Winner of the Richard and Judy Search for a BestsellerPrize in 2018
Born and brought up in Romsey, Claire is a successful historical fiction writer. She has had three novels published so far – a crime series set in Romsey during WW2. This follows her former career as a nurse. She is a founder member of Chandlers Ford Writers and studied at the University of Winchester to gain her degree (“The rest of my family had degrees and I wanted to catch up with them.”). She then continued at the university gaining a PhD. For this, she focused on creating contemporary fiction that was set in the past. She is here today to talk to us about what happens in the writing process when fact and fiction meet. This, she tells us, occurs with all historical fiction. Claire has researched her books using old maps and local history, as well as real-life stories.
Claire first explains what historical fiction is. She says “…it’s fiction that is set thirty to fifty years before the current date.” Adding that with this definition, she too is “pretty historical.” Claire tells us that whilst she was not born until after the Second World War (“…despite what I might look like.”), she grew up at a time where her parents and others had many memories of that time, and so she knew many first-hand stories which she uses in her writing. Historical fiction, Claire tells, us can be a mix of real people in fiction events, or fictional people in real events or a combination. She explains that her stories tend to be fictional people and fictional happenings set against a backdrop of real places and events. Each of her stories is set against what Claire considers crucial points in the war.
Claire has always been interested in history – both fiction and non-fiction, especially local and English history. However, the first book she wrote was set in 17th Century America. She admits that she “…knew absolutely nothing,” about 17th Century America and when she wrote this – the mid-1980s, research was far more complicated than it is today with the advent of online archives and internet research. “These days,” she says, “I would never do a story set in a place I didn’t know,” even though researching would be far easier.
Claire says that researching is now “…one of my great pleasures.” She loves to study an era and find “…the little tiny details.” One of the scenes in her book for example, involves a bike ride from Oliver’s Battery to Brashfield, and Claire enjoys finding out details such as how long that journey would take, or how much a bus fare would have been.
One advantage of Claire writing crime stories that are set in the past is that she does not have to write about technology (“I am pretty poor with technology,” she admits). Therefore, by setting her work when there was no CCTV or mobile phones etc., Claire has eliminated the need to address this.
Claire was an avid reader of crime fiction growing up, telling us that by the age of ten, she had read all the books in the children’s library and so moved on to the ones in the adult section. She adds that Sherlock Holmes was her “…first brush with crime fiction.” She loves whom she refers to as “Golden Age crime fighters” such as Dorothy Sayers. Crime fiction has a very clear structure, and this is what Claire likes about it.
When Claire first sent her novel set in 17th Century America to publishers, one of the comments she received was that “people don’t read historical fiction anymore.” However, she says, thanks to people like Hilary Mantel it has seen an increase in popularity. Claire explains that when she was deciding what type of stories to write for her PhD, she knew that “…historical crime fiction is a seller.”
Claire had already spent time researching her family history for her father several years previously. She later researched her husband’s family history, inspired by her new married surname of Gradidge (“… sort of unusual unless you live in Hampshire.”).
This lead to further research into Romsey – the place where she grew up. She tells us about the family smallholding and her hardworking parents. Claire says, “Nobody ever told me that we were poor until I look back at it.” She goes on explain her growing nostalgia for Romsey and its town, after the smallholding was sold and they moved to Chandlers Ford. Claire shows us some images of 1930s Romsey compared to photographs from similar angles taken more recently, to demonstrate how little the centre of Romsey has changed.
Claire’s first published book was The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox – the result of her PhD. She entered it into the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller prize in 2018. She explains the process of entering the competition and being shortlisted, and then subsequently winning – telling us that she still cannot believe that it happened – despite its publication in August 2019!
Claire goes on to talk to us about how real stories can blend with fiction. She gives us the example of Bram – one of her main characters, who due to his age and the time the story is set, must have fought in the First World War or had a reason not to have done so. She shows us a photograph of a real mask used for soldiers from WW1 who had facial injuries. These were often made with copper plate and then had features painted on by artists. Here, Claire demonstrates the importance of research. The most common injuries from soldiers during the war were facial injuries, and cosmetic surgery was in its infancy. “There is a wonderful archive if you’ve got a strong stomach, of pastel drawings of men that had been … injured in this way in the First World War.” She goes on to tell us that many of these men never left their houses or went outside again, such was the severity of their disfigurements. With this in mind, and Claire not being aware of many other literary characters in her genre with facial disfigurements, she gave Bram a mask worn due to a facial injury he received during the war. So, whilst Bram is fictional, the story behind him is based on real life. Just as the hospital in which Bram stays in is also real, and the subject of much research by Claire.
Claire tells us of other fascinating stories she discovered whilst researching her books and explains how these influenced or shaped her characters and stories – the point at which the real stories blend with fiction. Her second book for example, is set against the backdrop of the Battle of El Alamein and Churchill’s End of the beginning speech. The story Claire has written is fictional, but the setting needs to be historically accurate and the impact upon the characters needs to be considered.
Claire is currently working on the fourth book of her series. She says, “I’m out of contract now, but I am writing Book Four because I said I was going to write four and I’m stubborn.” This one is set towards the end of the war, in September 1945 shortly after Japan had surrendered and “… things got more difficult in Britain than they had been all through the war.” Her story, she tells us, has characters coming home from the war and not finding what they expected upon their return.
It has been fascinating to hear Claire remind us of the importance of research for any book – but to understand where fact and fiction meet – how true stories and local histories have influenced her writing. We wish her success with her fourth book.
Sara Gangai was formerly the director of Winchester Writers’ Festival for several years, followed by The Writers’ Weekend. She has a Master’s Degree in local history and archaeology from the University of Winchester. This has led her to an interest in the link between history and storytelling. She is with us this evening to tell us about her latest project – Shared Memories.
Sara begins by telling us about her work organising the Winchester Writers’ Festival, and how when the university stopped it after forty years, she started The Writers’ Weekend – a virtual event due to Covid. She explains that although this was not how The Writers’ Weekend was intended to be, the online nature of the event meant that people could join from all over the world (one of the keynote speakers gave their speech from Arizona). Sara tells us “…it opened up a lot of possibilities.”
