Woking Authors Meet

Woking authors who participated in the first online Woking Writers Week were able to meet in the flesh for the first time on Sunday 3 October for a special gathering to promote their latest titles. All had previously showcased their work here at ‘Writers at the Gate’ back in May. 

Since its recent opening, The Lionsheart book and coffee shop in Commercial Way, Woking has been stocking copies of their titles in its dedicated ‘Local Author’ section and the writers were out in force to show their appreciation. 

Lelita Baldock, who arranged the meeting said, ‘It was great to bring such talent together and share our experiences as authors.’ Her new novel, Where the Gulls Fall Silent is out soon with her other titles, Widow’s Lace and The Unsound Sister currently available through Amazon. 

The Asylum Soul author, Mal Foster, said, ‘The meeting proved there is a wealth of talent in the town. Here, we have the nucleus to kick things forward with a view to arranging further events that will enable us to promote our books.' Mal’s new novel, Fluke’s Cradle is due out in the Spring. 

Pictured are Sunny Angel, author of Wings. Lelita Baldock, Mal Foster, Sue Mackender, author of Girl on the Hill, and poet, Greg Freeman, whose latest collection, Marples Must Go! is out now.  

Note: This item also appeared in The Woking News & Mail, 07 October 2021   

Blog Tour : Heather Robinson and her novel, 'Wall of Stone''

Writers at the Gate is delighted to bring Heather Robinson and her latest book, ‘Wall of Stones’, to the blog as part of the blog tour hosted by Mary-Anne Yarde at the Coffee Pot Book Club. 

Read on to find out more…

About the book… 

In AD121 the Twentieth Legion of Rome stands at the northern frontier of Britannia. Forgotten, neglected and dour in spirit, they must still do their duty for an Empire whose meaning is becoming lost to them.

As the lives of the local Teviot family intertwine with the legion, relationships of love and bitter anguish unfurl. Will the invading army push north? Will the disputing native tribes unite in an uprising? Can Marcus be with Jolinda?

When peace is fragile, friendships count for everything...

·        Author: Heather Robinson

·        Publication Date: 23rd August 2014

·        Publisher: Independently Published

·        Page Length: 366 Pages

·        Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Buy Links: 

Universal Link: mybook.to/WallofStone 

This book is available on #KindleUnlimited.

 

 

About the author...

Heather Robinson is a novelist and short story award winner from Wiltshire, UK.  Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Science degree with most of her working life spent as an Administration Manager locally.  She is also a qualified and experienced radio presenter, hosting a weekly show for Warminster Community Radio.  Proud parents of two boys, Heather and her husband Graham share a passion for live music, hiking and motorcycling.

 

Social Media Links:

 

Website: hevgraham.wixsite.com/books

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HevRob1

Facebook: www.facebook.com/heather.robinson.908579

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather.robinson.908579/?hl=en

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heather-Robinson/e/B01N9S07M2

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14141740.Heather_Robinson

 

Twitter Handle: @HevRob1 @maryanneyarde

Instagram Handles: @heather.robinson.908579 @coffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #AncientRome #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://www.coffeepotbookclub.com/post/blog-tour-wall-of-stone-by-heather-robinson-august-18th-october-20th-2021

  

Brief Interview…

When did you start writing your new book? 

Wall of Stone is new to the world of blog touring (this is its first and my first, it's all very exciting) but not newly released. I began writing it in 2006 after a family holiday to Hadrian's Wall and publication was in 2014. Eight years of love went into completing this novel, although I was only writing one day a week back then, and not every week either. Family and work commitments had to come first. If you boil it down, it was approximately a year of writing and research spread over eight years. I didn't mind the long-timescale but enjoy being able to spend more time on my writing now that other commitments have lessened. 

What was the inspiration behind the book? 

Twin inspirations started me off – the brilliance of Simon Scarrow's Roman Eagle series and a family holiday to Hadrian's Wall. I was missing Scarrow's characters Cato and Macro, impatient for him to release another book you could say, so thought I would create my own legionaries to care about to fill the void. 

This idea coincided with our trip north where I soaked up everything Roman and the facts I learned gave me the framework I needed. That's what historical fiction is: researching the facts and filling the gaps with the everyday story of the characters you create. 

Can you describe your route to publication from concept to completed novel? 

Research...plotting...writing...ongoing research...continued plotting and writing to completion of the first draft. 

Editing...editing...editing until I had a final draft that I was happy with. 

Formatting...proofreading...cover designing...and finally publishing via KDP (Amazon's platform for Indie authors). 

Despite a lot of head-scratching, I enjoyed every aspect of the process. 

What ideas do you have for any future books? 

A sequel to Wall of Stone is in the research phase. The working title is Lavendula but that may well change. I haven't been idle since the release of Wall of Stone, in case you're wondering! Juno's Peacock is recently published. A slave girl who escaped Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius exploded in AD79 had a story she wanted told. Her journey takes her to Puteoli and Roma and I have a whim to link this novel to Wall of Stone in Lavendula somehow. My thinking cap is on! 

