" Dave Lewis is a writer and poet based in Pontypridd, south Wales. He also lectures IT & Photography, designs web sites and is a keen photographer. He has always lived in Wales except for a short spell in Kenya in 1993-94 and enjoys travelling to different parts of the world. He writes content for and still maintains many web sites, was web producer for the BBC Wales Scrum V fanzine, has run four hugely successful rugby sites with Rivals.net and used to write a newspaper column for the Pontypridd Observer." AmeriCymru spoke to Dave about 'Ctrl-Alt-Delete' and other literary projects.

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AmeriCymru: Hi Dave and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. Your first novel 'Ctrl-Alt-Delete' is currently available on Kindle. Care to tell us a little more about the novel and what inspired it?

Dave: I guess it's a crime thriller. A Facebook, cyber-stalking, murder mystery, love story with some good old fashioned sex and violence thrown in for good measure. 

I've always wanted to follow in the footsteps of someone like James Patterson and be a successful commercial writer, if only to allow myself time out from the day job to develop my writing skills more. 

Having worked in IT for 17 years I am always amazed at how innocent to the dangers of the web people can be and whilst I had the idea of linking a number of very different local characters together in a very fast, filmic novel, I imagine my computer knowledge helped inspire the main thrust of the book. 

One of the reviews says: ‘Could do for Wales what Stieg Larsson did for Sweden!’ which is a great compliment and hopefully true.

Amazon link - Ctrl+Alt+Delete

From Amazon.co.uk:

When beautiful Jenny Morris uses Facebook to get her ex-boyfriend Hal Griffiths to stalk her she has no idea what a dangerous game she is playing - for someone else is watching from the murky shadows of cyberspace. 

And when an horrific murder in a sleepy Welsh village stirs a seasoned reporter, a conceited detective and an overweight IT expert into action, they too always seem to be one step behind the mysterious killer - Hagar. 

Against the backdrop of a tangled web of deviant sexual practices Hal must rescue his lover before the killer strikes again. In the wilds of the Brecon Beacons National Park an electrifying climax is played out when Hal is forced to confront his deadly rival. 

Social and political commentary within a close-knit community has never been so honest. Pornography morphs into technology and we are forced to ask ourselves the question - will man’s lust for instant gratification ultimately be his undoing? 

A full-throttle thriller effortlessly blending violence, eroticism and suspense, Ctrl-Alt-Delete is both a modern love story and a prophetic tale of intrigue in our ever-distracting machine driven world. A truly gripping debut novel by Dave Lewis.

AmeriCymru: How intrusive and how dangerous do you think modern social media/networks are? Can technology go too far? 

Dave: Very dangerous (just read the book). I'm sure that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg at the moment and things will get much worse before people wake up. I read one study last year that some young people spend five times more time 'socialising' online than they do in the real world - this is very sad when there is a great big beautiful world out there to explore.

There are security/identity issues with online use, health issues and outright dangers, especially when you delve into the world of internet dating and pornography. 

Technology is neutral I guess and will just continue to develop to enable more people to participate and therefore consume, it's a capitalist world and the masses of India, Africa and China are not even in the game yet - it's Christmas for sellers! 

AmeriCymru: Are you planning a sequel to 'Crtl-Alt-Delete' 

Yep! I can't say too much but it's half written in my head and whilst the first book is set almost entirely in Wales, the second will be in Kenya and... Nah, that would be telling.

AmeriCymru: What are the advantages of publishing digital editions? How easy (or difficult) is it to publish on Kindle? 

Dave: Hopefully, budding writers can by-pass the traditional and outdated agent/publisher route and just get on with it. It's about 2-3 years quicker, very easy if you have a few computer skills and some very basic html knowledge. You also get to control commissions etc. I used the least commission / hopefully more sales option, e.g. my novel is just 86p or 99cents and already in less than 2 weeks I've sold nearly 100 copies (in UK).

AmeriCymru: You have also published three anthologies of poems and short stories. Your third collection Sawing Fallen Logs For Ladybird Houses is accompanied by photographs on your website. How do the two media work together? 

