Tagged: interviews
First World Exclusive English Language Interview!
For those of you who know him, Carwyn Edwards is back in Wales with his family and doing better. He spoke with Ceri this week to update us about his recovery and future plans, and it's great to hear his voice and hear how he's doing.
Those who don’t know him, Carwyn was a dedicated, energetic force in promoting Wales in the USA for more than ten years, as the publisher of News From Wales and the World , a newsletter that went out to 30,000+ subscribers. He inspired us and many others to celebrate Wales and Welshness.
When he was hospitalized and the seriousness of his condition was known, his family began working to bring him home to Wales and his brother started a gofundme campaign to pay the mountain of medical expenses not covered by Carwyn’s insurance. They still have a way to go and if you are able to help, please have a look here and consider joining us in making a donation - https://www.gofundme.com/
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PLEASE RETWEET
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An Interview With Carwyn Edwards - Americymru | https://t.co/OCZJ8vgCyw https://t.co/9kkZWlg89U pic.twitter.com/MghbuceUym
— americymru (@americymru) July 1, 2017
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Mari: Yes, to both parts of that question, Ceri. You last interviewed me on the web site in August of last year, on the publication of my second novel The Witch of Eye . But the reason why I have an exciting announcement has more to do with my very first novel, Root of the Tudor Rose . When you interviewed me about that one, I told you that I was committed to spreading the gospel about the Welsh origins of the Tudors, the most famous dynasty in "English" history. And it's this missionary zeal that's bringing me to the US at the end of June, to address the American Conference of the Historical Novel Society with a presentation entitled The Tudors: an English dynasty? (I shall be saying this with the same imperious expression used by Dame Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell in the Importance of Being Earnest when she pauses, looks down her nose and says disdainfully "... a handbag!" If you don't know it, you'll find it on YouTube - A Handbag )
AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about the HNS and the conference?
Mari: The HNS is the international Historical Novel Society, which exists to promote and encourage the reading and writing of historical fiction. They bring out a review every quarter devoted to new historical fiction and they've said some nice things about both my books in that.
Root of the Tudor Rose was featured in their 'New Fiction' section and the review of The Witch of Eye in November last year hailed the book as "... a thoroughly enjoyable read, a very well-researched story, where the narrative licks along irresistibly." I was delighted by that, of course. The Society holds a conference every year, alternately in the UK and in the States. Last year it was held in Oxford and the American visitors raved about the magical 'dreaming spires' of that lovely old university city. This year the conference takes place in Portland, Oregon, which gives me the opportunity of visiting a part of America I've never seen before. I'm told it's wonderful and I look forward tremendously to seeing it for myself.
Mari: No, it will actually be my fourth. The first three were all in order to make programmes and I particularly enjoyed making a documentary programme for S4C about the Welsh/American baritone Thomas Ll. Thomas. His middle name was Llyfnwy but not many Americans could manage that! The reason why I was so interested in him was that he came from my own home town of Maesteg in the Llynfi Valley and the family emigrated to Scranton, Pennsylvania in the 1920's when Welsh mining engineers were much in demand. "Llyf", as the family called him, didn't go into mining: instead he became one of the most famous singers of his generation, often featuring in opera and concerts in New York and all over the country. Eventually, he became known as "The Voice of Firestone" because he presented and sang in "The Firestone Hour", the hugely popular television programme of light music, transmitted live every Sunday evening and seen from coast-to-coast. Not bad for a little Maesteg boy! You've never heard of him? Tell you what, I'll write an article for you one of these days ... or perhaps he should be the subject of my next historical novel? Now, there's a thought!
AmeriCymru: Sounds like a fascinating story. But, to get back to what we were talking about - do you have any other plans while you are in the States?
Mari: Well, the HNS Conference itself only lasts for three days which means that I'm going to have quite a lot of free time on my hands, depending on how long I decide to stay. I rather fancy making that wonderful train journey down the coast to California to take in a few places I've heard of but never visited. Then perhaps a week in San Francisco before flying home because my other half, Jonah, describes himself as an ageing hippie and nothing would please him more than to have his photograph taken somewhere significant in Haight-Ashbury. So we're likely to be kicking around the area for a week or so and, of course, this gives me the opportunity of visiting some Welsh Societies in the area if anyone would like to invite me to come along and talk to them. Believe me, I could talk the hind leg off a Welsh dragon about all sorts of things - my old career as a broadcaster, my 'new' career as a writer, the origins of the Tudor dynasty and why I wanted to write the first book ... or even Thomas Ll. Thomas' career if need be. In Welsh or in English, of course. Just get in touch via my web site at Mari Griffith
AmeriCymru: Any final message for our readers?
Mari: My best regards to them all, as ever. And if anyone takes a particular delight in historical fiction, they can find out a lot more about the Historical Novel Society and its American conference by following the link below. And, if you do decide to come along, be sure to come and find me to say "hello". Historical Novel Society
Reproduced From the AC Blog - An Interview With Eirian Jones, Author of 'The Welsh Lady From Canaan'
By , 2012-06-20
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Author Eirian Jones with Bronwen Hall, the great-niece of Margaret Jones, the Welsh Lady from Canaan. Also in the photograph are Bronwens children, David and Susan. They are looking at the Australian diary of Margaret Jones which is kept at the John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland in Brisbane.
AmeriCymru: Hi Eirian and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. When did you first become aware of Margaret Jones and what made you decide to record her life and adventures?
I was browsing through the Cydymaith i Lenyddiaeth Cymru [Companion to Welsh Literature] one day looking for some information about poets born in Ceredigion, when I came across a couple of paragraphs about this Margaret Jones who had written a few books, but, more interestingly, had lived in Paris, Jerusalem, Morocco and travelled around the United States before spending the last ten years of her life in Australia. Shed done all this in the second half of the nineteenth century which I thought was remarkable. A few months later I visited Margarets home village of Rhosllannerchrugog in north-east Wales and went into the library to see if they had any more information about her. Theyd never heard of her! So that was it I was hooked by her life story and wanted to find out more. Since Im also an author and love travelling, I had quite an affinity with the story of Margaret Jones.
AmeriCymru: Margaret was an exceptionally lucky and above all courageous woman. What in particular strikes you about her bravery and dedication?
She was extraordinarily brave and courageous at a time when women were only expected to raise a family and werent supposed to do much else. Margaret was born in 1842, in poor and unfortunate circumstances and she only received three weeks of formal schooling. There were no ambitious female role models to follow in her home village of Rhos, so her expectations in life must have been pretty low. But, her lucky break in taking a position as a maid with a family in Llangollen and then being asked to work as a maid for another member of the same family in Birmingham (a missionary with the London Jews Society) opened up wonderful opportunities for global travel to her. Margaret was evidently an outgoing personality from her upbringing in Rhos. When she lived in Paris and Jerusalem she could have just worked as a maid and kept herself very much to herself. But no, she wanted to fully experience living in these places: she learnt the languages, visited the important sites and related all her findings back to her parents in letters. In Jerusalem she told her parents about cholera outbreaks, plagues of locusts descending on the city, death threats to Christians from the Sultan etc. And in Jerusalem also, her time was particularly difficult personally, because she suffered from a badly twisted knee. Shed hoped to stay in Jerusalem for ten years, and it was only after being hospitalized due to the condition of her knee that she was persuaded to return home to Wales to receive treatment. So she showed particularly brave and dedicated attributes to her character at this time.
AmeriCymru: In Part IV ('The Length And Breadth of Wales') of the book we are treated to a fascinating account of the chapel lecture circuit in late 19th century Wales.. How much prejudice existed against women lecturers and how difficult was it for them to gain acceptance?
It was very difficult. According to the vast majority of people in those days a womans place was in the home and certainly not speaking publically from the pulpit! To some extent Margaret agreed with this, but she also argued that she had a very good reason to travel the land lecturing from pulpits about Canaan, because she was trying to raise money for the Palestine Missionary Fund so that enlightened information could be given to the people living there. Some commentators in newspapers and magazines were very rude about the handful of travelling female lecturers, saying that the world had come to an end when they saw a female lecturer in the pulpit, or that these ladies didnt belong to one gender or the other! These commentators were largely ignored and, to be honest, these lady lecturers were so very popular (in particular with female audiences), that it was a case of men being envious of their success rather than anything else.
AmeriCymru: Again in Part IV we are introduced to another female lecturer, Cranogwen. Can you tell us a little more about her?
Cranogwen was a fascinating lady too, and spent time travelling around the United States also. She was raised in the old county of Cardiganshire and during her lifetime she was a sea captain, a poet, a musician, a preacher, a temperance movement leader, a school mistress and the editor of a Welsh womens magazine. Shed been sent away by her mother at the age of fifteen to learn to be a seamstress. She hated the work so much that she ran away to sea, and enjoyed life as a sailor for two years. In time she would gain her master of the seas certificate. At 21 years of age, she decided to live on dry land for a while. She took charge of the school in her local village, Pontgarreg, near Llangrannog. She was headmistress for six years, before succumbing to itchy feet once more. She was a promising public speaker, and so she joined the expanding popular lecture circuit and started visiting chapels around Wales. She travelled the land for three years, lecturing and preaching on subjects such as Wales, her religion and education, Money and Time, The Home, Things that go wrong and the female Welsh hymnist Ann Griffiths. Cranogwen became more and more well known the length and breadth of the country, and one rather envious poet quipped that she was the two sovereign, difficult Goddess. Cranogwen was paid two sovereigns for each of her lectures. It seems that the male poet wished to ridicule her popularity. She was yet to turn 30 years of age. And to celebrate that birthday, she went on a voyage to the United States in 1869. There she spent several months lecturing to Welsh audiences in states bordering New York City. She then ventured west to the Rocky Mountains. This was not an easy journey to undertake; it would have been even more fraught for a foreign single lady travelling on her own.
AmeriCymru: There is some speculation in the book about the reasons for Margaret's failure to record her experiences in America in the mid 1880s. Any further thoughts on that?
It saddens me a great deal that I havent been able to find more information about Margarets two-year stay in the United States. Several papers record her arrival in New York City in 1883 and the fact she spoke at several Welsh chapels in the city before moving on to Utica. But after that initial piece of information, theres nothing recorded in newspapers at all. For a lady who wrote so many letters and kept a detailed diary, its very strange that there is no more information about her time in the US. It makes me then wonder if her trip to the US actually lasted as long as two years. After all, she was largely on her own there; she didnt have any constant company with her and if she was moving from place to place, it could have been quite lonely for this gregarious lady. Perhaps, after a few months, she decided to go home.
AmeriCymru: Is it possible to obtain copies of Margaret's books?
I used copies held at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth during my research. Margarets two books Llythyrau Cymraes o Wlad Canaan and Morocco ar hyn a welais yno are both digitalized as Google eBooks.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Eirian Jones?
In conjunction with Blaenpennal History Society Im writing and editing a bilingual book about the history of Mynydd Bach in the old county of Cardiganshire (where I was raised) and hopefully this will be published either late this year or early 2013. The book may be of interest to Welsh descendants who live in the Gallia and Jackson areas of Ohio, as nearly three-quarters of the residents of Mynydd Bach emigrated to Ohio in the 1860s.
Author Eirian Jones at the grave of Margaret Jones, The Welsh Lady from Canaan, in Ipswich, Queensland.
Interview by Ceri Shaw
Visit Jen Delyth''s site here:- Jen Delyth Celtic Art Studio
AmeriCymru: You were born in south Wales. Can you tell us a little about your background?
Jen: I was actually born in the Welsh borderlands of the Wye valley, not far from Tintern Abbey. Offa''s dyke ran behind our garden - an 8th century earthwork built by the Anglo Saxon king to keep the Welsh out of Mercia. When I was a few years old, we moved back to South Wales, to my mother''s family in the Port Talbot area. My Great Grandfather came as a boy from Cornwall, at the turn of the century, when the tin mines ran dry, to find work in the local steel industries, which were fueled by the coal from the Valleys. My parents were young teachers, and later we lived in the small village of Penllergaer, on the edge of the Gower Peninsula, which is known for its natural beauty, ancient history, and lovely beaches. They live there now in the village of Llangennith - the Church of the Celtic Saint Kenneth/Cenydd - who was said to have been raised by seagulls and fed by the milk of a doe, and later established a monastery there in the 6th century.
Jen: I did not realize for a long time that I would one day become a visual artist. I have not studied art in school, and am completely self taught. I chose philosophy as my main subject at University, and then taught myself photography, doing some freelance work in London for a while before I came to the States.
I don''t remember being particularly exposed to the visual arts as a child, but there was music, poetry and drama, which I enjoyed and participated in. I was an active member of the Urdd - the youth Eisteddfod - singing and reading Welsh texts on behalf of my school.
I remember being given a book of Greek mythology when I was young, and it really caught my attention. It was my interest in myths and legends that first inspired me to create iconographic symbols and archetypes using the language of the folk art of my own culture.
In the beginning, creating Celtic patterning was an intuitive playful process. I quickly became compelled and intrigued by the rhythms and intricate balance, the push and pull and inherent mystical content of this art form, that 20 years later developed into this body of work that I am now proud to have created.
Celtic Tree - Jen Delyth
As a self taught artist, I learned by doing, experimenting, and from personal studies. I felt it was important to create authentic new original Celtic artwork, to contribute to the living tradition, rather than simply coping the old existing designs which seemed to be more usual. I think it was also a response to missing my home - Hiraeth - when I moved to northern California after meeting my husband Scott - a Jazz musician - whilst traveling. I became more aware of who I was, and where I had come from in having left, and it drew my attention to the intensely creative wealth of folk lore and imagery that I perhaps took for granted back in Wales.
I was encouraged very much by my family and friends when I started working as a Celtic artist. My mother has always been active in Welsh folk culture, and it seemed quite natural for me to follow the threads forward in my own way, with my own style, and to be doing so in the States where so many others had come before as immigrants - although I had not particularly planned on this!
AmeriCymru: It would appear that you possess a fair amount of knowledge about the Celts. When did this information become of real interest to you? Do you have any favorite Welsh or Celtic myths?
Jen: I started a personal interest in Celtic studies at the same time as I began creating images that drew from themes in Welsh myth and folk lore. I remember my mother telling me about the Mabinogion that she read as a child, and I was already interested in the ideas of contemporary philosophers such as Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, who drew insight and wisdom from the mysticism of the ancient mythologies of the world, which was very inspiring to me.
My favourite Welsh Myths are the story of Taliesin - the mythic Poet, and Blodeuwedd who transforms into the Owl. Also I love the legend of the early Welsh Saint Melangell- Protector of the Hare. These are characters that connect our spirituality with nature, through representing archetypes in our psyche that continue to resonate within us today.
