Writing Workshops

The Dorset Writers Network will be launching their e-book competition in the New Year, and in order to kick things off will be running a series of short story writing workshops across Dorset.

For full details and to book your place visit The Dorset Writer's Network Website.

Bridport Story Slam 2014

The Bridport Story Slam will take place on Tuesday 14 October at the Beach & Barnicott, South Street, Bridport at 19.15 for a 19.30 start.

This event is part of Bridport Open Book Week and provides an excellent opportunity for Dorset prose writers to present their work.

Register in advance (frances.colville@gmail.com) or turn up on the night. The names of all those wanting to read their work will be put in a hat, and ten drawn during the evening. Each time slot is five minutes maximum - roughly 750 words. To ensure fairness to all competitors, this time limit will be strictly enforced! All genres and styles of original prose fiction are welcome. Please note this is not a poetry event.

Tickets available only on the door at £5.00 each. Any profits from the evening will go to charity.

Event compere is Declan Duffy with two judges deciding on the best entries, giving feedback and awarding prizes including tickets for a future event at Bridport Arts Centre and publication on the Dorset Writers' Network website.

The Beach & Barnicott is renowned for good food, so come early and have something to eat before settling in for a brilliant night's entertainment.

Further information from Frances Colville (e-mail as above or phone 01297 480833) or from Bridport Arts Centre.

Local Publisher: Roving Press

 Roving Press is a small Dorset-based publisher producing local interest and travel books for those who like to get out and explore.

Owned and run by husband and wife Julie and Tim Musk, it is very much a family concern, born of a desire to publish books that are down-to-earth, helpful and with a travel and/or local interest slant. If you love exploring Dorset you’ll love Roving Press books.

 The company was set up in 2008. Julie and Tim grew up in Dorset but then moved away and travelled widely, Tim being in the RAF. When Tim was due to leave they decided to set down roots in Dorset. Julie had always worked in the publishing industry and more recently had been (and continues) freelancing as a copy editor for several major publishing houses. They decided to expand on the publishing aspect and set up their own company to focus on an area that both felt passionately about.

But no sooner had they set up Roving Press than their plans were put on hold when Tim was given his final RAF posting to the US. It was during this time that Julie wrote A Slice of Apple Pie – an excellent and useful guide book for any Brits venturing across the pond for the first time.

This was to be Roving Press’s first book and, although not typical of the books that followed, it enabled Julie and Tim to put all the systems in place, contracts, marketing, etc. that would be necessary to succeed in the technical world of book publishing.

On their return from the US, Roaring Dorset – Encounters with Big Cats by Merrily Harpur was their first Dorset-focused book. This was followed by the first in the Lesser Known series of guidebooks. So far this series consists of Lesser Known Weymouth, Lesser Known Swanage and Lesser Known Lyme Regis and is an ongoing series with more to come.

There are plenty of authors writing about Dorset who approach Roving Press with ideas. These cover many diverse subjects but always relate to Dorset. Roving Press believes it is important to keep its focus tight; all its books have a Dorset theme and are promoted widely within the county. Although they have published some fiction, notably The Portland Chronicles series by Carol Hunt, they are moving away from this and will be focusing on their non-fiction in future.

Roving Press has kept itself deliberately small to offer a bespoke service, building a close personal relationship with its authors and promoting their books locally.

As well as the publishing arm of the business, Roving Press offers an editing service (using Julie’s expertise) as well as a full or partial publishing service for those wishing to bring a specific project to print.

Roving Press is very much a business born out of love, and both Julie’s and Tim’s passion for the industry is clear. They have branched out into social media and can be found in the usual places – facebook, twitter, and pinterest – so do follow them there and see what is happening in their specialist field of local interest, books and authors.

For more information visit www.rovingpress.co.uk.

Interview: Author David MacPhearson

Today the Cyder Scribes would like to welcome author David MacPhearson  who has kindly agreed to answer a few questions.

To start, please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing.

My name is David Macpherson.  I live in  Portesham near Weymouth. I was a History teacher and since moving to Dorset I have become intensely interested in local history. I have written four books and all are historical fiction, but with as strong a regard for historical fact as I can manage. As an ex-teacher I hope my books will be instructive as well as an enjoyable read.

Four of my books have very strong connections with Dorset,  The first Defenders of Mai-dun was published by Roving Press and is a novel about the Roman Army's attack and capture of the Iron Age Fort of Maiden Castle.  Although (like all my books) it is written with a young-adult readership in mind, it is certainly enjoyed by adults who want to find out more about local history. Ideally this can be bought from Roving Press.

My second book, The Black Box, is about Monmouth's invasion of 1685 and his subsequent defeat at Sedgemoor, capture and execution. The story revolves round a Dorset farming family who get mixed up in the turmoil of the invasion and their involvement with Judge Jeffreys and the Bloody Assizes in Dorchester.  This book has not been published  on paper but can be down loaded from Kindle.

My most recently completed book called A Zigzag path is about Smuggling in the 19th century.  Unusually the hero is a young Revenue Officer rather than a smuggler, but I found it impossible to write without some sympathy for the 'Gentlemen of the Night'. There are references (not least in the title) to J Meade Falkner's Moonfleet, and considerable information about the state of smuggling in the early 19th century.  This also is only available to those with Kindles.

At present I am working on a novel about the Portland Spy Ring of 1955-1961.  I am trying a different and more difficult writing technique in this and at present the enterprise is proceeding with difficulty.  I expect to complete it by the end of 2014 and will also publish it electronically.

I have one other novel called Nomad which is about a Tibetan family's escape from the Chinese and flight across the Himalayas.  This was written from my personal experiences in Nepal and has no Dorset connections. It can be downloaded by those with Kindles.

Are you a member of a local writers group?
I am not a member of any local writing group, but feel I ought to be.

Who are you favourite local authors?

I have to say Thomas Hardy is my favourite local author, not least because he used to walk across my garden to visit a girl friend in the School House at Coryates.

Do you have a favourite book set in the local area?
Of all Hardy's books I like Wessex Tales the best.

Thank you David for joining us today.

Interview: Author Sarah-Jane Forder

Today the Cyder Scribes would like to welcome author Sarah-Jane Forder who has kindly agreed to answer a few questions.

To start, please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing.

I grew up in rural Dorset in the 1960s and 1970s, enjoying a childhood of relative freedom and outdoor pursuits that many of today’s youngsters are denied. When I moved from London six years ago with my daughter, who’s now 14, I decided to write about the magical and simple things on offer in Dorset for kids and their families: and so my book Kids’ Dorset was born. I enlisted the help of local children and their parents to test the activities and places I featured: from crabbing at West Bay to kite flying on Maiden Castle, to fishing on Chesil Beach and dressing up as Tess of the d’Urbervilles in Dorset County Museum.  My wish is to reconnect modern, technologically savvy children with the natural world, with all the pleasures and benefits that can bring – to individuals and to society.

