BOOK RESCUE: KATHLEEN'S STORY

ROYALTY FREE FICTION

"History is full of ordinary people with extraordinary stories"


I follow quite a lot of blogs- mainly about historical fiction, and most of them are fascinating, well written, well researched accounts of the history behind the book


This one however, struck me as different- its about the story behind the book, and as the posts are by the authors themselves, and they are writing about what they care passionately about, ie their book, they are not just well written, they are exceptionally well written!


I want to read each and every story on this blog!

So I was extremely pleased and excited when Deborah asked me to write about Moon in Leo for her blog


Only problem- I am not the author. Just the publisher. Perhaps I am being unjust to myself when I say just. This was a book that its author was passionate about and wanted to share with humanity. She had a vision and plenty to say about the state of our society, but she suffered with a stroke, and its aftermath- confusion, depression and delusion. All through what were some very dark years however, she held onto the fact that she had written an excellent book, and that she had a friend who had promised to help her get it published. Read her story, but take time to read other authors' stories too!

FIND THE NAME: LOSE THE LADY?

I have had this little puzzle for longer than I can remember. It is my metaphor for life. It reminds me that everything you do impinges on something else. It reminds me that if I want to do X, Y or Z, I will almost certainly have to do A, B and probably C first! It reminds me that nothing is ever as simple or as easy as it seems.


When I fished it out of the drawer just now, it already displayed LADY on the top line. Could I make another word without losing the lady? Well, I could, but I had to move every other little plastic square. Perhaps I can now make CUT- but the prospect makes me feel tired. Oh hang on- if I make CIT (not a word- really except as op. cit.)- or better still TIC- I could have PURR!


Instead, I will embark tonight on the final styling and typesetting of The Boy with Two Heads, adding maps, lists of characters and author notes. I am excited at this prospect but know from experience that it will be just like my slidy plastic puzzle: when I change something at the beginning, it will mess up a page near the end; just as I think I have got it all sorted, in the right order, I will find a typo, and have to go onto the next page to change it; and it will take 10 times as long as I had bargained for. Meanwhile, Kate will be waiting for me to order the cover template so that she can get on with the final design. I can't order the template until I know exactly how many pages the book will have, as this affects the width of the spine. You see- it's exactly like my plastic puzzle!

Don't forget to visit Julia's new blog, and read the story from her POV!

... AND THREE HEADS ARE EVEN BETTER THAN TWO!

Our house is full of dogs, children, cats- and adults in various states of seasonal gluttony,  hangoverdom and/or denial, and three of us are working! 'Tis the season for the whole family to gather at our house, and these days that includes two very young dogs who are at present tearing around our feet play-fighting and terrorising the cats (also guests)


The three working people amongst the negligent throng (the kids are playing chess- the younger insisting to the older that "You can't move dinagonally Ted!") are myself, in my editing and managing capacity for Trifolium Books, daughter Kate, our designer, and Julia author of the soon to be published Boy with Two Heads.


...And indeed the three heads are working well and  producing cover designs, promotional ideas and... Julia's new blog  http://kneadtowrite.blogspot.com/. Please click and visit!

HEADS AND TALES - AN UPDATE

Kathleen enjoying a cuddle with my daughter's little dog

Themis with his ipad!

A small portion of Kathleen's MSs

Whilst as far as this blog is concerned, I may have seemed to do nothing for the last few weeks, I have been beavering away, and had no time to spare to write posts.

VISITING KATHLEEN, FINDING TREASURE

Kathleen is now living in sheltered accommodation and her house- (which she once called "Hell Hall", so no regrets there) - is sold, and I have come into a wonderful collection of manuscripts, books, lecture notes, photos, and notebooks.

Kathleen herself doesn't want any of these possessions any more, but I was interested to see that her own copy of Moon in Leo was in her room, sitting by her bed, and very well thumbed. Kathleen and her cousin, who manages her affairs, are very happy for me to take charge of these papers and become, in effect, Kathleen's literary executor.

The estate agent who sold the house very kindly kept the stuff- a full carload- in his office until my daughter was able to pick them up. it took twelve trips to her flat from her car to get them home, where they filled her spare room. They then filled our car, and are now filling my office! And it will take us many months to sort and catalogue the thousands of pages we have got.

Partially sorted papers and books in my office

It is very exciting though: I have already found a beautifully written story about Guinevere called The Once and Future Queen, which I will probably publish as an eBook. It has an unusual feminist angle, and is not at all the normal romantic stuff. Look out  for it! There may also be a fifth novel- we have found several chapters and copious notes, maps and even photos of the settings- all Cumbrian. Meanwhile, work continues on Bride of the Spear and the other books in the Kingdoms of the North Trilogy.

ROYALTY FREE FICTION

I love Deborah Swift's blog- Royalty Free Fiction, with its many posts by different writers. Deborah says, 'History is full of ordinary people with extraordinary stories', and she invites authors to tell the story behind the story. She asked me to tell the story of Moon in Leo, and I was delighted, but found it very difficult to write, as I had to tell Kathleen's own harrowing story. It was painfully difficult to distance myself enough to do it! I will post a notice here when the Moon in Leo story is published, but meanwhile please visit this intriguing blog. You will not be disappointed, but you may be a little poorer, as you will want to read all the books featured! I did.

TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

The main activity that has dominated my life recently however, has been all-consuming. I have been working closely with author Julia Newsome to bring out her novel The Boy with Two Heads- her first full length novel for young adults. We had originally hoped to get it onto bookshelves before Christmas, but as Julia and I are obsessive perfectionists, it has taken longer than expected. You will soon be able to pre-order it on Amazon however, in plenty of time for the Olympics. More on this soon...

And this blog is due an overhaul too! I will fit it all in somehow, but the Christmas cards might be a bit late!

KINGDOMS OF THE NORTH

Following my visit to Sutton Hoo, and my ongoing work to republish Kathleen Herbert's first three historical novels- Bride of the Spear, Queen of the Lightning and Ghost in the Sunlight, I have been researching the history of Britain in the Heroic Age- after the departure of the Romans in the late 4th century. Kathleen uses two main sources for Bride of the Spear: the "Lady of the Fountain" story in the Mabinogion, and the life of St Kentigern by Jocelyn of Furness. Cynthia Whiddon Green's translation and thesis are excellent sources of knowledge!


Holme St Cuthbert History Group has also got some interesting information about St Kentigern in the context of the history of the Solway Plain. 

Kathleen's three books were variously known as The Cumbrian Trilogy and The Northumbrian Trilogy- probably because the middle book, Queen of the Lightning, which won the Georgette Heyer Memorial Prize, was about the dynastic marriage between Riemmelth, last princess of Cumbria and Oswy, prince of Northumbria.


Following the success of Queen of the Lightning, Bodley Head then published the other two books, but- shockingly, for such a prestigious publisher- described Bride of the Spear as the third book of the trilogy! This confused many readers and led some to think that one or more of the books had been badly cut or written in a disjointed way.


The settings for the books, when taken together, range from Edinburgh, through Cumbria and Northumbria, to North Wales, Cheshire, Yorkshire and Leicestershire. Whilst those of us who live in Cumbria and Northumbria relish the idea that Kathleen has a particular love for our part of the world, we want to make the magnificent scale of these novels clearer: therefore in their new editions we will use Kingdoms of the North as the subtitle to all three volumes. And we will publish them in the right order!

Readings from Bride of the Spear on 15th January  in Blencogo

St Mungo's Church, Bromfield. St Mungo is the familiar name of St Kentigern

THE BOY WITH TWO HEADS

The next Trifolium Book is on its way!

I can now reveal the author and title of our next book, out in time for Christmas: The Boy with Two Heads: Olympic Dreaming, by J M Newsome. Julia is the author of the CUP prizewinning book, Dragon's Eggs. She is an experienced writer and editor of books for English learners, so this is a new departure for her.

This is a time-slip novel, set in Ancient Greece, modern Athens and Northern England. It is aimed at young adults, but if you want to buy this book for a young person you know who loves reading, I suggest you get it ordered in plenty of time, so that you can read it first!

The Panathenaic Stadium, Athens

In 432 BC they think Themis is dead. Across more than two thousand years, Suzanne is drawn to keep him alive. Will his destiny be Olympic glory? And will she regain control of her life in the present, or will her mind be occupied for ever by the past?

It is 432 BC and it is 2010 AD. We are in Athens. Themistokles son of Kallistos has just finished his training session. Best friends Suzanne and Bernie from Penrith are on a school trip to Greece, about to leave the Panathenaic stadium.

Themis, quarrelling with one of his class mates, gallops away and, thrown by his pony, hits his head on the stone abutment of the bridge.

In ancient Athens, the priestess calls on Apollo to call back the soul of Themistokles who is lying as if dead.

Suzanne, dazed by a text from her boyfriend dumping her, starts across the road and is hit by a speeding motor cycle.

Themis regains consciousness, but has no memory. Suzanne is taken to hospital and lies as if dead.

NEWS FROM LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY

It seems like a very long time ago now, and it certainly was a fair old distance away, but I have at last grabbed a few minutes to write about my experience of visiting Sutton Hoo. It was actually less than two weeks ago, and about 460 miles (via Swindon) miles away, but of course, I was also transported back in time to the sixth and seventh centuries- such is the magic of Sutton Hoo.

The seminar History and Fiction in the Age of Sutton Hoo was a great success, with a full house and lots of questions and friendly interest. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but was very aware how little I knew about the Anglo Saxons compared with my fellow speakers. I would like to pay tribute to all of them: I am in awe of their knowledge and expertise!

Thank you to:

• Pauline Moore for  her organisation of the event. I am looking forward to reading her book,  Storm Frost- but am saving it up for later, when the next two Trifolium Books publications are out (More of these later) 
• Carla Nayland for her organisation of the programme, and her wit and humour, as always. 
• Steve Pollington for adding considerably to my small word-hoard from his vast one 
• Paul Mortimer for bringing King Raedwald to life- and for letting me handle his jewels! 

My only regret about the day was that I didn't have time to visit the site itself, but I saw enough, and felt enough of the peaceful and magic atmosphere of the place, to want to come back.


And I feel I have made some new friends!