Book launch 6 October: Afterwards by K M Kendrick

 

Do join us! I'll be hosting this event.  

Reserve your spot here

Girl is dead.

She knows she is dead because she remembers dying. The afterlife is not what she had expected – she has awoken into a nightmare, in which everything seems hell-bent on killing her all over again. She is the only one who remembers what life was like before death and she has no idea why.

Also, Girl has a secret. A secret which could end this strange world she has found herself in, if she manages to survive for long enough. As she begins to learn the horrifying truth about Afterwards, she is propelled into a journey which will change everything she thinks she knows about herself.

Grim in places, Karen Kendrick’s Afterwards is also fast-paced and emotionally challenging.

The only way to beat the game is to keep moving forwards, even if it means the end of the world.

That voice in YA fiction

 

 

Many of you will probably know that as well as being a writer I’m a publisher. One of my tasks it to look at submissions and decide whether we should go ahead and publish a book.

I reject quite a few submitted to The Red Telephone, our YA imprint. Often these are novels   of the right length, are well written and have a fabulous premise. And yet they’re still not quite right. And the main reason for that is the voice.

YA will often use a first person narrative but this works slightly different from the way it does in works written for adults or even for slightly younger readers. In these two cases there is far too much of the protagonist having had the growth and talking about it with the full knowledge of what has actually happened.

In many such cases the close third person actually works better.

The first person voice often used in YA is rather that of one friend talking to another. That conversation is an invite to the friend to help figure out what has happened / is happening. Of course present tense often works well for this but it has to be really well done; it mustn’t sound as if someone is walking around with a notepad in their hand.

My PhD thesis identified seven characteristics of the young adult novel. I’m not going to list them here. Go read the thesis. https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/peace-child--towards-a-global-definition-of-the-young-adult-novel(70c88915-68c2-46a8-925d-2446254dcb3b).html

Is this perhaps an eighth? Or does that voice become necessary in order to render the other   seven effective. It may even just be part of number seven: reader control.

Take a look at a few young adult novels and let me know what you think.         

CafeL:it Nadja Maril has a new book and chats with me today

 

Nadja Maril is a writer based in Annapolis, Maryland USA and one of her first published short stories, “Uncle Max’s Gift,” was published by Café Lit in December 2021. https://www.cafelitmagazine.uk/2021/12/uncle-maxs-gift.html

 

 

 

Now she has a new book out in the world, RECIPES FROM MY GARDEN, a collection of short prose and poetry https://rb.gy/vvssje. Described in early reviews as a “feast for the senses and balm for the spirit,” the book is comprised of flash prose, poetry, and essays inspired by Maril’s kitchen, garden, and family memories.

 

What do you write? Why this in particular?  

 

I write to make sense of the world, and even when I write fiction, I’m usually inspired by true events. The prose and poetry in RECIPES FROM MY GARDEN was primarily written during the Covid-19 Pandemic, a scary time, when I took many solitary walks with husband and dog and took comfort in gardening and cooking. I started experimenting with focusing deeply into the associations I have with various objects, which yields some interesting short prose.

 

What got you started on writing in the first place?

 

I love to read. Reading has always been a place to explore, learn, and escape. At various times in my life I’ve been involved in all the arts—music, dance, acting, drawing— but writing provides the opportunity to communicate on a multitude of artistic levels.

 

Do you have a particular routine?  

 

I try to make a list in the morning of what I’d like to accomplish, such as new pages on one project or revision on another, along with the mundane business and household chores of living and check things off when I get them done. (It’s an imperfect system but at the end of the week I’ve usually accomplished a fair amount)

 

Do you have a dedicated working space? 

 

I have a glassed-in heated porch overlooking the back yard, but I often work on my laptop at the dining room table.

 

When did you decide you could call yourself a writer? Do you do that in fact? 

 

I’ve always been a writer, sometimes poet, as long as I can remember being able to read and write; but the majority of my life I’ve needed to take on additional professions to support myself, including being a journalist, newspaper columnist and magazine editor.

 

How supportive are your friends and family? Do they understand what you're doing? 

I dedicated RECIPES FROM MY GARDEN to my husband Peter. That says it all.

 

What are you most proud of in your writing? 

Despite many many rejections, I refuse to give up and I keep on working to improve my craft.

 

How do you get on with editing and research?

This is where I thank my writing colleagues who have taken the time to read pieces and provide feedback. Different perspectives are very helpful when editing. As to research, I have a curious mind. I’m always looking things up, so to me the research part is second nature.

 

Do you have any goals for the future? 

 

I’d love to publish a short story collection that includes several of the stories already published. I’m been working on a novel, a woman artist’s story set in the 1980’s. I’m also writing more poems and memoir pieces. 

 

  Which writers have inspired you?

I like to read as many different writers as possible. I’m a big Margaret Atwood fan. I’ve been inspired by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Jorge Amado, Denis Johnson, Kate Atkinson, Ted Chiang… the list goes on and on. 

 

How can we get a copy of the book?

The book, published by Old Scratch Press, is available on Amazon and other online booksellers and some book stores ( but I’m not sure about Great Britain brick and mortar)

Here is the Amazon link. https://rb.gy/vvssje.