Garden - Jen Delyth
AmeriCymru: Okay, we have to ask about your Celtic Tree of Life design. When and how did the inspiration for this work happen? And when did you begin to realize that this design was taking on a huge life of its own? When you think about it, it seems that this iconic image has reached past the Celtic world and has spoken to many people across this planet. How does that strike you?
Jen: The inspiration for my Celtic Tree of Life (in 1989) was a very simple and natural idea to portray this universal symbol as an iconographic Celtic symbol. There are no actual images of trees in depicted in Celtic antiquity, such as in any of the old illuminated manuscripts, or ancient stone or metal works, only as abstracted vine patterns and so on. I appreciate trees and forests very much (in fact my first art business was called Dryad Graphics - Dryads are the spirits of the trees. The basic image took only a few hours, and then some more to refine it. I was pleased with it, but had no idea of its future impact- or the complications that this image would create for us!
We began to realize it was taking a life of its own, when we started seeing the design chosen as body art - tattoos, and receiving many requests to use the image for personal logos. We also found it was being used quite a bit on the internet, and realized many people were perceiving it as an ancient design, and not a contemporary work, which is a great compliment, but also makes it difficult to protect the copyright. A friend once described it as having become like a "folk song" out in the world. Which is lovely. However, we do have to work diligently to control use of the design in the commercial arena, and to educate the public on copyright and appropriate credit whenever possible.
I'm very proud of having contributed a symbol that does seem to resonate to many people, including both Christians and Pagans, ecologists, healers and scientists, those of Celtic heritage, and anyone who appreciates Trees!
AmeriCymru: The original Celtic Tree of Life -- what media did you use to create it? What media do you enjoy working with the most?
Jen: The original design was simply sketched on paper, which I like to do at first, working out and refining the design. Then, since I wanted to adapt the image to different mediums for my crafts business at the time, I often used a digital vector-drawing tools (Adobe Illustrator) - which was very new back in 1989 - to refine it. The graphic arts computer (a Mac SE) was only recently available back then, and I was very excited at the time about using such modern technology, to work with creating ancient symbols. The Celts were known to excel at adapting new tools and processes such as the compass for example, or metal making techniques, and I remember thinking how appropriate it was, to be a 20th century Celtic artist, using this most modern tool (the computer), as part of my the authentic process, rather than simply emulating the methods and styles of history.
To balance out this technical medium, I also enjoy - depending on what mood I''m in - using pencils, pens, oil, acrylic or watercolor - and my favorite - egg tempera painting. Egg tempera was being used by the ancient Egyptians, and a slightly different version on the illuminated manuscripts created by the Celtic Scribes - using natural ground pigments and precious stones, and creating a medium with egg yolk (or egg white) to make the paint. This on top of hand made gesso on birch boards. I love this medium the most, as its organic, luminous, and aesthetically lovely to work with.
Awen - Jen Delyth
AmeriCymru: Many of your images evoke a very dream-like essence (The Garden comes to mind). Do your images come to you in dreams? You also must receive a lot of email and letters from those who appreciate your efforts. Do you ever get ideas from them that find their way into your artwork? Have you ever been commissioned to do work? If so, how does that work?
Jen: My images are usually formed through abstracting and weaving together particular mythic or symbolic content, more than from dreams. But its true that sometimes when resting, or perhaps when walking along the beach, when I am not particularly thinking about my work, that an image does pop up. I remember in particular with "The Garden" that you mention, that I was just coming out of an afternoon nap, when I envisioned the motif of the dragonfly integrated into the fore-head and nose of the main figure, which then intuitively and visually translated into a deeper "shamanic" connection between the Dragonfly and the anthropomorphic image of the Green Man/Woman as nature deity. Which was a gift from the muse for sure! The best inspirations do seem to come from being open and relaxed and channeling through yourself as an artist, rather than forcing the design.
I do get a fair amount of positive correspondence - which is what keeps me going I think at times! There have not been a lot of art collaborations exactly, but yes, sometimes a request for an image does inspire new work. I don''t take commissions very often, as my work is time consuming, and it would be expensive really. I prefer to focus without the pressure of translating for someone else, and don''t really have so much time to do that well. But working closely with my publisher to pull projects together has a collaborative synergy sometimes that I enjoy very much.
AmeriCymru: Your work has inspired reviewers, art critics, and the public at large. When did you realize that you might actually be able to make a living doing what you love?
Jen: It was very humble beginnings to be honest. I had no idea when I started that there would be so much interest or a market for my work. I made a few simple textile designs and prints for a local crafts fair, just for fun really, back in 1990, and the response was so overwhelmingly positive, I realized I could maybe make a humble living doing this full time. I quickly began to understand that many Americans were hungry for connection with their heritage, and that Welsh, Irish and Scottish immigrants - of course - were a large group in this country, who very much valued their roots. It was not why I began, or the focus of my work, however the support of this community did help my journey as an artist.
Apart from creating a business though, something in me was always compelled to push the originality and authenticity of my style. I wanted to express something meaningful in my work, and to learn and grow as an artist, as a visual mythologist really - using my culture and the language of Celtic art as the vocabulary - to talk about spirituality, nature, and how we connect with that on a deep level.
AmeriCymru: Given the massive size of the body or art you have created, one wonders if you work alone or if you have a legion of artistic employees. Can you tell us something about the business side of your work? What is a typical day like for you?
Jen: I think that for many years, I was extremely motivated and my creative period didn''t stop even when maybe it would have been good to have some time off! There were so many designs that called to me to be fleshed out, to tell the story of Celtic spirituality and mysticism, that I was just simply obsessed I suppose! I work alone, in my home garden studio, although my husband and partner Scott has always been there to support and provide honest feedback. I have received requests to teach or to take on apprentice help, but I work intensely, and prefer to be alone in my process.
On the business side, I started the fledgling Dryad Graphics in 1988, which grew into a international art and gift company Keltic Designs Inc. when my husband Scott left his teaching career to join me. Along with the art and design, I continue to do the more technical web work and product development, and my partner Scott manages the business. I also enjoy working closely with my publishers Amber Lotus, who encourage and give me total creative control, and I respect their positive vision and collaborative spirit very much.
AmeriCymru: What projects are you currently involved with? What can we see from Jen Delyth in the near future?
Jen: Ah.. this is the question! After finishing my book "Celtic Folk Soul - art, myth and symbol" last year, I have been on my first sabbatical, since I started working over 20 years ago. This book felt like I had completed the body of work - and I''m not sure quite what to do next in a way!
In "Celtic Folk Soul" I learned to write - encouraged by my publishers who insisted I provided the text for the book - and enjoyed that very much. I would say I would like to continue writing and perhaps illustrate another book - but that also took a lot of time, energy, and resources. But it was very exciting and satisfying to pull all my designs and paintings together, with poetry and mythology, history and folklore. Maybe I''d like to teach and share what I have learned, pass it on to others. Maybe just walk along the beach with my dog Tân, cook dinners for my friends, and pull some weeds a little while longer. We''ll have to see.
AmeriCymru: Do you have any message for your admirers and friends at AmeriCymru?
Jen: I appreciate very much the often hard journey that so many made to come to this country from Wales, and the roots that have been planted here. I am mysteriously part of this movement westward, bringing my culture with me, as so many have done before. I hope that we will not forget where we came from, the beautiful green and brackened land of poets and farmers, dragons and saints, chapels and ancient stone circles, and my favorite - Great Aunt Bronwen''s welsh cakes on the griddle! Ysbryd tragwyddol y keltiad - the spirit of the Celts is eternal! Diolch, Jen Delyth
Melangell - Jen Delyth
Interview by Brian y Tarw Llwyd
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As a follow up to our recent announcement that Lesley Coburn will be contributing a story to Issue 2 of eto we are pleased today to present an interview with the author.
Lesley Coburn is a writer from the Rhondda in south Wales and ''Filling Space'' was originally self published in 2006.
Lesley Coburn is also the daughter of one of Wales most outstanding 20th century writers - Ron Berry
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AmeriCymru: Hi Lesley and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. How long have you been writing? Did your fathers example influence you in any way?
Lesley: Hi, Ceri, I try to imagine you. For being interviewed by a machine disconcerts. I remind myself that of cyberspace was created by real people, and is used only by real people. I hope! Congratulations on your initiative to publish Welsh/American writers, and thanks for your interest in Filling Space. Phil was one of the first readers to give me any response!
I''ve been writing many years. I began with poetry, then stories and longer poems, and years of academic writing. The latter I developed an aversion to. Now I write only what interests me. Ron''s writing was a fact of our childhoods. We didn''t think about it. Of five children, only one sister and myself write. After he gave me the unedited version of his autobiography to read, I said, ''this could change lives, Ron.'' He just said, ''you''re biased, girl.'' Of course, we covertly read his books, Miller, Lawrence, Faukner etc. Ron rated Gwyn Thomas. I never met him but Ron was in correspondence for a while.
AmeriCymru: What were/are the upsides and downsides of being Ron''s daughter?
Lesley: Ron''s first published book was kept under the counter in Treherbert Library. Swear words scared the staff. So I suppose I never was going to censor myself. Aside from all the subtle influences, the over-riding maxim that I keep in mind was his advice to writers, ''say it true, but say it new.''. There is no downside to being the daughter of Ron Berry. As a family, we have been working on his manuscripts since he died. It is all archived in Swansea University now. One day we''ll publish the unedited version of History Is What You Live. There are no downsides because I have no ambition, and no-one , until now, has been interseted anyway! Ron''s despair at being ignored for most of his life was a real lesson. If people don''t ''get'' your work, that''s it. I realised my stuff was being sent back unread, although early long poems and short stories were published in small press collections. I stopped submitting when I started writing Filling Space.
Americymru: Did his relationship with Jim Lewis and Robert Thomas inspire their creativity?
Lesley: I call Ron, Jim and Bob, the'' band of brothers''. They spent their youths reading, revolting, wandering and wenching. Whar surprises is the huge talents of these three people from a small area of Rhondda. Alun Richards always told the story of his visits from Pontypridd to find this trio of ''outsiders''. Ron and Alun met regularly in Ron''s last years.
AmeriCymru: You are contributing a story to Issue Two of eto - ''Filling Space''. Care to introduce it for our readers?
Lesley: How to introduce Filling Space? Anything I say will be good for now, But maybe not for tomorrow , And so little a part of what I was doing while writing it. I was trying to address some questions : how to give a sense of openess, field, subjectivity, flow? how to clarify without simplification? how to illuminate both the sharp pains/pleasures of consciousness, and the mysterious intuitions that occasionally seep through? And, of course, it''s about writing. The experiencing woman and the writing woman are a kind of ploy to give the writer a bit of detatchement. I enjoyed writing it and I still like reading it.
AmeriCymru: What are you reading? Any recommendations?
Lesley: I couldn''t recommend any specific reading; anything with an existentialist feel; and to anyone who needs to remember how good life is really, go to Whitman. Keep him with you.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Lesley Coburn? What are you working on at the moment?
Lesley: I''m working on a long piece. It''s mostly sloshing around in my head, but I''ve made a start. The story of a collector of stories. First person present narrative of a young woman who returns to the valley. People are attracted to her and tell her tales of transformation. She writes their lives and all is change. No-one knows she is writing. she doesn''t need to tell. Her words add what she is to them. It''s what we do, isn''t it? I can''t stop thinking about it. All I need is time, place, a life of my own.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for our readers?
Lesley: I have no message for your readers other than to quote Whitman, ''and why should I not speak to you''.
Hope this is of some interest. All the best, Lesley.
Chris Keil''s long awaited and widely acclaimed third novel ''Flirting At The Funeral'' was launched at Waterstone''s in Carmarthen on September 25th. AmeriCymru spoke to Chris about the novel and his future plans. Read our review of Flirting At The Funeral. Chris''s new novel is published by Cillian Press and is available from amazon.com. Buy it here:- Flirting At The Funeral
AmeriCymru: Hi Chris and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. You are celebrating the publication of your third novel ''Flirting At The Funeral''. How has the book been received?
Chris: Really well. I’ve been very lucky in having a brilliant new publisher - Mark Brady of Cillian Press - a new star in the publishing universe! We’ve got events lined up in UK, Ireland and Portugal in the near future, and many more in the pipeline. Best of all has been the amazing response from readers - enthusiastic, emotionally sophisticated, alert to language - exactly the kind of readers I write for. Readers have responded to the narrative, to the interplay between characters, but also to the aspects of language that engage me as a writer - to tone, rhythm, cadence, to repetition, half-rhyme, musicality. I can’t ask for more
than that.
AmeriCymru: ''Flirting at The Funeral'' has been described as "...urbane, serious but also seriously entertaining writing." How difficult is it to be serious and seriously entertaining at one and the same time?
Chris: Many thanks to Jon Gower for those generous words! Not an easy question to answer. Flirting deals with serious themes, but hopefully not in a heavy-handed way. Life is scary,funny, sexy, sad - often all at the same time - and one of the functions of art is to try to capture some of that texture.
AmeriCymru: The book betrays a profound pessimism about the current political and economic condition of Europe. To what extent is this a major determining factor in the actions of its characters? Would you describe ''Flirting At The Funeral'' as a political novel?
Chris: OK. I don’t feel that Flirting is simply a political novel, although it’s certainly about politics, among other things. It’s been called a philosophical novel, and it’s a novel of ideas, I suppose, but ultimately it’s a novel about people, about human beings and their complex, tragi-comic interactions with each other and with the world. I’m not sure that the book ‘betrays a profound pessimism…’ If there’s a single emotional theme, it’s probably more like rage, but the emotional tone is not unified - it’s disaggregated across the range of characters in the book: certainly the terrorist Dave Leaper is filled with venom, but among the central characters Morgan is detached and a little cynical, Matty is… I’ll come back to Matty; and the young film-makers are busy trying to take themselves seriously while having a seriously good time. But of course the melancholy span of history across the last forty years hangs over the book, like the suspension bridge across the Tagus in Lisbon. “The people, united, will never be defeated…” Oh really?
AmeriCymru: Two characters meet each other after years living separate lives; in the interim, they''ve each enjoyed success but seem to have each come to a point in their lives in which they have to compromise as they get older - how did you develop them and the choices they make and do you think we all come to that point in our own lives and have to make those same choices?
Chris: I suspect that this never sounds quite plausible, but I really find that when the process of writing fiction is going well, the characters develop themselves. What happens to them, and what choices they make, derives from who they are, from their individual autonomies. With each of my books, I’ve probably spent as much time not writing, as writing. When I finally get down to starting the book, I’ve spent so much time thinking about the characters that they hit the page fully-formed, if not running. They’ve existed for a year or two in a fluid, inchoate and unwritten state before hardening into flesh and bone and personality. By that time they make their own choices, or fail to choose, or choose unwisely.
