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I'm so excited! An author friend just notified me that Fictionwise, one of the largest ebook listings on the interwebs, has my novel Dragon & Hawk listed as Number One in Historical Fiction sales today! Of course, that can change by the minute, but it's pretty darn exciting from this end. Here is the link: Historical Fiction on Fictionwise .
For those of you in the UK, this novel is now available on Kindle through Amazon.co.uk - and it would be lovely if you could hit the "like" button and tag it to help other folks find it more easily. The beauty of ebooks is there are no shipping charges, no boxes to deal with, and you have instant delivery. No need to even have a Kindle reader - Amazon has a free download program for you to read Kindle books on your PC, laptop, iPhone or iPad.
How cool, eh?
A good time to take stock and reveal our future plans:)
The Past
- Since being founded on May 17th 2008 AC has grown from an initial membership of around 60 to well over 2500 members today.
- We have consistently added new features and content throughout this period and would like to take this opportunity to thank our many contributors and supporters for their contributions and input over the last three years.
- We have organized the Left/West Coast Eisteddfod since 2009 and this year, in association with our partners, A Raven Above Press we will be holding the biggest and best event yet in L.A. in September.
- We have consistently supported Welsh American causes and events and have done everything in our power to publicize them and to propagate knowledge of Welsh and American Welsh culture in the U.S. and abroad.
The Present
- Today, to mark the occasion of our third birthday we are adding a new 'Magazine' section to the top navbar. This section will link to the AmeriCymru blog and to its various sub-sections:- Interviews, Books, Poetry etc
- The blog has recently been re-designed and we hope you all like the new look. We encourage members and readers to visit this new section often and please feel free to leave comments.
The Future
- We will continue to make AmeriCymru available to the American Welsh community as an informational and entertainment resource and will continue to support Welsh American events...most notably the West Coast Eisteddfod and NAFOW.
- In the next three to four weeks we will be introducing major new features to the platform. New home page features include:- inline commenting and 'liking' of status updates ( similar to Facebook ), inline viewing of photos and videos ( which means you wont have to leave the home page to view these media ) and a built in status update feature on the front page that actually works
( unlike the rather primitive hack we added about a year ago ) - We will also be adding a new Design Studio that will make it easy to customize your page for any purpose or look that you desire. We will hold a Homepage Design competition when this new feature rolls out.
All in all it's been a busy and exciting three years on AmeriCymru. And the future promises to be even more so. Once again we would like to thank you all for your support and contributions over the last three years and finally to rededicate ourselves to serving the Welsh American community in the years to come.
Diolch yn Fawr
Penblwydd Hapus AmeriCymru
Almost 700 years since the death of Princess Gwenllian, daughter of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
By Rhianne Griffiths, 2011-05-16
Cymdeithas y Dywysoges Gwenllian
The Princess Gwenllian Society
Er fod yna ddefodau sifalri a chanu cerddi yn y Brydain Ganol oesol yr oedd yn gyfnod o greulondeb dwys a chaledi mawr. Yr oedd Lloegr benben Chymru ar rhannau Celtaidd eraill o Brydain. Erbyn 1282, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (ein Llyw Olaf) oedd Tywysog Cymru, yr oedd o hen linach Tywysogion Gwynedd. Yn 1278 priododd Llywelyn ag Eleanor do Montfort mewn seremoni ar risiau allanol Eglwys Gadeiriol Caerwrangon mewn briodas frenhinol. Roedd Brenin Alecsander yr Alban yno, a Brenin Lloegr, y Norman Edward 1, a roddodd anregion cymwys i ddathlur amgylchiad. Ond nid oedd parhad ir cyfeillgarwch yma.
Ym Mehefin 1282, yng Ngarth Celyn, Aber ger Bangor (maer llen dal i fod) ganwyd merch i Eleanor ar Tywysog Llywelyn Y Dywysoges Gwenllian. Tristwch fu marw Eleanor o achosion rhoi genedigaeth. Fel unig blentyn Llywelyn yr oedd i Gwenllian le pwysig iawn yn olyniaeth teulu Tywysogion Cymru, oherwydd hyn yr oedd Edward 1 yn ei gweld yn fygythiad i Goron Lloegr. Pan oedd Gwenllian yn 6-12 mis oed trefnodd Edward i Lywelyn gael ei lofruddio ger Llanfair-ym-Muallt, ac yna gorchmynodd y Brenin ir ferch fach amddifad gael ei chipio oddiwrth ei theulu.
Er mwyn sicrhau na chai Gwenllian eni plant fei hanfonwyd i Briordy o Urdd Gilbert ar dir Abaty Sempringham ynghanol corsdiroedd Swydd Lincoln, taith hirfaith o Gymru.
Bu farw yno am 54 o flynyddoedd yn lleian: yn ddi-urddas, di-wrogaeth hyd ei marw 7 Mehefin, 1337. A oedd hin gwybod pwy oedd hi? Pwy wyr?