However, Sara informs us that her true passion is “storytelling in a different form,” and after working on the writing festivals for many years, she felt it was time to pursue this. There were people in the wings ready to take on the running of The Writers’ Weekend (now called the I Am Writing festival) and this gave Sara the time she needed.
Sara started Shared Memories “…to capture ordinary people’s life stories.” She explains that this fascinates her. She goes on to tell us that quite often when she sits down with people, they tell her that they have nothing to say, but that once they begin talking you realise that that they have lived a very interesting life.
Sarah clearly feels that the service she offers is extremely important and she demonstrates this by telling us the story of her dad, Akira, who was born in Japan in 1920. He led a fascinating life – and at his funeral, she was told many stories about him, that she had not heard before. There is sadness in her voice when she continues, sharing that in her grief she struggled to remember many of these stories and wished there was someone who could have recorded these for her family to listen to (“…it would have been absolutely priceless to me and my siblings.”).
Sara spent a great deal of time listening to tapes in the record office when researching local history for her Master’s degree. Many of the tapes, she says, were recorded in the 1970s and were of people in Winchester. They demonstrated how much life had changed over the years.
What consolidated Sara’s love of people telling their stories, was an 80-year-old man she interviewed as part of her thesis research. She explains that as he talked about his life, he realised that he had never really shared his stories with anyone, “…not even his own children.” He found that by being able to talk to Sara without interruption was “cathartic” and it moved him to tears. Sara says, “I was hooked by that point.”
Shared Memories records people’s life stories on audio and videotape. Once Sara has the material, she adds family photos to create a video that can be shared “…with family and future generations.” At this point, she plays us a snippet of one of her videos – a 90-year-old woman talking to her daughter about her own childhood in her mother’s shop. We hear the lady reminiscing, whilst photos of the shop – past and present, are shown. The effect is very powerful. Sara shares with us that the lady passed away shortly after the making of the video, and her daughter was comforted by the fact that she had this film.
Sara has plans to develop her new business further. One element she is creating is a digital space where families can share their genealogical findings (she describes it as a family version of the TV series Who Do You Think You Are?). Another called Grandma’s Recipes consists of videotapes of people sharing their secrets of family dishes that have been passed down generations.
Sara is currently editing the life story of a lady who has cancer. She has two children in their twenties and she wants to ensure that she was able to talk about her life without interruption. She also wanted to talk about her children and “…what her hopes and dreams are for them.” Sara describes working with her “a real honour.”
Sara’s generation, she says, are the last generation that lived with very little technology (“I was 27 when I got my first mobile phone.”). She is clearly passionate about ensuring that upcoming generations know how the people before them lived their lives – studying, playing, working. She reminds us “some people grew up with no indoor toilet or central heating.”
How can oral histories inform our writing? This is what Sara asks us to consider. She explains how when listening to voices (she give The Archers as an example) the accents an inflections can define a story (“It’s not just what they say, but how they say it as well.”). As writers, our characters can be developed by listening to people telling their stories, and focusing on their voices. There are many ways to access personal histories – Sara puts some web addresses on the screen.
Sara ends her talk by asking us to “…consider adding oral histories to your toolkit as you develop your writing and your voice.”
If you want to find out more, visit Sara’s website: sharedmemories.uk
Yarrow Townsend was a special guest speaker at the Hampshire Writers’ Society in February 2023.
Yarrow is a Hampshire writer who has an affinity with the New Forest. She lives on a narrowboat and is inspired by the natural world around her. She writes for children and young adults, and is best known for her book The Map of Leaves, published by Chicken House. The book has been a Sunday Times children’s book of the week and shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2023.
She reminds us that Henrietta Branford was also a local writer (she lived in Woolston for a while). Just like Henrietta, Yarrow knows the area well – she went to school in Romsey and lived in the New Forest.
The first thing Yarrow talks about is her route into publication (“the timeframe can be so variable…”). She estimates that for her, the process was easily ten years from the start of her career until the publication of The Map of Leaves. This incorporated, she explains, the dreaming up of ideas, the transition to considering herself a serious writer and finally “…having the book in my hand.”
Yarrow is eager to share with us where her inspiration came from. She explains that it comes from growing up “…in such a tactile place.” She describes how she was “immersed” in nature and gardens as a child. With a broad smile on her face, Yarrow describes some of the stories she and her family retold whilst exploring the natural world. She shows us a photo of her, her sibling and her father singing songs from Winnie the Pooh whilst out and about. This, she says, provided her with a connection between real life and fables (She refers to these as her “raw materials”).
She shows us a picture from a Shirley Hughes book and explains that she loves how the childhood experience is portrayed in her stories. When she is asked “Why children’s books?”, she explains that it is the exploration of the world through children’s eyes that Yarrow attempts to recapture. She touches upon The Hobbit, which describes real forests and nature, yet combines it with fiction to “…create something fantastical.”
With Yarrow’s love of plants, she poses the question “Why didn’t I become a botanist … or go down the scientific road?” She explains that it was because of “…all the mythology and stories that surround those plants.” She tells us that she wanted to learn how these stories were created. As a result, Yarrow studied French and English literature rather than science as she”… really wanted to have that deep dive into craftsmanship.” This enabled her to focus on the relationship between stories and reality. She reveals that she really got into the poet John Clare due to his connection with nature and the accurate record he made regarding sightings of animals such as red squirrels and pine martins.
Yarrow explains that through her studies, she began to focus on the craft of writers who were able to write with vivid, almost tangible descriptions. She shows us an image of one of her sketchbooks, and explains that it is basically “a list of titles.” She goes on to explain that she had no shortage of ideas, but needed to consider how to develop them into something publishable. With this in mind, she explains that she needed to find a way to develop as a writer, as she found it hard to write and she tells us, she still does. “I went down two routes,” she explains. One was to develop storytelling, and the other focus was to develop her connection with nature and the world around her in order to influence her writing. To do this, Yarrow joined the RSPB in the New Forest. Here she was trained to do tree-work and bird surveys, bringing her into closer contact with elements that would enhance her writing.
