn’t have to be another novel, it doesn’t even have to be very good, it just has to be something different so that you start to thing about words in a different way.

What are you currently working on? What can we look forward to reading?

At the moment I am working on a book about a rebellious Egyptian woman, being pulled between duty and freedom. The working title is Nesma Means Breath of Wind, I hope to have, at least the first draft of this ready for the Autumn. I’m also researching the next novel, which will be set in Ghana in the mid twentieth century. I have the idea set in my mind, but I need to spend more time talking to people who remember that time. It is another thing that I am really enjoying. I think that there might be a danger of spending too much time researching and not enough writing, but, for the time being at least, I’m OK. I haven’t overrun the time I’ve allowed for research yet.

Who is your favourite literary character from childhood and why?

I think this would have to be Tove Jonsson’s Moomin Troll. Or any of the Moomin family for that matter. They had their heads screwed on right, as my gran would say. One of my favourite quotes is, I think, from Moominpappa at sea, ‘Isn’t life exciting, everything can change all of a sudden, and for no reason at all.’

I like to remind myself to thing of the world as exciting rather than chaotic, when things are getting on top of me.

The Ghosts and Jamal is published by Hope Road

Follow Bridget on Twitter: @BridgetBlankley

Bridget has Asperger’s syndrome and is proud to support the work of The National Autistic Society.

Ghostbird by Carol Lovekin

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 13:36:00 +0000

Book review by Greenacre Writer Mumpuni Murniati

In a faraway Welsh village, in which its stone cottages are as ancient as its trees, it rains every day in August. In its fairy-tale like world, in which everybody watches one another like owls preying at night, the Hopkins women live. A stone’s throw from a lake, Ty Aderyn – a bird house- has been divided into two cottages and stands as long as the living memory itself. In one resides Violet, and her teenage daughter Cadi and in the other Lilwen, and her magical garden.

What could have gone amiss between the women? Lilwen, a spinster, a woman who understands the language of herbs and flowers, is known for her witch-like reputation. Her English sister-in-law, Violet, was a grieving widow who found herself expecting Cadi in the aftermath of her husband’s death. A month beforehand Lilwen’s only sibling, crashed his car, their infant daughter Dora was drowned in the lake. It's the same lake that has been calling Cadi to get closer to it over the years despite Violet’s warnings.

In an idyllic setting Carol Lovekin, spins the tale of Blodeuwedd with a contemporary touch. In the mythic tale, the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes is turned into an owl after a failed plot with Gronw Pebr’s to kill her husband. Whilst she retains her name, her presence is hated by the other birds and she became unable to show her face during the daylight. In Lovekin’s hand the legend comes as a story of loss and love, grievance and hope in her evocative narrations.

Lovekin, who has Irish blood but is Welsh at heart, suffuses her debut novel with lyrical but visceral depictions that capture the lives of her protagonists. The frustrated Cadi has enough of the maddening silence between Violet and Lilwen. Gossipers Mrs Bevans and Mrs Guto-Evans, react to the return of Owen Penry, who Violet had a fling with fourteen years previously, stir the brew of simmering anger and self-hate. The wafting smell of doubts and home truths spew in the warm air after the rains. Lovekin showcases her sensitivity about affliction by threading the uncharted waters of forgiving and forgiveness through the outstanding metaphors.

It was a baby’s bangle. The kind you adjusted to fit a tiny wrist, decorated with patterns of flowers. Cadi shook her head to clear it of the cloying smell. She turned over the bangle, looking for signs of rust. There were none. It looked as good as new -someone must have lost it recently. She slipped it into a pocket of her jacket. She would ask at the shop. Someone may have put up a card.’

From the time Cadi bumps into Penry in the churchyard, little does she realise that the lid of a jar containing a must-not-be-spoken memory has been unscrewed. Born to a mother who won’t smile, she determines to find out about what happened and all the while the call of the lake grows louder in her ears.

Lovekin’s way of revealing moments of veracity are simple but effective; her dialogues thoughtful but poignant.

I’ve had to make up my own story because I haven’t known any better. But it’s never been the truth; only their version of it.

