Holidays?
Martin and I have just come back from a few days in South Wales, from Laugharne or Talacharn if you wish to be precise. What an inspiring place for a writer. And isn’t this in fact Milkwood or Under Milkwood? Very close to where we stayed you can see the boat house where Dylan Thomas lived and the view from his writing shed. From our apartment at the Dylan Coastal Resort you become mesmerised by watching the tide go in and out of the estuary.
We’ve been there several times and nearly always had an adventure there:
· It snowed heavily enough a couple of times to keep us on the site.
· We took the park and ride bus into Carmarthen one time and were stranded there when the return bus didn’t turn up.
· One year our lodge was flooded on our last night there
· Then there was the year of the broken arm and a four night stay in Carmarthen hospital.
This time it was relatively quiet but the trip home was just one traffic jam after another.
Holidays are different now from how they used to be before I gave up the day job. We still go out and visit interesting places. We spend a lot more time together. We have a few nice meals. I read more and ignore more emails.
It used to be the time when I dreamed about being a writer. These days I don’t dream but I still find time for writing on holiday.
The change is still good but seriously I could do without the hassle of the journey and the packing.
We came back to a very cold house and our hot water stopped working for a short while. Touch wood – it’s sorted out now.
Writing news
I’m still working on edits of Peace Child 6. I’ve just finished looking at whether cause and effect are interacting correctly.
I’m now offering Girl in a Smart Uniform on Kofi: pay what you like. You will find it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/29884efcb0
My review of Animal Farm at the Octagon Bolton is on Talking about My Generation https://talkingaboutmygeneration.co.uk/review-animal-farm-the-octagon-theatre-bolton/
Two of my stories have been accepted for publication this month. You can read about one of them here. https://www.irelandwritingretreat.com/post/finalists-and-winners-of-change
It was really bizarre with ‘The Old Boots’. At first I couldn't remember which story this was. Then I couldn't
find it in my submissions list. Yet I'm normally fastidious in keeping records.
Four bizarre things had happened:
1. I'd miss-filed it as a short story instead of as a
piece of flash fiction.
2. I'd changed the title but not the file-name.
3. I'd only filed it once instead of twice (memory stick
and hard drive); it was only on the hard drive but I'd only looked on the
memory stick at first.
4. I'd made no record of where I'd sent it.
So, so out of character! Well I've found it now and
corrected all of the record-keeping mistakes.
I think we had a power cut at the time that this was
submitted.
I actually thought at first it was a story I’ve called ‘The Rescue’ which starts off with young John putting on his boots. Ironically, that is the second one that was accepted just this week!
You can hear me talking about The House of Clementine, Peace Child 4, which is out any moment now, on Hannah’s Bookshelf: https://www.mixcloud.com/Hannahs_Bookshelf/hannahs-bookshelf-with-special-guests-isabelle-byrne-and-gill-james-02032024/
Actually, the e-book is out already: https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Clementine-Peace-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B0CV7ZJKLM Naturally I’ll be very grateful for any reviews.
On My Blog
This moth I’ve talked about some of the things I like. You can read about my choice in movies: Movie Fun – five movies I’ve enjoyed and in books: I Love Books . It’s all to do with story, isn’t it?
The Young Person’s Library
In the library this month: Dim Sum Palace by X. Fang . This is a picture book that will make you hungry.
You may notice the library looking a little bare. All of the book information is still there, but the pictures have gone and so have the links to Amazon. I’m gradually restoring all of this but it will take a while. I do use an Amazon affiliate link, so if you click through I sometimes get a few pence out of what you pay. Slightly less goes to Amazon. Amazon has changed the way it displays those links. Many people are very upset about this. It’s creating a lot of extra work and for some people losing them income. I’m taking my time in repairing the entries. And of course, there is a Kofi button so you can always shout me the price of a cup of coffee if you appreciate the work I’m doing there.
Recommended read
The month I’m recommending Jessamine by Shani Strurthers.
Jessamin loses her husband in a tragic accident for which she blames herself. Will she ever come to terms with his death?
James stays with her and they still talk to each other. Jessamin moves to Scotland to escape the hustle and bustle of Brighton. She wants to live in peace and enjoy still being with James. However, life takes over. She becomes part of the community and helps an old man and his son deal with their own ghosts. Can she deal with her own? Are the ghosts real or are they in the minds of the haunted?
Yes, Jessamine is a story of the supernatural and that is what Shani Struther specialises in. I first got to know Struthers’ work when we were both published by Crooked Cat. Out of loyalty to my publisher I bought all of the books that appealed. However I bought this one because another of her books had delighted me. Find out more here.
Sample pages
This replaces my previous giveaways. If you like what you’re reading you can click through and find out ways of buying the book. However, I’m still happy to give you a free copy if you’re strapped for cash and / or you’re willing to review. Just contact me.
This month I’m offering Clara’s Story
8 October 1918, Berlin: The end of a phase
Clara shuddered. It was one of those strange uncontrollable little movements. Her mother used to say it meant someone was walking over your grave. What did that mean, actually though? They were walking over where you were going to be buried? How would you know now? It was nonsense really but she had no better or even any other explanation for it. It wasn’t as if it was cold in the kitchen: the Kackelofen was lit and the sun was streaming through the window.
She put the rest of yesterday’s birthday cake away. Ernst had insisted she should celebrate her birthday despite his illness. She’d baked one of her special cheesecakes but nobody had had much appetite for it. It would keep a few days, she guessed. Perhaps when he was feeling better they would all appreciate it more.
She looked at the clock. He should have called for his tea by now. It was half an hour past the normal time. She’d looked in on him earlier. He’d been sound asleep. Doctor Friedrich had said it was good to let him sleep. Perhaps she should go and look in on him again.
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.
I’ve added a couple of posts this month.
I discuss some modern day problems that echo what happened in that era in Pogroms, asylum seekers, happiness seekers Did George Orwell actually predict the Holocaust? See my discussion: Stalin, Animal Farm, George Orwell and the Holocaust
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.
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.
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