When Yarrow was teaching, she tells us, she often felt that it was hard for children to understand what they were reading, as they’d had little or no experience of what they were reading about. “How can we get them to picture these realities that they’ve not experienced?” With this in mind, her work with the RSPB allowed Yarrow to write confidently about these places, focusing on the smells and the feel of things. She shows us an image of an ancient woodland at the edge of the New Forest and explains how it reminds her of The Hobbit. She says that this demonstrates that it is clear where writers get their ideas. “You have to be in contact with the world around you to develop your stories”
Yarrow went on to study for a writing MA at Bath University, originally thinking that this was “cheating”. However, she describes the course as “an apprenticeship for a trade.” The workshops enabled her to reflect and examine her craft, forcing her to write outside of her comfort zone. It was this course where Yarrow began writing The Map of Leaves. However, this was only the beginning of it and the book went through “at least” twelve drafts before it was published.
Whilst on the course, Yarrow spent a lot of time looking at what other writers were doing and what books were selling well. She was particularly interested in audiences that were younger than YA but maybe didn’t want the typical YA issues-based darker stories, but nevertheless wanted to be challenged further than some of the middle grade books (she gives author Frances Harding as an example).
Once Yarrow had finished her book, she began to look for an agent. She is currently with Jenny Savile who has visited us before. Yarrow first developed a list of criteria of things she was interested in when looking for an agent. However, it was extremely important that she found an agent with whom she could work with collaboratively, and would “…understand my writing and would understand where I was coming from.” After looking through the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook “…the things that stood out for me…” she tells us … “were her back catalogue,” where the stories has similar themes to her own. Jenny also works editorially, and this too was important to Yarrow. “For me, she says “this was fantastic” as they were then able to work for a year editing her book.
The timing of this editing period is very significant. The Map of Leaves was ready around the time of the pandemic. As a result, some publishers were not interested, claiming that Yarrow’s story, which features disease, had come at a time when children needed something lighter in tone. However, other publishers felt that this was exactly the right time, as the subject matter of the book would be useful for children who needed to understand grief and illness. Yarrow points out that since the pandemic there has been a noticeable trend of children’s stories that focus on the positivity of nature. Ultimately, Yarrow signed with Chicken House.
“I want to challenge and I want to entertain” Yarrow tells us. She goes onto say that her experiences over the years have given her many ideas for stories, but she needs to ensure that she chooses the ones that “…tell a good tale,” and reminds us that “children are very discerning.”
Being published via the more traditional publishing house route has been invaluable to Yarrow because of the collaborative and editing process through which she has gone, ensuring that her work is the best it can be – something she feels would not have worked had she made the decision to self-publish.
Yarrow is now working on her second book and says that she is enjoying remembering the process she went through when she began her first book.
The committee are currently planning the programme for next season. Details will appear on the website as speakers are confirmed.
The first meeting will be September 12th.
If you’d like to be a guest speaker or would like to suggest a speaker or theme for a meeting, then do contact the committee via the Contact page — we’d love to hear from you.
The Tower Arts Centre, Kings’ School, Romsey Road, Winchester SO22 5PN
Followed at 7.30pm by a talk from novelist, journalist & short story writer,
DELLA GALTON and guest speaker AJ Spencer
You will find the following authors at the Book Fair where you can browse; chat to authors; and purchase books. Most will have books available to buy or links you can follow to purchase online.
Della Galton
Novelist, journalist, short story writer, writing tutor and agony aunt for the magazine, Writers’ Forum. Della offers writing workshops and courses, some on zoom. Her latest novels will be available to purchase at the Book Fair.
For more information about Della, her books and courses, please visit her website: www.dellagalton.co.uk
Louise Morrish
Louise Morrish is a librarian and author, based in Hampshire. She completed the Faber ‘Write a Novel Online’ course in 2012, and is a member of the Hampshire Writers’ Society, the Historical Writers Association, the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and the Society of Authors. When she’s not writing, she loves to trail run.
Louise Morrish’s 2022 historical fiction debut, Operation Moonlight, is a heart-warming story about Betty, a reclusive centenarian hiding a very dark secret from the War. Described as a truly page-turning story, with enough thrills to satisfy both fans of World War Two fiction and those who love a good romance, Operation Moonlight won the 2019 Penguin Random House First Novel competition.
Louise is represented by Luigi Bonomi at LBA Books. You can find her on Twitter at @LouiseMorrish1, Instagram at @LouiseMorrish_books, and Facebook at Louise Morrish. You can learn more about her books and writing at www.louisemorrish.com.
John Quinn
John has been a member of HWS for several years and tries to enter the monthly comp!
He was an award winning journalist, being named Campaigning Journalist of the Year whilst working for The Mail on Sunday, having first started on the free newspaper in his home town, The Southampton Advertiser.
He is a serial entrepreneur, being a founding investor in our regional radio station, Wave 105. John is married, a keen golfer at Royal Winchester Golf Club and, despite his advanced years, still referees men’s football matches most weekends.
John’s first novel, a crime thriller, The Reporter, is set in Southampton in the late 1980’s and features Jude Devlin, a trainee reporter working on a free newspaper – well, where could that idea have come from, I wonder?
Jude’s gets in too deep investigating the city’s secretive crime family, who are protected by a senior bent officer at Hampshire Police. When Jude’s stories start to affect the family’s business, Jude has to be bought off or scared off, he has to be disposed of.
The strap line for the book is ’To take down a crime family, he must risk his own.’
The book will launch in late June, but I’ll have advanced copies with me!
JUDE HAYLAND was a commercial short story writer for women’s magazines for over 25 years, published in the UK and internationally. After completing an M.A. in Creative Writing at Winchester University and graduating with distinction, she switched to writing full length novels and has published three with a four completed and out later this year. She writes literary/commercial/book group fiction and blogs regularly from her website on all things writerly and bookish.