Cadi’s quest inevitably ruffles a few feathers in its wake; onfronting her indifferent mother and her eccentric aunt seems to make Lovekin’s lead character a very mature teenager. Moreover, Lilwen’s hosepipe-alike interventions to the mother and daughter’s fiendish verbal exchanges are somewhat comforting but unnecessary. As a result, the battle is petering out like the rain and the interesting sub-plots have a slight bland taste. Such as Violet and Lilwen’s fondness for each other, obscured by their opposing views, that remains mysterious in the penultimate ending. Lovekin has it right nevertheless with Violet’s raw emotions owing to her guilt and love whilst Cadi and Penry’s unlikely friendship that blossoms.

By the same token, the use of italics that sprawls throughout the book takes time to adjust. For some readers, particularly the virgins in The Mabinogion folk tale, they can be quite confusing at times. On the one hand, the italics are used to generate thoughts of the main characters and on the other hand, they also serve as the voice of the ghost bird whose calls are bewitching Cadi.

The ghost shivers in the rain.
She shakes her feathers, trying them for size.
An expanse of weightless sky entices her – she can go anywhere she chooses. She senses her talons, growing sharp and fine.
The other birds see her now. Screeching their alarms they try to chase her away.
The ghost flies into the cherry tree, waits until her sister falls asleep. Gliding through the mist she flies into Cadi’s dream.

This succinct book is a treat. More pleasure can be discovered in a second reading which highlights the time to indulge in an array of rhyming prose. More importantly, Lovekin deserves a commendation in her painstaking interpretation of the daughter of Math and Gwydion, the flower-faced woman of oak, meadowsweet and broom for a 21st-century market.

When a girl of fourteen has longed for something for most of her life, when the sense of it clings like dust to the edge of every waking thought, it’s possible old magic will hear her.
Thin veils may tremble as she passes, their fragile threads split, and she will step through.

Thanks to Honno Welsh Women's Press for the review copy.

Follow Carol on Twitter: @carollovekin

Home by Amanda Berriman

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 17:54:00 +0000

Review by Greenacre Writer Vasundra Jackison

This is a moving story about a single parent family facing financial hardships in a modern-day British city full of social problems. The young mother is Tina, whose efforts to keep her two children safe and warm is heart breaking.

Uniquely, the story is told by Tina’s daughter Jesika, who is only four- and a half years-old. We see life through this young child’s eyes. She understands a lot of things, such as how cold their flat is, and how smelly their stairs are. But so much of what she hears and sees is too confusing for her to understand, like when she spots something interesting on one of the steps.

It looks like a jection, not like the one in my doctor bag for Baby Annabelle, but a proper jection like the one the real doctor scratched my arm with so I don’t get nasty germs.
Oh! That’s something useful!
‘Look,’ I say. ‘There’s a jection for Toby to make his chesty fecshun go away,’ but Mummy’s still fight the bags. I know I’m not apposed to go down the Smelly-Stairs but Toby’s coughing and crying and the jection will make him all better and Mummy will be really pleased, won’t she?

But these are dirty needles thrown out by drug addicts. Jesika can’t understand why her mother pulls her roughly away and looks at her with ‘scary-wide eyes’ or speaks with her ‘snappy like a crocodile voice’. She tries hard to do as she is told. But sometimes, when her mum forgets something, even Jesika gets angry.

'It’s all your fault Mummy. You didn’t tell me it was Red day at pre-school.'

Everyday is a struggle for Tina, and when her son becomes very ill, she finds it difficult to cope. And when Jesika moans about not having any ‘melty cheese’, and makes funny faces, she and the baby laugh and laugh.

‘JUST EAT YOUR BLOODY PASTA!’
eye-open-scary-wide-heart-thumping-burning-hot-hot-HOT – ‘YOU’RE ALWAYS SHOUTING! I HATE YOU!’
…Mummy pushes her chair back not carefully at all and it goes BANG! On the floor and she shouts, ’Find yourself a new Mummy who doesn’t shout, then!’

For days, Jesika worries Tina is going to leave her. But she is a good mum, who is open and honest with Jesika. She tells her not to be afraid and to stand up for herself. This is not always easy for Jesika, especially when she makes a new friend at school and meets other families. Families who have secrets.

Tina’s plight is very distressing, and the need to know how the novel ends is compelling. The heart stopping moments are lifted by light and funny flashes.

And I look at Mummy and I giggle cos there’s a big drip of water hanging off the end of Mummy’s nose and I tap Mummy’s nose to make it fall off and I giggle again and Mummy says, ‘Oh that’s so funny Jesika,’ and she’s trying to look cross but her laughing face keeps pushing the cross away and I giggle again.