Dave: Yeh, the poetry is always a constant and I'm sure I'll continue to publish poetry for many years to come. Sawing Fallen Logs... was a concept I had a few years back. I applied for a bursary from 'Literature Wales' to enable me to get a publisher in Wales but as they only seem to give money to the same old faces... I do what I always do if they are not willing to support grass roots art of this kind - I just do it anyway. To publish full-colour images alongside the poetry as was envisaged would have been better but in the end was just too expensive to do. Luckily the poems stand alone anyway, but for those that have bought the book and given me feedback they don't see it as such a drawback having to have the images open on a laptop or iPad. 

AmeriCymru: You were a runner up in the Rhys Davies Short Story Competition 2009 with your short story 'Onions'. Can you tell us more about the story? Do you plan to write more short stories? 

Dave: 'Onions' was a challenge to the politically correct mainstream literary world and they seemed to fall for it hook, line and sinker! Very satisfying. Many thought it highlighted the racism within a working class valleys culture but actually all it shows is that there is good and bad everywhere and that people just get too hung up on clichés, stereotypes and jumping on the BBC bandwagon of over-the-top political correctness. 

The story is set in a south Wales valleys curryhouse and I take the stresses and strains we all face to extremes when an Al-Qaeda recruit (a pubescent, confused young lad who is neither one thing nor the other) blows up a restaurant. The story highlights culture within culture by means of jumping between tables in the room and from the waiters’ point of view rather than the customers.

I've got two more stories in Urban Birdsong and have a couple of others ready for a future book. 

AmeriCymru: In addition to writing you have also organised the Welsh Poetry Competition for the past five years. How has the competition grown and developed since 2007? 

Dave: It's been fantastic! We went from a few hundred entries mostly from within Wales in the first year to becoming truly international a couple of years later and get entries from all over the world now. I think the success has been down to our great judges, John Evans , Mike Jenkins and Sally Spedding and the fact that the competition is judged fairly, unlike many I won't mention.

AmeriCymru: Who is the judge this year? 

Dave: It's a secret, but OK then, John Evans.

AmeriCymru: What are you reading at the moment? Any recommendations? 

Dave: My favourite book of all time is 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists' but at the moment I'm reading Gary Snyder - Turtle Island, a Patricia Cornwell book, a Sandy Denny biography and Crash by JG Ballard, plus anything else lying around...

AmeriCymru: Favourite pub in Ponty? 

Dave: Always was the Llanover Arms, but a new watering hole has emerged recently in the form of The Patriot - award-winning real ales, great landlord and always packed! The 'Llan' will always have a special place in all Ponty peoples' hearts of course, I've been drinking there myself since I was 15 or 16.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Dave Lewis? 

Dave: I've got a book of haiku half done plus bits and bobs, photography to catch up on, but I guess I really should start on a sequel to Ctrl-Alt-Delete and then the third... 

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru? 

Dave: Merry Christmas of course, does time fly as fast in America as it does here in Wales? Oh, and buy my book of course (is that allowed Ceri?)

AmeriCymru: Certainly is...BUY DAVE'S BOOK: Ed.

Interview by Ceri Shaw Email

Excerpt From Ctrl-Alt-Delete

Prologue

August 2010…

Jenny had drunk far too much white wine. It was an easy mistake to make and now she was going to die.

How long had she been unconscious? She had no idea. No concept of time. Struggling hard not to panic as she felt herself begin to hyperventilate Jenny instinctively knew she must absorb and assimilate every detail, something somewhere might save her. She also knew she must act immediately if she wanted to escape.

She struggled for breath and forced herself not to give in to the gagging reflex as her desert-dry mouth filled with burning bile. Jenny’s swollen eyes strained to become accustomed to the murky gloom. She tried to shake her long, curly brown hair away from her face but dried sweat held it tight as the cold metal of the handcuffs cut into her wrists. Her whole body was aching and her pulse throbbed relentlessly in her head.

Thinking back to earlier that evening she vaguely remembered her vision blurring and the muted sound of words slurring, like holding your head underwater in the bath. Then her stomach had tightened and warm flushes had begun to spread out all over her body. A distorted Daliesque clock face slowly slithered down the wall. As Jenny’s coordination flew off into the evening her knees buckled. She headed for the carpet in slow motion. A small, rough hand expertly plucked the free-falling wine glass from mid-air and delicately placed it on a low wicker table.

Terror can manifest itself in different ways but all Jenny could visualize at this moment was Hal’s grinning face staring back from the centre of a computer monitor. In the first brief seconds of consciousness she searched for reassurance. She tried to reason with herself, to tell herself it would be OK.

