The 2020 Edinburgh Book Festival, online

I discovered toward the second half of August, that the Edinburgh Book Festival was online this year, and completely free. It was an exciting discovery. I’ve always wanted to attend the festival in person, but the travel and expense made it difficult for me to do so.

I wasn’t able to attend everything the festival had to offer (although it was online, they still had a huge number of offerings—over 140!). So, I decided to focus on the events that were of the most interest to me. These were primarily discussions of historical and magical realist novels and issues within the writing community.

In all, I was able to attend seven events, most of which I enjoyed. These were: Shokoofeh Azar: After the Iranian Revolution, Maaza Mengiste: When Italy Invaded Ethiopia, Alexander McCall Smith in conversation with Ruth Davidson: For the Love of Humankind, Ross Benjamin & Daniel Kehlmann: When History Prefigures Our Own Times, Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? A panel discussion, Elif Shafak: Writing the World’s Wrongs and finally Matt Haig: The Library of Second Chances.

Shokoofeh Azar’s latest novel, which was shortlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize. Azar is the first ever Iranian writer to be shortlisted for the prize.

Shokoofeh Azar: After the Iranian Revolution

Shokoofeh Azar was in conversation with Marjorie Lotfi Gill about her novel The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree. Her novel was translated from the original Farsi, but the translator does not wish to be named due to fears for their safety (Azar herself was granted asylum in Australia in 2011).

Azar gave a moving account of The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree, which blends magical realism and historical fiction. The novel follows the story of one family in the decade after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the many changes that are imposed upon them as a result. Azar’s novel was inspired by some of her own cultural experiences and intertwines Persian history and folklore.

One of the cultural beliefs she discussed was the idea that the dead are always with us in the form of ghosts that walk among the living. This idea manifests in her novel in the form of a ghostly narrator—a 13-year-old girl named Bahar. Azar also talked about the rich literary tradition of Persia and how this inspired her writing. As she wrote, she opened herself up to all that her culture and memory had to offer, and this helped her to better tell her story.

I’m very much looking forward to reading this! 

Maaza Mengiste’s second published novel, longlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize.

Maaza Mengiste: When Italy Invaded Ethiopia

Maaza Mengiste discussed her novel with Jess Brough. The Shadow King is historical fiction, centring on the role women played in defending Ethiopia against the invading Italian fascists in 1935. Mengiste discussed her motivation for writing the novel, the research she did and her writing process, among several other topics. Her talk was multi-layered and thought-provoking.

What stood out most to me was her discussion around the voids of history. She discussed how this applied to Ethiopia historically as a nation—the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 set the stage for World War 2, but this isn’t something many people know about. Mengiste then talked about how the story of the Ethiopian soldiers who fought off the invading fascists has also largely disappeared, and how this battle included Ethiopian women.

Mengiste said it took her ten years to write the novel. One of the reasons for this was because she had to stop at one point and go back to re-research and re-write after she learned from her mother of the role Ethiopian women played in the war, which she was initially unaware of. The other reason was because she felt there were so many stories she needed to listen to in order to write this book.

This was where I felt there was a similarity of process between Maaza Mengiste and Shokoofeh Azar—they both listened to the voices of those who’d gone before them in order to tell a deeper and more honest story. This reminded me of Stephen King’s book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, where he talks about opening himself up and simply listening to his characters, rather than trying to control the process.

Maaza Mengiste encouraged attendees to question the voids of history and what may lie there. She illustrated this by discussing the medium of photography and showing several old photographs taken in Ethiopia (photography plays a large part in her novel). In one of the photographs, a white colonialist stands beside an Ethiopian man and the photographer’s shadow is projected onto the image between the two men. She interpreted this image as being about the two white men—the photographer and the colonialist. The Ethiopian man was an accessory. What is his story?

Towards the end of the discussion, Mengiste showed the audience a little piece of laminated paper she’d made for herself many years ago. On it was the phrase: Give yourself space to fail. She said that if you’re not giving yourself space to fail then you’re not really pushing yourself hard enough. I thought this was an inspiring way of looking at life. I may even have to make my own laminated card to set on my desk as a gentle reminder.