AmeriCymru: Is youthful idealism always destined to fade? Is life nothing more than a series of grudging compromises with mere survival as the ultimate goal?
Chris: No it isn’t! That’s really depressing! Of course, the book suggests that life has the capacity to destroy you - before it kills you, that is - but a person is always implicated in their own psychic destruction, at least to some extent. If your life ends up as ‘a series of grudging compromises’ (good phrase, by the way!) it’s because you weren’t quite brave enough, or passionate, or crazy enough, above all not clear-headed enough, to resist the compromises that fear or insecurity offer. Matty says: “People make choices, don’t they? I choose what happens to me. Or maybe I have no choice. I suppose it comes to the same thing in the end.” For me, those words inscribe her epitaph, metaphorically. Incidentally, it’s been very reinforcing for me as a writer to see the range of readers’ reactions to Matty - who is after all the central character of the book - from fascination, to loathing: intensely positive or intensely negative, but always intense.
AmeriCymru: There are conversations in this book in which it seems as though the characters are speaking to each other at right angles. One character responds to questions and statements about his wife''s illness with completely inapposite topics; what is this dialogue telling us about these characters and about this story?
Chris: There’s a couple of points I’d want to make about dialogue in Flirting. Firstly, it reflects the way I hear people speak, although obviously in a heightened, theatricalised mode - for me, the effect of naturalism is achieved by pretty much the opposite: exaggeration, over- emphasis, over-articulation. What I wanted to capture was the way that I hear people talk: at each other, across, over, down to each other; they hear things that haven’t been said, answer questions that weren’t being asked and ignore the ones that were. And beyond that of course, many of the characters in the book are alienated, isolated from each other and from themselves, trapped in their own speech-bubbles, so to speak.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Chris Keil? Are you already working on another project or have one in mind?
Chris: Yes I do. The next book is going to be a re-imagining of the life of the Roman poet Ovid, transposed into modern times. It’s a story full of possibilities I think. Ovid was the most talented and successful poet of his generation, writing glittering erotic satires, mixing with the elites of Roman society; he was a super-star. And then, unwittingly, he did something to offend the Emperor - people think he must have been complicit in a scandal involving the Emperor’s family - and was banished, forced to leave Rome and live in exile and virtual imprisonment in Tomis, on the Black Sea, in what is now Romania but was then the very edge of the Empire and the known world. “Beyond here,” he wrote, ‘lies nothing.” He spent what was left of his life writing the Tristia - the Lamentations - poems of terrible grief, of obsessive longing for the past. I’m going to set it in the present, and the current working title is “Vodka, Depression and Temazepam.” Only kidding; it’s going to be very pacy - more or less an out-and-out thriller… but with added metaphysics.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Chris: Yes, I have two. Firstly, Portland is a brilliant city, full of beautiful and talented people, and I aim to be back there in 2013. Secondly - this is for everybody - as soon as you’ve finished reading this interview, find the Amazon button on the AmeriCymru site and buy a copy of Flirting at the Funeral! Do it now!
Jan Fortune-Wood is a Welsh author and publisher. She has published four novels and is the proprietor of one of Wales' most innovative and dynamic independent publishing houses. AmeriCymru spoke to Jan about her writing and her future plans for Cinnamon Press.
AmeriCymru: You are both an author and a publisher - which came first and did one lead to the other?
Jan: Ive written all my life. My creative writing took a back seat for a long time while I was home educating my children and working (I was a Church of England minister), but I did write books on home education and alternative parenting during this time. About ten years ago i was seriously ill and we moved to North Wales. When I was beginning to recover I went back to writing poetry and had an offer from a small press to publish my first collection. A bit later I did an MA (masters degree) in novel writing and the same publisher took my first novel. By this time Id began to dabble with publishing via a small press poetry magazine and I was also realising that in my MA I particularly had editing skills that I could use so Cinnamon Press was born.
AmeriCymru: Your novel 'Standing Ground' is set in a future time dominated by the despotic E-Government. But it is replete with references to mythical Arthurian characters. Can you tell us a little more about the book?
Jan: Ive written four novels and The Standing Ground was far and away the most fun to write. It was aimed at older teenagers, but seems popular with adults too. The ideas came when home education in the UK was under attack from government moves to dictate more of the content of education at home and have more invasive policies into family life. At the time there were also wider moves to introduce ID cards for everyone which my older children were involved in opposing.
The Standing Ground imagines a not too distant future in which the benefits of technology are magnified, at least for the affluent, but the price of this is an all pervasive controlling government that no longer trusts parents to raise their own children, but instead removes them to pods attached to schools with minimal parental contact and a restricted curriculum, no history or philosophy, for example). One of the main characters is Luke, a fifteen year old who is pushing against the system, partly because he senses that his own father is different and not so tied into the system. Nazir, Lukes father, is a famous artist, but also seems to have privileges that Luke cant quite understand. Despite this connection Lukes freedom is threatened when he begins to ask too many questions and it seems likely that he will be sent to a draconian correctional facility to be made to conform.
Online Luke has met the other main character of the book, Alys. She claims to live outside of E-Government in a corner of Wales (present day Gwynedd) that has resisted and maintained a small population of free people. Luke has no idea if Alys is real or just an online fiction to trap him, but he has decide whether to take drastic action to try to reach Alys in The Standing Ground.
Alyss family have their own problems within The Standing Ground there is a fierce debate as to whether this fragile free area should use their resources to try to communicate with the wider population and break the control of E-Government (Alys and her mysterious maths mentor, Emrys Hughes, have their own project to break government encryptions) or whether they should use the European parliament to gain recognition as an independent state, giving them more security.
Ive always been fascinated by mythology and the archetypes it gives to stories. The Arthurian legends speak of Arthur returning at dark times to bring freedom and living in North Wales. The landscape is steeped in the legends of the Mabinogi, including the stories of Artur (or King Arthur). So in this story the characters slowly emerge as modern representations of those archetypes and their power of maths and technology also contains older powers that converge to stand against the darkness.
AmeriCymru: What are your future writing plans?
Jan: I have a new novel out this month, Coming Home a novel about a man who abandons one family only to later abandon another, returning to Wales to try to pick up his life and written from the perspective of himself and the women in his life.
Im currently working on two new books. The first is a poetry collection centred on a village in the mountains above my home called Cwmorthin. It was once a large slate mine with barracks and houses and chapel and mine workings, a harsh industrial place known as the slaughterhouse because of the high death rate of the miners working there, but also a thriving community with cabans in which the men met daily to discuss politics, religion, philosophy and to sing. Now it is a place of picturesque ruins and utter tranquillity, but the culture has gone. Im examining the emotional landscape of the place through natural landscape and architectural ruins in poetry sequences.
The second is a novel that deals with issues of transformation, centred on three characters who undergo major life changes in traumatic circumstances and whose stories interweave. Its set in England, Wales and Zimbabwe and covers periods from the Zimbabwean bush wars to the present day. Its involved lots of research and lots of getting to know the characters, but Im hoping the writing will come together over the next year and then the editing can begin.
AmeriCymru: When was Cinnamon Press founded and what tempted you into the publishing business?
Jan: Cinnamon Press was five years old in 2010 so were still relatively young. I was looking for a new direction after major illness and life change (I had a series of severe work place assaults in my parish work) and started a magazine to keep my brain ticking over. Then, doing the MA, I realised I had a knack for editing so Cinnamon began as a very small scale tentative project, but the success of early books helped it to snowball. We are still very much a small press and run on a shoestring with a lot of voluntary input, but the books have gone from strength to strength.
AmeriCymru: What does Cinnamon Press look for in a work for publication or an author?
Jan: Our tag line is independent, innovative, international Were really looking for distinctive voices whether in poetry or prose books that have something to say and say it with skill. We put a lot of care into editing, but we dont have the resources to take on books that are really not ready to be published so authors need to be sure the book is of high quality before they submit. In simple terms we want good writing that engages us.
AmeriCymru: In addition to publishing, Cinnamon Press provides a range of services and competitions for aspiring and established writers. Care to tell us a little more about this aspect of your work?
Jan: Its often hard to get started in writing and small presses can be good places to get that first platform. The competitions run twice a year. The novella/novel competition and the poetry collection competition are for first time authors in those genres from anywhere in the world. The competition leads to a full publishing contract for a first collection or first novel/novella and the books that have been published in this way have done very well, including being short listed for some prestigious literary prizes. The short story competition is open to any story writers and the winning story appears in an anthology named after the story along with the best runners up from the story and poetry competitions. Weve also gone on to take single author collections from two of the authors whove done well in the story competitions.
We offer other services to help writers, both beginners and more experienced writers. These include several writing courses that run through the year and a mentoring service that I run with two other Cinnamon Press writers.
AmeriCymru: Cinnamon Press also publishes Envoi magazine, can you tell our readers about that?
Jan: Envoi is the oldest poetry magazine in the UK, now in its 54th year. Its a large format, perfect bound magazine with a good range of poetry from new and established poets, reviews, articles and features such as guest poets or poetry in translation. Envoi receives an enormous amount of submissions so its very competitive to get into, but this means that the quality stays high.
AmeriCymru: Where can people buy Cinnamon Press titles online?
Jan: We have a dedicated website at www.cinnamonpress.com with all of our books available and postage rates for international customers set up there. Books are also available at www.inpressbooks.co.uk an Arts Council site promoting small press books and at the Welsh Books Council site, www.gwales.com The books are on Amazon in the UK and the Book Depository in the UK, but our own site or Gwales or Inpress are the recommended ones.
AmeriCymru: How do you see Cinnamon Press developing over the next few years?
Jan: We started with poetry collections and then added full length fiction. Over the last couple of years weve published some unique and exciting nonfiction of cross genre titles and we will be continuing to develop this area of publishing. Weve also just published our first single author short story collection and will be developing this genre further. Another new area in 2010 was a book combining poetry and imagery I Spy Pinhole Eye by Philip Gross and Simon Denison won the Wales Book of the Year award and this year we have our second imagery and poetry collaboration, a very exciting book that looks at issues of ecology, Where the Air is Rarefied by Pat Gregory and Susan Richardson. With such wonderful books my main development aim is to get the books out into more arenas these books really deserve to be read.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Jan: Welsh publishing generally exists on tiny budgets and our readers really matter. Do support the books in any way you can and if youd like to be added to our monthly mailing list with news of new books and offers send me an email jan@cinnamonpress.com
Thank you for reading and all the best for 2011.
"Novelist, poet, photographer, essayist and short story writer, Jo Mazelis was born in the middle of a summer storm on the edge of the Gower Peninsula. She grew up in Swansea, later living in Aberystwyth and London for over 14 years before returning to her hometown.
She has won a prize in the Rhys Davies Short story award five times, was longlisted for the Asham Award and her first collection of short stories Diving Girls was shortlisted for both Wales Book of the Year and Commonwealth Best First Book. Her work has appeared in New Welsh Review, Spare Rib, Poetry Wales, Raconteur, Cambrensis, Nth Position, the Big Issue, Corridor, The Ottawa Citizen, Everywoman, Tears in the Fence and Lampeter Review amongst others. Several of her stories have also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4."... Read more here
AmeriCymru spoke to Jo about her writing and her new novel Significance
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Jo has also contributed a short story, 'Mechanics' for the forthcoming edition of eto. For an excerpt click here
Jo Mazelis: It’s hard to explain in a nutshell – on the surface it seems to be a book about crime and its detection, but it isn’t - not in the traditional sense. The title ‘Significance’ draws attention to the way a reader looks for and finds significance in plot and character which is how all novels function. When there is a crime involved in a story these signs or clues seem to point to a solution and thus narrative resolution. In the real world when a crime has happened, especially a serious crime like murder, those closest to it begin to review past events differently, they restructure their thinking, their plans, their judgement of other people and their surroundings, and crucially even when the culprit is caught people remain haunted and altered by the crime.
I began writing ‘Significance’ in 2007 at a very unhappy moment in my life and I think that is why the book is so much about running away and escape – escape from external factors but also from the self. At times I had to imagine I was an entirely different person when I was writing it; a more confident person who was not afflicted by the self doubt and self hate and depression I was suffering.
I think if the book had to be categorised it would be a novel of ideas rather than thriller or detective genre. I spend a lot of time explaining what it is not and as I said find it difficult to summarise what it actually is. My aim was however to produce a work which could be read at different levels and lent itself to multiple interpretations – sometimes I had in mind a giant riddle or perhaps a maze, but what the answer to the riddle is I prefer not to say. In a similar way I very much wanted the narrative to be open ended. Not so that I could write a sequel (though at times that crossed my mind) but because I wanted readers to make up their own minds about it.
AmeriCymru: When did you decide to start writing and why have you concentrated on short stories until now?
I think there is a lot of confusion around short stories currently; people try to read them by ploughing on through a collection as if it were a novel. Each story needs to be read and savoured, then reflected on. Of course this demands a certain level of engagement on the part of the reader – or rather a different sort of relationship than a reader has with a novel. Further confusion seems to exist around word length – how short or how long should a story be?
Sadly in the UK there are few (if any) general interest magazines that regularly publish short stories – no equivalent to The New Yorker for example. I think it’s such a pity that newspapers like The Guardian or The Times don’t have regular short stories, not only from the point of view of opportunities for writers but as a means of familiarising ordinary readers with the form.
It struck me a few years ago that while Britain is meant to be the country of long tradition (to the point of rigid stodginess) while the US is that of innovation (think of that clichéd image of flashy newness) it is in the US where you find that a magazine like the New Yorker sticks to its menu of quality fiction and brilliant journalism on a wide range of topics from politics to science to culture. The New Yorker you might say – knows what it is – and doesn’t attempt to change itself somewhat hysterically every couple of years.
Despite the gloomy prospects it was a combination of a love affair with short stories and a lack of time that kept me glued to the form. Annie Proulx followed a similar pattern; publishing short stories in magazines for at least ten years before her book Heart Songs came out.
When my first collection of short stories Diving Girls was well received, being shortlisted for both Commonwealth Best First Book and Welsh Book of the Year, I discovered that what was expected of me next was a novel. This was perplexing as I had spent years working on the short story form with its particular demands of speedy elegance and brevity, and I felt I’d proved myself to some extent. But no, the attitude seemed to be that short stories were a lower form, done only as exercises in the run up to the real event, the novel. A case in point followed the untimely death of Raymond Carver, when some critics bemoaned the fact he hadn’t quite got around to writing that novel and therefore his true status was open to debate.
