News 5 June 2023

Great book event 

I was very pleased with my book event at The Met in Bury. We used the Stanley Bar, which is quite attractive. I sold a load of books and was able to give people more information about the cycle and the process of writing. People’s interest was so encouraging.    

A few friends helped out.

I hired catering from Automatic, the restaurant attached to The Met. They did us proud.  

The online event held the week before also produced some thought-provoking questions. Well, that always was partly the intention so this was a welcome outcome.

You can watch the online event here.   

I have a few books left over and these are on offer, while stocks last.  Pick up the order form here.    

 

Writing news          

You can now buy Spooking form my online Ko-Fi shop. You pay what you like. Find out more here: https://ko-fi.com/s/6be5c18bd6

Let’s Get Writing is a manual for people who run Creative Writing sessions.  This is also available from Ko-Fi. See the trailer here: https://youtu.be/A-dt3SpefH4  

On Talking About My Generation I’ve added a review of The Book of Will at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton:  

https://talkingaboutmygeneration.co.uk/review-the-book-of-will-at-the-octagon-theatre-bolton/  

 

On My Blog

I’m afraid I’ve been a little remiss this month. There is nothing new on the blog. Slapped wrist. However, I have at least one other author interview coming up soon.  Watch this space.
                                                                 

 

The Young Person’s Library

Here I have been busy and have again added three new books.

Torn Apart The Partition of India by Swapna Haddow

This is for fluent readers though the issues are quite challenging and may also suit teens.

Ning and the Night Spirts by Adriena Fong

 

A glorious picture book that deals with xenophobia and otherness.

Always There For You by Miriam Halahmy

 

A story for teens about internet safety. A warning for the young teen. I have a connection to both the author and the publisher and was pleased to see this book in our local library.   

 

Recommended read

This month I’m recommending Still Alice by Lisa Genova.   

 

Alice has early onset Alzheimer’s.

We watch her life deteriorate.  It starts with her not recognising a name on a to do list.  Then she forgets to go to a conference.  One day whilst out running she cannot figure out where she is. We follow her downward spiral. It’s terrifying. Do we recognise the symptoms? Unusually we are seeing the point of view of the sufferer rather than that of the carers.    

Lisa Genova has completed an impressive amount of research here.  In some ways this makes the text if anything reassuring about Alzheimer’s.

I confess to not having seen the film but I’ve come across good reviews of it.  

I really was totally absorbed in the book. Lisa Genova’s thorough examination of what an Alzehimer sufferer may go though is very convincing.      

Giveaway

Note: these are usually mobi-files to be downloaded to a Kindle.  Occasionally there are PDFs. This month I’m offering a Kindle file and a PDF of Babel, the second story in the Peace Child series.  

Kaleem has found his father and soon finds the love of his life, Rozia Laurence, but he is still not comfortable with his role as Peace Child. He also has to face some of the less palatable truths about his home planet: it is blighted by the existence of the Z Zone, a place where poorer people live outside of society, and by switch-off, compulsory euthanasia for a healthy but aging population, including his mentor, Razjosh.
He has his work cut out for him and is helped by the love of his life, Rozia. However, her life is also put into danger.
Meanwhile, the mystery of the Babel Tower persists. Is the prophecy something mystical or just something convenient for everyone to hang ideas onto?
The Peace Child trilogy is a young adult coming of age story set in a dystopian future where good old fashioned magic and modern artificial intelligence make even more complex the social issues that Kaleem faces as he reaches out to those others call aliens. Each story within the trilogy has its own arc but a bigger story forms as you read all three. A fourth is on its way. See below.

Find out more. Grab your copy and lots of other freebies:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/06zvsocut9aodjq/AADiKnA--ZoZitFnm_qq4Vkoa?dl=0

Note, you may have to copy and paste the link.   

And please, please, please leave a review, perhaps on Amazon, Good Reads and / or Story Graph, when you’ve finished.    

Note: Normally my books and the books supplied by the imprints I manage sell for anything from £0.99 to £10.99.  Most on Kindle are about £2.99 and the average price for paperback is £7.00. Writers have to make a living. But I’m offering these free samples so that you can try before you buy.

 

The Schellberg Project

The posts may be helpful for teachers who are familiar with the Schellberg stories or who are teaching about the Holocaust.  They may also be interesting for other readers of historical fiction.

Sometimes I also write about what might be useful to other writers.

Check it out here:

In What is this cycle, actually? I discuss how the books work together as a cycle.   

 

 

Some notes about my newsletters and blogs

They do overlap a little but here is a summary of what they all do.

 

Bridge House Authors For all those published by Bridge House, CaféLit, Chapeltown or The Red Telephone or interested in being published by us. General news about the imprints. News for writers. Links to book performance. Sign up here.

 

The Bridgetown  Café Bookshop where you can buy my book and books published by Bridge House Publishing, CafeLit, Chapeltown Books and The Red Telephone.  Visit us here.     

 

Chapeltown Books News about our books. Sign up here.

 

The Creative Café Project News about the project and CaféLit – for the consumer rather than for the producer.  Sign up here.   

 

Gill’s News: News about my writing, The Schellberg Project, School Visits and Events. Book recommendations and giveaways. Find it here.   

 

Pushing Boundaries, Flying Higher News about conferences and workshops to do with the young adult novel. (infrequent postings) Sign up here.  

 

Red Telephone Books News about our books and our authors. Sign up here.

 

A Publisher’s Perspective Here I and some other editors blog as a publisher. Access this here.   

 

The Creative Café Project Listings and reviews of creative cafés. See them here.   

 

CaféLit Stories Find these here

 

Gill James Writer All about writing and about my books. View this here.

 

Gill’s Recommended Reads Find information here about books that have taken me out of my editor’s head and a reminder of the ones I’ve highlighted in this newsletter.    

 

Gill’s Sample Fiction Read some of my fiction here.

 

The House on Schellberg Street All about my Schellberg project. Read it here.

 

Writing Teacher All about teaching creative writing.  Some creative writing exercises. Access this here.  I also invite other writers to provide prompts and work for critique.     

 

Books Books Books Weekly offers on our books and news of new books. Find them here. 

 

The Young Person’s Library The children’s book catalogue. Access it here.

 

Fair Submissions  Find it here.   

Opportunities for writers are added several times a day. Roughly once a month I send it out to a list. If you would like to be on that list, sign up here.  

Happy reading and writing.