Novels: MILLER STREET SW22 – my third novel – about the complexities of love and loss as well as the power of hope and the possibility of change and redemption – set over a year from 2005/2006, as neighbours prepare for a centenary street party (Cover image from a painting by local Winchester artist, Josephine Chisholm)
THE LEGACY OF MR JARVIS – my second novel has a dual time-line of a late 1960s childhood and an adult perspective of 2008, the novel explores secrets and lies that can lie within a family and fester for years with some entirely unexpected results.
COUNTING THE WAYS – my first novel – with settings ranging from London, Oxford, the Welsh hills and a Greek island, the story explores the complexities of family life and relationships over two generations.
After working in the games industry, writing for comics (2000AD & Sonic the Comic) and spending time as an academic running videogame courses, Mark finally settled down to writing books at the start of 2019. His writing draws on his love of science fiction, creating a slightly quirky, but grim and gritty story set on a colony world where everything’s gone nightmarishly wrong.
Chandlers Ford Writers: Maggie Farran, Catherine Griffin, Sally Howard
Three writing friends from Chandlers Ford who collaborated on a new project in lockdown, culminating with publication of Winchester Actually. Unravel the intrigue of the great train robbery. Witness the thrills and spills of rioting through the streets. Wonder at sacrifices made to save the cathedral and defend the city. Enjoy gentler tales of romance and motherhood set in and around Winchester.
Anthony Ridgway
Anthony is the winner of the Barbara Large Memorial Award 2019 for his achievement of being a published author of two children’s books. He is currently working on his third book. Barbara was his creative writing teacher who spotted his talent and encouraged him to keep on writing.
Ant’s children’s books are about Wizzy, the wheelchair’s adventures and are illustrated by Suzan Houching and published by Little Knoll Press. Wizzy the Animal Whisperer
Anthony’s first book, Wizzy the Animal Whisperer is available as an audio book read by Sheila and David Suchet.
Wizzy and the Seaside Adventure, second book
To see a short film about Anthony’s book launch with a reading by David Suchet, follow this link. https://fb.watch/dyE5jjDL7H/
Dai Henley
An award-winning crime and thriller writer.
Dai retired in 2004 following the sale of his local businesses in Southampton and Winchester. He joined a Creative Writing class which he still attends weekly. He is also a regular visitor to the Hampshire Writers’ Society and the annual Winchester Writers’ Festival
He writes crime dramas with the themes of obsession, revenge and justice. He’s attended many murder trials at the Old Bailey. The capacity of ‘ordinary’ people who become motivated to carry out extraordinary acts never ceases to amaze him.
He received wonderful reviews and won several awards for his debut novel, Blazing Obsession: a silver medal from The Wishing Shelf and a Top Ten place in Bookbag’s self-published novels in 2014.
His novels: Endless Obsession; Reckless Obsession; and Blazing Obsession will be available at the book fair and are also available in paperback and eBook on Amazon. To find out more visit his website: http://www.daihenley.co.uk
Damon L. Wakes
Damon writes everything from humour to horror and produces a brand new work of flash fiction every day during July each year. Damon also writes interactive fiction and games, and provided the story and dialogue for Game of the Year nominated virtual reality title Craft Keep VR.
Ten Little Astronauts— a novella published by Unbound
Lynn Farley-Rose spent her childhood by the sea in Devon and then went to university in London. She spent some years working as a research psychologist before a move to East Sussex resulted in a complete change of lifestyle. At one point she was responsible for the welfare of thirty-two animals and eight species including her four children. 31 Treats And A Marriage was her first book and arose out of an interest in ways to cope when life throws up challenges. Her second book The Interview Chain is an exploration of connections between people. She now lives in Hampshire, has no animals and is working on her third book. In her regular blog at treatsandmore.com she writes about topics of general interest from a popular psychological perspective.
31 Treats And A Marriage
From Austen to Brown—a giant table in Liverpool to hidden churches in London— New York to Edinburgh—and cannibalistic spiders to a horse named Twilight—
When Lynn’s family seemed finally to have overcome a series of disasters, and her husband was at last in recovery from cancer, she thought it was time to focus on recovering herself. She decided to have some treats—not frivolous material things but exploratory, enriching experiences. Then life threw up a new obstacle and she found that the problems weren’t over. In fact they were about to get much worse—and suddenly the treats became something far more; they became a lifeline.
The Interview Chain
Everyone has something interesting to say if you take the time to listen. The Interview Chain is a series of conversations—each interviewee was asked to nominate someone they admire as the next link. Starting from a casual conversation on a boat on the Thames, the chain wended its way for over 23,000 miles, alighting on three continents and gathering up personal perspectives on issues that really matter in the world today. The interviewees include a theatre director, a rabbi, a philanthropist, a sculptor, a New York Mayoral candidate, a pioneering documentary maker, and a man who rescues giant trees. Some have worked in challenging places—Kabul under the Taliban, a Romanian orphanage, immigration detention centres, remote Indian villages—while others have found themselves caught up in extraordinary situations such as the Rwandan genocide, the Ferguson uprising, and the UN Climate Change Negotiations.
Marion Dante
Marion Dante always knew she would be a nun. She was born in answer to prayer. At the age of 14, she left home and started her training to become a Salesian Sister. Fired with the desire to save souls she eventually became a nun and a successful teacher and spent many happy and eventful years in the convent.
Leaving the convent 33 years later, Marion wrote her autobiography,
Dropping the Habit: A gripping, honest book in which she opens the door to the convent and bares her soul.
Searching for Love: Her first novel in the Frankie Danivet series and tells the story of innocent young postulant Frankie, struggling to decide between love or the church. Its sequel, A Love as Strong: Frankie as she transitions from life at the content to life and love in the outside world.
Camino Tales: Frankie joins a group en route to Santiago Compostela and discovers that alongside the physical journey, she might benefit from an inner probing of her previous life.
Marion Dante hails from Limerick and has lived in England since 1955.Marion entered the convent aged 14 and left 33 years later.
As a member of the Society of Authors and as a public speaker has addressed various groups including – Women’s Institute, The Townswomen’s Guild, Probus, Rotary, Inner Wheel, Tangent and various retirement groups.
