This week the first book in a new series of picture and story books for infants following the antics of a ginger cat from the slate town of Upper Corris in North Wales will be launched. Y Lolfa publishers of the book hope that the Maw the cat will eventually become the most famous cat in Wales.The book has been written and drawn by Richard Llwyd Edwards and describing his new creation he said,

Maw enjoys climbing, saying his name, playing, eating and sleeping and sleeping and sleeping He supports Celtic and his favourite colours are green and white and ginger like his hair of course.

Meinir Edwards on behalf of Y Lolfa added,

Im sure Maw will strike a chord with children. It is impossible not to like him. Im hoping that before long he will be as well know as Garfiled, Felix and Tom from Tom and Jerry. Although the book is published in Welsh, an English translation of the text is printed on every page so that non Welsh speaking parents can read and understand the book while reading it to their children.

Richard Llwyd Edwards is the head of Art at Penglais school in Aberystwyth. He lives in Upper Corris with his six cats. Maw! is available in Welsh bookshops and www.ylolfa.com for 2.95.

Destination Vienna is a book written in tribute to the authors father and hero, William Edwards, 2nd Lieutenant U.S. Army Air Force. William Edwards immigrated to America from South Wales with his parents prior to the war and settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The author has provided the reader with a brief discussion of the events and situations which led to World War II, explaining the underlying unrest in Europe, and especially Germany, following the World War I Treaty of Versailles. He nicely summarizes the Worlds attitude of the German militarization, which was in violation of the Treaty, in one succinct paragraph.

In March of 1938 Germany took Austria without the use of force. The West did nothing. Then Germany decided that it wanted to take over a section of Czechoslovakia (created at the end of WWI) called the Sudetenland (an area heavily populated by Germans). Hitler and Mussolini met with leaders of Great Britain and France to discuss the issue. The West decided to appease Hitler, and the Sudetenland was handed over to Germany.

The author then writes in the person of his father, taking us to Bridgeport, CT describing the relative prosperity and innocence of life in America following the Great Depression. War did come to the United States in December of 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As was expected of young men of that period William volunteered to serve in the USAAF and won a commission as an aircraft navigator.

2nd Lt. Williams discussed some of the challenged faced by the Army Air Force in equipment suitability and personnel needs. He paints a very vivid description of the physical conditions encountered by the crew when flying in a B-24. His description of the extremely dangerous but vital missions flown to destroy Germanys oil supply leave one in awe of the bravery and tenacity of the B-24 crews.

The description of his last mission, destination Vienna, is captivating as his explanation of its outcome.

The book is an easy and enjoyable read, which gives the reader a personal insight into WWII in Europe.

Buy the book here.

Darren Parry is a singer/songwriter from Dowlais In Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. He has toured the US extensively and has just released a new single - "Just The Mention Of Your Name" . He spoke to AmeriCymru about his life and career:-

Americymru: When did you first become aware that you were intent on a musical career?

Darren: I realised this when I started writing songs seriously at around the age of 18. I'd grown up listening to my parents (and especially my mother) playing old 'Motown' ('Four Tops', Diana Ross, 'Temptations', Jimmy Ruffin etc.)records, and lots of 'Free', 'Carpenters', Kenny Rogers and so on and thought, "hmmmm... I'd like to sing and write songs like that". I was always a fan of the big sorta raspy voices, e.g. Joe Cocker, Ray Charles, Michael McDonald, Richard Marx, Joe Lynn Turner, David Coverdale, Bonnie Tyler, Michael Bolton etc. and was always amazed (and still am) by the power and emotion that the human voice can express...what an instrument when used effectively!

Americymru: You are from Dowlais in Merthyr Tydfil. Care to tell our American readers a little about the area?