She tried to justify her actions, to make sense of it, to make it alright. It wasn’t her fault. What else could she have done? Stalkers don’t just stalk anybody do they? You have to give them a reason. You have got to make them want to do it.

Oh shit! What have I got myself into? The thought of being a lonely old spinster was suddenly very appealing… then unexpectedly, off to the side, a long penetrating torch beam flashed across her body and in a nanosecond she was catapulted back to the present. The harsh light settled on her pale face and blinded Jenny for a brief moment before an echoing click plunged her back into silence and darkness.

With her senses heightened by fear she could taste the damp, musty smells of straw, onions and potatoes. The odour of mouse droppings mingled with the stink of rotting, wet vegetables. She desperately searched the dim recesses of her prison. Her funeral-black pupils frantically scanned the darkness for hope.

Penetrating, probing. Looking for anything that could offer her a way out of this nightmare… and then she saw them.

Laid out purposefully in a neat line on the small wooden bench in the corner of the barn. Almost out of sight. Not placed in front of you – for effect. Not staring you in the face, not carefully arranged like pretty glass ornaments on a living room shelf. Not meant to shock or terrify. These had been put there for a purpose. Practical. To be used.

Jenny shivered, her big brown eyes grew to saucers, her face became china-white as the adrenaline kicked in and coursed through her blood. She tried to jerk free but the restraints held firm as she slowly traced the metallic shapes in perfect clarity. Her screams were muffled by the crimson scarf tied tight around her mouth, and an earthy taste of silk mixed with her briny tears as they streamed into her mouth.

Suddenly and without warning she felt warm liquid flow down her legs as her bladder opened involuntary. She stank of fear. She missed her daddy.

Then, slowly but surely, the same rough hand emerged from the shadows and reached for a shiny, clean scalpel that glinted sporadically in the half-light. It edged closer to her, leaving the rest of the knives, dissection instruments and power tools set out clinically in the dark.

One

April 1st 2010…

Hal Griffiths had been fast asleep. His head submerged deep in a pillow, Egyptian cotton sheets wrapped around his lean but muscular torso.

A thick winter duvet lay in a pile on the floor next to a pair of old Levi jeans and a faded blue Billabong tee shirt. Bridgedale light-weight walking socks and a pair of Merrell trail shoes were close by. Smiling to himself, semi-conscious now, he kept his eyes closed tight.

These were the precious minutes just before waking when your mind knew it was time to face another day but your body craved another hours rest, or was it the other way around? Either way he wasn’t going anywhere, the voluptuous super-model Elle McPherson was with him.

BUY CTRL+ALT+DELETE HERE

A Plaid Cymru candidate, who travelled to Libya with a delegation from the party in 1976 reveals that the party received £25,000 from the Libyan government. Carl Clowes, a well known anti-nuclear activist and candidate for Plaid Cymru in many elections, reveals this information in his autobiography published this week.

In the book, called Super Furries, Prins Seeiso, Miss Siberia – a Fi , Carl Clowes recalls the research trip in 1976 to Libya with Dr Phil Williams, Brian Morgan Edwards and John Lewis. After watching Gaddafi speak a representative asked how could they contribute towards their cause for independence. Carl explains how he understood through Brian Morgan Edwards “that £25,000 had come through to Plaid Cymru”.

This is one of many revelations in Carl’s honest autobiography – a lifelong campaigner for the Welsh language and also the father of two members of the Super Furry Animals.

Carl Clowes moved from his specialist occupation in Manchester to a one man practice in Pen Llŷn in 1970 to raise the family in a rural and Welsh community. There he saw the community and its populace deteriorating and the health of the area suffering.

‘It was a new vision and personal awakening in regards to the relationshop between people’s living conditions and people’s health that led me to change my career and specialise in social healthcare’ said Carl.

There was a threat that the Llanaelhaearn village school would close and a great need for for employment opportunities if the area was to survive. This led to the creation of several initiatives include establishing Nant Gwrtheyrn language centre in 1982 which has since seen over 30,000 experience the unique atmosphere of the Welsh learning centre.

Carl Clowes found himself embroiled in several Welsh language campaigns including unifying several organisations and forums in the campaign for a new language act and developing the first comprehensive strategy for the future of the Welsh language.

He was also the election candidate for Plaid Cymru in Montgomeryshire in 1979, 1983 and 1987.