It’s no coincidence that the great age of the novel was the nineteenth century and that many of its most notable authors had swathes of time on their hands and few distractions. But for me, in the period after Diving Girls I was still a single parent, still working almost full time, still broke. I tried to write a novel but failed, and instead brought out a second collection of stories Circle Games. For some reason this book sunk without a trace and I, as its captain went down with it.
I began Significance in 2007 and had a first draft completed by 2010 or thereabouts. After the book had been rejected by the London publishers I had got to the point where I was planning on self-publishing, merely to have a few copies to distribute amongst friends, when someone suggested I approach Seren and thankfully they took the book.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about your two published anthologies, ''Diving Girls'' and ''Circle Games''?
It was another fourteen years before my first book was published. When I look back at my writing career I think anyone with an ounce of sense would have given up long ago. I suppose every so often something or someone along the way reaffirmed the idea that I had some talent to go along with my staying power.
Recently on a short story forum someone asked if a collection should have a theme or not? It struck me then that a lot of new writers especially those doing creative writing degrees were constructing collections of short stories in a far more formal way than I ever did. My stories came one at a time, each changing according to what was happening in my life at that moment; what I was reading, or remembering or experiencing.
For example Too Perfect was informed by several sources; a news story about supposedly documentary photographs of lovers embracing on the streets of Paris. Someone had come forward to claim that the images had been posed by models. As documentary photographs get much of their power from the idea that they represent truth this was shocking. A year or so before I learned that a woman student at college with me was having an affair with one of our lecturers and then I read The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism by Katie Roiphe. I think I also saw David Mamet’s play Oleanna about this time. So essentially all these informed my story, in particular the questionable view that a photograph represents a moment of truth and secondly the idea that a woman (if she is over 21) does not act under her own volition. I wanted to make the man and woman in the story equally culpable, equally reckless, equally regretful afterwards. This description makes that story sound like a dull thing built purely on theory, but when I created it I was hardly aware of everything I’ve just described. It was only with hindsight that I was able to see the subconscious mechanism behind the creative process.
Too Perfect as a phrase is tautological and I used it for that reason - calling attention to a thing which cannot in reality exist. The story is about surfaces; how people judge things by their appearance only, so this motif recurs more than once in the story and is at its heart.
AmeriCymru: Is there any one of your stories that you are particularly proud of or that you would like to especially recommend?
Jo Mazelis: I think I am always most enamoured by whatever the last thing I produced was – maybe because new work makes me feel more alive and active and hopeful. I was recently commissioned to create a story that reinterprets a classic Welsh story by Arthur Machen and it was such a pleasure to write that it is still buzzing about in my head. Buzzing so loudly that I wonder if I shouldn’t try to develop it further and create a novella.
There isn’t a lot of my work available online but I have a story called Atlantic Exchange which can be found in The Lampeter Review. It’s a magic realist story about Dylan Thomas and Sylvia Plath meeting in New York and is quite different from much of my other work. Also online is a non-fiction piece called Haunted Landscape available in Wales Arts Review’s nature issue.
AmeriCymru: I''d like to ask you about your writing process. Do you have some kind of creative routine or do you write as and when inspiration occurs?
Jo Mazelis: You can’t sit around waiting for inspiration; you have to actively summon it. Sometimes that means writing even when it feels flat and mostly worthless, but doing this means that you acquire the habit of writing. I always use a pen and notebook in the first instance as this seems to allow me to find a sort of natural flow. My words are somehow more tangible on paper and rather childishly I like to look back on page after page of my handwritten text. Strangely I’ve noticed how my handwriting improves when things are going well and deteriorates when I’m struggling.
AmeriCymru: Are there any writers that you draw inspiration from or especially admire?
Jo Mazelis: There are so many it’s hard to know where to begin. Lately I haven’t been reading so much fiction, but among non-fiction I love Joan Didion. I first read her in the seventies and more lately she’s produced two powerful memoirs, The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights. I loved Graham Swift’s 1983 novel Waterland and Ian McEwan’s collection of stories First Love, Last Rites. After reading Jane Eyre when fairly young, Wuthering Heights just left me reeling with its claustrophobic weirdness. I read everything by Richard Brautigan from In Watermelon Sugar to Sombrero Fallout to So the Wind Won’t Blow it All Away. Everything by Edna O’Brien too. I adored Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, in particular the story A Temporary Matter.
A huge influence on me when I was young were the stories of Hans Christian Anderson and also an unexpurgated copy of the Brothers Grimm that I found in my grandmother’s house – in these books little girls get their feet cut off or freeze to death and false princesses are put in barrels filled with spikes, princes are blinded by thorns and wander through the world helpless, children are abandoned in the forest and cloaks are woven from stinging nettles. These stories still take my breath away.
AmeriCymru: What are you working on at the moment?
Jo Mazelis: I’m hoping to bring out a third collection of stories – these will be a mixture of stories that have been published in magazines and unpublished work new and old. Because there is an excess of material – I’ve got around 125 stories of which 36 appear in my first and second books leaving around 90 potential stories. I just don’t know how to decide which to choose. Some form parts of my attempts to create linked stories for example there are several stories set around the early 20th Century in an invented village called Cwm Bach, another group are set in 1969 in a large Welsh comprehensive school. Other stories might be linked because they are ghostly or gothic or dystopian.
I think the most important thing for me now is to complete a second novel. I’ve got several in different stages of development and they are all very different from each other and different from Significance. As with the period when I was writing Significance I may have to stop writing any new short stories or anything else at all and immerse myself totally in the new novel, but what that book will be is very uncertain at present.
AmeriCymru: Hi Evonne and croeso i AmeriCymru. If I may quote you:- "...walking on the beach to the sound of the waves and the gulls....and plotting murder." Could you tell us a little more about your creative process? Which part of the Welsh coast do you most favour or frequent
Evonne: For me, producing a book is as much about the thinking process as it is about writing. At least, that is my excuse for staring into space, sitting in the garden, walking on the beach … There is quite a long gestation period before I begin drafting, when I test out ideas, do research, collect background material and absorb atmosphere. Once the book is begun there are always points where it ties itself into knots, or where your characters run off and do something that you did not expect, leaving you to deal with the mess! Then you need some space, to sort it out. I was born and brought up by the sea, in Barry, although I spent a long time living in London, so for me the word “walk” always means “beach”. I now live about ten minutes from the Barry Island section of the Wales Coastal Path and my feet go towards the sea automatically. I also have very good memories of childhood holidays in Pembrokeshire. In that case it was beaches and castles.
AmeriCymru: How would you describe your work? "Romantic fiction with a dark edge"?
Evonne: I write romantic thrillers – what are known in the States as romantic suspense. There is always a strong love story and I adhere firmly to the principle of a happy ending, although it is not achieved without a struggle, and some characters do not make it to the end of the book. I blame the thriller elements of my work on my addiction to the theatre, especially early exposure to Shakespeare and the Jacobean dramatists, as in those plays betrayal, murder and mayhem are always mixed with love, beauty and poetry.
Evonne: Out of Sight, Out of Mind is a paranormal romantic suspense, with a hero and heroine who read minds. It was my first excursion into writing romantic thrillers and was a finalist in several contests on both sides of the Atlantic, but the biggest was the American Title contest, which was run by Romantic Times Magazine (Now RT BookReviews) and Dorchester Publishing. American Title was a reality writing contest. Parts of the novel were printed in the magazine, and readers voted for their favourites, over the Internet. I didn’t win, but I had a fabulous time and travelled to Pittsburgh for the RT Booklovers Convention where the award was presented. The following year I entered the contest again, and was again chosen for the final – the only person ever to have done it twice. I didn’t win that time, either, but had a lot of fun. And that book was Never Coming Home .
Evonne: Kaz Elmore, the heroine of the book, has lost her young daughter in a fatal car crash while she was on holiday in the United States with her father, Kaz’s ex husband. Six months later, in London, Kaz has a visit from a stranger, who has a very different version of the crash from the one Kaz received from her ex. Naturally she needs to know what happened to her daughter, and she hires the stranger, Devlin, to help her find out. The search for answers takes them across Europe and uncovers a complex web of plots and conspiracies. Something very nasty from Devlin’s past comes back to threaten him, people start dying and Kaz and Devlin fall for each other. This is a particular problem for Devlin, as he considers he is not capable of love, because of things he has done in the past.
It has been an incredibly exciting journey to see the book published. The excitement was compounded in May this year, when Never Coming Home won the Joan Hessayan New Writers’ Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association, here in the UK.
AmeriCymru: We learn from your website that you have many unpublished manuscripts including one particular favourite - ''The Time We Have Left''. Are there any plans for publication? Please tell us more about the book?
Evonne: The Time We Have Left is the book that ran away with itself. It’s meant to be the first part of a trilogy, and is over 140,000 words - which is a very fat book. It’s a regional family saga, set in the South Wales coal ports of Barry and Cardiff during World War Two, charting the lives and loves of a family of three sisters. It was written a number of years ago and is nothing like what I write now, but it was a major part of my learning curve as a writer, when I was experimenting to find my style and favourite genre. Although it is an early manuscript it has received good feedback from experts and I have a very soft spot for it, as I spent a long while writing it - 140,000 words do not happen overnight. I did a considerable amount of archive research for it and it also owes a lot to family members and friends, who gave me first hand background material on what it was like to live through those times. It also records and celebrates things about Cardiff and Barry, particularly buildings, that have disappeared or been substantially changed - landmarks and lifestyles that no longer exist. It would be lovely to work on it with an editor, to find out if it could be brought up to publication standard, but I don’t see it happening in the near future. A retirement project, perhaps?
AmeriCymru: What do you read for pleasure and what are you reading at the moment? Any recommendations?
Evonne: I’m a compulsive reader in all sorts of genres. In my own genre of romantic suspense, Karen Rose, Nora Roberts and Jayne Anne Krentz are favourites. I also read historicals and I enjoy the golden age detective stories, as well as contemporary police procedurals and thrillers. I’ve recently finished Season of Storms from Canadian writer Susanna Kearsley.
For anyone interested in sampling a wide variety of women’s fiction from the UK, they might like to take a look at what is on offer from my publishers, Choc-lit, who are small independent publishers. The Choc-lit authors have a number of award winners amongst them and we all write in different genres – paranormal, historical, fantasy, romantic comedy, thrillers, contemporary romance …
Choc-lit are currently looking to recruit two new authors, one from Australia and one from the U.S., and are running competitions for unpublished writers. They also have a tasting panel, made up of readers, who comment on submissions and recommend them for publication. Choc-lit are recruiting from America and Australia for that also. Details of the writing contest, the tasting panel and the Choc-lit catalogue are all available on the Choc-lit website. All the authors blog there too,on a regular basis.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Evonne Wareham? Any forthcoming publications or projects in the works?
Evonne: Never Coming Home , my debut published novel, was the finalist from my second American Title contest. Choc-lit have also contracted for Out of Sight, Out of Mind and that will be out in the UK in March next year. So – both my American Title books will be published, but in reverse order. I’m hoping to make it over to the States next year to attend the RT Booklovers Convention. Fingers crossed on that one. I’d also love to attend some of the crime and thriller conventions such as Bouchercon and Thrillerfest, but I think that will have to wait for a while.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Evonne: I like to include at least one scene set in Wales in all my books, so if Americymru members and readers are persuaded to try one of them, I hope they will enjoy the connection to Wales. In Never Coming Home the scene is a short but crucial one, near the end of the book, which takes place in and around Cardiff station. In Out of Sight, Out of Mind , Wales has a much larger role, as a chunk of the action takes place in Pembrokeshire.
I’ve really enjoyed talking to Americymru and would like to thank Ceri for some interesting questions. If I’ve tempted you to read my work, I do hope you enjoy it.
Lorraine: I suppose that I have always enjoyed it and I liked the idea of being a writer, long before I actually started writing! I wrote a book when I was about 30, but knew as I was writing it that it was pretty hopeless, but I persisted for the practice. I started writing my first published novel, Chocolate Mousse and Two Spoons when I was about 32.
AmeriCymru: We learn from your bio that your official writing career started one Sunday morning when you had a hangover. Care to tell us more?
Lorraine: Yes, it was a bit of a killer! I was living in Builth Wells and had a difficult job and was working all hours. I also had a fantastic social life and was never able to refuse an offer to nip out for a pint or to head to the hills at weekend with friends to go walking or mountain biking. I wanted to be a writer and had the story in my head, but never seemed to have the chance to sit down and write it all down.
On that Sunday when I had my hangover, I also had a day out with friends planned and some work to do for a meeting the next morning, and I realised that I would have to put off the writing for another day – yet again. That’s when I had one of those moments in life and thought That’s It! Something has to change – so, I gave myself six months to change everything and I did! I was single at the time, so I just quit my job, rented out my house and bought myself a round-the-world ticket to give myself time to actually write – and I was very lucky as, bar a few adventures, it all worked out in the end!
AmeriCymru: You are originally from Lyme Regis in the south of England. What prompted you to make the move to Mid-Wales? Tell us a little about your background.
Lorraine: I had a great time growing up in rural south west England with my three brothers and two sisters and then went to University in Cardiff to study Town Planning. When I was there I met a Welshman…
I moved to Builth Wells for a job in 1994 intending to stay for a year or so, but had such a good time, I stayed!
AmeriCymru: Your first novel "Chocolate Mousse and Two Spoons" was written while back-packing in South America. What can you tell us about your experiences there and how did you come to write a novel during your trip?
Lorraine: The trip was following my moment of clarity mentioned earlier. I decided to go to Patagonia first as I’d been learning Welsh and had this plan of working in a Welsh tea shop, practicing my Welsh, learning some Spanish, getting a bit of sun and writing my book.
Once in Beunos Aires, I wasn’t in a rush so I decided to walk to Patagonia (yeah, now I know it was a bit foolish!) so I would walk from town to town across the Pampas desert, hiding my tent behind a bush at night and trying to forget that there were still wild things out there.
In that little tent that I shared with mice, bugs and once a fox, I wrote my book. I eventually got to Patagonia, by which time my Welsh had merged with my Spanish and I’d become rubbish at both, so I drunk loads of proper tea, ate piles of Welsh cakes and then carried on walking. Eight months later, and after many adventures including a fight with a man with a knife (it’s OK, I won!) I had finished my novel and so I headed home.
AmeriCymru: Your second novel ''Eating Blackbirds'', set in the fictional Welsh village of Cysgod Y Ffynon, has been described as a ''feel-good'' novel. How would you describe the novel for our readers?
