This week an author from south Wales is launching his second novel in the only existing WW1 series of detective novels. Demons Walk Among Us is Jonathan Hicks'' second book featuring military policeman Thomas Oscendale, and is the sequel to best-seller The Dead of Mametz, published in 2011 by Y Lolfa which received much acclaim.

Buy Demons Walk Amongst Us here

Buy The Dead of Mametz here

Read our interview with Jonathan here

The brand-new sequel, Demons Walk Among Us, finds Thomas Oscendale fresh from the horrors of war on the Western Front and on leave in the coastal town of Barry, where he is drawn into the investigation of the savage murder of a war widow. The novel paints a vivid picture of life in the trenches as well as life in the industrial towns of south Wales during the Great War.

Demons Walk Among Us is set one year on from the first novel in the series. As 2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, there has been a burgeoning of interest in its history of this period and reviewers have noted Oscendale''s potential to develop into one of the great literary sleuths.

Available from all good bookshops and via Amazon on the author''s website:

www.jonathanhicks.co.uk

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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.

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.

Award-winning screenwriter Rob Gittins is launching his first novel next week. The hard-hitting and breathlessly pitched thriller Gimme Shelter (published by Y Lolfa) is a crime novel set in the hidden world of witness protection, and has already attracted rave reviews. Rob Gittins’s work for Heartbeat Casualty and The Bill has won him a Writers’ Guild Award, and he is currently the longest serving writer on EastEnders, having written over two hundred episodes of the programme.

Gimme Shelter pits a young, female, Witness Protection Officer against one of the deadliest psychopaths imaginable as she fights to keep her latest witness safe; but is that witness all she claims to be? And, in a world in which nothing can be taken on trust, is the Protection Officer all she seems?

“Gimme Shelter is a crime novel that didn’t actually begin with a crime,” explains author Rob Gittins. “It began with a question and that question was simple. If someone gave you the chance to start again, to wipe the slate clean, erase all that had been and all you’d been in the past, would you take it? And if so, could you handle it? “That question arose out of a stray sentence I read in a report a year ago on the growing number of protected witnesses in the UK. Over three thousand witnesses are now taken into that protection scheme each year. This startling statistic fascinated me at first, and then began to haunt me. Thousands of people living a life in the shadows, leading a life that isn’t their own, having to memorise a life story that isn’t their story at all.

“It’s all forced upon them by crime, of course - and some gruesome and harrowing crimes are at the heart of Gimme Shelter. But it’s the psychological impact and effect of the protection programme that completely compels me, and that was the starting point of the story that’s now become Gimme Shelter. ”

The author has revealed that a sequel will be ready for publication by this time next year. “ Gimme Shelter is only the first in a number of stories I want to tell, because as I did more research into this whole field, I was presented with more and more questions that needed answering.”

Rob Gittins will be launching Gimme Shelter in Waterstones, Carmarthen night the 10th of September at 6pm, where limited edition hardback copies will be available. He will also be launching the novel in Waterstones, Cardiff on Thursday night the 10th of October.

Rob has written for numerous top-rated television drama series including Casualty, The Bill, EastEnders, Soldier, Soldier and. Rob’s also written over twenty original radio plays for BBC Radio 4 and over a hundred episodes of The Archers.

Praise for Gimme Shelter

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‘What a brilliant book… crying out to be a major bestseller and a major film… mesmerizingly written. Superb!’ Katherine John

‘Visceral, strongly visual and beautifully structured… powerful, quirky characters.’ Andrew Taylor, Winner, Crime Writers’ Association Cartier Diamond Dagger

‘…utterly compelling, the psychological impact on the individuals enrolled on the Witness Protection scheme that forms the basis of the book is fascinating… highly recommended for those looking for a crime novel that is that bit different.’ Newbooks magazine

On Monday the 11th of March Y Lolfa will be launching a new edition of To Dream of Freedom , a book that was once described in the press as a “handbook for Welsh terrorists”. The book caused a storm of controversy when it was originally published in 1980. The then Anglesey MP Keith Best, amongst others, called on the book to be banned, claiming that it contained instructions on how to prepare a bomb.

To Dream of Freedom looks back at the Welsh bombing campaigns of the sixties and describes the volatile political climate of Wales between the drowning of Tryweryn and the investiture of Prince Charles. As well as describing the activities of movements such as the Free Wales Army, Patriotic Front, Lost Lands Liberation League and the more sophisticated MAC, many of the main activists such as John Jenkins, Cayo Evans and Dennis Coslett tell the story as they saw it. The new edition has a foreword by Sian Dalis Cayo-Evans, daughter of the late Cayo Evans, the charismatic leader of the FWA, and has many new revealing photographs from the height of the troubles.