I recently started reading The Shadow King and, so far, I’m really enjoying it.

One of Alexander McCall Smith’s latest publications. He has written and contributed to more than 100 books and is one of the world’s most prolific authors.

Alexander McCall Smith with Ruth Davidson: For the Love of Humankind

I enjoyed Ruth Davidson’s discussion with Alexander McCall Smith—his infectious optimism and love of humanity shone through. This was especially refreshing given all that has happened in the world these last six months or so. He discussed the settings for his stories and how important a sense of place is to him as a component of story. Not having been outside of my own neighbourhood for months now, his discussion of life in Botswana, Malmӧ and Scotland transported me (setting is such an important aspect of story for me too). He also talked about his creative process—I was amazed to discover he writes effortlessly, and with little rewriting. McCall Smith described this as his having trained his subconscious in such a way that the story just comes. What a wonderful skill to have developed! I look forward to escaping into more of his stories in the future.

Daniel Kehlmann’s novel Tyll, translated by Ross Benjamin, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize this year.

Ross Benjamin & Daniel Kehlmann: When History Prefigures Our Own Times

Ross Benjamin and Daniel Kehlmann were in conversation with Stuart Kelly about Tyll. Daniel Kehlmann discussed his research and the writing of the book while Ross Benjamin spoke of his experience translating the novel.

I expected to enjoy this talk more than I actually did. Perhaps it was the way it was billed—as comparing the pre-Enlightenment era with our own. While there was some discussion of the similarities, I didn’t find the conversation around this to be as deep or engaging as it might have been. But perhaps I just wasn’t in the mood for a deep, political and cultural discussion at the time? In any case, their discussion around how the German translation of the book was carried out was compelling. I didn’t realise how much of an art translation is!

One of Kit de Waal’s novels. Kit de Waal was one of the panel speakers for: Who’s Afraid of the Working Class?

Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? A panel discussion

This was an insightful discussion of working-class art and artists, including writers, and their representation (or lack thereof) in Britain today. The panel featured filmmaker Paul Sng, actor Valerie Edmond, writer Ian Rankin, performer Travis Alabanza and writer Kit de Waal.

One of the points that stood out to me was their discussion around opportunities in the arts. Working-class people start out much farther behind their upper and middle-class counterparts, through no fault of their own. Although the artistic community has recently started to grapple with the inequalities within it, most new entrants to publishing, for example, are white and middle-class. As jobs in the publishing industry are notoriously poorly paid, it’s often only those young people whose parents can afford to continue supporting them who are able to enter the field.

The same applies to other fields in the arts, such as acting. Valerie Edmond spoke of her experience travelling down to London (from Edinburgh) for an interview early in her career, only to be made to wait at length for her interviewers to return from their boozy lunch. By the time they finally returned, hours later, they suggested postponing her interview until the following day. However, Edmonds, being working-class, could neither afford to stay in London overnight, nor did she know where she would go. As her return ticket had already been booked and her bus was due soon, she had to leave and forego the opportunity (which, by this point, she was put off pursuing anyway).

They also spoke about the richness of working-class culture and how neglected its representation is in the British arts.

I very much appreciated this session. I hope it was widely listened to.

Elif Shafak’s latest publication.

Elif Shafak: Writing the World’s Wrongs

I think what I appreciated most about this talk was Elif Shafak’s candour and her empathetic perspective on recent world events. One of the topics she discussed was the plurality of individuals and humanity. For example, when asked where she’s from, she says she’s from many places as she is of many places, having lived in different cultures and cities all around the world. She noted that even if someone hasn’t lived in other places, they still inhabit many different worlds. Someone can be both a woman and a worker, for example. They may also be LGBTQ. In this way their identity crosses over many different communities. She said that it’s for this reason that she doesn’t like identity politics—it divides us rather than bringing us together. Although I’ve yet to read any of her work, I look forward to doing so.

Matt Haig’s latest novel.

Matt Haig: The Library of Second Chances

Matt Haig discussed his latest novel with Peggy Hughes, Programme Director for Writers’ Centre Norwich.