Yr oedd Edward yn benderfynol y dylid anghofio Gwenllian, i ni, fuodd hin ddim mwy nag is-nodyn bach ar waelod tudalen mewn llyfrau hanes. Does fawr ddim oi hanes ar gael wahan i ddyddiad ac amser ei marw.
Ond yn 1991 ysgrifennodd Byron Rogers y newyddiadurwr ar hanesydd erthygl am Wenllian yn y Guardian. Darllenodd Capten Richard Turner, Caernarfon, hen longwr bywiog a phenderfynol yr erthygl, a theimlodd ir byw fod y rhan yma on hanes wedi ei gadw oddiwrthym. Aeth Capten ati i godi cofeb fach i Wenllian ar dir ger safler Priordy ger Abaty Sempringham. Mae mur gogleddol a chorff eglwys Sant Andreas heddiw yn rhan or hen Abaty.
Yn 1996 adeg marw Capten Turner, gweithredwyd ar y syniad o sefydlu Cymdeithas y Dwysoges Gwenllian; gydar nd o ofalu am y Gofeb ac i gadwr cof amdani yn fyw.
Erbyn 2001 roedd y gofeb yn dadfeilio a chodwyd cofeb newydd iddi ar yr un safle, darn hardd o Wenithfaen gadarn Gwynedd. Mae hi iw gweld ychydig ir do o Billingborough ar y ln gul syn arwain or B1177 at Eglwys Sat Andreas syn dal i ddwyn yr enw Abaty Sempringham ar lafar gwlad.
Gwaith Ieuan Rees y cain-lythrennwr byd-enwog ywr Gofeb newydd, fei codwyd mewn ymteb i haelioni pobl o bob rhan or byd: pobl sydd yn teimlo colli hanes ein Tywysoges Goll a fu mor agos cael ei llwyr angofio.
Os hoffech fwy o wybodaeth ac i gefnogi'r Gymdeithas gyda tanysgrifiad o 10 y flwyddyn, ewch i'r wefan: http://www.tywysogesgwenllian.co.uk
Fe wnes i ddarganfod y wybodaeth hon mewn papurau a etifeddais gan fy mam ar eimarwolaeth . Hi oedd yn selog Genedlaethol ac yr wyf am sicrhau bod ei hawydd iledaenu'r wybodaeth hon ymhellach i ffwrdd , ei gyflawni . Nid oes gennyf enw'r awdurgwreiddiol ac felly ni allaf credyd nhw .
Ewchi wefan:mae'ncael ei lenwigydagwybodaethardderchogac rwy'ngobeithio y bydd ynysbrydolichigymaintagyysbrydolifi,aysbrydolwydfy mamger fy mron.
We sat down to our 'cinio dydd Sul' promptly at twelve. (Peter is a man who likes everything operating like clockwork and I am usually hungry.) It turned out to be an expensive meal and I'm not talking about the new potatoes, either.
My husbandis a man of refined tastes. When presented with a meal, he scrutinises it carefully. (No. It doesn't irritate me. I'm used to him).Before he hadthyroid problems andlosta stone in weight, his meal-time mantra was: 'Not much for me', but now he sets to without prevarication.
Today, we had pork wrapped in pancetta with sage stuffing, courtesy of Marks and Spencer's. Icooked it in the oven in a broth of apple juice with fresh thyme leaves, so it had a roasted crust on topand the main part of the joint was tenderised by the juice. With thiswe hadcabbage, (it must be finely sliced for him and, really, he does not know how fortunate he is thatI like cooking), parsnips, carrots, the gold platedpotatoes, apple sauce (bottled), and gravy.Vegetables must be well cooked (don't mention al dente, or he'll snort.)
We were going along nicely whena gurglynoise came from his direction. He opened his mouth and out popped a mercury filling the size of a small boulder.(The irony was thathe'd only had the filling put in three weeks ago). This was placed on a side plate which he contemplated silently for a few seconds before saying: 'The dentist said if it did not hold I'd needa crown.' (I was relieved the food wasof a mushy consistency, so no blame there).
Beinga man who hates waste, he recovered sufficiently to finish the meal. When we'dhad yoghurt and a cup of tea, my thoughts went back to the solanum tuberosum (potatoes) and Fishguard.
Peter's favourite foods are bread and potatoes. His preference isflavourless food. Keiller's Ginger marmalade, for instance, which I love,is eschewed by him soI have learnt to cook what he likes. Looking at Nita Sybil Evans's cook book, she has very few savoury dishes, apart from a meat and potato pie.
When wemarried, my husband was twenty five and a teacher in one of the Fishguard schools. There were few jobs in that areaso, for almost a year, I was a housewife. Althoughwe livedjust a five minute walk from the school he came home at lunch time only once a week. (There was an expectation in the school that you waited on the premises during the mid-day recess).