What was your journey to publication like?

Perhaps because of my background in magazines (I’m a former editor of The National Trust Magazine and The Wildlife Trusts’ national magazine, and currently consultant editor of and writer for Broadleaf, the Woodland Trust’s members’ magazine) and books (I edit literary fiction and non-fiction for a suite of London publishers), I was lucky. Local publisher Roving Press were happy to sign me up when I approached them with my idea.

To what extent does your local area (Dorset/Somerset) influence your writing?

Where I live – and the place where I was born – infuses everything I do. Dorset is rich in landscape, culture, history and lore. It never ceases to beguile and amaze.

Are you a member of a local writers group?

No.

Who are your favourite local authors?

Thomas Hardy, John Fowles

Do you have a favourite book set in the local area?

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles, Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner, almost anything by Hardy

Where can people find out a bit more about you and your writing?

Amazon, Roving Press

What are you working on at the moment?

A novel, part of which is set in Dorset

Where can we buy your books?

Local outlets, including bookshops and Tourist Information Centres;  Amazon

Thank you Sarah-Jane for joining us today.

Interview: Author David Leadbetter

Today the Cyder Scribes would like to welcome author  David Leadbetter  who has kindly agreed to answer a few questions.

To start, please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing.

I have lived and worked in Swanage most of my life and consider I am very fortunate to be in such a beautiful part of the country. My main work was teaching, but I have also led guided walks for many years. I love books and one of my aims was to become a writer myself.  One subject I have always found fascinating is the paranormal as it provides us with insights into an area I would term the 'elusive fringe' of human experience and how this may connect with certain aspects of science and religion, so it was appropriate that my first book,'Paranormal Purbeck – A Study of the Unexplained', should be on this theme.

What was your journey to publication like?

I spent about a year conducting local research into the paranormal, which took the form of personal interviews with as many people as possible. It soon became apparent that a lot of local people had had paranormal experiences and my material began to grow considerably. I then approached Julie at the Roving Press and sent her a synopsis of my proposed book, which she liked. After that it was a matter of completing my research and putting the book together for publication.  The whole process took just over 2 years and was a very interesting experience.  There are chapters on ghostly phenomena, near death experiences, time and UFO sightings. It soon became clear to me that much of what we term 'paranormal' is perceived intuitively through the right side of the brain – the area that inspires artists, musicians and writers – and that many of us have these experiences. In fact, in the month prior to publication I had three paranormal encounters myself!

To what extent does your local area (Dorset/Somerset) influence your writing?

Dorset is a lovely county and Purbeck is a very inspirational place - perhaps because there is so much variety contained in a relatively small geographical area. There is also a good mix of people among the locals and the added benefit of significant numbers of visitors being attracted to Purbeck. It was therefore important for me to be able to write about some of the local people and places in 'Paranormal Purbeck' from an unusual angle.

Are you a member of a local writers group?

No, not at the moment.

Who are you favourite local authors?

I have always been quite a fan of Thomas Hardy, despite his rather melancholy approach, and I have read many of his novels and some of his poetry. 'Far from the Madding Crowd' is one of my favourites and part of the screen version with Julie Christie was actually filmed in Purbeck.

Do you have a favourite book set in the local area?

'Out of Time' by Pamela Rowlands Smith, which is set in the village of Tyneham. It's a poignant ghost story that spans four centuries, but with the historical background of the Second World War and the village about to be evacuated by the military, never to be returned to its people. I like the juxtaposition of the two time streams and the fact that the author experienced some strange synchronicities in the writing of the book.

Where can people find out a bit more about you and your writing?

The Roving Press and also Amazon, where I have an author profile.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am writing a book on walking in Purbeck, with the focus on natural history and local history(especially prehistoric features). There will be 10 circular walks, covering a range of locations and habitats, plus introductory chapters on the natural history and history.

Where can we buy your books?

The Roving Press, Amazon and a range of local outlets in Purbeck and elsewhere in Dorset

Thank you David for joining us today.

Interview: Author Maria Strani-Potts

Today the Cyber Scribes would like to welcome author Maria Strani-Potts who has kindly agreed to answer a few questions.

To start, please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing.

I am Greek/British and I write in both languages. My inspiration comes mostly from the sea and island life.

What was your journey to publication like?
Hard work, great persistence and, most important, discipline

To what extent does your local area (Dorset/Somerset) influence your writing?

Through local literature. Thomas Hardy, William Barnes and Jane Austen have been a great inspiration and education. I was also inspired by many of the Dorset writers who contributed to the anthology "Dorset Voices" (Roving Press), which I co-edited (in fact the original concept and initiative for the anthology were my own).

Are you a member of a local writers group?

No

Who are you favourite local authors?

Thomas Hardy, William Barnes

Do you have a favourite book set in the local area?

There is one in the making...

Where can people find out a bit more about you and your writing?

On the internet, by typing Maria Strani-Potts on www.amazon.co.uk   or www.amazon.com

What are you working on at the moment?

1.    The biography of Diamantina Roma,  (Lady Bowen, Contessa di Roma) a 19th century 'trailing spouse', who left the Ionian Islands to help her husband , Sir George Bowen, to represent Britain in Australia and other colonies

2.    Short stories

Where can we buy your books?

www.amazon.co.uk  or www.amazon.com (Maria Strani-Potts)

Try Waterstones in Dorchester for my novel, "The Cat of Portovecchio, Corfu Tales"

Thank you Maria for joining us today.

Thomas Hardy

Hardy's Cottage

Hardy divides opinion, but whether one is an enthusiast or not he carved his mark as an enduring classic writer in the English language. He was a man of many parts – countryman, writer, Architect also an occasional urban man who for years spent the ‘season’ in London to be amongst people of influence.

His understanding and depiction of the Dorset countryside of Victorian days ring true today. In The Woodlanders he lays before us in the village of Little Hintock a community of woodland workers living within social stratification, the poverty and privilege of the times. The layering of society is underlined to the point of tedium as Giles Winterborne (surely he would be the vanquishing hero in today’s tales of romance) suffers the ignominy of being passed over for his acknowledged childhood sweetheart Grace Melbury’s hand. At the urging of her aspiring father, a significant major employer, determined to deliver his daughter into the hands of her social betters, Grace agrees to marry the mysterious doctor who dabbles with scientific experiment, Dr Edgar Fitzpiers.

The character of Mrs Charmond at Hintock House hangs over the whole community having reached her station in the social order through her late husband’s status and thinks nothing, behind her curtain of respectability, of dalliance with whoever takes her fancy, but always on her terms.