I’ve read several of Matt Haig’s books and so was very much looking forward to this talk. It didn’t disappoint. Matt Haig discussed the state of the world right now as well as the state of his mind, what it’s like to struggle with depression and anxiety (especially during this pandemic), and, of course, the plot of The Midnight Library.

Rather than recap what the story is about here, I’ll let you read the blurb for yourself:

When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?

I love the sound of that story and can’t wait to read it.

It was great to be able to attend the Edinburgh Book Festival this year. Who knows, maybe I’ll even make it in person next year.

Did you attend the Edinburgh Book Festival this year? If so, what were the highlights for you?

My Review of Smash all the Windows by Jane Davis

Maggie’s chest rises and falls. Orange buoys, the shape and size of hay bales, move to the same rhythm. There is something bovine about them, but also something desperately sad. At any other time she wouldn’t feel foolish mentioning this to Jules who, she thinks, would dismiss nothing.  

With an impressive array of research at her disposal, a full cast of true-to-life Londoners and a fascinating and timely premise, Davis casts a spell over her readers.

The families of those who were killed in the St Botolph and Billingsgate station disaster have become accustomed to defending their loved ones. For over thirteen years they were told that the victims were responsible for their own tragic deaths but, with London Underground consistently running over capacity and the severe overcrowding that’s resulted from it, the families refused to believe the verdict of the initial public inquiry. With opinion against them, however, it was difficult to know what to do. That was, until gentle-natured law student Eric took an almost obsessive interest in the case. Eric’s certainty that the evidence doesn’t match up leads him to spend all his waking hours investigating. But when his hard work finally pays off and a second inquest declares that the commuters were not responsible, it doesn’t bring about the closure the families expected.

Told through the eyes of the families of the survivors, their grief, anger, frustration and attempts at reconciliation are brought vividly to life. Davis does an excellent job of depicting modern-day, multicultural London, and her diverse cast of characters reflects this. The story is inspired by the Hillsborough tragedy, where 96 Liverpool football fans lost their lives in a crush in 1989, and is highly relevant given their families long battle for justice. Davis’s exploration of personal grief and public tragedy is sensitively rendered and deeply empathetic. Although literary fiction, the novel reads almost like a thriller. Smash all the Windows is an engrossing, addictive novel. I look forward to reading more of Jane Davis’s work in future.

Smash all the Windows  is available from Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smash-all-Windows-Jane-Davis-ebook/dp/B079MBP3WD/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Smash-all-Windows-Jane-Davis-ebook/dp/B079MBP3WD/

You can read more about the novel on Jane’s website: https://jane-davis.co.uk/books/smash-all-the-windows/

My Review of Violet by Leslie Tate, the third book in his Lavender Blues: Three Shades of Love trilogy

They picked at the contents, one by one. The nuts came in all sizes; they were whole, lightly roasted and unsalted. Dipping and munching, they shared what they had.

When fifty-year-old café owner Beth Jarvis, divorced and with children, finds herself on a blind date, she wonders what it is she’s doing. Due to her nervousness she’s arrived at the restaurant far too early and now can only watch and wait while other diners arrive,  staring at the door, wondering when—and if—James will show up. Biding her time, Beth sips her wine as she sifts through the letters he’s sent her. Will the real-life version of James be as good-natured and charming?

After James arrives, they share stories over a platter of Indian food. Later that night, Beth is, quite literally, swept off her feet as they dance.  Not wanting the evening to end, they draw it out for as long as possible. When it finally comes time for them to part, they promise to meet again, and soon.

As Beth and James are getting to know each other, they realise that they share very different pasts. James was raised in Chester-le-Street, in Durham, to working class parents. His father worked on the railways and considered himself a revolutionary, of sorts. Later James moved to London, where he married and had children. He works as a gardener and prides himself on seeing the beauty in life. Beth, on the other hand, had an almost idyllic rural childhood, and later married a minister with whom she has two daughters. Her gentle, caring nature means she follows her heart. While this tendency has led her into James’ arms, it’s also meant that she’s sometimes been taken unawares in life. How Beth and James come together as a couple is the focus of the story.