Darren: I'm originally from a small village called Troedyrhiw in Merthyr Tydfil and have lived in various areas of Merthyr Tydfil (and a few yrs in Swansea) but now reside in Dowlais. Dowlais, like many areas in Merthyr Tydfil is an old mining village as Merthyr Tydfil was renowned in the 1800's for making iron (exported all over the world) and coal. Merthyr was situated close to reserves of iron ore, coal, limestone and water, making it an ideal site for ironworks. Small-scale iron working and coal mining had been carried out at some places in South Wales since the Tudor period, but in the wake of the Industrial revolution the demand for iron led to the rapid expansion of Merthyr's iron operations. The Dowlais Ironworks was founded by what would become the Dowlais Iron Company in 1759, making it the first major works in the area. It was followed in 1765 by the Cyfarthfa Ironworks. The Plymouth ironworks were initially in the same ownership as Cyfarthfa, but passed after the death of Anthony Bacon to Richard Hill in 1788. The fourth ironworks was Penydarren built by Francis Homfray and Samuel Homfray after 1784.

The demand for iron was fuelled by the Royal Navy, who needed cannons for their ships, and later by the railways. In 1802, Admiral Lord Nelson visited Merthyr to witness cannons being made!

Americymru: How would you describe your musical style? What kind of material are you most comfortable performing?

Darren: My musical style varies as I've written over 150 songs in lots of genres but mainly my music is Adult Contemporary(AC)/Pop/Rock.

Americymru: Do you have a regular backing band? Can you tell us something about the musicians you perform with or other performers you have met?

Darren: Yes I have a small band comprising of myself (lead vocals/keyboard and or acoustic guitar), Juan Lozano (backing vocals/keyboard/acoustic guitar) Robert Devereux (backing vocals/lead guitar)and sometimes Steve Sims (lead guitar). I'm very lucky that these guys are both superb musicians and my friends. Very often the only payment they need for recording (they play on my albums)and playing gigs is usually I buy them a curry...well worth a few Kema Nans and Chicken Tikka Masala's !!!!

Other performers I've met/performed with include - Michael Bolton, Michael Ball, Bryn Terfel, 'The Sweet Inspirations' (Elvis' original female backing singers), DJ Fontana (Elvis' original drummer), 'Scouting For Girls', 'Goldie Lookin' Chain', Peter Karrie, Donny Osmond, Brian Conley, Max Boyce among others.

Americymru: We learn from your website that you performed at Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones' wedding. What are your memories of that occasion?

Darren: Well I need to clarify this, bit of a strange story! I was on a 3 month, 45 date USA tour with ' The Black Mountain Male Chorus Of Wales' ( which is a 20 man all male choir - check them out on MySpace ) in the year 2000. We were performing near Los Angeles and got a call asking if we'd like to sing in MD's and CZJ's wedding! The connection was that our tour manager, Adrian Metcalfe was in school with CZJ's brother in Swansea I believe. Of course, we were very honoured and said yes! The problem was the wedding if I remember was in the East Coast (New York) and it was impossible to break our contract of performing our booked concerts on the West Coast to fly over. Unfortunatley due to this we had to pass and another Welsh choir sang instead. Doh!!!!!! ...but at least we were the first choice!

Americymru: What can you tell us about your current release - "Just The Mention Of Your Name"?

Darren: It is a melodic AC pop ballad that is my latest song. It is available for commercial download on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody and Napster. It is a single from my forthcoming EP entitled..."That Feeling" that will feature songs co-written with 'Dazzle Music' (who's written for/had songs recorded by Charlotte Church).

Americymru: Where can our readers go to hear/download your music?

Darren: http://www.darrenparry.com

http://www.myspace.com/darrenparrymusic

Americymru: You recently toured the US with the Black Mountain Male Chorus. Care to tell us a bit more about the tour?

Darren: This was the second large tour I've done of the States with Black Mountain (BM). The latest tour was in Jan/Feb 2008 and we did 22 concerts. We started in Chicago then went to, wait for it, deep breathe... Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico before finishing off in LA. We performed in venues for up to 2000 people and were fortunate to get fantastic, enthusiastic crowds every night. BM has now completed over 200(I've done around 70 of these)concerts in the US over the past 14 yrs or so and have a good fan base who are keen to hear male voices sing our repertoire of Welsh hymns, pop songs, rugby influenced songs, folk songs, opera and Celtic music.