The twenty-first century reader is often exasperated by the barriers controlling the lives of the players in this corner of rural Dorset. This no doubt is Hardy’s intention being a man who disliked the social constraints of the day. This tale woven around its woodland community rings true. This is the charm of Hardy’s storytelling. He wrote about his contemporary countryside as he observed it, we read about it as a countryside of yesteryear, a social history, a place that is convincing, a fascinating glimpse of the times our grandfathers and their grandfathers lived in whatever their place in it, labourer or landowner.

Thomas Hardy was a man of many parts living through an age of immense change and we are indebted to him as the author showing us how it was in this ‘Wessex’ corner of the realm.

He was born in 1840, the year of Queen Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert and died in 1928 thus seeing nearly all of Victoria’s reign, all of Edward VII’s and most George V’s. As a sixteen year old he was at the public execution of Martha Browne at Dorchester out of curiosity and later regretted. His almost eighty-eight years, born in the summer and passing in the New Year, he witnessed the blossoming of Imperial power living through the horror of the Great War and into the depressions of the 1920s. Scholar, Architect - he won prizes at the Architectural Association - designer of Max Gate his final home built by his brother, prolific writer of novels, many first published in magazine instalments and a poet of note.

Hardy craved connection from his humble beginnings and became a cornerstone of English Society with many notables of the day visiting him at home in his later years and writers from Siegfried Sassoon to DH Lawrence acknowledging his influence. Twice married he became estranged from his first wife of many years, Emma Gifford, who moved herself into the upstairs while he lived with his much younger secretary, Florence Dugdale, who was to become his second wife. When Emma died in 1912 he devoted himself to her memory and concentrated on his poetry. Hardy considered himself a poet rather than a novelist.

Today Thomas Hardy’s fingerprints are seen across the Dorset countryside and will be after many important names of our times fade away.


CHIP TOLSON: Architecture (two years at the Architectural Association where unlike TH he won no prizes), National Service in the army and shipowning trades kept Chip busy before retiring to the joy of short stories, winning the Yeovil Short Story Competition in 2013. He has also written short plays and has two novels in want of a publisher.

Interview: Author Jim Potts

Today the Cyder Scribes would like to welcome author Jim Potts, who has kindly agreed to answer a few questions.

To start, please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing.

I began writing poetry as a teenager in Castle Cary, Somerset. I went to school in Sparkford and Bruton, and went on to read English Language and Literature at Wadham College, Oxford. As a postgraduate I studied Film and TV production at the University of Bristol Department of Drama. I have written for most of my life. When I started working overseas, my perspectives changed and  widened, although my roots were always in the West Country (Somerset and Dorset).  I served in The British Council from 1969-2004 and I was posted to Ethiopia, Kenya, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Australia and Sweden. I wrote documentary and educational film and television scripts for films I made in Ethiopia and Kenya, and I taught a course on Scriptwriting for Documentary Films in Ghana. I became interested in the politics, history and arts of each country where I served.

What was your journey to publication like?

Apart from occasional poems and professional  or academic articles, I didn't  try to publish very much while I was working. I considered it an important part of my job to help promote other British writers and artists, not my own work.  I did edit a number of British Council journals, such as Educational Broadcasting International,  and other titles in Australia and Sweden. My first proper book, a collection of poems and prose, was published after my retirement ("Corfu Blues", Ars Interpres, Stockholm, 2006).  Some friends in Czechoslovakia had published a small samizdat collection of my poems, ("16 Poems") in English and Czech translation, in Prague, in October 1989, just before the Velvet Revolution. I had no idea a group of distinguished young Czech poets was planning it as a farewell "tribute". Selections of my poems have been published in translation in a number of languages (eg Romanian, Swedish, Greek and Czech). For three years I was one of the judges for the Sydney Poetry Olympics.

I had contributed to other books associated with my official cultural relations work: an exhibition and book called "Literary Links", by Roslyn Russell, a celebration of the literary relationship between Australia and Britain (Allen and Unwin, 1997); an anthology called "Swedish Reflections, from Beowulf to Bergman" (Judith Black and Jim Potts, Arcadia Books, 2003), for which Michael Holroyd wrote the foreword.

To what extent does your local area (Dorset/Somerset) influence your writing?

In the early days Somerset was a main source of inspiration and influence. Latterly Dorset has been a considerable source of inspiration, in terms of landscape, local history and literature (including some minor or largely forgotten  Dorset poets and writers, apart from the familiar names like Hardy, Barnes, Fowles and Llewelyn Powys. I have written articles for Dorset Life and Wiltshire Life. I now live in Dorchester (Poundbury).

Are you a member of a local writers group?

No. Although when I was one of the three editors of "Dorset Voices" (Roving Press, 2012), it felt as if I was a member of a Dorset-wide network. I really recommend this anthology of prose, poems and photographs. We discovered some absolutely wonderful writers, many of whom had never been published before.

Who are you favourite local authors?

William Barnes (I have been a member of the Barnes Society for over 25 years); Llewelyn Powys (essays on Somerset and Dorset). Hardy and Fowles, of course. There are probably more painters,  artists and photographers than writers who engage my interest at the moment.

Do you have a favourite book set in the local area?

Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect, William Barnes.

I should also mention "Dorset Voices" (Roving Press) because of the quality of much of the writing from the many talented contributors, young and old.

Where can people find out a bit more about you and your writing?

I  produce a regular blog called Corfu Blues (corfublues.blogspot.com), otherwise my author profile on Amazon.co.uk

What are you working on at the moment?

I have been working on a book about "Art and the Dorset Landscape" for the last three years. I gave a talk on the subject at the Dorset County Museum on 30 April, 2014. It's a costly undertaking, because of the need for top quality colour reproductions of paintings, and the fees payable to museums and galleries around the world. I am still trying to find further sources of support.

I am also working on  books about Czechoslovakia and Albania during their Communist and Cold War periods. I gave a talk on the Albanian topic at the Pan-Ionian Conference in May, 2014. The title? "The Attempted Subversion of Albania and 'Roll-Back' of Soviet Power - Philby's Betrayal of Operation VALUABLE/BGFIEND. The Corfu Connection, 1949".

I have contributed three chapters about Greece to several books that will be published this year or next by Cambridge Scholars Press. I have just today been invited to contribute a chapter to an American book on Travel, Tourism and Identity. I still haven't made up my mind whether to write about Greece or Dorset. It's a tight deadline to meet.

I really want to make a collection of all my poetry. For the grandchildren, more than anything else!

Where can we buy your books?

Probably easiest through Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com if in the USA.

Maybe Waterstones still have some in stock that can be ordered.

Thank you Jim for joining us today.

Interview: Author David J Forrester

Today the Cyber  Scribes would like to welcome David J. Forrester who has kindly agreed to answer a few questions.