Violet is an empathetic and skilfully crafted exploration of modern day love. It is also a study in character, and the ways in which a character changes, and is changed by, their experience of relationships. The story is written in a non-linear fashion, moving backward and forward through time, showing Beth from different angles and points in her personal history. The narrative is experimental in style, with some sections written in text-speak and including the letters James and Beth shared. This challenged my perceptions, making me pay closer attention to the writing.  Tate’s in-depth exploration of Beth’s character allowed me to draw my own conclusions about her past and present. This made for an enjoyable and refreshing reading experience.

Violet is the third in Tate’s Lavender Blues trilogy, exploring three generations of the Lavender family and their experiences of love in its many forms. The novel stands alone—indeed, I have yet to read the first two books. The first two books are Purple and Blue. You can read about them here: https://leslietate.com/lavender-blues-three-shades-of-love/

Violet is available to purchase from Leslie Tate’s website: https://leslietate.com/shop/violet/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Violet-Lavender-Blues-Three-Shades-ebook/dp/B07BNR37XK/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Violet-Lavender-Blues-Three-Shades-ebook/dp/B07BNR37XK/

My Review of The Tides Between, a coming-of-age, historical novel by Elizabeth Jane Corbett

“Elffin, Gwyddno and Taliesin, that’s the way it works, isn’t it? Each of us in every character, the stories shifting and changing as we learn to see differently.”

The year is 1841 and fifteen-year-old Bridie Stewart is emigrating from England to Port Phillip, Australia with her ma, her stepfather Alf Bustle and a book of magical Welsh fairy tales her dad told her before his sudden passing 18 months previously. With her ma pregnant and a new life ahead of them, Bridie’s ma and Alf want her to forget her childhood and grow up. Most of all, they want her to give up on the memory she has of her father as a kind-hearted, misunderstood dreamer. In order to appease them, Bridie has to hide her notebook, the last tangible object on earth she has to remind her of her father.

When it’s discovered, Alf insists that she use the notebook not to write down further stories but to make a record of their ocean crossing. Bridie feels angry and hurt. Luckily, Bridie has become friends with a young Welsh couple, Rhys and Siân, who share her love of stories and who help Bridie feel less isolated on the ship. Rhys is a dreamer, like her dad was, and Siân’s daintiness and mysterious ways remind Bridie of a fairy. But will their mythical ballads, music and storytelling be enough to help Bridie discover her own truth about what happened with her dad?

Corbett’s portrayal of life between decks for the English and Welsh emigrants was realistic and empathetic. She does not shy away from showing readers the harshness of her characters’ lives or the ocean crossing but nor does she allow for this aspect of their experience to dominate. The Tides Between is an enchanting novel, filled with Welsh myths and the magic of possibility.

The Tides Between is available from Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tides-Between-Elizabeth-Jane-Corbett-ebook/dp/B077SS6847/ 

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Tides-Between-Elizabeth-Jane-Corbett-ebook/dp/B077SS6847/

To find out more about The Tides Between and Eliizabeth Jane Corbett’s writing, visit: elizabethjanecorbett.com

My review of Sealskin, by Su Bristow

‘And the thing is, Donald, I’ll never know if it was the best way or not, do you see? You choose your path, and then you have to walk it, all the way. We all do.’

Donald is a gentle and lonely young man living with his mother in a tiny, close-knit fishing village off the west coast of Scotland. Struggling to eke out a living for the two of them, he fishes, keeps crab pots and helps his Uncle Hugh when necessary. Unable to relate to his cousins or to the other villagers, Donald takes joy in nature and being on his own.

When he goes out to check his crab pots late one night, he witnesses something magical. Seized by the beauty of this spectacle, Donald acts out of character and does something unthinkable. Afterward, filled with remorse, Donald hopes to make up for his actions. But it’s too late. He will have to live with his deed for the rest of his life. How he manages the aftermath will make all the difference.