Lorraine: It’s about a man who works for the Council and is waiting for early retirement. He is a bit of a tight-fisted git who pinches tea-bags etcetera to save himself money. Through his work, he meets a lady who has a second home and he slowly moves into the empty house, trying to avoid his young niece who has turned up on his doorstep with a baby. However, the woman comes back to the house when he is there and things don’t go quite to plan…
I used to work for the Council and so this is my expose!
AmeriCymru: Your third novel "Cold Enough to Freeze Cows" is set in rural Mid-Wales. What for you is the most interesting or significant feature of the local agricultural lifestyle?
Lorraine: For me, it’s the hard continual work that people have to do day in, day out. It’s the slog that I think that people don’t appreciate when they think of a “rural idyll”. I live in a farming area and there are a number of women farmers (as the women tend to do the animal side of the farming around here) who come to collect their children from school and they are always covered in some sludge or other, depending on what time of year it is! But it’s also so down to earth – it’s hard for people to be pretentious when they have afterbirth on their foot.
AmeriCymru: You have been quoted as saying, ""I don''t write traditional Chicklit - my characters tend not to be chicks, but wellywearing, ruddy-cheeked folks who have adventures!" Care to elaborate?
Lorraine: As an author, I’ve found it difficult trying to tell people why they should buy my book over someone else’s (apart from parading my children in rags). People assume because they are written by a woman and are about “life things” that they are therefore Chicklit – but to me, the Chicklit I’ve read, tends to be about women who spend / want to spend lots of money on shoes and fancy Guy in Accounts, and that’s just not my world. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong about fancying Guy in Accounts, but my books are about farmers wearing three acrylic jumpers to keep out the cold, and 60 year old men who cook supernoodles in thermos flasks. I think that there is a difference, and I am just trying to distinguish between them.
AmeriCymru: Is there such a thing as "chicklit? If so, how would you define it?
Lorraine: I must admit, I do struggle a bit with “Chicklit”, as it does have a slightly dismissive tang. (This isn’t helped by authors shouting, “I don’t mind if people call my books chicklit!” – it reeks a bit of protesting too hard, and if people didn’t mind, they probably wouldn’t feel the need to mention it!) Female authors who write contemporary or commercial fiction are tagged with this dismissive category, whereas male commercial writers aren’t tagged with a dismissive category.
Saying that, it’s a fabulously successful brand, and those that are at the top of it, do really well! I haven’t quite worked out what I think of it: it’s like wanting to be the leader of a gang that you don’t like.
My work was described recently as being a cross between Tom Sharpe and The Vicar of Dibley, and I’m much happier with this description…
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Lorraine Jenkin?
Lorraine: I’m trying very hard to win The People’s Book Prize - the X Factor of the book world as it is decided by the public’s votes. The next round of voting is in June, so I might be back with a small post to ask for help… Other than that, I want to teach our three young girls to pick up their socks, and to clear out our garage which went to the dogs last summer.
Also, I’m part way through my fourth novel and my plan is for it to go global…
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Lorraine: My trip to the Americas had a big impact on my life – not just the adventures, but the lovely people I met there. Now I am self-employed and a mother of three young girls I look back on my time there as a complete luxury in terms of the time I had to myself. I would sit, alone, out in the wilds watching the sun go down over Tierra del Fuego whereas now I read Cinderella seven times a week and scrape at Weetabix that has been welded to the floor. Life is good, but it is very different!
Also, I would like to thank the people of AmeriCymru for their warm welcome to me on the site – it’s been really nice to receive such messages from strangers!
Rachel Trezise studied at the University of Glamorgan in Wales and University of Limerick in Ireland. Her first novel, In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl , released in 2002 received broad critical acclaim. In October 2006, Trezise won the inaugural Dylan Thomas Prize for her book of short stories, Fresh Apples , describing life in the mining valleys in South Wales. In 2007, Parthian Books published Dial M for Merthyr , an account of her time spent on tour with Welsh rock band Midasuno. Her latest novel is Sixteen Shades of Crazy . Americymru spoke to Rachel about her work and her current literary plans.
Americymru: Care to tell us a little about your latest book ‘Sixteen Shades of Crazy’?
Rachel: ‘Sixteen Shades of Crazy’ is a story about three women, Ellie, Siân and Rhiannon, girlfriends and wives of Welsh punk band The Boobs, whose lives are turned upside down by the unexpected arrival of Johnny, a handsome and mysterious Englishman, a rare occurrence in tiny close-knit Aberalaw where very few people leave and even people fewer arrive. I always intended this novel to be an antidote to How Green Was My Valley , about what happened after the mine shafts were filled and the chapels had been converted to nightclubs and Indian restaurants. In it I am writing about a unique environment, the south Wales valleys, which are neither urban nor rural but an intriguing and complicated fusion of both. Since industrialisation the area has suffered an identity crisis; it is predominantly English speaking, yet it is not English. I am fascinated by this paradox and Johnny represents England and the way some Welsh people regard it, at once despicable and exotic. Also it is my paean to the place where I grew up and still live.
Americymru: The book is dedicated to Gwyn Thomas who wrote extensively about life in the Rhondda Valleys in the 1930’s. Do you see any parallels between life in the valleys then and now?
Rachel: The Rhondda Valleys have changed in many ways over the years. Globalisation, technology and economics have had the same consequences in Welsh communities as they have all over the world. The valleys appear less close-knit and have in some ways become suburbs of the city of Cardiff. But one remaining facet is the poverty that the area continues to endure. In the 1930s there was work but it was dangerous and low paid. Now there’s a significant problem with unemployment. The people of the south Wales valleys are the perennial losers in the relentless march of capitalism, but hardship breeds creativity and gall. Gwyn Thomas said that watching real life in the Rhondda Valley was like watching some kind of tragic-comic theatre production and that’s still true. I never have to look far for a good story or character.
Americymru: Your first book ‘In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl’ is largely autobiographical. How difficult was it to write?
Rachel: ‘In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl’ wasn’t difficult to write at all. I’d had a hard time growing up with an alcoholic mother and an abusive step-father. By the time I came to write the book those experiences were burning up inside me, ready to be spewed out somehow. Anger can go one of two ways, inwards or outwards. Luckily mine came out in an artistic way rather than in violence or something negative like that. Writing it all down was quick and cathartic and I felt calm and renewed afterward. The result is really dark though. I have trouble reading that book now.
Americymru: Your first short story collection ‘Fresh Apples’ won the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2006. How important a milestone was that in your literary career and do you have any plans for further anthologies?
Rachel: ‘Fresh Apples’ was a huge milestone in my writing career because it was my first work of fiction; because ‘In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl’ was autobiographical I had no idea how to plan or embark on a fictional story. I didn’t really know what a full and rounded story was. I started three novels and gave up after the first chapter of each. Then I started getting commissions for short stories and started looking for story ideas. They were my fictional baby steps, my first attempts at playing with characters and voices and scenarios, so I was absolutely stunned when they won the Dylan Thomas Prize. I’ve been busy writing novels for the past five years but I’ve written a few short stories between drafts and I’m hoping to put a second collection together in the not too distant future.
Americymru: Your third book ‘Dial M for Merthyr’ which follows a Welsh band on tour was the inaugural winner of the Max Boyce Prize. How did you research the book and how important is music in your life?
Rachel: I researched ‘Dial M for Merthyr’ simply by going on tour with the band, a young unsigned rock band from Merthyr called Midasuno. Initially the book was going to be about the LostProphets. What I actually wanted to write about was their journey from obscurity in Pontypridd to becoming worldwide household names in a matter of a few months, and that’s the story that my publishing company commissioned. But we just couldn’t get the band on board. As it turned out Midasuno were candid and willing hosts. They let me follow them wherever they went and sleep on their tour bus. I think the book tells a universal truth about what it’s like for all young bands starting out. Music is hugely important, both for me generally, and for my work. Since I finished ‘Dial M for Merthyr,’ I haven’t been all that interested in live music or in rock music actually. You’re more likely to find me listening to Leonard Cohen or Regina Spektor on my ipod. I hope it’s a time issue rather than an age issue, and that the music bug comes back at some point.
Americymru: You have also written for theatre. (I Sing of A Maiden, Lemon Meringue Pie). Any plans for further theatrical works?
Rachel: I never planned to write for theatre when I started out; I came to it by accident. ‘I Sing of A Maiden,’ was a favour to a friend, the folk musician and writer Charlotte Greig. She asked me to write some monologues about teenage pregnancy to punctuate her songs on the same theme for a multi media theatre production, which I did. And from there a producer from Radio 4 asked me to write a radio play, ‘Lemon Meringue Pie’, which was broadcast in 2008. I’m hoping to begin writing my first full length theatre play, a valleys family saga, in January 2011. It’s a good way to keep writing about Wales while I move onto other areas in my fiction.
Americymru: What’s next for Rachel Trezise? Any plans to visit America?
Rachel: The novel I’m working on at the moment is set in America, in North Carolina and New York. It’s a love story about an unlikely couple, a Hasidic Jew from Williamsburg and a former prostitute from the South who becomes a madam in New York City. It sounds controversial at worst and kooky at best but it’s actually quite a tender tale about love being able to conquer the tribulations thrown up by dysfunctional upbringings. I’ve spent a bit of time in New York and was writer of residence at Texas University in 2007, so it hasn’t been too difficult to write a book set entirely in America at a desk in the Rhondda Valley. But there is a bit of research still left to do so I’m hoping to be back in New York for a few weeks in 2011.
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The Seedy Side Of Life In Rural Wales
''A friend is a good egg, even if they are slightly cracked - blessed are the cracked for they shall let in the light''
Buy ''Blessed Are The Cracked'' here
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Delphine: My new book Blessed Are The Cracked is the first in a planned series of three set in the fictional west Wales farming community of Llanefa and featuring retired detective Tegwyn Prydderch. It has been described as ''dark crime'' with some disturbing scenes. A reviewer wondered if tourists would think twice about holidaying in west Wales after reading this!
AmeriCymru: 'Blessed Are The Cracked'' consists of a series of five novellas and two short stories. Why did you choose this unusual literary configuration?
Delphine: The novella is making a bit of a comeback by all accounts and this appealed to me as I have enjoyed a few ''shorter'' novels. I read somewhere that people lead such busy lives these days that they don''t want to commit themselves to a very long novel and I thought it was worth trying. However, my courage failed me when I thought about writing a single novella as I''m not convinced that such a work by an unknown writer would hit its mark. I have enjoyed books such as ''A Visit From The Goon Squad'' (Jennifer Egan) and ''Hearts In Atlantis'' (Stephen King), where a series of novellas were combined and inter-linked through characters and over several decades. The more I thought about it, the more apt this seemed for ''Blessed''. I pretty well let the stories set their own length which explains why they range from 10,000 to 22,000 words (for the novellas). Of the two short stories, ''The Family Man'' just seemed right at its length but ''The Perfect Wife'' wanted to run for longer. I decided against it because it is written entirely in dialect and, although I can hear the voice clearly in my head, I wondered if readers would find it difficult to follow if it went on for many more pages.
AmeriCymru: We know that you draw on your experience as a police officer in rural Wales for inspiration. Can we ask if there are any particular cases which are reflected in the stories in ''Blessed''? One shudders to think that the events related in ''Donald''s Cat'' for instance, might have had a basis in fact.
Delphine: Sadly, abuse is common to all police officers, so there is nothing in those stories that I have not dealt with at some time. ''Donald''s Cat'' (Donald is named after my horse, by the way!) is not based entirely on real events but I have had dealings with people becoming trapped in some way - with varying outcomes. As far as the explosives store is concerned, at one point I was involved with going to inspect explosives stores at local privately owned coal mines. They had a regular inspection by police and the security aspect was very rigorous - the earth bank for instance, as mentioned in the story, was a definite guideline. I am a bit claustrophobic and it used to make my hair stand on end every time I saw the explosives store and I used to wonder how awful it would be to become trapped in one.
The story that mimics real life the closest is ''Heatwave (Tegwyn''s Story)'' which was extremely similar to an event I remember as a young teenager. My father worked for the Electrici ty Board and he came home one day and told us about a Meter Reader who had been attacked by a hippy on drugs (though not to the extent it happens in the book). There had also been a murder there that day. It was a big wake-up call to all of us who lived in the area and had never had to lock our doors and cars.
AmeriCymru: ''Blessed Are The Cracked'' is a superb title. How did you come by it?
Delphine: Much as I would love to take the credit for this, ''Blessed are the cracked, for they shall let in the light'' is a quote from Groucho Marx. When I was halfway through writing this book, I had a jokey email from a friend. It showed animals and people doing the daftest things. It contained that quote and then added ''A friend is a good egg, even if they are slightly cracked - blessed are the cracked for they shall let in the light''. The email formed part of the story where Kay receives it from her best friend - the reasons becoming apparent as the story continues! It sort of stuck in my mind and I eventually changed the title to its present form. Strangely enough, the first thing people say is how much they love the title - it has convinced me that I made the right decision! I think it also sums up its slightly off-beat tone.
AmeriCymru: You will be visiting the US in the near future. Can you tell us more about your itinerary?
Delphine: Having never been on a plane until 1998, I have found that I love travelling! A major operation prior to that date made it impossible to fly, so when that medical decision was turned around, there was no holding us back. My husband and I have been to the US twice before but I have never been to New York. So, next April, we are going to an event and meeting up with friends at Lancaster, Pennsylvania but going to New York first. I''m hoping that there will be some interest in my book and I will be able to sell/sign a few while there.
AmeriCymru: Do you read crime fiction? If so, who? What other genres or authors currently interest you?
Delphine: I have a fairly varied choice of reading. I love Nicci French, Sophie Hannah, Ruth Rendell (especially Rendell''s non-Wexford novels - she always creates some kind of weirdo that hooks me like a magnet!). I''m reading a Jodi Picoult book at the moment - I came across her books in South Africa three years ago and I am working my way through them. You will not be surprised to hear that I also like Elmore Leonard - thank you for your kind review on that topic! I am also a huge Stephen King fan - will I sound like a stalker if I say I''ve had a photo taken outside his house? (But, hey, he''s welcome to come and have a photo taken outside MY house!)
AmeriCymru: We know that you are currently working on a follow up to ''Blessed Are The Cracked". Care to tell us more?
Delphine: The follow up to Blessed is to be a complete full length novel rather than the series of novellas (unless I am convinced to do otherwise). I am already well into it though as it goes back a year or two before Blessed, I''m constantly checking the timeline - not as easy it sounds - some characters just WANT to be there but when I check, they''ve already been killed off!