Garmon Gruffudd of Y Lolfa said, “To Dream of Freedom is still regarded as a cult book in the eyes of Welsh nationalist and revolutionaries. The drowning of the Tryweryn valley almost exactly fifty years ago was a huge turing point in the history of modern Wales and sparked, for the first time since Owain Glyndŵr’s days, an armed rebellion in Wales. This extremely readable account of what happened remains one of our best sellers and most iconic publications.”

Before undertaking the story of the Welsh bombers Roy Clews, who now lives in Tregaron, had a colourful past. He had been a Royal Marines Commando, Stuntman, Kibbutznik and a tramp. His historical novels are popular on both sides of the Atlantic.

To Dream of Freedom - £9.95 can be ordered in bookshops throughout Wales or on Y Lolfa’s website – www.ylolfa.com .

Following the 70th anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein, the vivid account of the life of Second World War soldier Elfed Davies (1919-2002) from Cardiganshire and his time as a young soldier in the North African Campaign has been published in a new book, called Salem Soldier.

Salem Soldier is a tale of two halves, as it is the story of a father and son, Elfed and Brian Davies, both raised in the tranquillity of north Cardiganshire hamlets, Salem and Penrhyn-coch. They lived dramatically different lives: Elfed Davies recalls his journey from north Cardiganshire to the ravages of war, when he served his country in Egypt, Libya and Italy during the Second World War. When he returned to Salem in 1945, the place and his world had changed dramatically.

Higher education provided a gateway to a career in outdoor education for Brian, and the means to travel extensively - from Penrhyn-coch to the Alpine ranges of Europe, the Far East and the extreme ends of our planet in South Georgia, Antarctica, Svalbard and Iceland. But, just like his father, the longing to return to the area was paramount in his mind. Salem Soldier portrays Salem and the surrounding north Cardiganshire area through the eyes of two generations as Elfed and Brian Davies tell of how our world changed.

During one particular journey with my father to Machynlleth some years ago, we took a detour and started reminiscing, said Brian Davies. My father recollected needing to borrow a copy of Old Moores Almanack before planning local concerts or eisteddfods in the old days, to find out the night of the full moon a clear night would illuminate the journey for the participants and audience alike.

I suggested that these recollections should be recorded and shared, and some time later I was presented with a moving, detailed account of my fathers early years, explains Brian. My own memories of a childhood within this caring community then came to mind. My fathers formative years, his wartime separation from the community, his marriage and my own birth, and some of my own memories, have led to an appreciation of the significance of cynefin to the Cymry cefn gwlad.

Brian Davies was born in 1946 and was educated at Ardwyn Grammar School, Aberystwyth and Cardiff College of Education. He has spent most of his career teaching at outdoor education centres and was chairman of the Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres, 19992002. His interests lie in mountaineering and walking, photography, wildlife, travel, fishing and the local history of north Cardiganshire, especially the lead mining industry.

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.

Fresh from the success of his first novel, Ctrl-Alt-Delete, Welsh writer Dave Lewis has returned to poetry for his sixth book Haiku , and produced a fine collection of over 300 modern verses. The book was written over the last few years and is split into four sections under the headings Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Reviews

"Dave Lewis is a unique voice in the poetry world. His new collection is filled with a range of vivid, often quirky, word pictures. He is adept at making every word count. Despite its brevity, the haiku is anything but an easy option at its best, this short and fairly formal poem should make the reader look anew at an everyday event. This Dave does to perfection, for example, "Chain gangs of electricity/on the green mountain/armies marching". His haiku dont always conform to the traditional 5,7,5 syllable format he goes his own original way, as in a favourite of mine, "Consultants waiting room/the plant in the window/dead". Who else would have the temerity to finish on that single-beat word, dead? His thought-provoking images have some surprising last lines that take your breath away and will remain with the reader for a long time." - Moira Andrew

"Unconventional, unapologetic, unpretentious! Dave Lewis' Haiku gives us an interesting taste of outside-the-box thinking and reminds us that while we breathe, we can embrace change, bend the rules and though we walk the same path as many others before us, we can make our own tracks." - Jolen Whitworth

Dave is from Pontypridd, has published five previous books and also runs the international Welsh Poetry Competition.

To buy a copy just visit Daves web site, or go to Amazon, Waterstones or other good booksellers.

Authors web site www.david-lewis.co.uk

Buy ''Decades of Discovery'' here

This week, at Tonyrefail library, Y Lolfa published the autobiography of Margaret Maund. Her twenties was spent deep in the jungle of central Africa; then she became one of the first women to be ordained as a priest in Wales and also the proud owner of several brightly-coloured Robin Reliants! Margaret Maund has had quite an extraordinary life. Born in the south Wales valleys, she trained as a nurse and midwife and spent three years working in war-torn central Africa in the late 1960s. Many years later she became an Anglican priest, being amongst the first group of women to be ordained in Wales. Now retired from nursing and the ministry, Margaret Maund’s fascinating working life has spawned a third career as a writer and broadcaster. Her autobiography charts the highs and lows of a life spent breaking new ground.