I enjoyed this story, which is based on the legend of the selkies, one of my all-time favourite myths (for more on selkies see my review of this series). Bristow’s exploration of Donald’s character was skilful and refreshing—while Donald does something terrible, the writing is never heavy-handed or judgmental. Bristow shows her characters, presents the dilemma and lets the action play out naturally—no easy feat! Her writing is poignant and evocative of the harsh but magnificent landscape of the west coast of Scotland, an area I was lucky enough to visit last year. This is a beautifully-written and memorable novel, which I hope to reread someday.

Sealskin is available from Amazon UK, Amazon US and all good bookstores.

Why do I write? A guest post by Rebecca Stonehill

Today, as part of the #AlfredNightingale blog tour, I’m featuring a thoughtful guest post by Rebecca Stonehill on why she writes. So, without further ado, I’ll hand over to Rebecca. 

You know that feeling of complete helplessness after you’ve watched the news? Watching reams of people leaving war-torn Syria, or the latest terrorist attack in a crowded market, or corrupt dictatorships making its own people suffer? Feeling deeply saddened, but not knowing what you can do about it, that the only option is to continue and make the most of our own lives?

I go through all of the above, as almost everyone does. And then, as somebody working in the creative arts, I interpret and personalize situations such as these. Toni Morrison, Pulitzer prize-winning novelist once said of the artist’s task in troubled times: ‘This is precisely the time when artists go to work.’ I couldn’t agree more. It’s an unspoken pact I have with myself, to respond to difficult situations with writing. People have sometimes asked me, How can such a cheerful person like you base your novels in such un-cheerful settings?  (Think: The Spanish Civil War in The Poet’s Wife, Prejudice and Mau Mau Emergency in The Girl and the Sunbird and the Battle of Crete in The Secret Life of Alfred Nightingale.) The truth is, if I didn’t write my way through such difficult scenarios, I’m not sure I would write at all.

But that doesn’t mean that all this is simple catharsis; I know there are other people out there who feel the same as me and are deeply disturbed by what we as a race do to one another and what we are doing to our beautiful planet. I completely understand why people both write and read chick lit or light romances, so we can remove ourselves from the sober realities that surround us and indulge in some much-needed escapism. This is a hard written art form to do well. Often I wish I could write these stories, but I find that I can’t and that whenever I’ve tried, I’ve failed.

Everybody says I was a serious little girl, reserving my smile for only a few; that child who listened intently, but never put her hand up in class. I’m far less serious these days and love nothing more than a good laugh with friends and family. And yet, that serious child lives on in me. She is the reader who would like to but can’t read anything lighthearted, and she is the writer who returns again and again to mine the depths of human despair in her stories.

Thankfully, there’s a flipside to all this. And that flipside incorporates those stories of courage, resilience and beauty in the face of human suffering. We are a strange, remarkable species – capable of so much destruction and hatred and yet, we also know how to love unconditionally and to be the harbingers of great compassion, generosity and joy.

Through my writing, I try hard to make sense of this complicated world and understand why things have happened. Even more importantly, I look for and create stories of hope, that beautiful little word that allows us to press on through the direst of situations. I am so inspired by tales of courage and resilience and, in many ways, my writing bears testament to the spirit of human bravery.

Author EB White said that a writer ‘must reflect and interpret his society, his world; he must also provide inspiration and guidance and challenge.’

If I can do any of the above, in any small way, then I believe I have achieved what I set out to do. Where all this will lead me, I don’t yet know. But I have a thousand and one stories bottled up inside me, so the real question is this: where will my need to make sense of the world take me and which story will be released next?

Rebecca Stonehill is from London but currently lives in Nairobi in an old wooden cottage surrounded by banana trees and tropical birds. The Secret Life of Alfred Nightingale, now available, is her third novel. Her other books, The Poet’s Wife and The Girl and the Sunbird, were published in 2014 and 2016.

Rebecca loves to connect with readers and can be contacted on her Facebook page: Rebecca Stonehill books, via twitter: @bexstonehill and through her website: www.rebeccastonehill.com. If you would like to be kept updated with her writing projects, please do sign up here: http://rebeccastonehill.com/signup

My Review of Snow Sisters by Carol Lovekin

‘She doesn’t get it, does she?’ Meredith leaned on the windowsill. ‘Why do you love snow, Verity?’

‘It’s like friendly rain; softer and kinder.’