The third book (optimism is a fine quality in a writer, don''t you think?), goes forward to events that Tegwyn Prydderch becomes involved with after Blessed. I''m hoping that Blessed continues to sell well enough to make these two ''new'' books a reality. So far, Blessed has reached No 36 in the Amazon Top 100 in its category, but there is a long way to go yet! Check out the link to my author page and details on Cambria Books or Literature Wales and look up Writers'' Database.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Delphine: I think it''s great that a country the size of the US has some affinity with Wales (which is only slightly bigger than New Hampshire, I believe). If American readers are supporting Welsh writers by buying their books, then I feel very humbled and grateful. I also hope that writers can give something back to those who live in the US but are ''missing'' Wales. Diolch i chi gyd.
Delphine Richards.
... Peter Luther is an author of exquisitely crafted and electrifying supernatural thrillers. Peter, who lives in Cardiff has been referred to as the ''Welsh Dan Brown''. In 2010 AmeriCymru spoke to Peter about this comparison, and other matters including his new ( then forthcoming ) novel The Vanity Rooms Visit Peter''s website here
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Peter: In my opinion there is no better training for writing fiction than being a lawyer. You meet interesting people and encounter a lot of unusual situations.
Dark Covenant mirrors the rough and tumble of my career as a practising solicitor, but the law does spill over to my other novels. There is an understanding probate solicitor in The Mourning Vessels , and a stressed criminal solicitor in Precious Cargo .
I also think being a lawyer hones your analytical skills: my stories have very tight plot structures, with strict rules within the bizarre world I have created. I’m sure this is partly as a result of my legal training.
On a general note, I think life experience is very important for being a novelist. I tried writing in my early twenties, but when I returned to it in my late thirties my perspective was far more rounded.
AmeriCymru: All your novels so far have been set in Wales. Is there any particular reason for that or is it just familiarity with the area?
Peter: I do a lot of signings in England, and the readers I meet are always pleased to see a story set in Wales. I don’t think there are enough of them east of the Severn Bridge. It’s a beautiful, dramatic country with inexhaustible sources of inspiration.
The Mourning Vessels is set in Tenby, probably my favourite place in the whole world.
The majority of my scenes are however set in my home city of Cardiff, which is because of my familiarity with the area.
AmeriCymru: Were you a horror fiction fan? Are there any particular horror writers whose style you admired or were inspired by?
Peter: I’m not a horror fiction fan per se, but I love anything that is original and well-conceived. In this respect I was very influenced, along with the rest of my generation, by the early Stephen King novels.
The Mourning Vessels involves bereavement counsellors visiting the recently bereaved and offering to ‘solve’ their grief, which they achieve by trapping the departed in the things they coveted in life. These objects - clocks, typewriters, even a bespoke Cluedo board (or is that Clue in America?) - then turn evil and leprous. This has more than an echo of Pet Semetery. It’s sort of a Pet Semetery with antiques...
AmeriCymru: You are quoted as saying that your novels are 'human interest stories masquerading as horror fiction' - what do you mean by that?
Peter: 100,000 words of things that go bump in the night would leave me asleep on my Mac. I need to write about the things that are important to me, which have relevance to my own experience. My characters are ordinary folk with all the ordinary problems: career, money, bereavement, fertility, parenthood. This gives the books what I would describe as their emotional heart, which hopefully leaves a mark on the reader even after all the paranormal conceits and puzzles have been digested, and which saves them from being left on train seats...
AmeriCymru: Could you have written your characters, their relationships and situations in a non-genre drama or in other genres? If so, what do you think you would have to change, if anything?
Peter: That’s a difficult question. If I have a talent, it is that I can take a completely off-the-wall concept and make it believable, and so I cannot really imagine writing in any other genre. With the supernatural anything is possible, and that’s what holds my interest.
That said, I can see myself writing a legal/corporate thriller one day, but it would need to have a very unusual angle.
AmeriCymru: You described your first novel, Dark Covenant , as "a parable of materialism" and your second, The Mourning Vessels, as "a parable of bereavement" - would you describe these as moral tales?
Peter: I wouldn’t be as pretentious to suggest my novels are moral tales, but they certainly have a message. Perhaps the message is a personal one, that I’m writing letters to myself.
In Dark Covenant a struggling lawyer makes a pact with the Devil through the crossword in a lifestyle magazine built from his desires. For me, the magazine represents the contracts we all make in life. We all bargain our time, and sometimes our principles, for the things that we need. For the things that we think that we need. The story is essentially Faust with a modern twist.
The Mourning Vessels was inspired by the loss of my parents. I lost my mum on Christmas Day 2004, and my dad succumbed to grief on Christmas Day 2005. During the year he was alone he created shrines to her memory, from photographs and the little things that she treasured. I didn’t think it was healthy. The book is very much about dealing with bereavement, and I suppose if there’s a message it’s that you need to let go. Remember the ones you loved with a smile, not with pain and torment.
Precious Cargo was based on another sad time in my life: my experience with IVF. There’s a chapter in the book called ‘the imagined child’, because I believed I could see my unborn child’s face, that the child was so close. We tried four times then gave up, because carrying on would have damaged us, I think. Sometimes you need to accept the cards life deals you, and be happy. Anyway, that’s what I believe.
AmeriCymru: how did you imagine the fantastical devices and sinister 'toys' in Precious Cargo?
Peter: I honestly don’t know. These screwball ideas come naturally, if that’s the right phrase...
AmeriCymru: You have been referred to as the 'Welsh Dan Brown'. How do you feel about the comparison?
Peter: My novels have some codes and puzzles, but that’s really where the similarity ends. Mr Brown has a very readable style, but I confess that I find his historical subject matter more interesting than the plot and the characters. That could be because I now read modern fiction with an editorial, critical eye; for this reason I much prefer reading classics or history, when I can completely turn off.
AmeriCymru: We learn from your website that you are working on a fourth novel ('The Vanity Rooms') at the moment. Care to tell us anything about that?
Peter: This is the third novel with my main character Tristyn Honeyman, an ex-Baptist minister from North Wales and a sort of spiritual detective.
The demonic society he encountered in the The Mourning Vessels and Precious Cargo are now posing as an arts charity, giving struggling artists free accomodation. This is in a building in Cardiff Bay once occupied by a chapter that escaped from Revolutionary France, who were obsessed with the Roussean concept of ‘amour propre’, or self image.
The apartment comes with a mobile phone, which has some unusual functions and a strange address book. Both apartment and mobile are infested by the eighteenth century chapter, who are determined to find the true meaning of celebrity, that exclusively human need to be admired.
I know, it’s not the work of a well man...
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of ameriCymru?
Peter: Thank you so much. I’m trying to do something a little different, and I’m writing in a very unfashionable genre: the supernatural thriller without vampires. Your support means everything to me.
AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh crime fiction writer and roving guitarist Andrew Peters:-
" I was born in beautiful Barry on June 21st many years ago. That''s the longest day of the year ("Bloody felt like it too" Mrs GE Peters) so I have always yearned for the sun. After looking for it in vain in the UK, I toured the world as a guitarist and finally settled in Spain in 2004. "
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AmeriCymru: Hi Andrew and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. Can you tell us a little about your Welsh background and how you came to be living in the wilds of central Spain?
Andrew: I was born in beautiful Barry on June 21st many years ago. That''s the longest day of the year ("Bloody felt like it too" Mrs GE Peters) so I have always yearned for the sun. After looking for it in vain in the UK, I toured the world as a guitarist and finally settled in Spain in 2004.
My parents left Wales when I was 10 and insisted I accompany them, but I have returned often, since my mother''s family are landed gentry in the millionaire''s playground of Aberdare, and Mother now lives in upmarket Saundersfoot.
AmeriCymru: At what point did you take up writing crime fiction? Would you describe your work as crime fiction?
Andrew: I never wrote anything at all until June 2012, when I wrote a story about murdering my ex (every boy''s dream) in response to some banter with Facebook friends. Inside two months, I had forty short stories written, all brilliant, and probably dictated by aliens.
Most of my stuff is crime related, and definitely fiction, though I am not one for the meticulously researched police procedural, and there will be no ritual serial killers sending cryptic clues to drunk policemen with unsupportive bosses and troubled marriages.
Most of my stuff has a Welsh connection and my puerile humour, but I did write two "straight" crime novels (JOE SOAP & SUBTRACTION) from which all Welshness and every joke was carefully removed. People still claimed to laugh at them.
AmeriCymru: Can you tell us a little about Otis King, Memphis'' Number One Welsh Blues detective?
Andrew: Well, The Blues Detective started out as just one short story in a collection, but has now expanded to twenty short stories, three Kindle novellas and two novels.
Otis K 
AmeriCymru: Care to introduce your character Retired Chief Superintendent Williams (the semi-legendary "Williams Of The Yard") for our readers?
Yes, I know...very far-fetched.
AmeriCymru: We learn from your bio that you share your place with two gorgeous local cats, more guitars than you can count and a fridge full of wine. Can you tell us a little about your guitar collection?
Andrew: Well.....one picture is worth 1000 words...
AmeriCymru: And,.... the all important question, are you a red or white wine drinker?
Andrew: Yes! But only to excess.
AmeriCymru: What are you reading at the moment? Any recommendations?
Andrew: I don''t read much at all these days, much prefer the guitars and getting outside in the real world. I recommend Robert B Parker, Damon Runyon, Dylan Thomas & PG Wodehouse...all of whom are too dead to sue me for blatant plagiarism.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Andrew Peters? What are you working on at the moment?
Andrew: I think my oeuvre is complete now, ten books seems a nice round number, and nobody''s offering me millions to churn out any more. Not written a word since August and have no ideas.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Andrew: Awfully nice of you to chat to me, everyone please buy all my books immediately and make me stinking rich, famous and more attractive to women. Failing that, never forget you''re Welsh and if you ever have any Blues-related cases that need solving, call Otis King 634-5789
" I am interested in the demonstration of human resilience in the face of failure and in the saving grace of humour "
AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh author Bel Roberts about her writing, travels and future plans. Works by Bel Roberts:-
BOOKS BY BEL ROBERTS...
Bel: Whilst I was an undergraduate at Aberystwyth University (1959-62), I wrote comedy sketches and acted in them during annual Rag Week Charity Events. Later, as a qualified teacher, I taught English up to GCSE ‘A’ Level standard to pupils in 7 secondary schools in England and Wales over 30 continuous years and also achieved the position of Deputy Head Teacher in 2. In some of these schools, I contributed articles for school magazines and wrote pantomimes and sketches for end-of-term concerts, but it was only when, following spinal surgery, I retired prematurely from teaching in 1993, that I had time to write fiction with the intention of getting it published. My first short story, A Touch of Gloss, won second prize in a national open short story competition judged by novelist, Beryl Bainbridge and was broadcast twice on BBC Radio 4 during Armistice Week in 1995. Between 1995 and 2004, I won 5 national open short story competitions and further short stories were included by Honno Women’s Press in 3 of their anthologies, Catwomen From Hell (2000), Written in Blood (2004) and All Shall Be Well (2012). I have had several poems published in various anthologies. In 2000 I was awarded an MA in Creative Writing by Bath Spa University.
AmeriCymru: Can you tell us a little about your first novel ''A Discerning Woman’s Guide To Manhunting''.
Bel: T.V. sit-com series scriptwriter of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrrin and prolific novelist, David Nobbs, was my tutor on a Creative Writing Course in Ty Newydd in Gwynedd. He appreciated my robust sense of humour and encouraged me to write A Discerning Woman’s Guide to Manhunting, which took me 30 years as a serial manhunter to research and 3 years to write! It traces the desperate attempts of Geri, a retired sixty-year-old ex-teacher, to find an intellectually stimulating and sexually active partner. She is DISCERNING, so she’s looking for Mr Right – Mr Will Do just won’t do! The book is about starting again, re-defining self in middle-age and facing real limitations and challenges with a spirit of optimism. Geri not only becomes a mature student, studying alongside teenage students, but also acts as part-carer for her octogenarian mother who has the first stages of dementia but who adamantly resists going ‘into care’. Geri is typical of many middle aged women today who multi-task and get little acknowledgment for their selflessness but Geri is unusually head-strong, non p.c. and outrageously funny. She is not a defeatist, a whinger, or a dignified dear old lady. This woman is dynamite.
AmeriCymru: You have travelled and taught in South Africa and elsewhere. Care to tell us a little about your experiences there?
Bel: My partner and I first visited South Africa as tourists on a fortnight’s sight-seeing holiday at Christmas 2001. On the second day of our visit, we decided that we would like to spend our long, wet British winters there, so we invested in a small coastal shack in the Eastern Cape. Between 2002-7, we spent 6 months of the year there as ‘swallows’ ie fliers migrating to the warmth of an African summer; Chris becoming a typical ex-pat (ie spending most of his time on the Bowls’ Club green, or in its bar!), while I assisted in teaching school leavers English at two township schools. I also did a little relief work at peak holiday periods at a local AIDS & TB children’s clinic, but I had no specific duties to perform there.
I have travelled extensively abroad: New Zealand, Australia, Goa, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Canada, Mexico, W. Indies and sailed down the Amazon as far as Manaus. On my retirement from teaching and as a mature student of the German Language, I visited most cities in Germany as well as other European destinations in Italy, France, Portugal and Greece. Having the time to travel is the main advantage of old age. Despite the current inconveniences at airports etc, I feel a compulsive need to travel whilst I am still mobile. I have a weak back (supported by 2 titanium posts and 8 titanium screws) but I don’t allow it to stop me doing anything. I love seeing new places and meeting different people. I attend a gym every other day and I am full of energy and enthusiasm for new ventures and experiences.
AmeriCymru: You won a number of prizes for your short stories prior to the publication of your first anthology ''Opportunity Mocks''. How did it feel winning The Bill Naughton Short Story Competition amongst others?
Bel: In 1999 I was a runner-up in the Bill Naughton Short Story Competition and in 2000 I was awarded first prize and had a second story entry in the same competition highly recommended. The winning stories were published in ‘Splinters Winners Collection’ (Waldron Dillon 1999 and 2000) respectively. It was an immense honour to win successive Irish literary awards, especially those in honour of Bill Naughton, playwright and author ( 1910-92).
AmeriCymru: Could you tell us a little about ''Opportunity Mocks''? What can readers expect to find between the covers?
AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about ''Surfing Through Minefields''?
AmeriCymru: We learn from a recent newspaper article that you intend to donate to the Aber Valley National Mining Memorial Fund. Care to tell us a little about the fund and your personal reason for supporting it?
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Bel Roberts? When can we expect to see your next title in print?