‘After I realised that politicans are in the best place to influence the health of a society, I ventured to the political work of Westminster three times in Montgomeryshire,’ says Carl, ‘I had remarkable experiences but without election success.’

He is also a firm campaigner against Wylfa B and drew a manifesto for Anglesey outlining a proposed plan for sustainable employment and energy on the island.

He led the twinning between Wales and Lesotho in 1985 and established Dolen Cymru – the first of its kind in the world. He is now the Honorary Vice Consul for Lesotho in Wales. Carl has also worked in the third sector in countries such as Siberia , Cambodia, and Mizoram in India.

He has also been honoured by the White Robe by the National Eisteddfod for his local, national and international contributions. He is married to Dorothi and they have four children - Dafydd, Rhiannon, Angharad and Cian.

Super Furries, Prins Seeiso, Miss Siberia a Fi by Carl Clowes (£12.99, Y Lolfa) is out on October 1 ^st .

A study of the life and career of Owain Gwynedd (c. 1100-1170), who played a dominant role in the history of Wales before her conquest. He was king of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death, and was the first to be styled prince of Wales. He was considered the most successful of all the north Welsh princes prior to his grandson Llewelyn the Great.

Buy Owain Gwynedd here

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This is the first study for over a century of the life and reign of one of the greatest of medieval Welsh rulers, owain ap Gruffydd ap Cynan, or , as history remembers him, Owain Gwynedd.

Owain Gwynedd (1137-1170) was a leading figure in Wales for over thirty years during which time he earned the respect of his peers and established a reputation for fearlessness in war, wisdom in peace, ruthlessness in politics, and prudence and moderation in governance.

Lauded by chroniclers and poets, Owain was a man of flesh and blood, but one truly possessed of exceptional qualities. He acquired the epithet Fawr or Great, and in the opinion of one of the greatest of Welsh historians, Sir John Edward Lloyd, it is ''a description he fully deserved'' because his ''greatness was recognized alike by bard and chronicler, by Welshman and Englishman'', and by Irishmen and Frenchmen. This short, popular study is intended to ensure that the deeds of a great Welshman are not forgotten.

Roger Turvey is a native of the Amman Valley and a graduate of Swansea University. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors. He has published widely on medievaln and early modern Welsh history and was editor of the Journal of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society for over twenty years.

The New Welsh Writing Awards 2017, run by New Welsh Review in association with Aberystwyth University and AmeriCymru, opens for entries on 26 September with two new categories, the Aberystwyth University Prize for Memoir and AmeriCymru Prize for the Novella.

Now in its third year, the Awards were set up to champion the best short-form writing in English and has previously run non-fiction categories with the WWF Cymru Prize for Writing on Nature, won by Eluned Gramich in 2015 and the University of South Wales Prize for Travel Writing, won by Mandy Sutter in June 2016.

This year sees the Awards open up to fiction and memoir, welcoming sponsorship from Aberystwyth University, the core sponsor and host of New Welsh Review, and US online magazine and social network AmeriCymru. The Awards are run in partnership with Curtis Brown, Gladstone’s Library and Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre.

New Welsh Review editor Gwen Davies will judge both categories with Welsh-American writer David Lloyd co-judging the Novella category. David is the author of nine books including poetry collections and novels, and directs the Creative Writing Program at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY.

Each category winner will receive £1,000 cash, e-publication by New Welsh Review on their New Welsh Rarebyte imprint and a positive critique by leading literary agent Cathryn Summerhayes at Curtis Brown. Second prize for each category is a weeklong residential course at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre in Gwynedd, north Wales and third prize is a weekend stay at Gladstone’s Library in Flintshire, north Wales. All six winners will also receive a one-year subscription to New Welsh Review. In addition New Welsh Review will consider the highly commended and shortlisted nominees for publication in a forthcoming edition of its creative magazine New Welsh Reader with an associated standard fee.

The Awards are open to all writers based in the UK and Ireland plus those who have been educated in Wales. The AmeriCymru Prize for the Novella is also open to writers based in the US and Canada. Entries close at midnight on 1 March 2017. Full details, including terms and conditions, can be found online at www.newwelshwritingawards.com .

The longlist will be announced online on 3 April 2017, with the shortlist announced at an event at Aberystwyth University on 4 May 2017 and the winner at an event at Hay Festival on 1 June 2017.

