Blogs
We are still looking for a couple of competitors for the Poetry recitation and Story telling competitions at the West Coast Eisteddfod in Portland OR on October 13th.
- Free tickets for the event, two per competitor.
- A chance to compete for $150 cash prize. Five competitors in each category.
- 8 minutes at the mic. Stories or poems on ANY subject.
- Celebrity judges and a chance to record and promote your performance.
- NO registration fee
Email americymru@gmail.com if you are interested.
6.00-6.50 pm Storytelling Competition
( $150 First Prize - No registration fee! 8 mins at the mic.)
Competitors: Julia Strozyk Hiram Asmuth Ken Iverson + two more. You?
7.20-8.15 pm Poetry Competition
( $150 First Prize - No registration fee! 8 mins at the mic.)
Competitors: Anatoly Molotkov David Cooke Emily Pittman + two more. You?
A delightful picture book published to coincide with publisher’s 120 year anniversary!
By Ceri Shaw, 2012-09-26
Cover to Cover is published alongside a Welsh version, O Glawr i Glawr to coincide with the publishers 120 year anniversary in September 2012. Pont Books is an imprint of Gomer Press who are, this year, celebrating their 120th year as a printing and publishing company. On Thursday morning, 27 September, the award-winning author and illustrator, Rob Lewis along with Sioned Lleinau, the author of the Welsh adaptation, O Glawr i Glawr, will be launching the book with the pupils of Llandysul Primary School. The book features Robs trademark sheep as both author and editor but there are real-life photographs too which show machinery and personnel at a working printing and publishing company. The reader is introduced to the technology and vocabulary used in the industry such as editor, storyboard, designer and proofs and the questions and comments from the characters ensure that the story is presented in a fun and entertaining way.
During the process, metal plates are created and John Llewelyn Jones from Llandysul is seen checking that the pages are in the right order on the plates before sending the book to print. There is one plate for every colour and there are four colours altogether Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black and by printing one colour over another, they produce all the colours needed. Vince Lloyd has worked for Gomer Press for over forty years and he can be seen working on the folding machine. Like many others at Gomer, Vince has worked for the company since leaving school and, with over fifty full and part-time employees, Gomer remains an important employer in the rural Teifi valley. To this day, Gomer Press is a family business and Jonathan Lewis is the managing director of the company his great-grandfather, J.D.Lewis, founded in 1892. On the last page of the book, theres a photograph of Jonathan, his brother Rod and their father John Lewis next to an old printing press and we continue to be astonished by the considerable develpoment that the industry has seen over the years. During the summer of 2012, a new printing press and machinery were installed at Gomers site in Llandysul as the company continues to invest in the future.
It is thanks to J.D. Lewiss initiative, the perseverance of the Lewis family and Gomers workforce throughout the years that many wonderful Welsh and English books adorn many bookshelves in shops, libraries and homes across Wales and Cover to Cover is a special picture-book to celebrate Gomers 120th birthday this year.
Allow yourself to love and trust.
-xx-
Red sky in the morning
Lifts my heart up high;
Some say sailors warning
To me a sweet sigh.
-xxx-
My dear heart is taken
Yes by you my love
Each day I fly so high
On wings of the dove .
-xx-
One ,two,three,four and five
My heart sings again.
Each step I truly love
Never in deep pain.
-xx-
My dear heart is taken
Yes by you my love
Each day I fly so high
On wings of a dove
-xx-
My love swells each morning
Afternoon and night
Each day full of loving
What a wondrous sight.
-xx-
My dear heart is taken
Yes by you my love
Each day I fly so high
On wings of the dove.
-xx-
Each dear heart thats loving
Flows into sweet bliss.
With my sincere true love
I blow a dear kiss.
-xx-
My dear heart is taken
Yes by you my love
Each day I fly so high
On wings of the dove.
-xx-
To be brave and to trust
Im taking a chance
I am learning each step
To lifes wondrous dance.
-xx-
My dear heart is taken
Yes by you my love
Each day I fly so high
On the wings of the dove.
-xx-
How I love you so much
More and more each day
The magic of your touch
Charms me on my way.
-xx-
My dear heart is taken
Yes by you my love
Each day I fly so high
On the wings of the dove.
-xx-
Dragon Tales - 'The Stories of Rhys', an Interview With Author Christopher R. Williams
By Ceri Shaw, 2012-09-25
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AmeriCymru spoke to author Christopher R. Williams about his new mystery and adventure series for children - The Stories of Rhys . Set in North Wales and based on real locations these stories have delighted local school children and been featured in the North Wales press. ( see pics below ) We talked to Christopher about the series and about his future writing plans.
AmeriCymru: You're the author and illustrator of The Stories of Rhys a juvenile fiction series set in North Wales, can you tell us a bit about this series and how did it come about?
" Born in the very heart of Snowdonia on a terrible stormy night, a special baby dragon is taken away to safety leaving behind the body of his father who had died to save him. Fleeing from their blazing home which lit the night sky, his mother carried him far away to a cave on a rocky headland at the edge of the sea. There she must hide him until he is an adult dragon who can fly and protect himself with fire. For in Snowdonia, in the damp darkness of the slate mines, a black dragon rules with a terrifying and merciless cruelty. The firetooth of each of his victims hangs around his neck as a warning to anyone who dares to challenge him. His face is horribly burnt and the very existence of the baby dragon threatens him. He has sworn to kill him so that he can never use his special dragon breath, but the baby dragon grows up to learn of the injustice and hatred that his life is founded on, and that only he can save Snowdonia and free the dragon slaves.