Marion was on RTE (Irish) television and radio as part of the publicity at the launch of her autobiography. She has featured in BBC Programmes such as Heart and Soul BBC World Service, Radio Four Saturday Live and in February 2017 she spoke on BBC Radio Surrey taking part in the BBC Listening Project. (Stored in the British Library).
She is a member of The Three Counties Cancer Support Group, The Kindred Spirits Choir, Camberley and Farnborough U3A in which she takes part in Italian, yoga, walking and ukulele groups. Marion also attends aqua aerobics and is a Member of National Women’s Register Group, discussion, dining and reading group.
Jottings from Russia and the Baltic States. Part 1: Russia and Estonia.
Lynn Clement
The book The City of Stories and is published by Chapel Town Books. It is a collection of flash fiction, short stories and poems, some of which have won or been ‘placed’ in Hampshire Writers’ competitions.
The stories and editing have all been completed during lockdown, with the help of Allison Symes (Hampshire Writers’ Society member as my editor via Chapel Town books.)
The stories are mainly observations around ordinary people, dealing with extra-ordinary things in their lives. There are some gothic horror or sci-fi and humorous stories too. An eclectic mix. Something for everyone. The poems are hopefully moving.
The City of Stories by Lynn Clement – published by Chapeltown Books
Shelagh Moore
Author of children’s books and educational writer.
Illustrated stories for children of all ages to enjoy.
Penny grew up in East Anglia and after several years teaching English Literature in New Zealand and Australia she returned to Cambridge where her two children spent their time at home. Once the nest was empty SOS Children’s Villages and The Serendipity Trust gave her opportunities to work in education in Malawi and Sri Lanka. When Penny returned to the UK she lived on the coast in rural Dorset and then nine years ago she finally settled in Winchester where she is a member of the Hampshire Writers’ Society and Winchester Muse.
The poems in her first collection Marmalade Peel have been written and tweaked over many years. The poems reflect some of her global impressions and memories but emotions and a more domestic life are also re-visited.
Di Castle
Grandma’s Poetry Book is her first poetry collection and is a popular gift for new grandparents.
Should I Wear Floral and other poems on Life, Love and Leaving
Tonight, we have HWS’s first “virtual speaker” who joins us via a Zoom link. Committee member Mark Eyles interviews Nick Cook in his study.
Nick is a science fiction writer. He met Mark when they were both working in the gaming industry. Much of Nick’s writing is inspired by the question “what if?”, as well as his love of travel.
Mark first asks Nick about his background – before he became a writer. He says he began in the early 1980s working in gaming during the early days of home computers, “Suddenly there was a whole games industry which came from nowhere.” Nick started as an artist and art director, with the intention of working in special effects in film. However, he stayed in the games industry for 22 years. “It wasn’t a flash in the pan!” in 2006, he co-founded two award-winning games studios. Because he had shares in the studios, he ended up with “…a pot of money” which presented him with the opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time writer – a dream which, Nick tells us, started when he was twelve after reading Lord of the Rings (Nick’s “gateway book”). He explains that the book really caught his imagination.
This inspired him to write his own version of Lord of the Rings – “I got all the way to the third chapter and then promptly gave up.” However, this did ignite Nick’s love of reading and writing. He describes how this permeated his professional life, despite being an artist rather than a writer.
By his own admission, Nick doesn’t “…do things by halves” and rather than writing alongside his work, he gave up work and jumped straight into full time writing. He took a course run by a literary agency and his work was analysed and critiqued. He said they loved what he had written – a piece which became the first of a series of books, Fractured Light. The agency signed him up and partnered him with an editor who was “…absolutely amazing”. He tells us that he was told he could write action well, but needed to work on developing characters, and so he worked with his editor for about two years (“I viewed this as my apprenticeship.”). Nick shares with us that his agent pushed him and returned his manuscripts with lots of positive criticism, but always with something that he needed to develop.
The result of this partnership was his breakthrough novel, Cloud Riders, which later became a trilogy. He was also paired with an agent in order to get a publishing deal, getting very close to signing a deal with Bloomsbury, but sadly that never quite happened. However, he says he “dusted himself down” and got signed by small publisher, “Three Hairs,” getting his work traditionally published.
Mark asks Nick how long it was from leaving work to getting his first book published, and he tells us it was ten years. Nick says that most writers don’t take that long, but it can do – “…be tenacious.” He reminds us that, “It’s very much about not giving up.”
Nick is then asked what inspired him to write science fiction. Nick replies that some of it is down to growing up with the moon landings – something he describes as “a profound moment in history.” He tells us that the film 2001: A Space Odyssey also really inspired him, as did Blade Runner, leading him to read lots of science fiction books.
Nick began writing for the Young Adult market and then switched to Adult. Mark asks Nick why he did this. Young Adult writing, he tells us, is incredibly hard and is a very good discipline, citing Northern Lights to demonstrate how good YA writing can be. This motivated him to write for this audience. He later switched to adult sci-fi, saying that writing for adults gives a writer a “far wider palette you can work with.” He explains that there are certain restrictions and conventions that have to be considered when writing YA. Nick describes the move to adult writing as “very liberating.” He explains that for YA, publishers have lots of boxes that need ticking.
After working with publishing companies for some time, Nick decided to go down the self-publishing / indie route. Mark asks him why and he tells us that there were a few traditionally published writers that decided to self-publish around the same time including several of his friends. One of them pointed out the amount of freedom a writer has when the indie route is chosen, as well as potentially earning more money.
Nick suggests that in order for this to be successful, a writer must work as a one-person publisher. There is a lot of competition, so it is vital the marketing is good, as well as potentially working with editors, voice artists and others. He says, “It sounds daunting, but it is really rewarding.” He also points out that when a book is published the traditional way, books have a shelf life, but once they’re removed from the shelves, they can be self-published. The downside, Nick tells us, is that the books are unlikely to get into bookshops; they’re generally limited to online sales – although this is not always the case. He advises us that there are some excellent courses out there to support writers who wish to go down this route.
Mark goes on to ask Nick why he writes series of books rather than standalone stories. He explains that he liked the Ian M. Banks approach to series – it was always part of his plan to write in this way.
