"We are pleased to announce the publication of issue 1 of WelshArtNow (WAN). WAN is the new quarterly art magazine that discusses art with a Welsh connection. Wales can now claim to have its own dedicated art magazine. WAN is A4 sized and contains 48 pages, printed in full colour on high quality art paper. WAN will ride on the crest of positive change and the sense of optimism that defines modern Wales; there would not seem a better time to launch a new and dynamic cultural arts magazine. Welsh art, now has its own platform and can take centre stage. A wide range of art is featured, ranging from cartoons to gallery art; there will even be an art centre fold each issue! As far as we are concerned its all art and is interesting in its own way. It would seem to make perfect sense to feature different types of art side by side. Although about now the magazine is interested in the rich and varied history of Wales and its people. Apart from talking about art the magazine will feature lots of original art specific to a magazine format (think of it as a gallery within a magazine)

WAN is a friendly lively read, our ambition is to open up art to a much wider range of people. We believe that the key to this is quite simply the need to talk about art. WAN is a talk shop for art; many voices expressing a range of opinions. Traditionally art magazines are seen as being hard going/ inaccessible, intended only for those already familiar with the discourse of art. Why should it be that way? We would like to see people talking about art in the same way as they might of a TV program or a piece of music.

So in summary an art magazine containing a good varied mix of art that is concerned with the here and now and is delivered with a bit of kick. The magazine has already generated an enormous amount of interest here in Wales and is already stocked in over 30 outlets and growing. This week is our grand launch, this Wednesday we will be in conversation with Nicola Hayward Thomas of BBC radio details of this broad cast will be published on our website at www.welshartnow.co.uk . WAN is pleased to announce that Borders Bookshops will be a supplier of the magazine. So out with the old and in with new- WAN - a new bold experiment in arts publishing."

NEW FEATURES ON THE WELSH AMERICAN BOOKSTORE

• Now fully searchable! You can search for any item in the store from any and every page on the site.

• Now fully browseable! The dropdown list on the top navbar ( under Welsh American Bookstore ) gives access to every category page on the site. We will be expanding the category and book listings on a regular basis.

• Suggestions! If you would like to see something included in our listings please use the 'Suggest Book' button on the category pages ( for an example see this page :- Welsh American Bookstore Drama . We are always open to suggestions particularly from authors and will add any relevant titles as soon as we can.

• Reviews! Read a book by a Welsh or Welsh American author recently? Want to sing its praises? Feel free to use our review feature. You will find the 'Add Review' button at the bottom of every book listing page ( for an example see this page:- Under Milk Wood

• News! Reviews! Interviews! Guest Articles and more. If you have a title you want to promote on the store send us a press release for the news section or send us a review copy. Better still we are always happy to feature interviews and guest articles by contributing authors. Email americymru@gmail.com or use the contact form on the site for more details.

• Music! The bookstore will also offer music listings and we will be looking for suggestions to vastly increase our range of products in the coming months. We are also interested in promoting Welsh musicians and performers by means of interviews, reviews etc on the store.

• More stuff! We will be looking at introducing more product lines ( gifts etc ) and dedicated online stores for niche marketers in the coming months. Please check our news page for regular announcements.

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From Dolgellau North Wales

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SWNAMI ON SOUNDCLOUD

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Jude Johnson is a writer with a passion for historical research and details. She has studied the Welsh languageCymraegenough to order beer, swear, order pancakes, and ask for the facilities. Trips to Britain to capture the cadence of the melodic Welsh accent and attitude allowed her to infuse her Welsh immigrant characters with realism. AmeriCymru interviewed Jude about her recent novel Dragon & Hawk published by Champagne Books in April 2011. Read our review of 'Dragon & Hawk' here

AmeriCymru: Hi Jude and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymu. What first attracted you to writing?

Jude: Firstly, thank you so much for your invitation for this interview. I write because of number-phobia. Im allergic to math, especially differential calculus. I add two and two and wind up with seven, so I had to write quite a few of those explain yourself answers Actually, I was an independent reader at age three (so Im told) and I developed a voracious appetite to read everything I could get my hands oncereal boxes, junk mail, encyclopedias. People who love to read often write as well, but may not necessarily want to share what they compose. I suppose it was the first blast of hormone-induced psychosis at forty that triggered the notion of writing a novel and submitting it for publicationbecause most people in their right minds would never subject themselves to repeated abject rejection. I then moved further into full blown insanity and independently published my first three novelsincluding Dragon & Hawk. I am blessed to be one of those extremely lucky indie-published writers who has now been picked up by an established publisher, Champagne Books of Alberta, Canada. I am so excited and grateful for the opportunity.

AmeriCymru: We learn from your bio ( and it is also evident in your writing ) that you have a "passion for historical research and details". When you embark on a new writing project do you have any particular research routine or methodology?