‘Good answer.’

‘Why do you love it?’

The light from the window turned Meredith’s hair to coral candyfloss. ‘Snow makes me brave. When it snows, the sad part of me goes away.’

Meredith and Verity Pryce live in the beautiful Welsh countryside, at Gull House, which belongs to their grandmother, Mared. They live with their eccentric and erratic mother, Allegra, and Angharad, the ghost of a girl who lived 100 years ago. Meredith discovered Angharad’s presence when sifting through an abandoned sewing box in their disused attic. But, rather than tell their mother about Angharad—she would only overdramatise it and scare the ghost away—or their sensible grandmother, the girls decide to investigate her presence on their own. Through their communications with Angharad, they begin to learn more about her life, and to draw conclusions about their own.

Allegra has told the education board that she’s home-schooling her daughters, but other than a few books sent through the post, no lessons are provided. Verity would love nothing more than to go to school, and so spends her time reading at the library, where a whole new world is opened to her. But Meredith doesn’t mind staying home—her imagination more than compensates for what she doesn’t know. Despite the girls’ best efforts to escape their mother, Allegra’s unreliable behaviour and continued hurt and resentment over the loss of the girls’ father, continues to dominate their lives.

When Allegra gets it into her head that her paintings might make it big in London, the girls have no choice but to go along with it. The ever-helpful Verity tries her best to change their mother’s mind, for Meredith’s sake, but isn’t able to. Their arrival in London ushers in a new period in the girls’ lives, but how each manages to cope with this change will have the biggest impact yet, on their lives and on their friendship.

Having read and loved Lovekin’s first novel, Ghostbird, I had high expectations of Snow Sisters. I was not disappointed. As with Ghostbird, the story Lovekin tells is poignant, enchanting and insightful.  Lovekin powerfully conveys the ways in which women and girls internalise their experiences until they become a part of their psychological make-up. Lovekin’s prose is crisp, clear and beautiful. Her stunning evocation of the Welsh landscape and the magic of childhood makes this a novel to be savoured, slowly over time, and reread, for its many layers of meaning.

Snow Sisters was published by Honno Welsh Women’s Press on 21^st September 2017.

You can purchase Snow Sisters from Honno: http://www.honno.co.uk/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snow-Sisters-Carol-Lovekin-ebook/dp/B074WGLLGQ/

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Sisters-Carol-Lovekin-ebook/dp/B074WGLLGQ/

With thanks to Honno for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

You can follow the Snow Sisters Blog tour here:

About Carol Lovekin:

Author photograph copyright Janey Stevens

Carol Lovekin has Irish blood and a Welsh heart. She was born in Warwickshire and has lived in Wales since 1979, settling in Lampeter eleven years ago. A feminist, she finds fiction the perfect vehicle for telling women’s collective stories. Her books also reflect her love of the landscape and mythology of her adopted home.

Snow Sisters is her second novel. Her first, Ghostbird, is also published by Honno.

Visit Carol’s website: https://carollovekinauthor.com/

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/carollovekin

Find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009564096097

Where She Will Shine by Sylvia Anderson

Today I’m featuring Fiona Maclean who writes under the pen name of Sylvia Anderson. Her first novel, Where She Will Shine, was self-published in April. Here’s the blurb:

Where She Will Shine is a contemporary literary work of fiction which concerns the life of a student, Mary MacDonald, in 1960s Scotland. It is a vibrant tale full of contrasts, colour and excitement. When Mary leaves the croft for the “big city” of Glasgow she meets individuals who will change her life forever. Her life is lonely and raw at the start until she meets David Cochrane, who has a life hidden from his mother, but Mary falls in love with him – her first “real love”. 

In the late sixties, the Beatles were in full swing and dance halls were popular as meeting places for young people. It was the generation of full employment and the post war “baby boomers” had a satisfying life. The characters in the book, however, battle with issues which were as topical then as they are now – coming of age, student life, parenthood, rape and homosexuality.

Fiona has written a lovely post about her inspiration for writing Where She Will Shine and, also, her characters. So, without further ado, I’ll hand over to Fiona.

