News 4 August 2024

 Gill's Newsletter

Up in The Lake District

 

We’ve enjoyed a few days up in the Lake District where summer arrived at last though thankfully we didn’t get the heat endured by people further south in this country or elsewhere in Europe.
 

We usually go to the Lakes off-season, so it was a little bit of a shock to find car parks full and lots of people using the crazy golf and Frisbee lawn near to our holiday cottage.
It’s good to take a little time to sit and enjoy nature or people watch.
Naturally, I’ve visited my favourite book shop, Verey Books.  This features on the Creative Café Project site: http://www.creativecafeproject.org/2023/11/verey-books.html It has a great café and as one would expect does book events.

I had to buy a book and I chose The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlene and Jackie Morris. I have of course read it before - and reviewed it at https://www.theyoungpersonslibrary.co.uk/2020/11/the-lost-spells-by-robert-macfarlane.html   
The Lost Spells is a companion book for the huge The Lost Words. Both contain exquisite pictures and words and the web site offers lots of other ways to consider the material.
 

It so happens that there is an exhibition of The Lost Words, The Lost Spells and Jackie Morris’ work at Rheged, the arts, crafts and good food outlet just a five minute drive from where we were staying. It cost £5.00 per person to get into exhibition but it is well worth it. It is on until 1 September.
All of this feeds the creative spirit somehow. Yes, I love my work but holidays are still good.   

Writing news

I’ve just finished the ‘kill off your darlings’ edit of Peace Child 6.
The Best of CafeLit is now out. I edited this and it has one of my stories in it.

I also have a review of a rather interesting local event on Talking About Generation: https://talkingaboutmygeneration.co.uk/exploring-the-carousel-of-us-event-in-swinton/   

 

PHOTOS BY BREIGE COBANE PHOTOGRAPY 

On My Blog

I have quite a few other authors on my blog this month: Jim Bates, Judith Skilleter, Penny Rogers, Eamom O’Leary, TonyDomaille,Allison Symes, S. Nadja Zajdman, June Webber and Maxine Flam all talk about their involvement with The Best of CafeLit 13 . 

Martin Varny talks about his new novel, Saint Ettie’s Music School and Dawn Knox talks about her latest ‘Chronicles’ book, The Post Office Topper Chronicles.  

I’ve also written a little about some companies I find really useful: Some companies I engage with

 

The Young Person’s Library

I have added two new books this month, both suitable for 9-11: The Ice Children by M. G. Leonard, illustrated by Penny Neville-Lee  and Keedie by Elle McNicholl The latter is also suitable for Key Stage 3.

Recommended read

I read Someone Else’s Shoes by Jo jo Moyes for our book club and then we didn’t meet. Nevertheless, it’s a good read.
So, two women end up swapping gym bags and therefore shoes when one of them leaves in a hurry. The gym goes bankrupt, and there is more to the designer shoes than either woman could possibly imagine.
Neither has a perfect marriage and having to live in each other’s shoes for a while makes life even more complicated.
Some say the story is far-fetched. It is and it becomes almost like a Whitehall farce towards the end. Yet it comes good for all of the women involved. It is all a little improbable but sometimes stories have to be that way.  Think Dickens, Molière, Shakespeare and most pantomimes.
Jo Jo Moyes certainly persuades us to watch the backs of all of the ladies that feature in Someone Else’s Shoes.
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.    
Worth a read.

Giveaway
This month I’m giving away The House of Clementine.  

 

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

There is unease on Zandra. On far away Zenoto a young president appears to be turning his back on the innovative and hugely successful financial regime. The Peace Child again has much to do.
It becomes personal. Kaleem’s former girlfriend and her desperately ill step-daughter are attacked.
Some strange encounters partly answer some of Kaleem’s questions. But as he begins to understand what “snazzy” really means and what the brown tunics want, he is faced with yet more puzzles: who or what exactly is Meelak, what is the House of Clementine and how much control does it have, and what or who is really behind the unrest?
Will the Peace Child find his own peace? Find out in this fourth novel in the Peace Child series.

 
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.
I’m still writing about resistance to the Nazis and this month I’ve added a post about Turning a blind eye to others not obeying the rules and about those Dragging feet on new initiatives  including those who were working on the V2 bombs.

 

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.