Gwen Davies , editor of New Welsh Review says: 'We are seeking evocative, succinct and authentic short book-length manuscripts in English. For the novella category they will be between 8,000 and 30,000 words. For the memoir, between 5,000 and 30,000. If your top drawer hides a novella with the punch of Animal Farm or the poignancy and dialect of Mihangel Morgan's Pan Oeddwn yn Fachgen ; or the bite, and visceral local feel of memoirs such as Mary Karr's The Liars' Club or the sheer cheek of Charles Nicholl's The Fruit Palace , we want to hear from you.'

Co-judge David Lloyd says ‘I am delighted to serve as co-judge for the AmeriCymru Prize for the Novella. Ever since writing a novella for my first book of fiction, I have loved the form, which combines the intensity of the short story with the expansiveness of the novel. It can be devoured in one sitting or put down and picked up for leisurely reading. Anyone who has read James Joyce’s ‘The Dead’, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness , Carson McCullers’ The Ballad of the Sad Café , or Kate Chopin’s The Awakening will know the pleasures of this genre in the hands of masters. I also very much value the international scope of this contest, which I hope will draw out authors from diverse backgrounds who write – or who are now inspired to try – the novella.’

Louise Marshall , Head of English and Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University, said: ‘We are delighted to be working with New Welsh Review to find the best writing talent in Wales and beyond. Memoirs are a fascinating and often surprising literary form and, just as these Awards have already celebrated Mandy Sutter’s and Eluned Gramich’s beautifully crafted and enthralling works, we are very much looking forward to discovering equally talented writers in the future.’

Ceri Shaw, co-founder of AmeriCymru, added, ‘AmerCymru is honored to be offered this opportunity to partner with the New Welsh Review and Aberystwyth University. We founded AmeriCymru to increase awareness of Wales and Welsh heritage and to bring Wales and its arts, including literature, to the attention of more people around the world. This competition provides voice and opportunity to new and upcoming writers, and we are excited to be able to contribute to this effort.’

The AmeriCymru Prize For The Novella 2017!! https://t.co/xC0JnppRDj #Wales #writing pic.twitter.com/HKGWqoEUGl

— americymru (@americymru) September 26, 2016

Llandaf author William Vaughan has released a brand new thriller, called Blood Month Born and educated in Cardiff, the author taught English and History in schools in the Welsh capital, including The Cathedral School, Llandaf before becoming a writer of fiction.

Blood Month is a detective story set in a fictional boys’ boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan, where a young teacher chances upon the body of the unpopular headmaster. As well as revealing a list of possible suspects, the resulting investigation also uncovers accusations of sexual misconduct and a climate of jealousy and intrigue. Blood Month is William Vaughan’s first novel for adults, following the publication of three novels for children and young adults.

“ What you did wasn’t murder… He deserved everything he got. In the old days, they slaughtered surplus animals in November. Blood Month, they called it. That’s all you did. You rid the world of a useless beast… ”

A brand new thriller set in the Vale of Glamorgan has been released by Y Lolfa publishers this week. Blood Month by William Vaughan is a detective story set in a fictional boys’ boarding school in Llanover, where a young teacher chances upon the body of the unpopular headmaster. As well as revealing a list of possible suspects, the resulting investigation also uncovers accusations of sexual misconduct and a climate of jealousy and intrigue.

Blood Month is William Vaughan’s first novel for adults, following the publication of three novels for children and young adults.

“I fancied a change from writing for children, because such books impose so many limits upon content and vocabulary,” explains William Vaughan, who taught English and History in schools in Leicestershire and Cardiff before becoming a writer of fiction. “Relationships between characters have to remain platonic in children’s fiction. However in Blood Month, sex rears its sometimes ugly head, resulting in affairs and abuse playing a part in the story. Also, a teacher having feelings for a pupil wouldn’t be a topic I would raise in a novel aimed at a younger audience.

“The novel is set in 1971 to avoid closed-circuit cameras, DNA profiling and computer databases - which makes solving crimes too easy! I found that trying to devise a plot to deceive the reader without cheating - by introducing the murderer late in the story, for instance - was an interesting challenge. But so far, readers haven’t guessed the murderer''s identity on their first read!”

Blood Month is a book of novella length, which is unusual for its genre, and the fresh, gripping and fast-paced chapters perfectly reflect the tensions and frustrations infused in such a school as Llanover Grange.