 

To start, please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing

Having seen my grandchildren's life style, with mobile phones, computer games, Ipads, etc. I felt it important to record my own experience of childhood in the forties and fifties – my experience being hugely different from theirs. Children of this time relied very much on their own inventiveness to amuse themselves. They also lived in a post-war era where very little of anything was available, unless you produced it yourself. I tried to transport the reader back to this time (successfully, as it turned out), where they could experience things as they were in a not very advantaged part of Dorchester. We had little, there was little to have, but we were happy with our lot!    

What was your journey to publication like?

Originally written for my own amusement and to ensure these things were not forgotten, I was encouraged to publish them. It was then that I was introduced to Julie and Tim Musk of Roving Press.


To my surprise they agreed to publish, in fact their help and encouragement was invaluable. Indeed I would say that, without this, I was going nowhere. I can thoroughly recommend them to anyone wishing  to write books about Dorset.   

To what extent does your local area (Dorset) influence your writing?

The local area totally influences my writing – Fordington with its history, the Rev Moule, Alfred Edwards and the Mill Street Mission.  Mill Street itself with its history of deprivation, disease and criminality all taking place by the old Mill Stream. So many untold stories, lots to write yet!

Are you a member of a local writers group?

No, however perhaps I should be.

Who are your favourite local authors?
Terry Hearing, Brian Bates, Julie Musk, John Seekings, Claire Tomalin (Hardy Time Torn Man), Frederick Treves, Olive Knott and of course Thomas Hardy, who opened our eyes to the way things used to be.

Do you have a favourite book set in the local area?

Thomas Hardy's Brewer: Story of Eldridge, Pope & Company by John Seekings, which tells how things used to be in the early days, before the brewery was vandalised and turned into flats (those wonderful beers gone forever).

Where can people find out a bit more about you and your writing?

In my book Fordington Remembered: Growing up in and around Dorchester, a good start! Also my Author Page on Amazon, Facebook and perhaps Twitter if I ever get started.

What are you working on at the moment?

Mill Street as seen through the eyes of those who lived there. Memories are being recorded by a team of volunteers linked to and supported by the Mill Street Housing Society; these will be transcribed and published in a book by Roving Press.

I am also proposing to write a book based around Pastel Paintings of Dorset by my artist friend David Moxom. My wife Ros says I am hooked, I can see another book everywhere I look!

Where can we buy your books?

It seems almost anywhere locally, and direct from Roving Press (www.rovingpress.co.uk). 

Thank you David for joining us today.

Interview: Children's author Carol Hunt

Please welcome children's author Carol Hunt, creator of the wonderful Portland Chronicles Series which has enchanted children across the region.

To start, please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing.

The amazing world of books has always been an important part of my life. I was very lucky that part of my degree in English Literature and History at the University of Chichester involved creative writing. I worked in publishing after graduation and for several years I wrote poetry. I eventually found that the form and discipline of poetry determined how I structured my novels for children, especially Enchantment of the Black Dog which has poetic themes running through the story.

What was your journey to publication like?

I invented a sea dragon for the Isle of Portland based on local legends about the Veasta, a Chesil Beach sea monster. A local book shop loved the idea and urged me to take it further. Roving Press had recently published The Spirit of Portland; I contacted them with a synopsis and a couple of chapters and Julie, editor at Roving Press, loved the sea dragon idea and the adventurous young character of Isabel.

To what extent does your local area (Dorset/Somerset) influence your writing?
The Isle of Portland was one of the most important characters in my stories and I tried to show its complexity and unique qualities; the quarries, the shipwrecks and fascinating maritime history (including pirates which I developed in Portland Pirates), lighthouses and castles. 

Who are you favourite local authors?
There are some recent local histories that I’ve found inspiring:-

The Spirit of Portland: Revelations of a Sacred Isle by Gary Biltcliffe, From the Stone Age to King George III: A History of Weymouth & Its Neighbours by AA Collier  and The Crabchurch Conspiracy 1645: The True Story of Dorset's Bloodiest Secret by Mark Vine are among my favourites.

Do you have a favourite book set in the local area?

Kit Berry’s Stonewylde series fascinates me and I’ve also recently enjoyed a couple of novels set on Portland; Isle of Larus by Kathy Sharp and Phoenix House by Carenza Hayhoe and Tiffany Scull. Classic novels Moonfleet by JM Falkner and The Well-Beloved by Thomas Hardy are also great favourites.

Where can people find out a bit more about you and your writing?

@islandseadragon on Twitter, The Portland Sea Dragon on Facebook and at www.carolhunt.co.uk.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am working on a story for young people set in and around the Dorchester area, especially the historic hills of the Dorset Ridgeway. I am running the influences of social media across this new novel; Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr have changed the way that we interact with the written word and I am fascinated by this. I began to explore this multimedia idea in The Portland Giant and I would like to take it further in my new novel.

Where can we buy your books?

On Portland, my books are available from: - The Lobster Pot, Portland Bill; Portland Museum; Quiddles Cafe at Chesil Cove; Portland Castle; Cards n Celebrations, Easton and White Stones Cafe and Gallery. In Weymouth, from WH Smiths in St Mary Street, and in Dorchester and Bridport from Waterstone’s Booksellers. You can also buy The Portland Chronicles online from Amazon and my publisher, Roving Press.

Review: Ferney by James Long

When Mike and Gally Martin move to a cottage in Somerset, it's to make a new start. But the relationship comes under strain when Gally forms an increasingly close attachment to an old countryman, Ferney, who seems to know everything about her.

What is it that draws them together? Reluctantly at first, then with more urgency as he feels time slipping away, Ferney compels Gally to understand their connection - and to face an inexplicable truth about their shared past.

 

 

The past and the present collide in this wonderful book.

Ferney was first published in 1998 and took off purely by word of mouth. And with good reason. This is a fascinating and unique book. A time-slip story with a twist.

Mike and Gally move to the Somerset village of Penselwood, intending to start a new life together. They take on a rundown cottage for renovation. Things should be idyllic, but then Ferney appears, an old countryman who starts to show and unusual interest in Gally, and Gally in turn is inexplicably drawn to him, even though, what he is telling her, surely can’t be true.

As Gally and Ferney’s friendship grows we are introduced to the history of Penselwood and the surrounding countryside, from the Iron Age, right through to modern times. History is in the landscape all around us, and most people hardly notice it, but in Ferney the history encroaches on the present and as Gally is drawn deeper into Ferney’s world so Mike’s concerns start to grow. 

At its heart though, this is a love story, but one tinged with sadness and timelessness. You may think you can see where it is leading - I thought I could. But I was so wrong and Ferney resonated with me long after I had finished reading.