Jesika is an endearing child who is liked by several kind and helpful neighbours. She, in turn, amuses the reader with the names she gives them, such as Shiny Head Man, or Not Smiley Lady and others.

Jesika sees everything around her in a simple, straightforward, childlike way. She reminds us of how it might have felt to be a young child in an unsafe world. All she knows is that she loves her mother and brother and she needs them more than anything in the world to feel safe and happy, even at home.

All adults should read this book because it is an eye opener on so many counts. It is a gripping tale which will haunt the reader for a long time after it is finished. This is a wonderful book, written beautifully by an author who understands the emotions of small children. A must read.

Follow Amanda on Twitter: @MandyBerriman

Thanks to Transworld Books for the review copy

A Conversation With Katherine Clements

noreply@blogger.com (Rosie Longstocking) — Sat, 03 Feb 2018 09:02:00 +0000

Katherine Clement's is editor of Historia, the online magazine of the Historical Writers’ Association, and is a member of the HWA committee. She is a member of the Society of Authors and authors’ collective the Prime Writers and is an occasional contributor to Northern Soul. She is currently Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Manchester University.

Katherine's critically acclaimed debut novel, The Crimson Ribbon, was published in 2014 and her second, The Silvered Heart, in 2015. Her work has been compared to the likes of Sarah Waters and Daphne du Maurier. Her third novel, The Coffin Path, is published on 8th February 2018.

Maybe you've heard tales about Scarcross Hall, the house on the old coffin path that winds from village to moor top. They say there's something up here, something evil.

Mercy Booth isn't afraid. The moors and Scarcross are her home and lifeblood. But, beneath her certainty, small things are beginning to trouble her. Three ancient coins missing from her father's study, the shadowy figure out by the gatepost, an unshakeable sense that someone is watching.

When a stranger appears seeking work, Mercy reluctantly takes him in. As their stories entwine, this man will change everything. She just can't see it yet.

'Spine-tingling... the scariest ghost story I have read in a long time' Barbara Erskine

Greenacre Writers is very pleased to be kicking off The Coffin Path, blog tour and welcome the extremely talented Katherine Clements to today's A Conversation With... An eerie and compelling ghost story set on the dark wilds of the Yorkshire moors. This gothic tale will weave its way into your imagination and chill you to the bone. We wish Katherine much writing success with her third published novel.

Tell us of your journey as a writer

I used to write as a child, but life took over and it wasn’t until my early 30s that I picked up my pen again. I dabbled for a few years, taking evening classes and making false starts, struggling with confidence. Then, an insightful friend encouraged me to enter a short story competition. That story was shortlisted, which gave me the boost I needed to take my writing seriously. The real turning point came in 2008 when I attended an Arvon course. There I found the confidence and encouragement to make a start on the novel I’d been thinking about for years. I came home inspired and determined to give it my best shot. It took another four years, and about seven drafts, but that book became my debut novel, The Crimson Ribbon. Along the way I entered, and eventually won, a few writing competitions, and the manuscript of my novel was longlisted in the inaugural Mslexia Novel Competition in 2011. I got an agent in 2012 and after that things moved pretty quickly. In December 2012 I signed a three-book contract with Headline. The Coffin Path is the third book of that deal. After that – who knows?

How do you see your role as a writer and what do you like most about it?

Interesting question! I write historical fiction and I think a good historical novelist can entertain, educate and enlighten readers. There is something of the historian in me but I believe that novelists can go where historians cannot, making history accessible and relevant for a modern audience who might not pick up a non-fiction book. Hilary Mantel says it better than I ever could: “So what can historical fiction bring to the table? It doesn’t need to flatter. It can challenge and discomfort. If it's done honestly, it doesn't say, ‘believe this’ – it says ‘consider this.’ It can sit alongside the work of historians – not offering an alternative truth, or even a supplementary truth – but offering insight.”

Have you ever created a character who you dislike but find yourself empathising with?

Many of my characters are deeply flawed and have some very unappealing traits! Some readers absolutely hated Lizzie in The Crimson Ribbon. She’s a very selfish, manipulative character, but I recognised and understood her contradictory nature – there is good in her too and that’s what my protagonist, Ruth, clings to. Similarly, Kate, the main character in The Silvered Heart, is spoilt, snobbish, self-obsessed and judgemental, but I adore her! I have a soft spot for Sir Richard Willis in the same book. He’s a terrible cad, but was so much fun to write.