William Vaughan is the author of The Midnight Ghost (2004), The Black Legion (2008) and Gold Hunter (2010). Born and educated in Cardiff, he taught English and History in schools in Leicestershire and the Welsh capital, including The Cathedral School, Llandaf. He became a full member of The Welsh Academy in 2009 for his contribution to the literature of Wales.

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Margaret Maund, one of the first women to be ordained priest in the Church of Wales, has launched a revealing book about her experiences as a nurse deep in the jungle of war-torn central Africa during her twenties.

Buy ''Congo Calling'' here

Buy ''Decades of Discovery'' here

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One of the first women to be ordained priest in the Church of Wales has published a revealing book about her experiences as a nurse in war-torn central Africa. Margaret Maund was raised in the Rhondda and trained as a nurse and midwife before spending her twenties deep in the jungle of central Africa at the end of the 1960s.

In her new book, Congo Calling, Reverend Margaret Maund from Tonyrefail explains how wanderlust overcame her during her mid twenties and, after a few years studying French and tropical medicine in Antwerp, she travelled to war-torn Belgian Congo, in central Africa, to work as a medical missionary.

As Margaret tells the story of the years spent in Africa, between 1968 and 1971, the reader enters fully into her experiences: the intense heat and great electrical storms, the poisonous snakes, crocodiles and insects, the traumas of the medical staff and the Ngombe people’s song and dance.

“Looking back, I think I found many similarities between the people I’d left back at home in the Rhondda and the people I met in the Congo,” the author explains. “The warmth of the welcome, their generosity and willingness to share everything they had all reminded me of home. I found Africa an open community which also had the hospitality and wit of my homeland.”

After three years Margaret had to return home. Although she had hoped to return to Africa, her health had been seriously impaired during the time she had spent in the tropics and she was never able to go back to the hospital at Pimu. This was a source of great sadness to her, and despite the fact that she went on to continue her nursing career, to broadcast, to write and to become one of the first women to be ordained priest in the Church of Wales, her love for Africa never left her.

“Before I left Africa, I was asked if I could share with the people of Wales the positive and hopeful lives of those living around me there – could I talk and write about them as they would like to present themselves? I have tried, to the best of my ability, to do just that.”

Congo Calling is Margaret Maund’s second book, following the publication of her autobiography Decades of Discovery in 2011. Congo Calling was launched at St David’s Church, Tonyrefail on Friday 21 June during the Arts Festival and at Tonyrefail Library the following week. The book is published by Y Lolfa, priced £7.95.

Philip Rowlands is a former Headteacher from the Rhondda in South Wales. He is now an author and editor of 'Kindle Authors', a website which offers :- 'Encouragement, practical 'how to' advice, and support for all aspiring and established Kindle authors.'

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AmeriCymru: Croeso i AmeriCymru Philip. Recently I have been admiring your work on Kindle Authors . How would you describe the site?

Philip: Thanks Ceri. Writing is essentially a solitary craft. Kindle Authors was established to create a supportive community of potential Indie authors who want to go down the self publishing route. Hopefully it provides helpful technical advice, promotional ideas, amusing posts but above all a healthy dose of encouragement. A blog is also a great way to discipline yourself to the daily task of actually getting some writing done. There must be lots of people including members of AmeriCymru who have a novel currently residing in their head but unless they impose some self discipline and start writing on a regular basis that’s where it will stay.

AmeriCymru: In addition to blogging you are also a writer who publishes electronically. How did you get started with that?

Philip: I have always loved writing. As a teacher I was very conscious of how drama could impact positively on children especially with regard to emotional literacy. Consequently I wrote many play scripts and entered children in various competitions. We achieved success nationally winning the Cardiff International Science and Drama Festival run by Professor John Beetlestone of UWIST, came runners up in another national finals sponsored by Savlon which were held at BAFTA and also were awarded a prize in the National Eisteddfod held at Builth Wells.

I decided to try and get some of the plays published back in the day when you sent your manuscripts to a publisher and waited several months for a rejection slip. When I retired I continued to write and with the advent of devices like Amazon’s Kindle I decided, like many established authors, to ignore the traditional route and publish directly with Amazon and Smashwords. The fact this option was available gave me the impetus to finish one of several projects I had started but abandoned. There is no excuse now because anyone can write and get published if they really want to.

AmeriCymru: You have published 'G+ Explosion'. Can you tell us more about this title?

