My Books - some details ...
Here is a bit more information about the books I have written.
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The Story of Annie-May​
It’s the 1980s in south Wales, with all its turbulence - unemployment, hardship, and a bitter miners’ strike
This is a love story, a family saga, a social and political commentary on life in 20th century Wales, as seen through the eyes of one woman and her family, as we follow her journey from a pliable and naïve young girl to a confident and self-assured woman.
The Mothers of Tobergell​
This is the story of Daisy and her family, following their journey through the first part of the twentieth century, with a focus on the mothers. It is a family saga involving the dramas, romances and tragedies that are part of life. The novel is set in Ireland and in Wales, and covers the period 1888 to 1960. It tells the stories of a succession of mothers in their wide and extended family, their relationships, and their changing roles in society. Many of their stories centre around national or world events, and how these impact on the mothers themselves. It does not shy away from some grim realities of life during this period, but shows the strength of these women in overcoming their struggles.​
Book two will follow the families from 1960, through the Troubles in Ireland and the changes in Wales, up to the end of the century.
My Bumper Book of Stories​
This is a collection of 25 short stories and flash fiction, including some that have been published in previous collections. I have included short stories, flash fiction, psychogeography, and memoir. One story is purely autobiographical; some are inspired by real events or recollections, but are fictionalised, and some are written entirely from my imagination. I have on occasion taken some pieces from one of my novels, where they seem particularly appropriate to a story.
My Second Bumper Collection
of Short Stories
Not everyone has time to read a whole novel in these busy times. Here you’ll find some short stories you may want to consider - for your book club, or just for your own pleasure. Or to keep next to the loo, as something to dip in and out of.
My tales are varied: in theme, in content, and in length. Romance, nostalgia, social conscience. There’s humour, dark or otherwise …
Creative Writing - An Illustrated Guide and Workbook
(Full Colour option and B&W option)
This book started life as a set of PowerPoint slides for a short course on Creative Writing I was asked to deliver to a group of adult carers. The course was very successful, but was probably only ever going to be a one-off, and I was left with some notes, images, and – yes – slides, that I had put a lot of work into. So – why not turn them into a book? Complete with exercises, examples and information? So that’s what I’ve done. Many of the examples I use are of my own pieces of writing. This may sound egotistical – but using my own work avoids the possibility of plagiarism … I hope you enjoy it!
What Do I know ... about writing
A beginner’s guide to writing fiction.
This is not an instruction manual. I don’t pretend to know it all, and I’m not claiming that this is all a writer needs to know. Far from it! I won’t tell you what to do – but I can tell what I’ve learned, what I do, and what works for me. I can tell you how I write, why I write, and I can share some useful tips I’ve had from others. Use them or not – that’s up to you.
n Volume 1 of ‘My lovely Arms’, I wrote about my life up to the age of eleven in 1959 and back as far as 1918, when my grandparents married. In Volume 2, I ventured into the 1960s.
As I started to write volume 3, there seem to be fewer details here than in earlier volumes. Maybe because my life was so full, with family, then working, that dates and outfits tend to merge into each other. For that reason, if I’d stuck with the 1970s, even though there were some momentous things happening, this would have been a much shorter book that previous ones. So I covered the 1980s here too. As it turned out, quite a lot happened during the 1970s!
I had intended this to be my last memory book, as my daughters can pick up my story, and theirs, from 1990 onwards, but I've been persuaded to bring these books up to date. So only another 35 years to go ...