It’s all about understanding a character’s motives. I’ve tried to write a truly unpleasant character but it didn’t work for me: they seemed clichéd and one-dimensional. Of course, it can be done, but most people are a mixture of likeable and not-so-likeable traits; surely our job as novelists is to create realistic, multifaceted characters.

What has been your experience of writing about diverse characters?
This is a tricky question because it depends on the definition of diversity. I think there is currently impetus to repopulate the past with the stories of people that are missing from the traditional narrative of western history written by ‘white middle-class men’. That can only be a good thing, but I think novelists, myself included, have been doing this for years.

If you could be transported instantly, anywhere in the world, where would you most like to spend your time writing? And why?

Right now, New Orleans. I’m working on a project based on the early colonial history of that city and am longing to return. It’s like nowhere else.

What is the one book you wish you had written?

I’m tempted to say Wolf Hall – it’s such a masterpiece – but I think Fingersmith by Sarah Waters is more my style.

What advice do you have for would be novelists/writers?

Read. Write. Edit. Repeat. Read your work aloud. I spent many years too afraid to write anything at all because I was scared I wouldn’t be good enough. Don’t do that.

What are you currently working on? What can we look forward to reading?

As mentioned above, I’m currently working on a novel (or possibly a trilogy) about New Orleans. It’s a big change for me, in terms of location, historical period and challenging history. I’m still researching and planning, so it’s early days – too early to say anything more!

Who is your favourite literary character from childhood and why?

Jane Eyre. I was a precocious reader and devoured Charlotte Brontë’s classic quite young. Much of the nuance was lost on me at the time, but I cared deeply about Jane and, even at that young age, found much that resonated. She and the novel, have endured. Since I moved back up north a few years ago I’ve spent time in Haworth and have visited Brontë Country a lot while researching for The Coffin Path. It’s a romantic view of the moorland landscape, but all the Brontë characters (or perhaps Charlotte, Emily and Anne) are always in mind.

The Coffin Path is published by Headline.

Follow Katherine on Twitter: @KL_Clements

Fellside by M.R.Carey

noreply@blogger.com (Greenacre Writers) — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:29:00 +0000

Review by Greenacre Writer Vasundra Jackison

Jess Moulson has been sent to Fellside, a maximum security prison in Yorkshire. She believes she deserves to be there. She cannot remember what happened on the night of the crime, but she is certain she has committed the offence. When the Judge and jury pronounce her guilty, she accepts the verdict quietly.

She refuses the help of her lawyer. He wants her to appeal the verdict, but she fires him instead.

“I’m not making an appeal. You need to go away.”

He tells her to reconsider because she would not last in prison, especially one such as Fellside.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. If Fellside was terrible, Fellside was where she belonged.

She could not have been more wrong. The prison is so dangerous that even the Governor and guards are afraid of the inmates. It is rife with drugs, weapons and gangs who terrorise their fellow prisoners. Jess has to endure sickening bullying rituals almost on a daily basis. She wants to end her life, but her aunt tells her:

“Don’t put out that precious light, Jess. Whatever they say you’ve done, don’t throw yourself away. Not for someone else’s idea of crime or sinfulness. You know what you’ve done and what you haven’t done, and you’ve only got to answer to yourself, not to them.”

Then she hears another voice, that of a boy, telling her to stay alive and do something for him. Jess thinks she is dreaming, and refuses to listen. She has constant nightmares that leave her shaking in fear or completely confused about what is real and what is not. But the boy is persistent. Should she help him? She is not sure. And even if she does try to help, what can she do inside the prison bars of Fellside.

The book is full of different and interesting characters. The reader will empathise with some who should not be in Fellside because they are inherently decent. But others are shockingly malevolent. One inmate in particular is terrifying because she is pure evil. She holds court in the prison, day in day out. Unfortunately, she has chosen Jess to pick on. Somehow, Jess has to find a way to outsmart her.

This is a powerful tale of life in a high security prison. It is also a story of one inmate’s struggle to work through the truth and lies surrounding her. Her dreams, visions and nightmares will give the reader a fascinating, yet haunting insight into her mind.

You can follow Mike on Twitter: @michaelcarey191

Thanks to Mike for the review copy of Fellside.