Which publishing services (if any) would you recommend? 

I've not used any publishing services but The Coffee Pot Book Club was recommended to me for taking Wall of Stone on this blog tour. They have been superb to work with on this and they offer a publishing service too, which I'm sure would be just as well organised and helpful.

 

Lionsheart Bookshop - Woking

I'm pleased to advise that the new Lionsheart Bookshop in Woking has started stocking books by local authors.

The shop at 67 Commercial Way, which also offers coffee, teas and cakes is taking books on a sale or return basis in an initiative to support the work of local writers.

Lelita Baldock, author of 'The Unsound Sister' and 'Widow's Lace'  

Look out for titles from Sunny Angel, Lelita Baldock, Alan Dale, Mal Foster, Greg Freeman, Jacquelyn Luben, Sue Mackender, Harriett Steel and more. 

Bookshop Contact email : bookshop@lionsheart.uk 

Special Guest : Greg Freeman and his poetry collection, 'Marples Must Go!'

Anyone for poetry? I am absolutely delighted to welcome poet, Greg Freeman and his collection of poems, ‘Marples Must Go!’ to Writers at the Gate.

Read on to find out more…

About the book… 

A mysterious slogan on a bridge across the M1 that remained there for decades denounced a 1960s transport minister who had a finger in the pie of motorway building, and oversaw Beeching’s vandalism of Britain’s railways. Ernest Marples was a politician on the make who also liked to be chastised while wearing women’s clothing. Greg Freeman’s wry and bemused poems meander around this and other subjects such as free school milk, Juke Box Jury, Space Patrol, and the curious appeal of Andy Williams, as well as the first proper sentence of a two-year-old child: ‘Jack see Mrs Thatcher.’ As the years go by, the poet finds himself remembering the cartoon comic heroes of Beano and Dandy, picturing what might have happened to them in later life, and wondering plaintively: ‘Why can’t life still be hilarious?’  

 
About the author… 

Greg Freeman is a former newspaper sub-editor, and now the news and reviews editor for the poetry website Write Out Loud. His debut pamphlet collection, Trainspotters, was published by Indigo Dreams in 2015. He co-runs a monthly open mic poetry night in Woking, Surrey. He watched the second half of England's World Cup drubbing against Germany in a pub in Ludlow with the-then poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy; and with hundreds of others, contributed vocals on Chuck Berry's no 1 hit, My Ding-A-Ling.

 

BUY THE BOOK
(Publisher's Website)

 

Brief Interview…
 

When did you start writing your new book? 

Some of the poems were written several years ago, and some much more recently. I started assembling the collection around the back end of last year, and it was accepted for publication early in 2021. Many of the poems were 'road-tested' at Woking Writers Circle and at Write Out Loud Woking open-mic poetry night, which used to meet at the Lightbox gallery in Woking, and has been sharing poems on Zoom since May 2020. (We hope to return to the Lightbox at the end of September, but to carry on with Zoom as well)  

What was the inspiration behind the book? 

The title poem refers to a dodgy Tory politician from the 1960s. It's not for me to comment if anyone thinks there are any parallels today. There are other political poems in the book - politics is one of my interests - but the subject matter stretches far beyond that to encompass 60s pop music, football, newspapers, the Sean Henry sculptures in Woking town centre - and, of course, Covid. 

What ideas do you have for any future books? 

I hope this doesn't sound too morbid, but I recently had to have two surgical procedures to treat my angina. I've already written quite a long poem about that process and would hope to include it in a future collection.  

Which publishing services (if any) would you recommend? 

My first poetry publisher was Indigo Dreams, which produced my debut pamphlet Trainspotters in 2015. Guildford-based poetry publishers Dempsey & Windle have produced my first full collection Marples Must Go! Both publishers work very hard, publish lots of books, run competitions as well, and in my case have come up with two smashing covers that I have been delighted with. Janice and Donall and D&W even run their own monthly poetry open-mic night in Guildford - and have been doing so since 2010, I believe.  

 

Woking Writers’ Week – Special Feature

As we know, Woking is a town of huge historical interest. Two authors in particular have recorded much of its heritage with their own titles. Check out these excellent books by Alan Crosby and Marion Field.

Read on to find out more...

A History of Woking by Alan Crosby

Woking, though the largest town in Surrey, is known to many only as a railway junction and might seem to be the archetype of suburban dormitories with no past or any interest. However, this first comprehensive account of its origins and growth shows that Woking, with its associated villages of Byfleet, Horsell and Pyrford, can trace its varied history back over fourteen centuries. Inevitably, the book concentrates on the period since 1800, during which the present town has evolved. The landscape and character of the area at the end of the 18th century are described as a prelude to a fascinating account of the unique new town of the 1870s and its bizarre origin as the speculation of a cemetery company. The author paints a vivid and detailed picture of the conditions that prevailed, often primitive and even squalid, during the vigorous expansion of the late 19th century. A series of institutions, prominent in the development of Woking included Britain's largest cemetery and oldest crematorium, the first mosque in Western Europe and an abortive university. All are given full attention in the author's compelling narrative which carries the history up to the present day.