Nick currently has 17 sci-fi books out and another project in the pipeline. His output works out at about three books per year – “I cannot write faster than that.” He writes three drafts and then enters what he calls the “noodling phase” or “book whispering” to fine-tune the book. He strongly advises us to make sure that we make enough time to do this.
Nick is asked how ensures he stands out amongst the crowded sci-fi market. He recommends a newsletter to his readers, alongside strong marketing and social media advertising. It’s about keeping your profile raised and gaining fans over a period of time. Nick has now got a large fan base for whom he loves writing and receiving their feedback. He says “When you’re having a tough time … it can really make your day.”
“Talk us through your writing day,” Mark asks Nick. He explains that he starts writing at about 6.45 am until 8.30 am, then has breakfast and uses his home gym (“when you’re a full-time writer it’s important to look after yourself.”) He then writes from 10.30 am through until 1.00 pm. After lunch, he will work until 5.00 pm. He tells us that it’s really important to have a regular working day and this helps keep him productive. He points out that it is really important to have an end to the day where the laptop is switched off, to prevent writing right through the evening – “then you would start to burn out.” It’s important, he tells us, to have a routine that can be sustained.
Given that he has such a harsh writing schedule; Mark asks how Nick continues to come up with new ideas. Nick explains that having ideas is never a problem. The issue is working out which ideas are worth making into a book. He advises us to ensure that we always write our ideas down in a notebook and “consume books” whether that’s through reading or an audiobook. This, he says, is a “…great excuse for watching Netflix.” He describes the imagination as a muscle that works better the more it is exercised.
Nick is asked what the future of self-publishing look like. He describes what he foresees as a “hybrid” way of publishing. Publishers, he explains, are looking for something that is going to do well. He believes that increasingly, they will look to the indie market to see who is up and coming, possibly approaching writers with deals. He goes on tell us that indie success can give a writer considerable negotiating powers with larger publishers.
When asked what advice he would give to aspiring writers, he begins with the words; “It can be soul-destroying at times.” The waiting, he says, can seemingly go on forever. He describes it as being one of the hardest things for a writer as it feels as if nothing is happening. “It really is about tenacity.” He also advises that we don’t write for a publishing deal – we write for ourselves. He explains that he always suspects that writers who give up are on the verge of success but they will never know. He suggests that we should prepare to do lots of re-writes, and if we can afford to work with an editor then that can also be a successful route. Sometimes, the best work we produce is the hardest piece we have written. Be disciplined and carve out a regular amount of time to write each day. Also, he advises, “… read your work aloud.”
The final thing that Nick is asked to talk about is his current project and where he sees his writing going in the future. He confides that he has a brand new pen name, J. R. Sinclair. (J.R. from J.R.R. Tolkein, and Sinclair from the first computer he worked on which launched his career). J. R. Sinclair is a crime writer and his first book is due out on 16th March. He says he has “really hit this one hard.” This includes the use of beta readers for the first time, as well as feedback groups and the creation of an audiobook. He is taking what he describes as a mini-break from sci-fi. He will be writing three crime books. He points out that this will be a difficult thing to do with a traditional publisher, but as an indie writer changing pen names and genres is easy to do. He feels that this is a way of “keeping himself fresh.” “Writing is a tough old business sometimes, but the highs are worth it – I promise you.”
Hampshire Writers Society meetings are held in Winchester at the Tower Arts Centre which is next to King’s School — just off Romsey Road not far from the university.
For help finding the Tower Arts Centre, Google Maps map is here. SatNav may send you down the wrong side road, so don’t rely on it!
The Tower itself is easy to spot. For parking, take the last exit at the roundabout. Walk round to the front of the Tower and enter by the main sliding doors.
Report on Nate Crowley’s talk to the Hampshire Writers’ Society, 10th January 2023 by Sarah Noon
Nate Crowley is a novelist, an interactive fiction consultant and videogame journalist. He has been published through the traditional route of a publishing company, and also through the self-publication route. He is talking to us today about work for hire writing, which he describes as “…playing with other people’s toys.”
Nate grew up in South East London and now lives in Walsall near Birmingham. He explains that he grew up wanting to write. He wrote a novella at the age of fourteen (“It was garbage and I never did anything with it.”). He went on to read English Literature at university but “…crashed out after two years…” because he was “…reading too much pulp science fiction…” according to his tutor. After dropping out of the course he went on to study the History of Science which, he says, was a lot more useful in the end.
However, leaving his English Literature course halfway through affected his confidence and so he didn’t write anything for thirteen years – until 2015.
Nate goes on to tell us about the first book he got published. Originally two novellas, TheDeath and Life of Schneider Wrack was published through Rebellion Publishing. He describes this time as “…wonderful fun…” and was, he explains, feeling very motivated to write. He then went on to write “100 Greatest Video Games That Never Existed” which he describes as “fictional non-fiction.” More recently, Harper Collins published Nate’s book Notes from Small Planets –another piece of fictional non-fiction written in the style of the Lonely Planet travel book series. He describes it as “…a really lovely book.”
Nate explains that while this was happening, he met the Commissioning Editor from Black Library (of the Warhammer brand) whist visiting FantasyCon. He had read Schneider Wrack and compared it to a Warhammer book. At this point, Nate tells us, he asked him if he could write one for them as he had loved Warhammer since he was a child. He was given a “yes” and has now written three novels, a novella and five short stories for Black Library as a Work for Hire writer. This he confides, has earned him more money than the work he has done through the traditional publishing route (something, he says, which surprised him.) Through being a Work for Hire writer, Nate has been able to make a living.
There are downsides to this however. He explains that whilst working for a company with a known IP brings with it its marketing and readership, it is hard to attract new readers from outside that brand. Working with an established IP can be restricting. Nate has worked on the novelisation of a videogame, as well as scripts, dialogue and character designs “…often not with the IP I would have chosen.” Whilst Nate might love Warhammer, he admits that “…other things I have worked on left me completely cold.” This, though, provided him with a positive creative challenge. He describes it as “trying to find a passion in something you have no passion for. “
Nate also discusses how restrictions as a Work for Hire writer can also help generate creativity. He tells us about his father who was an abstract painter. He told Nate that the hardest thing for him was to be given a blank canvas and no parameters. He also told him that the best work he did creatively was when he was given “unreasonable restrictions.” Nate explains that this is the same with any creative work.