The special dragon is Rhys, and this is his story, The Stories of Rhys."
Ysgol Gwynedd 
A book of obituaries has been published to celebrate the lives of 75 eminent Welsh people who have contributed significantly to life in Wales during the last few decades.
An essential supplement to any history of modern Wales, Welsh Lives: Gone but not forgotten consists of obituaries written by the prolific Meic Stephens that first appeared, for the most part, in the pages of The Independent between 1999 and 2012.
Obituaries are about life, not death, says Meic Stephens. I think that the title, Welsh Lives: Gone but not Forgotten, sums up what I want to convey: that the people gathered in the book are remembered for their lifes work and that, in this special sense, they live on in the Wales and world they helped to shape.
Meic Stephens is a pre-eminent obituarist in contemporary Wales. Welsh Lives is the authors second book of obituaries, the first of which was published as Necrologies in 2008 and consisted of 72 obituaries, from Welsh writers to graphic designers.
Stephens new collection is even more capacious and various than the first volume, in that it mixes creative people with politicians, sportsmen, civil servants, film critics, broadcasters, arts administrators, doctors and judges, all of whom may be deemed to have made a contribution to Wales and Welsh life.
Welsh Lives holds up a mirror to Wales's culture, and includes short biographies of Stuart Cable, Ray Gravell, Hywel Teifi Edwards, Huw Ceredig, Iris Gower, Margaret John, Raymond Garlick, Dic Jones, Hafina Clwyd, Orig Williams and many more. Five Bretons and seven English people closely associated with Wales have also been added to the collection.
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200 PAPER DAFFS ( SEE PICS BELOW ) WILL BE PLANTED AROUND PORTLAND. FIND ONE AND BRING IT ALONG TO THE WEST COAST EISTEDDFOD FOR $2 OFF AT THE DOOR!!
I have to make some fliers for this year's West Coast Eisteddfod in Portland. In the past, the best promo lines for us, with the greatest return, have been online and we do lots of marketing there but I always want to find things that will bring more local, non-Welsh-ish people to our event so that makes handbills, fliers and posters important.
I think less and less people will pick up a flier or a handbill or bother to read or keep one if you hand it to them so I'm brainstorming on ways to make them more interesting and more memorable, on a tiny non-profit budget! I had the idea to do handbills as a pinwheel so that's what I'm trying, a little red dragon and black text on a yellow background, attached to bamboo skewers with a push pin - the prototype has a clear push pin but I'm going to replace that with an orange push pin to make it more daff like. We'll stick in the ground all over town and I was thinking I might add a "bring this in for $2 off at the door" offer on it.
I was thinking I'd also reverse the direction of the dragon and make the "petals" more rounded - - what does anyone think?
And, two pix of Ceri with it and sticking it in the ground -
Just a quick post to draw mwembers attention to the new 'related posts' feature on blogs and forum topics. Not quite sure what criteria are used to make the "you might also like" judgements BUT it should be an aid to random discovery and perhaps assist to re-surface a few lost gems
ThePower Of Aspirations
Great leaders have always been visionaries able to inspireothers with their aspirations and dreams.
President J F Kennedy had no idea of the technical challenges involved in
getting a man to the moon but he motivated people to meet that challenge and succeed. This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the realisation of that dream. Apparently when he asked Werner Von Braun what it would take to put a man on the moonthe scientist told him, the will to do it.
Dr Martin LuthorKing went to the mountain top and others followed.
WinstonChurchill inspired Britain to stand firm before the might of Nazi Germany as Europe threatened toslip into darkness.
They painted an irresistiblepicturein the mindsof menthrough the power of the
spoken word. Imagination embraced the dream and thedream became reality. Einsteinsaid "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Captivate the heart and mind through the powerof the imagination and knowledge will follow. If weare inspired to accomplish something, if the dream isbig enough we will acquire the skills and knowledge we need to create the reality we desire.How largeare your aspirions?
"Thesoul," said Aristotle, "cannot thinkwithout a picture." The dream is an intangible picture by which we create a tangible future.
Nothingever happens without a dream. A man or woman with a clear dream can achieve anything. If your aspirations arebig enough nothing else matters. Walt Disney lived by that truth and children everywhere have enjoyed the fruit of his vision.
Please take the time to visit the websites, blogs, Facebook Pages and Twitter accounts of these aspiring authors. There is so much fantastic talent waiting to be read. Just click on theirimage.
| Here are some of our talented Aspiring Indie Authors | ||||
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If you would like a free copy of Google+ eXplosion all you have to do is Pay With A Tweet (or Facebook Post)
This book has great information for us authors who prefer writing to the mystifying maze of
marketing. Thank you Phil for guiding us through in such an understandable way .
Richard Silverton (Author)
Thanks to Phil Rowlands, for pointing me to Google+ as a marke ting tool for independent authors. Bryan Murphy (Author)
Wonderful! Colleen McKlintock