The blend of past and present was particularly well handled, but I can see how this might drag for someone with no interest in history. It is clear that the author has a great passion for this subject, and for me this aspect was one of the book’s main strengths. The historical aspects were well researched and I could feel the author’s passion for those past lives that have been lived out at the very places where we now stand. In Ferney that history becomes tangible.

So if you haven’t read Ferney I suggest you do – especially if a time-slip blend of history and romance appeals to you.

 

 

Kate Kelly is a marine scientist by day but by night she writes children’s books. Her debut novel Red Rock, a Cli-Fi thriller for teens, is published by Curious Fox. She lives in Dorset with her husband, two daughters and assorted pets and blogs at http://scribblingseaserpent.blogspot.co.uk/

Review: Resurrection by Sue Yockney

I loved ‘Happy Deathday’. It had a great idea with an excellent set of characters that had only just realized what being a teenager is like- to some extent. ‘Resurrection’, its sequel brings back the same characters with the same dual-narrative back in the same place for an explosive conclusion to this series. And for me, I’d say it’s better than the original.

In the first book, the two protagonists, Jonathan and Sarah, have spent their lives underground in a breeding colony where mankind has survived after a gamma ray explosion kills the earth’s ozone layer. As it turns out, the program denies everyone to experience puberty by telling them to take their Supplement, when Jonathan doesn’t take his, he starts to change and so does Sarah. Now, in the sequel, Sarah believes Jonathan is dead and Jonathan must find a way to get back inside the colony, rescue Sarah and the rest of the colonists and to stop the series’ antagonist, Zack from dominating the colony.

‘Resurrection’ picks up right where the first book left off and in hindsight I probably should have finished ‘Resurrection’ directly after ‘Happy Deathday’. That however didn’t spoil my enjoyment. Anyway, this leads on to one of my favourite things about the series: it gets to the point. Far too many books out there boast a killer plot in the blurb and then take an age to get going and by then you may have thrown the book out of the window, slammed your cup down and cursed the author to pieces. Well, I would have. Both books get down to business instantly, there’s no waiting around for the ‘big bang’ if you like or the plot twist. Straight away we’re in the story.

‘Happy Deathday’, for all of its world-building and the questions it asks readers, it was a love story, a love triangle even. ‘Resurrection’ is a thriller and both books sound different and yet they sound the same. You might think that’s a bad thing but, it isn’t. When you read ‘Resurrection’ you can tell that Sue Yockney wrote it, the use of language and the little ticks that find their way into her writing both colonize in the books. There’s a great sense of threat in ‘Resurrection’ and its constant from beginning to end. However, one of ‘Happy Deathday’s biggest strengths was reading about Jonathan and Sarah’s change as they forget about their Supplements and began to experience puberty. None of that is in ‘Resurrection’ but then again, that avenue had already been explored before and we know that they’ve gone through these changes but then again, there is one major change that’s mentioned but I can’t explain what that is. That would be a spoiler.

Like I said about ‘Happy Deathday’, the only criticism I have is that I wish the characters get angrier. More so in ‘Resurrection’ since Jonathan and Sarah are on a high priority mission and anything can go wrong in an instant and when things do go south, the characters don’t let themselves go. Maybe it’s to do with the target audience but I reckon it’s because swear words wouldn’t have found their way underground in a place that demands a clean living and flawless architecture. Why would the colonists have the need to swear? They have a perfect life, right? It absolutely makes sense but it’s probably just me. I like swears, not too many but enough to get the tone right. Still, that’s a small niggle.

Overall, ‘Resurrection’ was a great read. I preferred it over ‘Happy Deathday’. Mind you, readers of romance (which I am not) may well prefer the first book. ‘Resurrection’ started the story off with a bang and ended not with a whimper but with another bang. When it ended I thought ‘Oh, another sequel?’ but so far as I know there isn’t a third part. And I like that, the ending leaves it for the reader’s imagination to explore what kind of life the characters will live off the page. The ‘Happy Deathday’ series is something new, something worth reading and something I would definitely call ‘indie’. If you like your dystopias, no scratch that. If you like your books, pick these up.

 

Nick Barton is a YA writer on a quest to finish every book on his never-ending list of books to read. When he’s not playing Skyrim, he’s either writing new stories or editing a YA novel in the hopes to have it published sometime in 2014. He blogs and posts book reviews on nickbartonauthor.co.uk

Review: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Have you noticed how children like to chat to you when you’re standing at the kitchen sink up to your elbows in bubbles? This was one of those intimate occasions when I was audience and confidante.

My granddaughter asked me if  I knew about a little girl called Mary Anning, who had been struck by lightning as a baby, and then grew up to find the first dinosaur?  And… did I know … that she’d lived in Lyme Regis...?  She then told me about her geography trip to hunt for fossils on the same beach on which Mary Anning had found some, and … (huge breath) … an enormous dinosaur!  Her eyes were alight with excitement and curiosity.  Surely her Nana could never know these facts… only children of a certain age would understand.

That day, when we swopped knowledge, I gained credence as a Nana who knew everything worth knowing.  Whilst basking in our togetherness, I silently thanked Tracy Chevalier for writing her brilliant book Remarkable Creatures.

To me Tracy is a remarkable author. She can take an interesting historical fact, and with her fertile imagination weave a story, using believable characters and situations, to fit exactly that factual time and place.  A remarkable talent indeed, as you’ll see…

Remarkable Creatures

From the moment Mary Anning survives being struck by lightning as a baby, she has an energy and curiosity which appears unusual.  She knows she is different.  From a poor background with hunger a regular visitor in their home, selling the curies she finds on the beach just about keeps them alive. 

At that time a spinster lady comes to Lyme Regis with her unmarried sisters.  Through their characters, life in Lyme at that time is revealed. Our author weaves the trials and tribulations of husband-hunting into the social life in Lyme Regis and London in the mid-1800s. The status of the unmarried daughter or sister, is not a happy one.   Elizabeth Philpot needed a hobby whilst waiting for a potential husband to come along, and makes the most of what life has bestowed on her. An intelligent woman who sees interesting potential in fossils, she becomes a respected collector with a enviable collection of ‘fishes’.

Mary, a young girl, already a committed fossil hunter, and her family find life hard. Landslips and storms are foes for Mary and Elizabeth to overcome. Friendships, jealousy and misinterpretation of the truth feature in this story, keeping the reader engaged with all these lives. Mary also experiences longing and disappointment with the man she loves.  Neither of these women marry the man of their desires.


Remarkable Creatures is fiction, but many of the characters in this specialised field did exist. The French almost claimed credit for this phenomenal discovery for themselves. It was indeed hard, nay impossible, for women making scientific discoveries at that time to gain their due recognition, as it was believed they lacked the intellectual rigour to engage in scientific study.  The Geological Society did not accept female Fellows until 1919.   Our author, through the experiences of her characters, has shown how difficult it was for Mary to achieve recognition. Elizabeth was her friend, her ally and through her defiant hard work, gained the due respect and reputation for Mary that we accept today.
I won’t spoil your enjoyment of this novel by going into the depths of detail and intrigue, but I would hugely recommend it to anyone who enjoys well researched facts imaginatively spun into an unable-to-put-down novel.