So what are the restrictions with Warhammer? Nate explains that the stories are “…going to be quite bleak, it’s going to be quite violent and it’s going to be in the future.” The fun part, he says is working out how many ways a writer can get around those restrictions. He talks about Warhammer and how the setting is so established, that “…you can pretty much choose any story you want to tell, and you can find elements of that setting to hook on.” Nate goes on to share a story he wrote within the Warhammer setting, about Necrons (60,000,000-year-old futuristic robots), but is, in fact, “… a love story…” based on an old General and his devoted bodyguard, and reads us the ending to this story.
A Work for Hire environment provides a very collaborative process, but Nate says that within the restrictions, a writer can write the story they want to tell. He explains that whilst working with a big IP (such as Games Workshop), he “… can’t go charging in there and making dictatorial decisions over what to do with it.” However, he feels that he still gets the chance to be creative and is rarely having ideas forced upon him – he says that it is just that everything has to be discussed in minute detail with an editor. Nick enjoys working closely with an editor as he often “… can’t see the woods for the trees” when he is writing.
Nick claims he feels fine knowing that he will “… never be the star of the show…” – although some writers might struggle with this element of being a Work for Hire writer. He describes it as “playing with someone else’s toys…” but finds this relaxing as the idea of working with such a big name is “reassuring.”
Nick also explains that this way of working is good for world building skills, as the world has already been built but the writer is trying to add their own mark to it “It makes you ask yourself really interesting questions.” He gives an example using the competition he set and asks us to consider what our world would be like if we lived within a Monopoly game – What would happen if we had to pay £200 every time we walked past a certain street? How would the character move around? Given a rigid and well known structure forces us to be creative.
To finish off his talk, Nate tells us the story about how he got into writing – off the back of a birthday Tweet that got more and more extreme and going viral. He would appear that he has never looked back since that time – his final words this evening are “I’m having the time of my life doing what I do.”
Val is passionate about children’s poetry and the effect it has on children’s thinking and their acquisition of language. She has been published in several children’s poetry collections and magazines.
Her poetry journey began after lockdown, when she was asked by her grandchild to write a poem for a teacher who was leaving. However, she also credits her dad for giving her a love of reading and writing, through bedtime stories and visits to her local library. She wrote stories about “… gypsies and about girls with horses – a couple of teen romances…” and she tells us that these are written in school books “covered in wallpaper” along with her first poem.
Val goes on to describe how she “churned out two children’s novels” when “authors tore their hair out with rewrites and worked their way through gallons of Tippex.” One, she says, in 1982, was a story about a boy who wanted to save a wood from being destroyed to build a new road. She remembers how she got a response from a publisher telling her that “…that could never happen.” Her other novel consisted of “…a good helping of Tolkien” and so she was told that it had been done before. These rejections, she explains, were worth keeping because “…back then, they really took the time to explain why they were rejecting you.”
Val and her family moved to the UAE and then to Saudi Arabia, and she tells us that she didn’t have much time to write at this point. But she began writing again a few years later “…this time, in earnest.” During this period, Val wrote books and stories, self-publishing them through a company that she had set called Ginger Cat Books.” She tells us that she had an editor, a sales manager and an accountant. They were members of the Independent Publishers Guild and “… it was really good fun,” she says. Val points out that it was expensive but that she “…really enjoyed the ride.” During this time, she attended many book fairs and the books she published “…did moderately well.”
Val goes onto to read a poem she wrote about the success of her novel and how, like many others, it had a limited shelf life. It reminds us that books do not stay in bookstores (virtual or actual) forever.
Val explains that as time passed and grandchildren came along, they encouraged her to write for children. At this point, she says “Poems fired out of me.” She tells us that although some of them “…ended up in the bin…” many of them “…made the grade.” These poems have been published in anthologies, magazines and “…even a mention in the Yorkshire Times,” (she’s not quite sure why, she admits). Despite “resisting” Twitter for some time, Val joined the Twitter community and discovered many other children’s poets.
However, despite this, Val explains that it is a tough market to break. She tells us about visiting a bookshop in St. Ives, where she discovered there was no children’s poetry section as “…there was no call for that sort of thing.” Val also shares that this is not the only time she’s come up against this. She describes it as a “…waste of a wonderful and valuable resource.” On a more positive note, however, Val’s local bookshop, she says, is “… very keen on every form of children’s writing.”
Passionate about her subject, Val reiterates that poetry can “…form a vital part of learning – opens up the world of language to children.” Her visits to schools demonstrate this and she tells us how children love to join in “…particularly the more recent and modern poetry.” Modern children poets, she says, are her role models.
Although not a teacher, Val has worked with children and been around them enough to understand that they like poetry which relates to them and makes them laugh. She also recognises that children do not always want to read; that they would rather do other things like football, TV, Xbox etc. so “…I wrote poems about these things to try and engage them in their own pastimes.”
Speaking not just for herself, but for other children’s poets Val explains that “…we are just doing everything we can to engage schools, parents, everybody that we can, in children’s poetry. “
Val ends her talk by telling us about her book. Taking just over a year, she explains that her anthology, when she first sent it to her editor was “…nowhere near ready.” She therefore felt that she had to get herself “known” as a children’s poet and so she sent work off to magazines and competitions. The end book, she says, was very different to how it started. She also collaborated with a local illustrator. She shares that her plan for this year is to visit schools and bookshops describing it as “…an exciting time.”
Finally, she reads us her poem “A Classroom of Stars” – the poem that is also the title of her anthology.
Susmita Bhattacherya was born in Mumbai. Her debut novel, A Normal State of Mind, was published in 2015 and she is currently working on her second novel. She writes across several genres and enjoys experimenting. Susmita also likes to write short stories, flash fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. She has written for radio and is also involved with writing audio-drama. She visits us this evening to share her journey as a writer and to talk about the process both before and after that very significant publication date.