Americymru: Any plans to visit the States again in the near future?

Darren: I've just signed a licensing deal with a company called 'Rock Talk Music', based in LA, California so who knows? I may be coming there in 2010. I've now been lucky enough to have visited around 40 of the 50 US States in the last 10 yrs and I always look forward to coming there!

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

Darren: I'm a member and I'm very glad to see the American and Welsh links being proliferated with a site like Americymru...keep up the excellent work

Buy the new single here:- http://www.amazon.com/Darren-Parry/dp/B002AVTMQA
Interview: Ceri Shaw Email

Peter Griffiths first novel, 'Tongue-Tied' was recently published by Y Lolfa. On this page we are pleased to present an interview with the author. and an opportuniy to win an autographed copy of the novel by participating in our giveaway competition ( see below ) . To purchase a copy direct from the publisher go here

An Interview with Peter Griffiths, Author of 'Tongue-Tied'

"Tongue Tied" Author Peter Griffiths at the Clearing Cafe in Portland, Oregon

Tongue Tied Spreads its Wings

New authors powerful story resonates with American readers

Welsh-American Author Writes Novel after feeling ludicrously patriotic

Competition

One of our Book of the Month selections for April is Peter Griffiths' 'Tongue-Tied'. We are offering not one, but TWO autographed copies of 'Tongue-Tied' to the winners of our monthly Welsh Book Club giveaway competition . All you have to do is answer the three following questions and email your answers to :-

americymrucontest@gmail.com

The deadline for entries is April 30th 2010 and the lucky winner will be announced on the site on May 1st. Please remember that we will only accept one entry per email address and duplicate submissions will be disqualified. So...fire up the Wikipedia and answer these questions to win the prize:-

1. Where in Wales is the Y Lolfa printing and publishing company based?

2. In which year was the company founded?

3. What was the name of the satirical magazine from which the company's name was derived?

Pob lwc/Best of luck Comment or leave a message on Peters AmeriCymru page HERE.

Last year Seren, one of Wales leading publishing houses announced that it had commissioned an exciting new series - New Stories from the Mabinogion . Since then the first two volumes in the series have been published ( see details below ) and a further two are slated to appear in October this year. The Mabinogion has inspired a number of imaginative reworkings and adaptations over the years including Evangeline Walton's Mabinogion Tetralogy first published in four parts in the 1970's and Lloyd Alexander's award-winning The Chronicles of Prydain, published in the 1960's. It also inspired a film version, Y Mabinogi, produced by S4C in 2003. The exciting feature of the recent Seren initiative is that it has commissioned ten of the finest contemporary Anglo-Welsh writers to adapt and renew these stories for modern audiences thus effectively creating a 'new Mabinogion'. The project is introduced in the following terms on the Seren website:-

"In this series commissioned by Seren, the old tales are at the heart of the new. Each author reinvents a story in their own way: creating fresh, contemporary tales that speak to us as much of our own world as of events long gone."

The first two volumes:- 'White Ravens' by Owen Sheers and 'The Ninth Wave' by Russell Celyn Jones appeared in October 2009 and the next instalments penned by Niall Griffiths and Gwynneth Lewis will be published in October this year.

As an aside we would like to point out that Niall Griffiths , one of the authors of the 'New Mabinogion' will be judging the live narrative competition at the Left Coast Eisteddfod in Portland, Oregon this year. Anyone wishing to attend or compete in this event should go to this page for further details:- Night of The Living Bards

'White Ravens' - Owen Sheers

Owen Sheers on 'White Ravens'

Owen Sheers Poet and Author

Amazon.com 'White Ravens'

'The Ninth Wave' - Russell Celyn Jones

'The Ninth Wave' on Seren

GWales Review

Amazon.com 'The Ninth Wave'