Since reading this book I have become an ardent fan of Tracy’s writing.  After reading Girl with the Pearl Earring; a story woven around the life of the Dutch artist Vermeer, I have recently read her latest novel The Runaway.  Once you have found this brilliant writer who, for a lot of the year, is based in Dorset which has become a continuing inspiration for her writing, you’ll become hungry for her next literary offering.

Tracy Chevalier was the novel category judge for the 2013 Yeovil Literary Prize.  It was a pleasure and privilege to work with her.


Liz Pike is Secretary of the Yeovil Community Arts Association.  She is also a member of the Yeovil Cre8ive Writers and Yeovil Art Group.    The YCAA administers the annual, international writing competition The Yeovil Literary Prize. Liz is passionate about the written word, having had success writing short stories, and enjoys two reading groups, one of which is the YCAA Lunchtime Book Group.

Review: Happy Deathday by Sue Yockney

Once I started reading ‘Happy Deathday’ I couldn’t put it down. The story is as immediate as the throttle response of a Lamborghini. Too many books boast a great story but fail to excite the reader in the first few pages but ‘Happy Deathday’ does what it promises.

For those who aren’t familiar, the novel takes place in a breeding colony deep underground after a gamma ray explosion destroys the earth’s ozone layer and mankind is near extinction. In this vast underground fortress, one human is born every day and one dies every day. This is their destiny… or so what they are told.

What interested me about the book is the breeding colony itself, good dystopias must have a setting that take your breath away, settings that make you shake your head and whisper, ‘whoa…’. The colony, or the city has no name and that’s OK, its nameless setting provokes thought in the brainbox and when you start to imagine how this colony was built and how everything works, it’s a lot to take in. Happily, Sue Yockney doesn’t explain how the colony was designed or what components go into what which of course would make for boring backstory. Instead, she describes the main places of interest where the reader is such as the Museum & Archive building or the SRU Headquarters. The whole book has a whiff of ‘Brave New World’ which I like a lot but it’s the young adult cast that steals the show.

The dystopian setting must always be a character in itself in these sort of books, but the cast themselves must be equally as impressive. Meet Jonathan and Sarah, the two protagonists. They are both eighteen and when Jonathan forgets to take his Supplement, what he thinks are healthy tablets, he begins to experience the signs of puberty and therein lies the love story. Not only does the book handle a well thought out story and setting but it’s is dual-narrative, not something I’ve ever read before. The short and snappy chapters rotate between Jonathan and Sarah and sometimes you get two perspectives of one scene which makes for excellent reading.

‘Happy Deathday’ is a love story set in a dystopian world. You may say that Sue Yockney has injected some ‘Nineteen-Eighty Four’ in the book with all the secrecy behind their meetings in a colony under constant surveillance but ‘Happy Deathday’ also has a love triangle, the third being the SRU leader, Zack. His character is easy to dislike and what’s great about these three characters is that they show so much of the teenage naivety that many of us have probably gone through. When there’s a girl in the picture, boys tend to think irrationally and muddy their own personalities and Jonathan is just such a boy. When Sarah’s mad, he’s not quite sure what to do and Zack displays the telltale signs of a jealous bully who must have his own way. Jonathan and Sarah begin to peel away a deeper understanding of Zack’s obsession of Sarah and there are many times when the two protagonists stumble into ‘Scooby-Doo’ territory when they don their detective caps, the quote, ‘those meddling kids!’ popped into my head a few times, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

If there was one negative point, I’d say that the dialogue lacked a bit of brutality. More than once a punchy, sinister line could make a scene and for me at least, I was left waiting for the breakpoint. It might be because the dystopias and sci-fi novels I’ve read were designed for adults so edgy dialogue would be expected but despite that, the tense moments are still thrilling, and I’m not even a fan of romance!

To sum up then, ‘Happy Deathday’ is something quite special. If you’ve read ‘Brave New World’, I think you’ll spot the faint resemblance which is good. This book has an idea I’m sure many readers will face-palm and say ‘why didn’t I think of that!’ The characters are outstanding, characters you can picture and people you can root for even if you don’t like them, they were probably the characters you weren’t supposed to. And isn’t that what characters should do anyway? The underground city is a great place to be (in the book at least!) and the questions it presents about human preservation and teenage anxieties are relevant today, poignant and demanding of answers. Quality read.


Nick Barton is a YA writer on a quest to finish every book on his never-ending list of books to read. When he’s not playing Skyrim, he’s either writing new stories or editing a YA novel in the hopes to have it published sometime in 2014. He blogs and posts book reviews on nickbartonauthor.co.uk

Book Launch: Dandelion Clocks by Rebecca Westcott

Yesterday was World Book Day and I headed to the pretty town of Mere, just over the border in Wiltshire, for the launch of Dorset author Rebecca Westcott’s debut children’s novel Dandelion Clocks.

Here’s what it says in the blurb – and isn’t the cover superb!:

Liv takes us on a journey through her life from "Thirteen Weeks Before" to "Six Months After". We discover Liv's passion for photography, her brother's obsession with sticking to the rules, the stupidity of Moronic Louise at school, and how the family copes as Mum's terminal illness takes hold...Guided by Mum's own childhood diaries, Liv finds a new way to live.

The launch was held at Mere School and, being World Book Day the children, and teachers, were all dressed up as characters from their favourite books. We passed a class where a werewolf was standing outside, releasing children to their parents, and followed a group of Hogwarts pupils round to a crammed school hall, everyone jostling round the book stall and waiting for Rebecca to speak.

Which of course she did, and then she read out a passage from the book. Then the children performed for us, singing a wonderful medley of songs. They were absolutely brilliant and brought a tear to my eye! Such a credit to their school. Prizes were given out to the kids for a variety of things from best costume to best diary and they came to receive their Puffin goody bags in such a wonderful array of costumes.

Just as I was about to head off to the book stall the word came through – the books had sold out! Hardly surprising the number of people there and their obvious enthusiasm for the written word, but still a bit of a shame to go away empty handed. However the delicious cake on offer more than made up for it and I suspect I’ll be spotting this book in all the shops.

With endorsements from authors such as Jaqueline Wilson who says: "A brilliantly told, ultra modern story about a significant six months in eleven year old Olivia's life - it should be sold with a large box of tissues!" I think Dandelion Clocks is going to be a massive hit and Rebecca Westcott is definitely an author to watch.

So congratulations to Rebecca and do also keep an eye out for her next book, Violet Ink, which publishes in July this year.