 

Buy the book from Amazon HERE

 

Secret Woking by Marion Field

Woking is a rather strange place. The Saxon village of ‘Old Woking’ appears in the Domesday Book but ‘new’ Woking is a nineteenth-century town. Over the years, the town has continually reinvented itself. Demolished buildings have been rebuilt and new roads streak across the countryside. However, the names of roads are often a reminder of Woking’s past inhabitants. Woking has become a popular place to work, and nowadays many people travel from London to work while others reverse the journey to work in the city. Secret Woking contains a collection of lesser-known facts about the town and ‘secrets’ that will be brought into the open – from owing its existence to a cemetery, something few towns can claim, to a Nazi spy, gruesome murders, royal visitors, a horse’s cremation, and a look at a number of colourful eccentrics. Join Marion Field as she delves into all of these stories and others, and learn more about Woking’s hidden past. 

* Marion has written a number of other books about Woking and its rich history, all of which can be found on Amazon and elsewhere on the internet.

 

Buy the book from Amazon HERE

 

Note: The renowned local historian, Iain Wakeford has written a number of booklets and guides about Woking and its surrounding villages across the years. Other books such as his early work, Bygone Woking appear to be currently out of print. You can find out more about Iain's writing and his many informative booklet publications from his website at: https://wokinghistory.org/

 

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Woking Writers’ Week - Special Feature

It’s a dog’s life ~ Check out the 'Bertie and Winnie' book series… as two authors, who have never physically met, come up with this enchanting creation. Dylan H. Beckett represents the Woking half of the duo.

Read on to find out more...

 About the books…
 

One unlikely friendship, many transatlantic letters, and just as many adventures later, Bertie and Winnie return in this latest book with nothing to lose and the world to see!

In the latest book in the series, 'The Journeys of Bertie and Winnie', adventure abounds as Bertie and Winnie, their long-lost romance rekindled, embark on a grand tour of Europe—but little goes quite as planned. And change is afoot in America, prompting a restless Winnie and her friend Lottie to escape to the UK on holiday. Both pairs make new friends and stumble into some tricky situations, whilst solving a historic mystery and discovering a hidden past.

Bertie & Winnie reminds us that detours may be just as meaningful as destinations, and that love and friendship will weather all storms along the way.

"There are snippets of things related to Woking, given I’ve lived here a long time," writes co-author, Dylan. "A reference to St John’s albeit in London (book 1), where there is a real park named that. Many of the places in MA are real too, the whisper bench on the coast, for example, these references are generally in all books. We had great fun researching the real places and adding them to the books. There are numerous references, which have been annotated and we liked to add in little hints to things that happened at later dates. The books are set in 1978-79 and the letters show more specific dates. For example, Bertie was watching TV in his flat in Dolphin Square, London and up popped a funny little character called Morph, I added a line that Bertie said that Morph could do with a friend to banter with, Chas, who hadn't appeared on the show yet, or the incident with the VW badge in Germany when one fell off Bertie's van when he was searching for the filler cap. He ended up putting a chain on it and giving it to a young pup who wore it around his neck, in reference to the Beastie Boys phenomena."

More about the authors… 

Britt L. Gourley hails from Swampscott, MA, in the USA and Dylan H. Beckett is from Woking, England. Both authors write using pseudonyms. Britt has a Master’s degree in English Literature and Dylan is a designer. They met online during the first UK lockdown of 2020 and have collaborated on three books in the Bertie & Winnie series. Their work has helped sustain them through the challenges of the global pandemic and by having a common aim of publishing a book they got to know each other better. Their hope is that the stories will give their readers something to smile about.

All titles are available from Lulu.com HERE

 A brief interview with Dylan…

 

When did you start writing your new book?

December 2020

What was the inspiration behind the book?

We were exchanging snippets of family lore and sharing stories of our own and other people’s pets when we hit upon the notion of transatlantic tales incorporating these ideas. The Journeys of Bertie & Winnie is the third book in the series that was thus inspired.

Can you describe your route to publication from concept to completed novel?

Lots of talking via What’s App, lots of brainstorming, and an abundance of positivity, along with plenty of multicoloured text in various Google docs as we added, suggested, commented, and edited.

What ideas do you have for any future books?

We are already working on a fourth book, which is going to contain a number of short stories, with some of the familiar characters from the Bertie & Winnie series making cameo appearances. It’s full of humour and hijinks.

Which publishing services (if any) would you recommend?

Lulu, self-publishing. There was a learning curve in getting the book artwork and content in the correct format and some teething problems with the system, but overall, it is a useful free service to use. 

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