 

Here is the Nadja Maril website:  www. Nadjamaril.com

And here is the Nadja Maril bio:

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Nadja Maril’s poems, essays, short stories, and novel excerpts have been published in The Lumiere Review, Lunch Ticket, Spry Literary Journal, Change Seven, Litro Magazine, Zin Daily, BarBar, The Sunlight Press, CaféLit,  and other publications. 

 

She grew up in Baltimore and wrote and directed her first play at age seven. Nadja earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the Stonecoast Program at the University of Southern Maine and is a Contributing Editor for Old Scratch Press. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland. 

 

A former freelance journalist, weekly columnist and editor, her articles have appeared in such magazines and newspapers as: Victorian Homes, Chesapeake Taste, Old House Journal, The Cape Cod Times, The Annapolis Capital, What’s Up? Media, and The Washington Post. She is also the author of two reference books, American Lighting 1840-1940 and Antique Lamp Buyer’s Guide. 

Nadja Maril’s children’s books—Me, Molly Midnight: the Artist’s Cat, and Runaway Molly Midnight: the Artist’s Cat —were collaborative projects with her father, artist Herman Maril, whose paintings and drawings illustrate the stories that are set in one of her favorite places—Cape Cod. Nadja is also the author and illustrator of Who is Santa? a book for all ages. 

 

An inveterate blogger, Nadja’s weekly musings often include writing prompts and original recipes. 

 

More at nadjamaril.com.

News 1 September 2024

 Hope always?

 

We’ve waited and waited for the summer up here in the north. Over the last couple of days it seems to have come. There are concerns I know about cop failure yet nature is cellar still working.  During our trip to the Lake District a few weeks ago the flowers were glorious, both the cultivated ones in the many gardens we visited and the wild ones.  At the verges of roads and in some of the gardens of the big houses we visited the grass isn’t cut back so much and you see swathes of yellow, purple, blue and pink form the wild flowers growing there. This is giving the bees and the butterflies a chance, and thereby our planet isn’t it?

In my French conversation class we can become quite political and quite philosophical, often veering towards the doom and gloom, but one lady declared she would just sit in the garden with her sun hat on and enjoy the sun. This reminded of me being astounded when one fine spring day we went to Kew Garden with my husband’s grandmother and she remarked that the spring had also come that early one year during the war. Nature went on regardless of the pickle that we humans were getting into.

Do most of our stories have an upbeat ending or even one that gives the possibility of hope? Some don’t of course and they can be quite dramatic and challenging but on the whole don’t they usually leave some space for optimism? Is this what we are to do? And in fact don’t even those challenging ones get some of our fears out into the open so that we can face them?

Happy reading and writing, everyone.    

 

  

Writing news

I’ve just started the ‘get rid of clichés’ edit of Peace Child 6.

I have three articles on Talking About My Generation

I review: 

               

 

a rather interesting book that gives another view of Manchester - https://talkingaboutmygeneration.co.uk/review-something-rich-and-strange-manchester-edited-by-paul-dobraszczyk-and-sarah-butler/?utm_     

a performance of Lord of the Dance at Manchester’s Palace Theatre  - https://talkingaboutmygeneration.co.uk/review-lord-of-the-dance-at-the-palace-theatre-manchester/

the Bolton food festival https://talkingaboutmygeneration.co.uk/review-the-bolton-food-and-drink-festival-2024/

On My Blog

 

I’ve talked to two writers and an artist this month. I chat to PamPottinger and India Rose about their book The Sea and the Moon.  I also talk to Linda Morse about her collection of monologues, And I Said

I’ve added an article as well about a book I’ve worked on and how it deals with time: Significant Dates.                             

 

The Young Person’s Library 

 

I’ve added two new books this month. A Celebration of Beatrix Potter on Arts and Letters is perhaps also for adults though can aid some younger readers with project work.    

                                                                                                     

The Taexali Game by Nancy Jardine is a YA text that combines video gaming with time travel.   

 

Recommended read 

 

I loved The Lost Diary by Rose Alexander.

Two riveting stories form the past combine with a more recent dilemma.

This story covers three of the grimmest aspects of World War II, aspects not often covered in mass market lit: the Death Marches, German civilian refugees and rapes by Russian soldiers.
The personal story of Katja and Lou is gripping and we are kept guessing right until the very end.

The framework is of Katja at last telling her daughter Jo the true story of what happened to her and of Jo reading Lou’s story in the forgotten diary.

There is surprise after surprise.

Jo too has her problems but realises that they are of little significance compared to what happened to her parents.

Yet Katja’s narration of what happened also helps to solve Jo’s problems.

A fantastic read

Find your copy here

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you, may go to Bridge House Publishing.    

  

 Giveaway  

This month I’m giving away The Prophecy.  

 

Grab your copy here. You’ll find two different e-book files and a PDF plus a lot of other free materials here.

Kaleem Malkendy is different – and on Terrestra, different is no way to be.
Everything about Kaleem marks him out form the rest: the blond hair and dark skin, the uncomfortable cave where he lives and the fact that he doesn’t know his father. He’s used to unwelcome attention, but even so he’d feel better if some strange old man didn’t keep following him around.
That man introduces himself and begins to explain the Babel Prophecy – and everything in Kaleem’s life changes forever.