As a child, Susmita tells us, she loved writing stories, illustrating them and “…creating little books…” which she then made into her own library – making her own tickets and issuing her books to family and friends. When she was fourteen, one of her short stories was published in a local paper. However, she shares with us at this point that she did not think she wanted to be a writer. She did not consider this to be something that she would do as an adult. She’d never met a writer or seen one “…writers were these great people who existed.” Susmita simply regarded her writing as a “great hobby.” Instead, Susmita tells us, she became a graphic designer. This changed when she got married and gave up her job to join her husband who was in the Merchant Navy, travelling the world on an oil tanker! She did this for about 7 years, and whilst travelling she “…had all the time in the world…” to paint and write. She explains that even though she enjoyed this, she still didn’t really consider writing as a career. She did however, enjoy travelling around the world and “…having many adventures along the way.”
When her husband left the navy, she says, they settled in the UK. Because of her husband’s career change (he decided to do a PhD in Cardiff), Susmita explains that her life changed too. She enrolled in a creative writing evening class, simply because she “…loved writing stories.” She tells us that her tutor was very supportive and gave her confidence, suggesting that she did a Masters degree in creative writing. Shew tells us that this in turn got her thinking that she could do something with her writing. Soon after, she submitted one of the stories she had written on the course to an academic journal and it was selected for its 20th anniversary edition. Susmita describes this as the “…starting point” of her writing career. At the same time, she began a Masters degree at Cardiff University for the practice and teaching of creative writing. The element of teaching creative writing specifically interested Susmita because she felt that even if she didn’t become a writer, she would be able to teach creative writing and she had already taught English as an Additional Language. She tells us that she embarked upon the course (“one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life.”) and considered herself “…a teacher rather than a writer.” This was Susmita’s first experience of academia and she tells us that she was a little uncertain at first, describing it as “life changing…” (it should also be noted that Susmita achieved a Distinction for her Masters!).
Susmita’s novel A Normal State of Mind began here as her dissertation. She tells us that she was “…absolutely frightened.” Telling her supervisor that she would not be able to write a novel. Having been reminded by her supervisor that this was the time to do it, whilst she had the time and the support available, she began to develop her novel. The story was set in Mumbai (“…write what you know and what you’re comfortable with”). She demonstrates the importance of this by telling us about a piece of writing she had done on her course – a postcard had been given as a visual prompt, and she wrote about flowers blooming in October and November, not realising that it was not the same in the UK as it was in India. This was when she was advised to write about what she knew, and so she set her novel in Mumbai!
Susmita tells us that as a result of this decision, she was able to use lots of personal experiences to influence her plot. She says “It was really important to me to talk about those issues [and the] things that I have experienced in the city that I was born in and I grew up in.”
Susmita wrote her novel three times. The whole project took her almost 10 years (2006 – 2015). Part of the reason it took so long is, she tells us, because “life happened along the way”.
Interestingly, Susmita explains that Chapter 1 was the last chapter she wrote “I wrote it in a very haphazard sort of a way.” Her supervisor had advised her to write the climax first, or the thing that she was most excited about – giving her incentive to carry on. Ironically, the scene that she first wrote did not end up being in the final draft of her book. She explains that the ending took the longest (she was stuck in it “…for years…”). But once she had written the ending, chapter 1 fell into place. Because of her Distinction, Susmita was then awarded a mentoring bursary which allowed her to “…get her novel into shape.”
Whilst Susmita was working on her novel, she tells us that she was also writing short stories and poems, sending them out to journals and magazines in order to develop a portfolio. This ensured that she was still getting published and getting known.
When Susmita sent her final draft of her novel to agents (about 50 of them), she got several requests for the full manuscript, but were followed by rejections – something which is not uncommon when trying to get an agent. She describes this as “heart-breaking.” Interestingly, when Susmita sent her manuscript off to publishers in India, they rejected it. She questions whether this is down to the LGBTQ themes within the story.
Susmita goes on to explain how a twist of fate then changed the course of events. She had one of her short stories published in the Welsh Nationalist Magazine, and a friend then tagged a link to this via Facebook, to an editor. This editor loved the short story and asked Susmita if she had a novel. She sent A Normal State of Mind to the editor who then wanted to publish it!
The book was due to be published in October of that year. Unfortunately, in August Susmita was diagnosed with cancer. As a result, publication was delayed. However, Susmita shares with us how it was the goal of getting her novel published that gave her a focus during her treatment and recovery – “I had a purpose. I had something to look forward to.” Susmita goes on to show us photographs from the launch day – in Waterstones, Plymouth in 2015, accompanied by some of the support group from her treatment. Soon after publication, the rights were also sold to a publisher in India, where it was longlisted for the Word to Screen prize (“It could have made it to a Bollywood film”).
Some of the highlights of having her book published include appearing at the Hay festival and being Corbyn’s Book at Bedtime (“…he was interested in reading about a Hindu lesbian…”).
Susmita also tells us about her blog – part of which was a murder-mystery with an Indian grandmother solving crimes in Cardiff. Despite Susmita telling us that the blog did not have a large following, a producer of Radio 4 drama saw this and contacted her, leading to her work in writing for radio. Her advice is “…not to keep your stories, your words to yourself. Share it. The world needs to see it.” The producer commissioned her to write an essay about her cancer and writing. She describes going into a studio and recording as “…an experience…”
Following this, Susmita tells us that she selected some of the short stories that she had been writing whilst drafting her novel, and they were published as a selection of short stories launched in P & G Wells in 2018. This went on to win awards in 2019. They were also serialised on Radio 4.
Susmita became a lecturer at The University of Winchester after submitting a piece of writing to the Winchester Writers’ Festival, coming first in the Memoirs category. She has now been at the university since 2017.
She tells us that it is all about having courage to send out work to magazines, competitions etc. – it’s about being able to “keep going and being quite determined.” She says she has to keep pushing herself to write and submit.
It is through Susmita’s determination to get her writing out there, that she has absolutely become a writer … something she never dreamed she’d be.