Once aweek avan came from Milford Haven with fresh fish. On this particular day, Imade a cod- fish pie. (Nothing complicated, poach the fish inmilk, adda bay leaf if you have it, and pepper and salt. The fish is cooked when the flakes fall apart. Drain the fish and put it in a pie dish. Make half a pint of parsley sauce with butter, flour, a pinch of salt,milk and a bunch of chopped parsley. Simmer until it thickens and pour over the fish. Top withbuttery mashed potato, grated cheese and decorate with a thinly sliced tomato.Brown under the grill for five minutes.
Now the point of this storyis not the pie, but what happened while I was preparing it. We had a 'Rediffusion' radio (we were givenlots of pointless wedding presentslike grapefruit spoons, EPNS cake stands, but no one had given us a radio).
Over the radio came the news that U2 pilot, Gary Powers, had been shot down over the Ural Mountains of Russia. I'd never heard of him before. I had no interest in Russia, the Cold War, pilots or anything like that but, somehow, immediately, I connected with his plight. He was only twenty two. I decided he'd made a mistake; 'strayed over' was the phrase that stuck in my mind. How could it have happened?
Now, I can't eat cod fish pie without remembering that day, May 1, 1960.The fire burning in the grate, the table laid for our meal and Gary Powers on his way to a Russian Jail.
Vote and let us know which three of this designs should be included in this year's spoon!
My peregrinations took me to Fishguard today, the home of Jemima Nicholas, the eighteenth century female cobbler,said to be six feet tall. In 1797 Frenchboats were seen to drop anchor near Fishguard. Jemima rustled up a posse of women who, in their red cloaks and stove-pipe hats, are reputed to have frightenedthe French, who were intent on invading Britain. Later, the French soldiers surrendered to Lord Cawdor and the Castlemartin Yeomanry on nearby Goodwick sands.
I spent the sort of afternoon I enjoy, buying Pembrokeshire early potatoes, (3 a kilo), and a tablecloth in a charity shop. Before going home, I hadapot of tea in 'Jane's' in the High Street.I resisted the cakes and decided to bake Nita's 'Lemon Meringue Pie' for tea.
You will need:
Short crust pastry (enough to line a pie dish).
2 lemons
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of sugar,
1 tin small tin condensed milk.
Line a pie dish with pastry (frozen is fine butremember to defrostit)
Bake it 'blind', which means lining the inside of the pastry with greaseproof paper and filling it with dried peas. Bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, discard greaseproof and save peas for next time.
Mix the tinned milk with the 2 egg yolks and the juice of the lemons.
Pour into piecrust. Whisk the egg whites and the sugar until stiff.
Pile meringue on top and place the dish in a cooler oven than previously. Bake for about 30 minutes. Careful it does not scorch- check frequently.
I love this recipe. Give it a try.That's all for today, Pobol Bach. I'll be back tomorrow.
OK so that was just a cheap trick to get your attention. We aren't really setting up a Welsh dating site. What we are doing, however, is appealing for dates to complete a long standing project - the Welsh Calendar site. So if you can think of any dates we've missed that are worthy of inclusion please feel free to comment on the blog ( or below ).....Read More HERE
Lorraine: I suppose that I have always enjoyed it and I liked the idea of being a writer, long before I actually started writing! I wrote a book when I was about 30, but knew as I was writing it that it was pretty hopeless, but I persisted for the practice. I started writing my first published novel, Chocolate Mousse and Two Spoons when I was about 32.
AmeriCymru: We learn from your bio that your official writing career started one Sunday morning when you had a hangover. Care to tell us more?
Lorraine: Yes, it was a bit of a killer! I was living in Builth Wells and had a difficult job and was working all hours. I also had a fantastic social life and was never able to refuse an offer to nip out for a pint or to head to the hills at weekend with friends to go walking or mountain biking. I wanted to be a writer and had the story in my head, but never seemed to have the chance to sit down and write it all down.
On that Sunday when I had my hangover, I also had a day out with friends planned and some work to do for a meeting the next morning, and I realised that I would have to put off the writing for another day – yet again. That’s when I had one of those moments in life and thought That’s It! Something has to change – so, I gave myself six months to change everything and I did! I was single at the time, so I just quit my job, rented out my house and bought myself a round-the-world ticket to give myself time to actually write – and I was very lucky as, bar a few adventures, it all worked out in the end!
AmeriCymru: You are originally from Lyme Regis in the south of England. What prompted you to make the move to Mid-Wales? Tell us a little about your background.
Lorraine: I had a great time growing up in rural south west England with my three brothers and two sisters and then went to University in Cardiff to study Town Planning. When I was there I met a Welshman…
I moved to Builth Wells for a job in 1994 intending to stay for a year or so, but had such a good time, I stayed!