Jude: I dont really have a rigid routine. Gasp! HorrorsI dont even outline. I choose a major historical event/time and then I read books about the era, novels set during the era, and at least skim through something that was published during that particular era to get my mind in sync. Then I choose a real event or two (or six) that will involve or affect my characters. I see what unknown aspect I can find as a starting point, make a list of what I would like to know more about, then head to the historical societies and their research archives. The danger for me is going off on tangents. If I find some intriguing tidbit of information, Ill get off track for hours searching for more about that than what I originally came to find. Its cost me a ton in parking fees and photocopies but I think its also allowed me to paint my stories with more depth and color. I prefer going to the archives for verifiable information; Im not opposed to web research, just leery of using it if I cant cross-reference it with other documentation. And Ive met professional historical researchers who help keep me honest. And they have guns. (Kidding, sort of.)

Welsh Miners, 1881 Copper Queen Mine, Bisbee, Arizona Territory
Photo Courtesy of Nancy Lewis Sosa, History Raiders Research ( http://historyraider.com )

Whenever possible, I try to visit the locales involved. Ive been down the Queen Mine in Bisbee many times, and each visit yields some new and different bit of information. I went to Wales in 2002, listened to how Cymry speak English and observe how they act with each other, as well as take note of the incredibly lush land. In 2008 I got to go to Pontypridds historical society and dig around, plus buy books about life there during Victorian times. Its said the devil is in the details, and I can certainly become obsessed with them, but including the smells, sights, and sounds of what the characters would have experienced allows me to dive completely into that world. When I have facts, reference papers, and a mass of descriptive details close to hand, then I start writing. I can refer to my notes as needed and not have to stop.

AmeriCymru: How would you respond to people who might choose to label 'Dragon & Hawk' as a 'Western'? Is there such a thing as a 'Western' anymore? How would you describe the book?

Jude: Thats an excellent question. I didnt set out to write a Western per se but according to the definition of the genre, thats what the storyline of Dragon & Hawk became: a protagonist on a frontier who adheres to a code of ethics as opposed to law and order to protect or avenge loved ones. Westerns have never really gone away, many just moved to outer space! Star Trek and Star Wars are classic examplesand they have spawned an incredible series of books continuing their sagas. Good sci-fi/fantasy almost always has at least a hint of the Classic Western, the mysterious loner with a secret goal. Think about Neil Gaimans American Gods, Harry Potter and his showdown with Voldemort, or Strider in The Lord of the Rings. Then again, one could argue that the Western is merely a permutation of ancient warrior legends, a constant retelling of David and Goliath.

Stories set in nineteenth century America west of the Mississippi may be the next genre to cycle up in popularity; historically speaking, people read more stories of this nature during hard economic times. In my opinion, Westerns provide hope with their examples of strength and endurance in hostile conditions. And every good story has a love story at heart, whether its a romantic love or that between brothers in arms.

How would I describe Dragon & Hawk? How about as a Welsh-terna Welsh Western? Actually, for a bookstore deciding where to put in on a shelf, Id say its a historical Western romance. I emphasize the historical aspect because of all the research, and it is essentially a love story of a man for his brothers and a woman he never expected to accept.

AmeriCymru: We learn from your website that 'Dragon & Hawk' is part one of a three part trilogy. Care to tell us when Parts 2 and 3 are likely to be published?

Jude: Its a trilogy so far Book Two, Rage of Firebirds, is scheduled for release by Champagne Books in April 2012. Book Three, Dragons Blood, has been submitted for acceptance but hasnt been officially contracted yet. Books Four and Five are in the research stages. A few hints involve Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution (Ive already found one Welshmans family who helped the wily bandito), World War I, and the shameful Deportation of Bisbee in 1917. Ive always planned to end the saga there.

AmeriCymru: Do you think that the Welsh American experience has been adequately addressed in American literature?

Jude: Not as far as Ive read. I must admit before I started this, I was as dense about Wales as the average American. I had no idea there were so many influential Welshhonorable and deviousespecially out here. Most of the newspaper accounts and literature Ive seen in the Arizona Historical Society and Bisbee Mining Museum describe many Welsh as simply British or Anglo. [I should point out that here in the Southwest, Anglo often refers to anyone not Mexican, Native American, or African American. They call Swedes and French Anglos as just another term for white.] Ive wondered if it was because many Welsh came to the American West to escape. Did they want to establish a new and different entity that was not subject to belittlement by the English? They didnt seem to make a point of distinguishing Wales as a separate nationality in many cases. Then again, census takers and clerks werent well educated and you have to wonder if they just wrote down what they thought was simpler. As recently as 2004, even one of Tucsons pioneer leaders, Samuel Hughes (born in Pembrokeshire in 1829) was described only as Anglo in Tucsons Arizona Daily Star newspaper when they ran a commemorative edition for the 150th anniversary of the Gadsden Purchase.

There is no movie like Braveheart or Michael Collins that illustrates Wales as an entity separate from England, and lets be honest: lots of Americans get their history from Hollywood. Sad but true. (Dont even get me started on the history in the movie Tombstone or Gunfight at the OK Corral. Sigh.)

Arizona celebrates its statehood centennial in 2012, so I hope to bring it to more peoples attention that the Hughes brothers (there were three in Tucson) were Welshmen, not merely Anglos. Id better get on the ball and publish a short booklet about all the Cactus Cymry

AmeriCymru: You are running a competition to coincide with the launch of your new book. Can you tell us a little more about it? Where can readers go to participate?