Kate Kelly is a marine scientist by day but by night she writes children’s books. Her debut novel Red Rock, a Cli-Fi thriller for teens, is published by Curious Fox. She lives in Dorset with her husband, two daughters and assorted pets and blogs at http://scribblingseaserpent.blogspot.co.uk/

The Yeovil Literary Prize and the role of the YCAA

For many years now the Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA) (a registered charity No: 299372), has provided an opportunity for writers from around the world to enter our writing competition. The aims of the Yeovil Literary Prize are threefold:

• to promote Creative Writing,
• to provide a genuine opportunity for aspiring writers, everywhere
• to support the YCAA in its future role by raising funds

This is the eleventh year of the Yeovil Literary Prize and it is now fully realising its aims. The UK and international response to the Prize has been outstanding with wide-ranging quality writing being entered for judging. It is very clear that there is a huge community of talented writers who thrive on the opportunity to develop their craft. We are proud to offer an award to novelists who are not well-represented among literary prizes elsewhere. Several past winners and Highly Commended authors have now been published.  We know this competition is watched keenly by agents and publishers for thriving talent.

There are two ways to enter the competition; by using the postal system, or online using PayPal; its ease of use has encouraged a significant increase in entries. We look forward to even more this year as our writing contest opened on 1st January 2014.

All profits from this volunteer-run competition are ploughed back into the community to sponsor local talent in their study of the arts, and to host cultural events with renowned speakers. We have reached out to all the arts including poetry, screenplay writing, music, painting, writing, photography and garden design, as well as the influence of specialist books, film and new authors. We also host an annual YCAA Man Booker Debate in partnership with the Yeovil Waterstones store.

We participated in the first Yeovil Literary Festival in September 2013. This highly enjoyable weekend was opened by the YCAA Literary Dinner on Thursday 19 September 2013. Our speaker was Santa Montefiore, and we’re delighted that Santa has agreed to be our short story judge for the 2015 Prize.

The second Yeovil Literary Festival will run from 6th until 9th November 2014. The YCAA has forged a strong bond with The Octagon Theatre, Hendford, Yeovil, BA21 1UX, where we host our by-monthly café style events in the Johnson Studio. Full details of the YCAA activities are available on our website at www.yeovilarts.co.uk.

There is an additional award given by the YCAA each year to the Western Gazette Best Local Writer of £100, and the winner in 2013 was Elizabeth McLaren for her poignant short story Lola the Carolla.
The Yeovil Literary Prize is operated and managed by a dedicated team of volunteers and all details of how to enter can be found on www.yeovilprize.co.uk. The writing competition runs from 1st January and closes on 31st May each year.

Send postal entries to:  YCAA, The Octagon Theatre, YEOVIL, BA20 1UX


Liz Pike is Secretary of the Yeovil Community Arts Association.  She is also a member of the Yeovil Cre8ive Writers and Yeovil Art Group. The YCAA administers the annual, international writing competition The Yeovil Literary Prize. Liz is passionate about the written word, having had success writing short stories, and enjoys two reading groups, one of which is the YCAA Lunchtime Book Group.

Review: The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extense

A rare meteorite struck Alex Woods when he was ten years old, leaving scars and marking him for an extraordinary future. The son of a fortune teller, bookish, and an easy target for bullies, Alex hasn't had the easiest childhood.

But when he meets curmudgeonly widower Mr. Peterson, he finds an unlikely friend. Someone who teaches him that that you only get one shot at life. That you have to make it count.

So when, aged seventeen, Alex is stopped at customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn full of ashes on the front seat, and an entire nation in uproar, he's fairly sure he's done the right thing ...

Introducing a bright young voice destined to charm the world, The Universe Versus Alex Woods is a celebration of curious incidents, astronomy and astrology, the works of Kurt Vonnegut and the unexpected connections that form our world.

***

This is a quirky and engaging story of an unlikely friendship that forms between a young boy and an elderly man.

The story is told through the eyes of Alex Woods, a teenage boy who doesn’t see the world in quite the same way as most people do. This is attributed to him being hit on the head by a meteorite as a child, but it is this difference that gives his narrative such a distinctive voice. He’s an engaging character who pulls you with him into his world. In fact all the characters in this book are interesting, drawn with sensitivity and depth.

But this is no heart-warming fable. The story soon takes a darker turn and Alex finds himself faced with a very real moral dilemma. A highly topical and controversial issue is raised. But the softness of touch and Alex’s own unique view of the world tackles a difficult subject with sensitivity.

The aspect of this book that appealed to me most, however, is that fact that it is very much a homage to Kurt Vonnegut, a writer who had a huge influence on me as a teenager, and Vonnegut’s influence on this author is very apparent. Perhaps this is, in part, why I enjoyed it so much.

And of course the setting, Glastonbury and the surrounding area, adds a touch of local interest to this book.

So, all in all, a thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying read. If you haven’t read it yet you really should. This is an author to watch and I wait with interest to see what comes next from him.


Kate Kelly is a marine scientist by day but by night she writes children’s books. Her debut novel Red Rock, a Cli-Fi thriller for teens, is published by Curious Fox. She lives in Dorset with her husband, two daughters and assorted pets and blogs at http://scribblingseaserpent.blogspot.co.uk/

Words for the Wounded

The Words for the Wounded Writing Prize is now accepting entries.

Words for the Wounded is a charity which raises money via a writing prize and through donations for the rehabilitation of injured service men and women and ALL the money raised goes to the recovery of wounded service personnel.

Bestselling author Margaret Graham is one of the founders of the charity and tells us:

“This year we are donating to the Creative Arts Centre at Tedworth House Recovery Centre. We raise funds separately for the prize money and to that end, in the spring I'm doing a tandem skydive to raise funds for next year. My agent despairs of the lengths to which I will go to be strapped to a handsome young man.”

Margaret is the author of thirteen novels, as well as books of the craft of writing. She founded the hugely successful Yeovil Literary Prize, and is Patron of Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA). http://www.margaret-graham.com/

You can find out more about Words for the wounded, their work and how you can enter the prize over at their website and blog.

http://www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk/
http://wordsforthewounded.blogspot.co.uk/

The YCAA Lunchtime Book Group

The Yeovil Community Arts Association is dedicated to bringing all forms of art and culture to a wide audience in the south Somerset area.  Among their many ways of  bringing people together, they have recently launched the YCAA Lunchtime Book Group.

This was in response to comments made by many people who, for whatever reason, find it difficult to join a book group that meets in the evenings.  Parents of school age children, or people who live on their own, or simply do not like going out after dark, especially in the winter months. Transport can be problem, and the convenience of buses and the bus pass was always mentioned.