Philip: Writing a book about social media marketing was the furthest thing from my mind if I am honest. I was always actively involved on the internet even when it was new and computers were alien beings that sat in the corner of a classroom making strange beeping noises like a disgruntled R2D2 and whose sole purpose seemed to be to intimidate nervous teachers.

It was obvious to me that here was a possible outlet for the play scripts and educational programs (see http://www.helpyourchildsucceed.com ) I had written. Down the years I have sort of become a social media marketing expert by default. Please don’t ever call me a guru! Having then begun to self publish my work I soon realised that was just the first stage of the self publishing author’s task. The next is to promote your book. Nobody is going to do it for you and there are now so many books published on Amazon every month that it is easy to become lost in the digital crowd. When Google+ arrived I took a close look and immediately glimpsed its immense potential. Here was an opportunity to establish a presence while Google+ was still a new kid on the social media block. Having already established Kindle Authors I viewed Google+ eXplosion as a natural extension of providing information and help on a social network that can provide authors with a powerful promotional platform. In order to get Google+ eXplosion written I took time off from my current project, as time is of the essence when opportunities presented by the likes of Google+ arrive.

AmeriCymru: The inevitable G+ question. In your opinion will it ever catch up with or be a viable competitor to Facebook?

Philip: In my humble opinion, most definitely. Google have already failed with one project, failure is not an option this time. They are totally committed to Google+ and as soon as apps linking them to other social media networks like Twitter become available momentum will build exponentially. One feature that is particularly effective is the way you can group people into Circles. This allows you to set up sub groups within your account. For example I have groups for various genres like Fantasy, Science Fiction etc and only post what is relevant to that group. This facility is lacking on Facebook. Google+ is still evolving. When Google+ first introduced their Pages the maximum number you were allowed was just 20. I now have 28 pages and there has been no warning from Google that I am anywhere near my limit. They are adding new features all the time and the latest is the Local Tab that allows you to search a local area within a given postcode for restaurants etc. Google+ will become a massive presence in the social media universe and now is the time to get a foothold.

AmeriCymru: You have also published A Christmas Carol Revisited . Can you introduce the book for our readers?

Philip: Certainly. Charles Dickens is one of my favourite authors and ‘A Christmas Carol’, my favourite story. Although Dickens was not Welsh he shares with us one very common trait which is evident in all his works. Dickens possessed a well defined social conscience and his novels frequently illuminate the dark corners of Victorian society where social injustice and abuse of children were commonplace. I often wondered what issues Dickens would have written about today and that was the intial motivation for ‘A Christmas Carol Revisited’. I realised it might appear an act of arrogance to try and follow in the footsteps of the great man but I reasoned if the Muppets could do it, why not me?

I have been asked why the story was set in New York not London. When Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol Britain presided over a vast empire at the height of it’s powers. During the 20th century that mantle fell upon America and she has since been at the centre of many of the significant events that have shaped and changed our world. New York seemed the obvious setting for Ebenezer Clinton Scrooge III, very much a self made man of his times. There were two other aspects of Dickens work I hoped to reflect in some small measure. First was his love of words and descriptive powers and second was the fact that he always wrote darned good stories. In this age of CGI movies the art of story telling often takes a back seat.

Thankfully A Christmas Carol Revisited has been well received by everyone who has read it. I was fortunate to secure an hour long interview and review with Roy Noble and Nigel Crowle on BBC Radio Wales and they were extremely supportive. Hopefully readers will find it an uplifting experience.( Access the interview from here )

AmeriCymru: Care to tell us more about your latest title 'Billy: Family Secrets' ?

Philip: 'Billy:Family Secrets' is written for children with adults very much in mind. Billy is a nine year old boy who lives in the South Wales Valleys. His beloved Nan resides in a local nursing home run by ‘The Matron’ whom Billy is convinced is a vampire. A family crisis leads to the discovery of the family album. The secrets Billy unearths within its pages will change his life forever. Nothing will ever be the same again, in fact nothing is really what it seems.

“For a long moment Billy sat very still as it lay on the table before him like an ancient doorway beckoning him to pass through if he dare. It smelt of mould and decay and Billy hesitated to reach out and touch it. He wondered from what creature the leather had been obtained. Probably dragon's underbelly he guessed. “Are you going to open it or are we going to sit here all night?” Mum was getting impatient so Billy took a deep breath and reached out.”

