I’ve now had the routine surgery I mentioned in my last newsletter and all is well. I’m now enjoying a bit of a rest but the ideas are flowing.
I was in a big teaching hospital and it was good to see a few student nurses from Salford University there.
Current writing
I’ve now started on the sixth book in the Schellberg Cycle. This is Helga’s story. Helga is a Holocaust survivor and the story is set partly in World War II and partly in 2001. The more modern part is set in North Wales and I have to learn about sheep farming in Wales!
I have a couple more articles in Talking About My Generation:
Little Talking Boxes discusses what the new normal may look like and how we might extend some of our use of online meetings once the pandemic finally leaves us.
The Lancashire Author’s Association’s Collection has a New Home describes the collection and its move from Accrington Library to the University of Bolton. This is possibly the largest collection of regional literature in the country and is important.
The Young Person’s Library
Alas, no new books added this month. Come on The Hive.
I really recommend this lovely online shop that supports indie bookshops and delivers promptly.
Please can you make some more recommendations in children’s books?
Current reading recommendation
I’m recommending today Christmas Stories: 32 Classic Stories and Poems for the Young & Old
This was given to me by a friend who knows that I love a good Christmas story. This doesn’t disappoint and here are many well-known classics in there. It includes works by:
- Louisa May Alcott
- Hans Christian Andersen
- Katharine Lee Bates
- Frank L. Baum
- Frances Browne
- Lewis Carroll
- J. Stirling Coyne
- Charles Dickens
- O. Henry
- William Dean Howells
- Stephen Leacock
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- H.P. Lovecraft
- L.M. Montgomery
- Clement Clarke Moore
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- The Brothers Grimm
- Leo Tolstoy
- Henry van Dyke
- Anne Hollingsworth Wharton
Publisher and editor are mysteries. It has been put together thoughtfully yet there is no mention of the rationale. Never the less a pleasing compilation
Grab your copy here.
Giveaway
Note: these are usually mobi-files to be downloaded to a Kindle. Occasionally there are PDFs.
This month I’m offering my 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. The Babel Tower still haunts him, but it begins to make sense as he uncovers more of the truth about his past and how it is connected with the problems in the Z Zone. Kaleem knows he can and must make a difference, but at what personal cost?
Find out more. Grab your copy and lots of other freebies here.
And please, please, please leave a review 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 of interest to other writers.
I’ve added two posts this month. One is about how ghettos are created, something I realised as quite a young child: Create a Ghetto or Share a Few Gems
I’ve also added a post about beginning my new novel in the cycle: Creating Helga
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.
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.
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