AmeriCymru: Your first novel "Chocolate Mousse and Two Spoons" was written while back-packing in South America. What can you tell us about your experiences there and how did you come to write a novel during your trip?
Lorraine: The trip was following my moment of clarity mentioned earlier. I decided to go to Patagonia first as I’d been learning Welsh and had this plan of working in a Welsh tea shop, practicing my Welsh, learning some Spanish, getting a bit of sun and writing my book.
Once in Beunos Aires, I wasn’t in a rush so I decided to walk to Patagonia (yeah, now I know it was a bit foolish!) so I would walk from town to town across the Pampas desert, hiding my tent behind a bush at night and trying to forget that there were still wild things out there.
In that little tent that I shared with mice, bugs and once a fox, I wrote my book. I eventually got to Patagonia, by which time my Welsh had merged with my Spanish and I’d become rubbish at both, so I drunk loads of proper tea, ate piles of Welsh cakes and then carried on walking. Eight months later, and after many adventures including a fight with a man with a knife (it’s OK, I won!) I had finished my novel and so I headed home.
AmeriCymru: Your second novel ''Eating Blackbirds'', set in the fictional Welsh village of Cysgod Y Ffynon, has been described as a ''feel-good'' novel. How would you describe the novel for our readers?
Lorraine: It’s about a man who works for the Council and is waiting for early retirement. He is a bit of a tight-fisted git who pinches tea-bags etcetera to save himself money. Through his work, he meets a lady who has a second home and he slowly moves into the empty house, trying to avoid his young niece who has turned up on his doorstep with a baby. However, the woman comes back to the house when he is there and things don’t go quite to plan…
I used to work for the Council and so this is my expose!
AmeriCymru: Your third novel "Cold Enough to Freeze Cows" is set in rural Mid-Wales. What for you is the most interesting or significant feature of the local agricultural lifestyle?
Lorraine: For me, it’s the hard continual work that people have to do day in, day out. It’s the slog that I think that people don’t appreciate when they think of a “rural idyll”. I live in a farming area and there are a number of women farmers (as the women tend to do the animal side of the farming around here) who come to collect their children from school and they are always covered in some sludge or other, depending on what time of year it is! But it’s also so down to earth – it’s hard for people to be pretentious when they have afterbirth on their foot.
AmeriCymru: You have been quoted as saying, ""I don''t write traditional Chicklit - my characters tend not to be chicks, but wellywearing, ruddy-cheeked folks who have adventures!" Care to elaborate?
Lorraine: As an author, I’ve found it difficult trying to tell people why they should buy my book over someone else’s (apart from parading my children in rags). People assume because they are written by a woman and are about “life things” that they are therefore Chicklit – but to me, the Chicklit I’ve read, tends to be about women who spend / want to spend lots of money on shoes and fancy Guy in Accounts, and that’s just not my world. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong about fancying Guy in Accounts, but my books are about farmers wearing three acrylic jumpers to keep out the cold, and 60 year old men who cook supernoodles in thermos flasks. I think that there is a difference, and I am just trying to distinguish between them.
AmeriCymru: Is there such a thing as "chicklit? If so, how would you define it?
Lorraine: I must admit, I do struggle a bit with “Chicklit”, as it does have a slightly dismissive tang. (This isn’t helped by authors shouting, “I don’t mind if people call my books chicklit!” – it reeks a bit of protesting too hard, and if people didn’t mind, they probably wouldn’t feel the need to mention it!) Female authors who write contemporary or commercial fiction are tagged with this dismissive category, whereas male commercial writers aren’t tagged with a dismissive category.
Saying that, it’s a fabulously successful brand, and those that are at the top of it, do really well! I haven’t quite worked out what I think of it: it’s like wanting to be the leader of a gang that you don’t like.
My work was described recently as being a cross between Tom Sharpe and The Vicar of Dibley, and I’m much happier with this description…
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Lorraine Jenkin?
Lorraine: I’m trying very hard to win The People’s Book Prize - the X Factor of the book world as it is decided by the public’s votes. The next round of voting is in June, so I might be back with a small post to ask for help… Other than that, I want to teach our three young girls to pick up their socks, and to clear out our garage which went to the dogs last summer.
Also, I’m part way through my fourth novel and my plan is for it to go global…
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Lorraine: My trip to the Americas had a big impact on my life – not just the adventures, but the lovely people I met there. Now I am self-employed and a mother of three young girls I look back on my time there as a complete luxury in terms of the time I had to myself. I would sit, alone, out in the wilds watching the sun go down over Tierra del Fuego whereas now I read Cinderella seven times a week and scrape at Weetabix that has been welded to the floor. Life is good, but it is very different!
Also, I would like to thank the people of AmeriCymru for their warm welcome to me on the site – it’s been really nice to receive such messages from strangers!