AmeriCymru: What's next for Philip Rowlands? What are you currently working on?

Philip: Tough question Ceri! I tend to work on several projects at once. Currently my main focus is finishing Billy. You may also have noticed the animations I posted. They are taken from a sitcom series called Jack’s High that I submitted to the BBC. Although the BBC have asked me to provide more sample scripts they do not intend to commission Jack’s High. Problem is I have such a great affection for the characters who inhabit Jack’s High that I can’t let go – hence the animations. I may make the series the basis for a couple of books.

I have also started an historical novel set in the dark ages and a science fiction novel set in a post apocalyptic world – not a result of a nuclear Armageddon but the total collapse of global financial institutions and the ensuing chaos and emergence of a new Dark Age.

There are also a few other projects buzzing around in my head including an attempt at a screenplay or, more accurately, a rewrite of my first draft. The more projects I have lined up the more chance the Grim Reaper will have the good grace to wait until I finish. Can that be considered a perverse statement of faith or just a sort of spiritual crossed fingers?

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Philip: Thanks for having me and especially you Ceri for the vision and energy to get this marvellous AmeriCymru project off the ground. Hopefully I will not offend too many people and may even be able to help some. If any of you would like me to feature your book on Kindle Authors please email me at philiprowlands@ymail.com and I will be happy to include you. One thing, if you have always wanted to write that novel get started today, it’s never too late until it’s too late.

Interview by Ceri Shaw

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"Ebenezer Clinton Scrooge III presides over a vast media empire from his base in New York City but this Christmas Eve his world is about to descend into chaos. At the centre of the nightmare is a girl with auburn hair." A 21st century re-imagining of the Dickens classic by Welsh writer Phil Rowlands.

Buy A Christmas Carol Revisited here '

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Charles Dickens ''A Christmas Carol'' was an enormously popular and influential book. Indeed there are those who claim that many of our current Christmas traditions and observances are directly attributable to its influence. However that may be ( and you can read more on that subject here and here ) Welsh author Phil Rowlands has gifted us with a mdern re-imagining of this classic tale and a superb seasonal read.

''A Christmas Tale Revisited'' does not concern itself to follow the structure of the Dickens original. Instead of five 'staves' it is written in four parts and there are many departures from the original story line. It does, however, perfectly preserve the spirit of the original. An attempt has also been made to imitate the style of Dickensian prose which, in this reviewers opinion, adds to the books charm.

We first encounter our modern day Scrooge being driven to his luxury NY penthouse apartment in his chauffer driven limousine :-

"Through tinted windows Ebenezer Clinton Scrooge III watched the bustling side-walk crowds slip silently into the waiting night like shadowy grey wraiths spirited away on a bitter December wind. The gaudy festive lights served only to emphasize their desperate anonymity. Scrooge leaned back into the plush leather upholstery of the limousine, comforted by the fact that he no longer needed to mingle with the madding crowd."

Upon arriving home to discover a ''common beggar'' on his doorstep Scrooge reveals his take on the Christmas spirit:-

"He smiled, this was no hired assassin sent on a mission to destroy, only a common beggar chancing his arm, or what remained of it. A diseased symptom of the times. New York was infested with such hopeless individuals seeking solace or oblivion in alcohol or drugs, authors of their own destruction, and as such deserving of no sympathy or special favors. Still, they never usually surfaced in this district preferring instead to haunt the more stagnant cess-pits of the city. Perhaps the fact it was Christmas Eve had emboldened this particular specimen into venturing further afield in the false hope that honest citizens would be more inclined to lunatic displays of charity many being so imbued with festive spirits they would carelessly part with their hard earned dollars."

In the course of the many visitations and revelations which follow, Scrooge''s miserly worldview is shaken to the core and his ultimate transformation and redemption are assured. It is a major strength of this book that we learn much of the forces and circumstances which moulded Scrooge''s character and made him what he became. In many ways he was a victim of the same uncaring and callous attitudes which he espouses at the beginning of the story. But, to reveal any more detail would be to spoil the plot.

Phil Rowlands has created a Mr Bah Humbug for the 21st century in Ebenezer Clinton Scrooge III and his story is as pitiful and ultimately heart warming as that of his nineteenth century predecessor. In short, whether it be for your own reading pleasure or as a Christmas gift we cannot recommend "A Christmas Carol Revisited" too highly.

Ceri Shaw