Please leave a review on Amazon, if you’re allowed to, on Good Reads and anywhere else you can.

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.

The month I have written about Christian Resistance to the Holocaust and the NaziRegime

 

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 books and books published by Bridge House Publishing, CafeLit, Chapeltown Books and The Red Telephone.  Visit us 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.

 

 

Significant Dates

It’s curious, isn’t it, the way you always remember what you were doing when big news breaks? 

·         When Dianna died, my son, who was learning to drive, took us to a car boot sale where he was raising money to help support himself at uni.  The guy in the next spot had several books about the royal family and was managing to sell them at £25.00 a time. Normally they would have fetched perhaps 50p. When we woke up that morning I thought we’d gone back in time. “This is the BBC,” said an almost 1940s’ posh voice. “We regret to inform you ….”

·         The day J F Kennedy was shot my dad fetched me from Guides.  “I’ve got some very bad news,” he said.  I was relieved it was the president of the USA rather than one of our relations he meant.

·         My grandmother and I heard Robert Kennedy being shot. We were on a coach trip and we stopped for a comfort break; the driver had the radio on.

·         We were on holiday in Spain when 9/11 happened and our daughter’s boyfriend, who had stayed indoors, suffering from Spanish tummy, ran to find us at the swimming pool to tell us what had happened.  Everyone there overheard him and rushed into the bar to follow the news. Mike had watched live the second plane go into the twin towers.

Ordinary lives carry on whilst these things are happening. We published a book On This Day which was precisely about this. The J F Kennedy assassination is prominent in Debz Hobbs-Wyatt’s book While No One Was Watching. (Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.)There’s also a subtle reference to it in her forthcoming novel If Crows Could Talk.

Have you got a story that takes place on a significant date?  Might this be a useful prompt for a story?         

Linda Morse tells us all about her collection of monologues that has jsut been published.

 

How did you come to think of producing a book of your monologues?

Ever since having had a monologue published by Bridge House in ‘To Be … To Become’, (subsequently ‘Transformations’), I have kept in touch.  When I noticed the opportunity to publish a single author collection, I realised that I had a written quite a number of monologues for different actors and  theatre companies over the years and hoped that you might be interested in a collection.   ‘And I Said …’ is the happy result.

 How do you use the book along side performances? 

 All the pieces in this book have had public performances and are suitable both for readings or dramatic performances. Recently, I had my ‘Launch’ in Salisbury, where two actors performed a selection of the pieces and, of course, I had the books on sale.  The whole evening, held upstairs in a Salisbury Inn, was great fun and I hope to repeat it elsewhere. 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us a little about how you got into writing plays and monologues?

I have been writing or creating something all my life.  Starting with constantly telling myself stories as a child, writing self-indulgent poetry at school and college and then moving on to music-related scripts and lyrics. I wrote a lot of musicals (both words and music) for young people, both when I was directing a Youth Theatre and as a music teacher. I began to realise that it was drama, rather than music, that especially excited and engaged me and gradually I moved into writing  almost entirely for stage.  This started with short plays and monologues and has broadened into full-length plays.  I have also started to experiment with film and audio and even return to some (less-indulgent) poetry. 

 

Which was the hardest to write in this volume? 

I think technically, it has to be The Gown.  It is by far the longest piece, performing at about 40 minutes.  To develop a story at that length is definitely more like writing a full length play, as you have to maintain the dramatic momentum throughout.  I had a wonderful actor performing the piece and she brought it to life in the Salisbury Fringe festival.

 

  Do you have a favourite?    

 Two of which I am very fond are  both true stories and therefore hold emotional and personal meaning for me.  ‘Hourglass’ is about the death one of my closet friends at the age of 50, two days after we had signed a joint contract with a publisher for a children’s musical we had created together.   It was the last time I saw  her .                                                                                                                                                                 The final piece in the collection, ‘A Particular Day’  was based on a conversation I had over the breakfast table with one of my daughters.  We were discussing what our relationship would be like if we had met each other at the same age.  I like the fact that it has produced a slightly mystical piece.

 

.How would you like people to use the monologues? 

As I work with actors on a regular basis, I am hoping that there will be general interest in using  the book for audition and performance pieces.  However,  a number of my friends and acquaintances seem to feel that the pieces stand up as short stories, so I’m hoping that is another market.   

Are you working on anything new at the moment?  

Y es, happily I’m very busy at the moment with a short film, ’Happy Hour’  doing the rounds of the Film Festivals and a play ‘Empty Mirrors’ on in September at The Space Theatre on the Isle of Dogs, London.  I am also writing an extremely interesting one-woman play, ‘How Jimi Hendrix Changed my Life’  for an actor I met last year and potentially another one-woman play for the wonderful actor depicted on the cover of ‘And I Said …’  about three generations of women in one family.

Do you have any events you would like to tell us about?                                                                        Empty Mirrors will be at The Space  from September 10^th -14^th  Empty Mirrors - The Space

 

 

Find your copy of the book here