Jude: I thought Id do something fun on my blog, The Words That Remain. Again, to bring more attention to Wales and its talented people, Im asking folks to post a comment on the contest page naming a Welsh Actor and which show or film brought them to their attention. So far we have Catherin Zeta-Jones and Desmond Llewelyn (Q of the Bond movies). The contest runs through April 20th, and I will pull a posters name out of the hat to win a $20 gift certificate from Champagne Books. That will buy at least three novels and a couple of short stories for your ebook reader, laptop, smart phone, or PC.

Go to http://wordsthatremain.blogspot.com/p/contest-number-one.html and add a comment to enter. Ill post the winners name and they can email me right from the blog. (I dont want people to post their email addresses and get spammed.)

AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about your contribution to the 'Gecko Tales' collection last year?

Jude: Four other Tucson authors and I have joined together for signings and seminars, calling ourselves Gecko Gals Ink. We each write in different genres, so we are differently expertised. Our blog is here: http://geckogalsink.blogspot.com . We put together eleven short stories in an anthology called Gecko Tales which is now available on Kindle from Amazon and in print from CreateSpace https://www.createspace.com/3556025 . My two stories: Lorcan and the Witch is a fable about a leprechaun, a unicorn, and the witch from the deepest, darkest part o the forest. Perfect is a fictional tale of a fangirls experience meeting her movie idol at a premiere. Any similarities to fangirls or celebrities living or dead is purely coincidental

AmeriCymru: Where online can people buy your work?

Jude: Champagne Books at the moment ( http://champagnebooks.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=52 ). Amazon, BN.com, and Fictionwise within the next week or two. Dragon & Hawk will be published in trade paperback sometime this summer.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Jude Johnson?

Jude: I actually have a short fantasy story scheduled for release through Champagne in July 2011 involving an English lieutenant in Nelsons Navy rescued by a selchie and brought to a mysterious island called Within The Mists. I used a bit of research about Skomer Island for that one. Im currently researching an American Revolutionary era story based on a friends great-great-great-great (I think its that many greats) grandfathers true experiences as a sailor pressed into the British Navy who jumped ship in Boston Harbor. And of course, continuing research for Book Four of the Dragon & Hawk saga.

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

Jude: Thank you, diolch yn fawr iawn, for your interest in my work. I originally wrote this story for people who have never been to Arizonaand for Arizonans who never heard of Wales. I hope I did the Cymry of the Old West proudeven those colorful stage robbers and con men. Stay tuned for the further adventures of the Jones families

Interview by Ceri Shaw Email

As you may have noted from an earlier announcement we have transitioned to the weekly leaderboard for our monthly Top Blogger adjudication. Henceforth the winner will be decided on the basis of their ranking and points in the final weekly leaderboard of the month. Posts which were published in preceding months will be discounted. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly the weekly leaderboards are much more responsive and competitive and secondly the monthly board has some strange quirks. In particular it insists on ranking a few ancient posts that have received no 'Likes' comments or recent traffic.

So without further ado here are this months winners:-

1. Mona Everett 43 points ( 23 ranking points plus 10 for quantity, Mona has been our most prolific blogger this month, plus 10 points for traffic, our stats indicate that Mona's posts have been very well received )

2. Peter Freeman 30 points ( 20 ranking points plus 10 for quality, the 'quality' points were awarded for Peter's 'Saint David , The Patron saint of Wales' post which combined personal reflection with historical fact in a highly engaging and informative manner )

3. Rhianne Griffiths 19 points ( 19 ranking points )

Fabulous digital prizes will be awarded to our three winners today and Mona will receive a copy of Niall Griffith's, 'The Dreams Of Max And Ronnie'. We will be announcing next months Top Blogger prize shortly. To view the current weekly leaderboard and peruse the rules of the competition go to this page

• This Months Prize

  
• 'The Dreams of Max And Ronnie' by Niall Griffiths

• Iraq-bound young squaddie Ronnie takes something dodgy and falls asleep for three nights in a filthy hovel where he has the strangest of dreams. He watches the tattoed tribes of modern Britain assemble to speak with a grinning man playing war games. Arthurian legend merges with its twenty-first century counterpart in a biting commentary on leadership, individualism and the divisions in British society. Meanwhile Cardiff gangsta Max is fed up with life in his favourite nightclub, Rome, and chases a vision of the perfect woman in far flung parts of his country.

  http://www.serenbooks.com/book/the-dreams-of-max-and-ronnie/9781854115027?cid=176
  

AmeriCymru wins WelshIcons 'International Contribution to Welsh Life' Award for 2010 ( follow the link below for more details and to see other winners in the music category )

International Contribution to Welsh Life

A thousand diolch's to the WelshIcons website for this honor. Nice to know that we're doing something right We will endeavour to keep up the same standards and strive to do even better in 2011. Blwyddyn Newydd Dda/Happy New Year to all our readers and supporters