“My inspiration for my work, Where She Will Shine, came from a visit to a First World War Monument in Perth, Scotland.  The brave war heroes remembered, sacrificed their lives so that the youth of today could shine and make the world a better place.

I enjoyed my student years, for it was a world that my parents had not had the chance to experience.  I’m a ‘Baby Boomer’ and echoes of the war years were still around whilst I grew up – poor housing; austerity; rationing.  I wrote the novel for folk in a similar position, who cherished the chance to ‘shine’ and for others to see inside the emotional head of a first-year student in 1968.

Life could be tough for my eighteen-year-old protagonist, Mary, but it is never as hard as the life of Alice, the waif she befriends in Glasgow and whom she helps to move on and make her life a success.

Mary was an only child – when I think about it, my best friend when I was growing up was an only child and I did envy her having her parents all to herself – I was one of five.  She had a totally different life to mine with extremely caring parents who catered to her every need – be it the beautiful food she ate; her immaculate school uniforms and shoes (mine were hand me downs) or lovely skating dresses (we met at the local ice rink).

I have met poor teenagers like Alice in my work as an Occupational Therapist and always felt pity.  Despite Alice’s brave and gauche front, she longs to be looked after by ‘proper’ parents like Ruaridh and Mhairi.  In the end, this happens to her and she has a good life after a deprived and unsupported beginning.

I have never lived on the west coast of Scotland but have had many holidays there.  It is my favourite place in the whole of Scotland.  Breathtakingly beautiful white beaches and mountains covered with beautiful flowers, make it a place to relax and enjoy nature.  Mary belonged to such a place and it gave her, ‘an ache in her heart’ when she thought of it.  One can imagine the change in her lifestyle when she arrived in Glasgow in 1968 into a student world of riot; the end of the Vietnam War; an intolerance of everything ‘old’ and conmen and women (Jimmy and Yvonne) on every street corner. 

Where She Will Shine is my first novel. I enjoyed writing it and was greatly motivated by ‘The Writing Classes,’ which I joined when I moved to Kuala Lumpur in 2014.  My tutor, Anne Hamilton, was particularly inspiring.  This was a great experience for the other writers commented on everything one wrote and I looked forward to every Monday, for a new exercise.  Kuala Lumpur is a city of very poor and very rich, like most cities in Asia.  I communicated largely with other ex-patriot wives who had gone out there with their partners to support them.  In the sunshine, every day we would walk and talk in the KLCC Park under the Petronas Towers.  It was a magical time and amongst the ex-pat women (forty-four of them), I had understanding, tolerant friends.  I miss them!”

Many thanks for that, Fiona. It’s always delightful to hear about the success of new writers, especially fellow alumni of writingclasses. I’m looking forward to reading Where She Will Shine!

Where She Will Shine is available as an ebook from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-Will-Shine-Sylvia-Anderson-ebook/dp/B06Y98WTQ4

 

My review of Ghostbird by Carol Lovekin

 

‘You know more about magic then you let on, don’t you?’

‘Magic’s easy. It’s real life that’s complicated.’

Hopkins women have always been secretive and, at present, there are three of them. Lilwen Hopkins is a Hopkins by blood, unlike her sister-in-law, Violet, who only came to the village in order to marry Lilwen’s brother, Teilo. Violet and Teilo’s 14-year-old daughter, Cadi, spends all her time trying to discover her family’s deepest, best kept and most frustrating secret–what happened to her father and youngest sister, of whom there are not even photographs. While Lilwen lives alone in the small cottage, Violet and Cadi live next door to her in the big one. Yet although the three women live in close proximity, each is a world unto herself, even Cadi keeps her own confidences, not wanting to share everything with her mother and aunt.

Lilwen was raised in the village under her mother, Gwenllian’s, guidance and is therefore familiar with all the old ways—how to keep a trailing jasmine alive in a climate ill-suited to it, what herbs act as the best salves for cuts and bruises and, most importantly, how to make herself invisible in order to ‘see’ others better. Yet although her ways are rooted in tradition, Lilwen is grounded in the present and spends much of her time looking after Cadi, as she’s done since Cadi was born. For Violet, her past is as important as—if not more important than—her present. Violet is largely absent from everyday life, doing only what is necessary to get from one day to another, unable to bear the pain of her past. It’s Violet’s silence, and Lilwen’s complicity in keeping Violet’s secrets, which brings about Cadi’s irrepressible desire to discover what happened to her family, a desire which, ultimately, leads Cadi to do things she wouldn’t otherwise do.