Bel: I am currently working on a fictional novel influenced by my post-war childhood in the Rhondda. The MS needs to be double its present length and to give a more focused sense of ‘place’. If I were to cut down on my travelling, the book might be finished by early 2014. I am constantly torn between the two priorities in my life: writing and travelling. I am also re-editing half a dozen poems that have been lying dormant for a decade.
AmeriCymru: It is always of interest to know what our favorite authors are reading currently. Any recommendations?
Bel: I loved Hilary Mantel’s biographies of Thomas Cromwell: ‘Wolf Hall’ and ‘Bring Up The Bodies’ and eagerly await publication of the last book of the trilogy. By contrast, I’ve recently finished reading and reviewing Duncan Whitehead’s debut novel ‘The Gordonston Ladies’ Dog Walking Club’, a black-comedy crime story, which I found hilarious. Duncan is an English ex-pat now living in Florida.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Bel: I am pleased and honoured to be part of the cultural twinning of Wales and America through Americymru. I wish you full success with the Eisteddfod Poetry Competition and I look forward to reading more of the entries online. I will do my best to keep updating my membership page and to keep abreast of your news, so that I bolster my friendship with authors and readers across the mountains and The Pond that separates us. It warms my heart that there are readers so far from Wales who are interested in, and who appreciate, what I write. It makes the backache worthwhile. Diolch!
AmeriCymru: Hi Brian, and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. You have been both a field scientist and a Geography lecturer in your time. What inspired you to write fiction?
Brian: It's a great pleasure to talk to you. I always enjoy chatting about the writing process. You should really have asked "Who inspired you to write fiction?" and the short answer to that would be "My wife Inger." I've been writing books for many years, and now have about 80 to my name, but the majority of these relate to my research specialisms of landscape evolution and the Ice Age. I have a great affection for glaciers, having studied them in Antarctica, Greenland and other parts of the north polar regions. So in my days as a lecturer in Durham University it was natural that I should write textbooks about glaciers and landscape; my big text book on that subject, written with my good friend David Sugden, remained in print for 20 years as a key university text across the world. I also wrote books on the Ice Age for a non-specialist readership, for some of the big mainstream publishers in the US and UK.
On moving back to Wales in 1976, I started my own small publishing business called Greencroft Books, and since then I have written and published one or two books a year, aimed at the Welsh market in general and the Pembrokeshire tourist trade in particular -- with titles on folk tales, joke books, guide books, local history and traditions, walking trails and so forth. But no fiction. I thought that the writing of fiction was something for which I was not suited, given my "academic" background. My wife thought otherwise, and was convinced that I could and should write fiction. And then, in 1999, Mistress Martha Morgan walked into my life, and along came the Angel Mountain Saga. It's difficult enough to resist one strong woman, and quite impossible to resist two!
AmeriCymru: The Angel Mountain novels have been a major critical and commercial success. Care to tell our readers a little more about what inspired them?
The story -- and the inspiration -- continued over the writing of the first five novels. When "On Angel Mountain" was published ten years ago, there was such an incredible response from readers that I just had to keep going -- especially since I had only covered a year or so of her life in that first story, and the rest of it was still in my head! So I did not have to "invent" a storyline -- that was there already -- and was able to concentrate on the technicalities of storytelling to the best of my ability. So I wrote and published the other novels very quickly, at the rate of one per year for five years. Since then I have written two further books in the series, one called "Guardian Angel" and the other called "Sacrifice". Very soon sales for the whole series will hit 65,000 copies, so I have to be satisfied with that.
AmeriCymru: The novels are set on and around Carn Ingli. What role does the atmosphere of this unique Welsh landscape play in your creative process?
Brian: The sense of place is hugely important in all of the novels, as it is in most Welsh fiction. We do after all have this wonderful word "hiraeth" which encompasses both longing and belonging -- and ties Welsh people to both a place and a community. Carningli, the little mountain which stands sentinel above the town of Newport in Pembrokeshire, is so important in the stories that it becomes almost a character in its own right. Mistress Martha has a mystical relationship with it, feeling that the mountain is a part of her, and that she is a part of the mountain.
As a geographer by training, I suppose that I feel a sense of place very strongly indeed, and I think that the success of the novels is at least in part related to the fact that readers can also identify very strongly with the little details of the mountain, the cwm, and even the woodlands and streams that are prime locations in one story after another. So they share in Martha's own intimate knowledge of the landscape in which she and her family, friends and enemies live, and love, and die.
AmeriCymru: Iolo Morgannwg, who is something of a hero to many of our readers, makes an appearance in the most recent instalment of the Angel Mountain series ( 'Sacrifice' ). Without giving too much away , can you tell us what role he plays in the novel?
AmeriCymru: In 'Rebecca And The Angels' Martha becomes involved in the Rebecca Riots. Care to tell our readers a little about the historical background to this episode?
So the riots started with the destruction of a tollgate at Efailwen in Pembrokeshire, and then spread all over West Wales. But the riots were actually quite sophisticated, as riots go! The men who took part in them tried to avoid harm to human life, although they had no qualms about smashing up and burning tollgates and tollgate-keepers' houses. In all the riots they dressed in womens' clothes and blackened their faces, and prior to the destruction of each tollgate they enacted a little charade involving Rebecca and her daughters, based on the Biblical story. They used trumpets and drums, and there was a strong theatrical element in the riots, based upon the old "folk justice" traditions of the "Ceffyl Pren." The army was sent in to quell the riots, but because they were so dispersed, and because the rioters had such an effective underground communications network, the dragoons were made to look stupid and ineffectual. Thanks in part to the extensive coverage of the riots in the Times newspaper, the protestors were ultimately successful, and the Turnpike Trust laws were changed by Act of Parliament, addressing most of the grievances of the rioters.
This was such a colourful -- and important -- episode, involving spies, betrayals and secret meetings (not to mention summary justice) that it was inevitable that Mistress Martha would get sucked into the riots, given her propensity for getting involved in any good cause that might help her to make the world a better place!
AmeriCymru: Will we be hearing more from Martha Morgan? Is there any chance of a television adaptation?
Brian: You will certainly be hearing more from Martha Morgan. She hasn't finished sorting the world out just yet. There's another volume in the pipeline, which will hopefully be published in the spring of 2012. Many of my faithful readers from all over the world have said that there MUST be aTV series or films featuring the different phases of Martha's life and following her battles with a number of seriously unpleasant individuals who lust after her and her little estate on the side of the mountain. The books are action-packed, and I think they have very strong characters, and all of my readers refer to the strong "visual qualities" of the stories.
But as we all know, film and TV adaptations are hugely expensive, and in the field of historical fiction producers and directors are notoriously risk-averse. Sadly, they prefer to make yet another version of "Pride and Prejudice" or "Wuthering Heights" rather than to take a chance on something new. But I live in hope. Everybody to whom I have spoken within the TV and film industry says that there is a powerful "random" element in adaptations for the screen. All it needs is for one influential person from within the industry to fall in love with Mistress Martha as a character, to see the potential of the stories, and to act as an advocate for a film project in the offices of those who make the key decisions. So if anybody out there knows a Hollywood director, feel free to tell him or her that the film rights are still available!
AmeriCymru: You are also a writer of non-fiction. Care to tell us a little about The Bluestone Enigma ?
Brian: Sure. This book arose out of a long-standing interest in the mythology surrounding Stonehenge, and particularly the "mystical" link with the bluestones that have come from the Preseli area of North Pembrokeshire. Since 1921, the myth of long-distance human transport of the bluestones has been promoted by one generation of archaeologists after another, to the extent that it has become one of the favourite tales of the world! We all know and love the story, whether or not we have actually visited Stonehenge. It underpins the nation's tourist promotion work, and it adds huge value to Stonehenge as an iconic structure. The trouble is that there was no evidence to support the human transport myth in 1921, and there is still no evidence today.
In the book I take a hard look at where the evidence (rather than the mythology) leads us -- and this means looking at evidence in the fields of glaciology, geology and geomorphology. Inexorably the evidence leads us to the conclusion that the bluestones (which have come from maybe 30 different sources) are glacial erratics, carried from Pembrokeshire towards Salisbury Plain by a vast glacier known as the Irish sea glacier, maybe 450,000 years ago. i think that the stones were dumped by this glacier not far from Stonehenge, and that in due course they were found by Neolithic tribal groups and built into the Stonehenge monument. Maybe the location of the monument was determined above all else by the accessibility of these stones.
Needless to say, many senior archaeologists (who have based their reputations on variations on the "human transport" theme) are furious about this development. I think it's fair to say that they wish that the book would go away -- but it's been reprinted already, and it's good to know that it has sparked a good debate!
AmeriCymru: What do you read for pleasure? Any recommendations?
Brian: I'm not a great reader of fiction -- my bed-time reading normally consists of background material for whatever I am currently writing. So just now I am scanning the pages of various books on the dress and customs of high society in the Regency Period. In the next novel Martha has to learn how to cope with a number of characters who are insufferably grand!
As for my favourite fiction, up there in my top ten would be Peter Carey's "True History of the Kelly Gang", "The Shipping News" by Annie Proulx, Wilkie Collins's "Woman in White" and "A Scots Quire" by Grassic Gibbons. (By the way, I am quite convinced that Dylan Thomas got his idea for "Under Milk Wood" from Grassic Gibbons........ but that's another story.) As far as Welsh fiction is concerned, my favourite is probably Bruce Chatwin's "On the Black Hill", which is dark, claustrophobic and wonderfully evocative. Then I would have to put in the novels of Alexander Cordell. They are not particularly subtle, but Cordell has a fantastic and unique "voice" -- his tales are told in a style that has guts and grime, bravado and anger, and I think he really gets into the soul of Wales.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Brian John?
Brian: I shall continue to write both fiction and non-fiction for as long as I am enjoying myself! When it ceases to be fun, I'll stop and spend more time in the garden. I'm still enjoying the creative process of publishing as well, and the marketing and distribution work that every small publisher has to take seriously. In some ways that's the least enjoyable part of my job as a publisher, but I do value the contacts with the book trade and the feedback from traders and members of the public. I'll continue to work on the sale of film and TV rights for the Angel Mountain tales. And I would love to see my novels take off in the United States and Canada, since i'm convinced that within the Welsh expatriate community there are many folks who have still not even heard of the books. But Mistress Martha is really Mother Wales, or so I am informed by my readers! So maybe that's a line I need to follow as I seek to reach wider markets.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Brian: First of all, thank you to Ceri and his colleagues for the warm welcome to the site! It's colourful, cheerful and friendly -- and as far as I can see it does a great job in explaining what "Welshness" means and in bringing together ex-pats and the descendents of Welsh settlers from across North America! So well done -- keep up the good work!
And for readers who look at the site, please don't forget your roots. It is a sense of belonging that makes us who we are -- and whether we belong to one community or several, we draw our strength and our individuality from the mutual support mechanisms sustained by those around us. It's that "spirit of belonging" which I have tried to capture in the stories of my very imperfect heroine Martha Morgan. She falls from grace over and again, but always her angels pick her up again and reestablish her at the centre of her little world. May the angels of Americymru continue to thrive!
Some links:
About Stonehenge and the bluestones: http://brian-mountainman.blogspot.com/
The Angel Mountain Saga: http://www.angel-mountain.info/
Americymru: Hi Maggie and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. You were born in Wales. Care to tell us a little more about your Welsh background and how you came to the States?
Maggie: I was dragged kicking and screaming into this world in my grandparent’s terraced house in the Ryhmney Valley coal-mining town of Ystrad Mynach in what is now the county of Mid Glamorgan. My maternal and paternal grandfathers were coal miners. My maternal grandmother’s mother tongue was Welsh, which colored her English, often amusingly so. My father was the first in his family to go to college, and I was the first female in the family to throw myself into the academic melee. I have fond memories of Bangor University, which was Bangor College, University of Wales, when I graduated. I’m even nostalgic about the gales that blew—seemingly continuously—from across the Irish Sea, pouring cold water into my wellies and darkening the Gothic college buildings until they resembled something Sauron would have enjoyed living in.
After graduation, I stumbled through a motley slew of jobs from unofficial spy (for the Brits, in case you’re worried) to musicologist (I studied piano and music theory) to orchestral manager to law-firm media relations consultant to academic editor, in the UK, Romania, and—when the glitter of the gold-paved streets beckoned—the USA. I even tried my hand at teaching English to recalcitrant schoolgirls in France. Well, they were recalcitrant until I switched from grammar to medieval history—there’s nothing like castles, dungeons, and torture chambers for winning friends and influencing minds.
I was recruited in London for a job at the World Bank, Washington, DC as a trilingual secretary, but that changed quickly once I discovered the thrills—and spills—of writing program notes for National Symphony Orchestra audiences who would rather search for their names in the donors’ lists than learn what Beethoven had for breakfast. And I went downhill from there …
Americymru: We learn from your biography that after arriving in the US you "... gravitated to Virginia where I threw myself—not literally of course—into editing and writing nonfiction, mostly for adults." Can you tell us more? How would you describe your writing background?
Maggie: That motley slew of jobs in the business sector all had one thing in common—writing/editing, writing/editing, and more writing/editing—on everything from astronomy to Zen Buddhism. I’ve always loved words, and I’ve always loved research. In fact, I was often so absorbed by the research that I put off getting around to the writing. That still happens.
Americymru: Dewi is not your first venture in the area of childrens writing. Can you tell us a little more about your previous work for children?
Maggie: I’ve always been fascinated by children’s literature from the time I was small and my parents read me bedtime stories to becoming a mother myself and reading my own child stories, sometimes the same ones I enjoyed as a child. When my son grew too old for stories, I needed an excuse to borrow books from the children’s library. Declaring myself to be a children’s writer did the trick. Studying the work of great children’s writers gives me the chance to indulge my love of that enchanting mix of innocence, escapism, imagination, and humor that bubbles out of children’s literature. My first efforts at writing were articles and poetry written for the online Stories for Children Magazine, and knowonder! magazine published my first novella, Dewi, the Red Dragon. My adventure story Vin and the Dorky Duet for middle-grade readers was published this past summer.
Americymru: What can you tell us about Dewi and the seeds of Doom? What inspired it? Where can readers buy it online?
Maggie: When I first created my character Dewi, a young and nosy Welsh dragon, I wanted to spread the word, in my very small way, about the land of my birth—its gorgeous countryside, its inspiring history, its fascinating legends, its impossible language. I don’t see why Wales can’t enjoy the kind of global awareness that Scotland and Ireland do. Dewi and the Seeds of Doom combines fantasy—the setting is a historically dubious Wales—with a contemporary problem: genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs in the human food chain are very scary—much scarier than any horror movie could ever be. They are now to be found in 80 to 90 percent of all processed foods in the USA. I have enormous respect and admiration for those courageous folks who are trying to educate the public about them and get them removed from our food supply. I hope children who read Dewi and the Seeds of Doom will enjoy a romp with a feisty little Welsh dragon turned amateur detective. I hope their parents will subscribe to the underlying message about GMOs.