So this very friendly and not too ‘highbrow’ group of  diverse people of all ages, meet to discuss a couple of books each month.  One may appeal more than the other, so only one may be read, but it is always interesting listening to the discussion.  You may end up reading the one that didn’t, at first, appeal to you.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 11th February at the Theatre Café of the Octagon, in Yeovil. We meet from 12 noon until 2pm.  The is a FREE event, where you can buy a drink from the Octagon to have with your own lunch.  Sandwiches and salads are easy to eat as you listen and talk about books.

The choice for February is:-  Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Marriage, by Alice Munro, who in 2013 won the Nobel Prize for Literature.  This is a marvellous collection of short stories, all set in the author’s home country of Canada.

The second book is widely available in paperback, and is called Two Caravans by Maria Lewycka.  This is a funny and compelling novel touching on a currently topical subject, and is very thought-provoking. 

Both these books are really good ‘reads’.  Come along and enjoy the company of like-minded people in a super setting in the Theatre Café of The Octagon, Yeovil.


Liz Pike is Secretary of the Yeovil Community Arts Association.  She is also a member of the Yeovil Cre8ive Writers and Yeovil Art Group.The YCAA administers the annual, international writing competition The Yeovil Literary Prize. Liz is passionate about the written word, having had success writing short stories, and enjoys two reading groups, one of which is the YCAA Lunchtime Book Group.

Happy Deathday at Waterstones

I will be signing copies of my debut dystopian novel Happy Deathday and its sequel Resurrection at Waterstones, Yeovil on Saturday 8th February from 11.00am - 1.00pm.

Set in an underground breeding colony after the Earth’s ozone layer has been destroyed by a gamma ray explosion, it tells the story of eighteen year old Jonathan and Sarah who’s Deathdays are fast approaching. One is born every day; one dies every day. That is the way of the Colony. But when Jonathan loses a week’s supply of his Supplement that he mistakenly believes contains only vitamins and minerals, he sets off a train of events that spiral out of control. The very survival of the Human Race is under threat and time is running out…fast.

Part romance, part thriller and part cautionary tale about the dangers of ‘playing God’, the duology is based on a short story that achieved Highly Commended in the 2010 Yeovil Literary Prize. It took me two years and a great deal of tea to transform the 2,000 word story into two full length novels!



Sue Yockney is an independent author living in Somerset. Her debut novel Happy Deathday and its sequel Resurrection is a dystopian romance/thriller and cautionary tale aimed at older teens/adult readers. She has, for many years, been actively involved in arts promotion in the Yeovil area.

Triangle of Interest

Draw a line from East Coker to Bristol Docks, turn west to Nether Stowey and Watchet then return to East Coker and you have enclosed in your triangle a fascinating part of England – the Somerset Levels, the Mendip Hills and the Quantocks, but there is also a captivating golden thread of Literary connection the triangle brings together.

James Crowden’s riveting volume “LITERARY SOMERSET” [1], an essential read for anyone interested in Somerset writers of the past and today, shows us the pattern of this Literary connection bringing together amongst others William Dampier, the mariners of Bristol and the Romantic Poets of the Quantocks.

Dampier (1651–1715) born in East Coker nine years before the Restoration bringing King Charles II to the throne, went to sea on a Weymouth trader in 1669, and was during an eventful life at sea a buccaneer, a hydrographer, a cartographer and writer chronicling his voyages. He made three great circumnavigations; late in the 1680s one voyage brought the first Englishmen to make landfall in Australia. To this day Dampier’s name is found in many places on world maps and charts [2].

Ships owned by Bristol businessmen and their Captains sailed with Dampier; after a disagreement on board one accompanying vessel the sailing master Alexander Selkirk was put ashore at his own request on the uninhabited Pacific island Juan Fernandez. Almost five years later in February 1708 HMS Duke navigated by Dampier on his third circumnavigation rescued Selkirk. It is worth noting that Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), the author of Robinson Crusoe (1719) the novel based on Selkirk’s experience, was a supporter of Monmouth and present as a young man at the Battle of Sedgemoor (1685) – wisely removing himself to London and buying a pardon to escape the Bloody Assize.

To complete the connection Simon Hatley who sailed with Dampier on two voyages later sailed on another Bristol vessel which suffered adverse conditions west of Cape Horn and believing the bird to be an evil omen Hatley shot an accompanying Black Albatross, an incident recorded in an account of that voyage published in 1726 and current for years in folklore around Bristol Docks. And so to Nether Stowey [3]  and to Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) who on long, often night time, walks on the Quantocks in company with and encouraged by the Wordsworths, sister and brother, picked up the tale of the albatross and penned his great poem THE RIME ANCIENT MARINER (1797) in which the Mariner’s cursed voyage sets out from Watchet where today a statue of the Mariner and the dead albatross stands on the quayside.

“The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared;
Merrily did we drop
Below the kirk, below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top.

 

The Sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea.”

 

[1] LITERARY SOMERSET © James Crowden, Flagon Press, Winsham, Chard,published in 2010, ISBN 978-0-9562778-0-0.
[2] DAMPIER ARCHIPELAGO off Western Australia and the DAMPIER STRAITS off Papua New Guinea
[3] Coleridge Cottage, Nether Stowey, National Trust, Open March to October excl. Tuesdays and Wednesdays


Chip Tolson: Architecture, the army, international container and shipowning trades kept Chip busy before an MA in Creative Writing led him to the joy of short stories, winning the Yeovil Short Story Competition in 2013. He has also written short plays and has two novels in want of a publisher.

The Yeovil Literary Prize

For the eleventh year the Yeovil Literary Prize has opened its doors to entries. It has categories for short story, poem, and also for novel – something for which competitions like this are few and far between.

For me, my writing career and the Yeovil Prize have long been intertwined. Success in the Yeovil Prize gave me the self belief I needed. It set me on the path to becoming a published author.

But I am by no means alone in this. You only have to look at the successes page on the Yeovil Prize website to see how many of the winning and longlisted entries have gone on to achieve publishing success.

Another great thing about the Yeovil Prize is the diversity of the winning stories. All genres are represented. Among them you’ll find thrillers and romance, crime and science fiction. My own novel is a children’s book.

The Yeovil Prize is now widely recognised, the standards excellent and agents and publishers view the results with interest. Who will be the next Yeovil Prize success story? Perhaps it will be you?

If you enter any writing competition this year, then it ought to be this one!

You can find out all about the prize, entry requirements, the judging team and the sorts of success that the prize has led on to for past winners, over at the Yeovil Prize website:

http://www.yeovilprize.co.uk/



Kate Kelly is a marine scientist by day but by night she writes children’s books. Her debut novel Red Rock, a Cli-Fi thriller for teens, is published by Curious Fox. She lives in Dorset with her husband, two daughters and assorted pets and blogs at http://scribblingseaserpent.blogspot.co.uk/