Lovekin’s story contains elements of magical realism and, in many ways, resembles a fairy tale. She uses stunning sensory detail to transport her readers to the small village in Wales where the story takes place. I could smell the over perfumed roses cut through with the occasional burst of meadowsweet, feel the wild winds and wet, hot August downpours, see the mysterious feathers and leaves which sometimes littered Cadi’s bedroom floor and, most importantly, empathise with her characters.  In addition to this, Lovekin challenges the traditional notion of family—Violet, Cadi and Lilwen are very much a family, yet they are all women and none of them spends their time pining after men, nor do they define themselves in relation to men. I found this depiction to be refreshing as there are many families who consist entirely of women, for varying reasons. Lovekin’s writing shines with the difficult magic of female camaraderie, and with real magic as well, which is why when the Not the Booker shortlisting vote came around, I voted for Ghostbird.

I’m looking forward to reading more of Carol Lovekin’s stories in future.

Ghostbird is published by Honno Women’s Press and is available direct from them: http://www.honno.co.uk/dangos.php?ISBN=9781909983397

You can also order it from Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghostbird-Carol-Lovekin/dp/190998339X/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Ghostbird-Carol-Lovekin-ebook/dp/B01AOMVP2U/

Follow Carol’s blog to learn more about her writing and inspiration: https://carollovekinauthor.com/ 

Like her page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Carol-Lovekin-1006022299431923/

See what she’s up to on Twitter: @carollovekin

 

 

 

 

My review of Sandlands by Rosy Thornton

At that, the crease smoothed away and she smiled at him. ‘Oh, don’t worry, we’re still appalling know-it-alls. We dig things up, but then we photograph and catalogue, record and document, and as often as not we put things back. It’s not the finds so much as the findings. Not the objects but the stories they tell.’

Sandlands is a collection of sixteen linked short stories, all taking place in and around the small coastal village of Blaxhall in an area known as the Sandlings in Suffolk, England. Life and death, past and present, overlap in these stories, coming full circle. The victories, losses and betrayals of past generations come back to haunt the present, forever imprinted upon both the physical landscape as well as the realm of memory and imagination.

In ‘Nightingale’s Return,’ birdsong fills the air as a recently retired clerk travels from his native Italy to visit the farm in Suffolk where his father worked as a prisoner of war during World War Two. In ‘Mad Maudlin,’ one of the more unsettling stories in the collection, a pub lodger stays up late to compare old video footage of the pub from decades before. ‘Silver Studded Blues’ is a story of regeneration and renewal and the surprises which nature sometimes brings, wrapped up in the story of a man who has spent his entire life in (nearly) the same place.

Thornton’s stories are quiet, delicate and full of wonder. They slowly weave their way into your heart, where they remain.  They are poignant, poetic, lush with the landscape, wildlife and history of Blaxhall and beautifully written but, above all, they are perfect. By perfect I mean perfectly composed—each word earns its place, and then some. Each character, each setting, each paragraph hearkens back to another, lending a satisfying, almost musical, quality of resonance within the stories and, indeed, within the collection.

As I read, I found myself turning each story over, wondering what had really happened. This wasn’t because the writing was unclear at any point but more a result of the writer wanting the reader to make his or her own mind up as to what had occurred. Thornton’s stories are multi-layered and nuanced in such a way that they lend themselves to varying interpretations, a feature I very much enjoyed.

I’m looking forward to reading more of Thornton’s work and, perhaps, even visiting the Sandlings someday.

Sandlands is published by Sandstone Press and is available from Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017KU9E9K/ 

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Sandlands-Rosy-Thornton-ebook/dp/B017KU9E9K/

You can follow Rosy Thornton on Twitter: @rosy_thornton

Visit her website: http://rosythornton.com/