Dewi and the Seeds of Doom is available most places where books are sold, including Amazon and Kindle, and the publishers’ bookstores: for the e-book, MuseItUp Publishing and for the paperback, Halo Publishing International at and of course through Americymru’s bookstore. For more information, check my website at Maggie Lyons Children''s Books
Here’s a brief description of the story:
When Dewi is clobbered by a falling rat, the nosy Welsh dragon snoops his way into a challenging predicament. Helped by a toad with a passion for chemical wart cures, Dewi discovers that a megalomaniac baron is secretly breeding mutant corn at an unfriendly castle. To thwart the genetically modified-corn baron’s sickening plan, he must use moxie and firepower in a series of catastrophe-skirting capers.
Americymru: What''s next for Maggie Lyons?
Maggie: I’m working on a sequel to my children’s adventure story Vin and the Dorky Duet and I’m also chewing on an idea for a sequel to Dewi and the Seeds of Doom, this time inspired by the history of the National Eisteddfod, in which, as a very young pianist, I once competed.
Americymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Maggie: A very heartfelt diolch yn fawr for reading this far.
Interview by Ceri Shaw
...
AmeriCymru: What inspired the concept for “The Banquet of Esther Rosenbaum?”
Penny: It began with a footnote in a biography about the writer Bertolt Brecht, relating to his grandmother Karoline. She caused uproar when she struck up a friendship with a young woman cook and went off to the races with her. It was 1917 and she was behaving in a way that turned the strict social conventions of that time on their head. Karoline was 78 and she decided to party. I liked that. I’d already been thinking about the character of an anorexic chef and had written a short story about a clockmaker, inspired by some wonderful old clocks I’d seen in a museum. I began to wonder if these different elements could come together in some way.
AmeriCymru: What made you choose this period and place for your novel?
Penny: They chose me! When I was at art college I’d come across the work of German artists of the early 20th century and was quite simply inspired – artists like Kirchner, Dix and the brilliant satirist Grosz. The Dadaists in Berlin were amazing – their experimental approach to art, their creative panache and combative way with the world and its failings had me hooked from the off. I hardly needed an excuse to go back into the future, if you like. Look at Grosz’s satirical drawings condemning the fat cats of industry, or corrupt military leaders, of Dix’s powerful prints exposing the horrors of war and it’s hard to imagine you’re not looking at something still relevant and contemporary.
A statistic I’d read about life in Berlin in 1923 – the year of a terrible inflation which wrecked the lives of people from all walks of life – helped me find my starting point. This statistic claimed “less than 10% of Berlin’s families earned enough to maintain a decent standard of living.” What this meant in reality was terrible poverty, contrasting with conspicuous consumption by the few – a surprisingly familiar story if you look at news headlines today. I was also intrigued by the landmark buildings of the period, such as House of Aschinger, a four-storey restaurant which was open all hours. The management offered free bread rolls with bowls of pea soup to bring in the artists who provided colour and scandal. The pea soup was legendary – apparently, it was created by a Nobel Prize-winning chemist. In my story, it has a very different creator, or course.
AmeriCymru: You’ve discussed the role of food in this story, the importance it would have had for people in Germany at the time, was that concept the inspiration for your setting and how much did it affect your development of your characters and their relationships?
Penny: Originally my novel was going to interweave the stories of three different women, my chef Esther Rosenbaum, and two others, based on real people: actress Carola Neher, originally cast in Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera, and playwright Marieluise Fleisser. Food was part of the storyline, but not the only ingredient. I was also interested in the theatre world of that time, and the dilemmas facing a young woman playwright and actress, both of whom were lovers of Brecht in the 1920s. It took a long while to work out the story I really wanted to write. The novelist Celia Brayfield helped me get on track when I went to Ty Newydd, the writer’s centre in North Wales, to work on an early draft. She asked me which of the three characters I really wanted to write about and it was, of course, Esther. I tore up a lot of pages (not for the first time!) and began all over again. The idea of the story recipes came along quite late in the process.
AmeriCymru: Esther cooks fantastic and marvellous food for other characters and starves herself. What inspired that in her character, did you create her whole with this in mind or did it develop with the story?
Penny: I’d had an idea of using an anorexic chef in a short story, before starting on this novel. So, yes, Esther was always going to have a problematic relationship with food. What interested me was the idea of a young woman using her appetite as her only means of exerting control over outside circumstances threatening her. That is a trait found in many anorexics. I’ve not been a full blown anorexic, but like many women I’ve had issues around food and eating. And yes, I have in the past controlled my eating to feel like I’m in control of something. Food is also a currency in this novel – it is Esther’s gift, and her way of forging connections and relationships. That is never lost, even when she gets ill.
AmeriCymru: Some of the book’s characters are historical figures, people who lived, some of them your own. How was it to write them and was there a difference? How much of how you wrote your characters was based on people you knew and how much was out of your imagination?
Penny: Historical figures are interesting to write about. They are “real” in the sense that they once lived, but without having ever met them – and all the historical characters in my novel died long before I was born – I had to imagine them anyway. I did do a lot of research over the 10 years it took me to write Banquet, but the trick I found with my historical characters was to try and bring them to life using a few telling details, rather than laboriously list all the known facts (or even sticking to them rigidly). For example, Thomas Tucholski is based on the real life kabarett artist Klabund, who was prosecuted for blasphemy and jailed in 1918. Klabund was “fiery and thin” – so is my character Thomas. But what gave me the real inspiration for creating his character was something I’d read by Kurt Tucholsky, a left wing journalist and a contemporary of Klabund: “Nothing is more difficult and nothing demands more character than to find oneself in open opposition to one’s time and to say loudly: no.” That, in essence, sums up Thomas Tucholski, a fervent anti-war campaigner. And that’s where I got his surname from – but I realised I had misspelt it when I went back over my research notes for this Q&A!
Grandmother Brecht is based (very loosely) on Karoline Brecht. Whilst researching in Germany, I ran out of money and was unable to go to see where she lived in the Black Forest. So, I moved her to Augsburg (where her grandson was brought up) and turned her into a sympathiser for the Spartacist movement. Bearing in mind her habit of ignoring social convention and the proprieties of the time, I felt that wasn’t such a huge step out of character.
I feel in many ways the city of Berlin is also a character in this book and I adopted a similar approach in trying to convey its atmosphere and appeal. House of Clocks is one of the few real places I found – in reality though it’s an art auctioneer’s called Villa Grisebach. Walking around Berlin in the late 1990s, I soon realised I wouldn’t succeed in finding concrete information of most of my settings, but would have to rely instead on suggestion and echo to suggest what once was. In the end, different scents and tastes became as important as bricks and mortar.
AmeriCymru: How much of Esther is you – your own feelings or realisations of coming on age?
Penny: I think all writing is autobiographical in the sense that you’re drawn to write about things that influence you, affect you, make you think, and so on. That doesn’t mean it’s a straight lift from life at all. As I said earlier, Banquet was a long time in the writing. It really began to come together the year several people I was close to died in quick succession. Rather than a rites of passage novel, shaped by my pre-adolescent experiences, it’s one influenced by months of grieving in my early thirties. It’s no coincidence Esther is an orphan. Losing someone you’ve been close to changes you in ways you can barely comprehend at the time. When I read Banquet, I see very clearly things that happened to me during that time of mourning, but of course filtered through another’s eyes and set in another period of time. It’s not a deliberate distancing on my part, or a cunning way of slotting me in to the book, but something I think is a lot more subtle and rewarding. I grew up a lot at that time, but I also spent a lot of time angry, drunk and behaving impossibly. It’s all there, and so are the good bits, like the lifeline suddenly held out by people I barely knew, or I knew but failed to understand in time could support me.
AmeriCymru: You’ve said in other interviews that particular artists and music inspired you writing this; did you immerse yourself in the art and music and everything else of that place and period to write?
Penny: Absolutely. Recordings of Lotte Lenya singing Kurt Weill; Pabst’s film of Pandora’s Box; photos of Jewish life by Roman Vishniac I came across unexpectedly in a London gallery one winter morning. But there were a lot of contemporary influences too, such as Tacita Dean’s Berlin Works and street graffiti in Berlin. And I ate a lot of fantastic cakes when I was there, all for the sake of research!
AmeriCymru: The real and the fantastical or magical elements in this narrative are so skilfully and subtly interwoven that the reader sometimes forgets that this is not a straightforward biographical narrative. There is no noisy crunching and grinding of gears as we change between registers. Did you aim for this “hypnotic” effect, or did it just emerge as the story developed?
Penny: If I’d aimed for the “hypnotic” effect you describe, I’d still be staring at a blank page! Seriously, I think the characters and the events that happen do help create that seamless tradition. I love books that nudge you into a surreal world, without losing sight of what is familiar, or maybe known historical fact. Gunter Grass’s The Tin Drum springs to mind, so does Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, or Patrick Suskind’s Perfume.
AmeriCymru: What are your future plans? Are you working on another novel at the moment?
Penny: Alcemi are publishing my second novel in 2010. The Deer Wedding is a novel set in Croatia, spanning two generations, two brutal wars and the controversial histories of two very special works of art. The main character is an artist called Antun Fiskovic who experiences a sea-change in his fortunes as occupying forces take over the government of his country. Fifty years later, a young woman called Dagmar Petric begins a search for answers to her father’s suicide, a disgraced journalist in Tito’s Yugoslavia. I was in Croatia just after the 1990s war ended, working with a theatre company who were staging a version of The Tempest on an island beach. That partly provided the inspiration for the book, the rest came from meetings with extraordinary people I met out there and visiting evocative settings such as the Jewish Cemetery in Split and the Croatian sculptor Mestrovic’s gallery-home and chapel in Split.
AmeriCymru: The Welsh independent presses are proving very successful at supporting a new generation of writers. What is it like as a writer at the moment, living and working in Wales?
Penny: Would I be published, if I didn’t live in Wales? I have a feeling that the answer is probably a resounding “no.” I’d been approached by a few editors and agents from London before Banquet properly got underway, but nothing bore fruit until I met Welsh-based editor Gwen Davies. Gwen really helped me get the whole thing into something resembling a publishable manuscript. It’s rare to find someone prepared to commit to your work and to help you develop; so many larger publishers are either not taking on new writers, or you have to fit a certain mould, or genre. I can see why Banquet (and me) don’t really fit the bill, but that’s fine when you have a thriving independent sector. Just look at how many bands are coming through the web and social networking sites these days, rather than the big recording labels. I like that DIY approach. Over the past few years, I’ve also been supported by several writing awards made by organisations such as Academi and my “day job” at Welsh National Opera. It was a writing class run at Cardiff Library by my friend Jackie Aplin in the early 1990s that gave me the confidence to start writing. I think living in a bi-lingual country helps give a different perspective too. If you like words, you like languages. Wales has many interesting writers working in both languages; it’s also welcoming of “outsiders” like me trying to find their feet.
AmeriCymru: Any other message you’d like to pass on to AmeriCymru readers?
Penny: An invitation to take part in an event like Left Coast Eisteddfod is fantastic. The writing process is isolating, so the opportunity to meet readers (or potential readers) is always welcome. I’ve not been to the States before, so I’m really intrigued what to expect. It’s already surprised me to discover there’s a strong Welsh contingent in Portland (and further afield) which means I have no excuses not to practise my Welsh!
AmeriCymru: Hi Norma and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. When did you first discover your passion for writing and literature?
Norma: I have always had a passion for writing, but could never devote enough time to it, because of pressure of work. As a child I loved writing essays and stories. My professional career as a teacher, specialising in English Literature, nurtured my love of good books. I wrote a number of academic articles for journals such ''Management in Education'' and I also wrote an article for a book called ''Take Care Mr. Blunkett'' about curriculum issues. However, at the back of my mind there was always a hankering to write fiction. When I took up writing full-time I decided to write about my experiences as a child growing up in the Welsh valleys, but I was really interested in creative wrting. I enjoy writing fiction. For me it is a pleasure, not a hardship.
AmeriCymru: Season of The Long Grass is a true story of a childhood spent in the Cynon Valley in the fifties. Care to tell us a little more about the book and how life in he valleys has changed since that time?
Norma: My first book ''Season of the Long Grass'' is a journey through childhood to adolescence and the realisation that everything changes. It depicts the importance and strength of family life in the Welsh Valleys in the 1950s. A mining village wasn''t just a community, it was almost an extended family where people looked out for each other. Front doors were never locked during the day, the pubs closed at ten o'' clock and were shut on Sundays. Families sat around the table to eat and talk about their day. Television didn''t invade households until the late 1950s so entertainment was mostly board games and family activities.
Children could play ball on the main highway, because there was very little traffic compared with the present day, and vehicles were much slower. Whole streets went to the seaside together and the generations mixed together, unlike today. After ten o''clock the local dance hall was full of all ages from teenagers to grannies. Alcohol wasn''t served in the dance hall, only soft drinks and snacks, but it didn''t matter. Teenagers didn''t go into local pubs, because they knew they would be seen by somebody who would report back to their parents.
Discipline in schools was much stricter and the cane was administered just for being late on a few successive days. I remember being told that if a strand of hair was placed across the palm of the hand the pain of the cane wouldn''t hurt. They were wrong! There was more respect for the police. Children were not afraid to approach a policeman if they needed help. Conversely, most misdemeanors were dealt with by dragging the miscreants home to be punished by their parents. Going to Sunday School was positively encouraged and being drunk was frowned upon. It was altogether a gentler way of life where people looked out for each other.
Unlike today children were free to play and roam the mountains without fear. No problems with health and safety when climbling trees, playing conkers or building bonfires for Guy Fawkes night. Children ate what they were given, because they had been brought up on war rations which didn''t completely end until about 1953/1954. Designer clothes and trainers didn''t exist for children. They were expected to dress like children and wear what they were given to wear. Sex was only spoken about in hushed tones and never in front of the youngsters. There was no sex education in schools other than human biology. Most information was acquired behind the bike shed or from older siblings.
Even though there was pressure to do well in school and pass the ''scholarship'' to get into grammar school, there were fewer pressures on young people than today. Nowadays children want the latest fashion, indulge in anorexic diet fads and can''t wait to become fully-fledged adults. In the 1950s children were content to be children until ''teenage culture'' became fashionable.
AmeriCymru: Your second novel The Regis Connection is set in Berlin and Russia. What inspired you to write a thriller set in the WWII and cold war eras?
Norma: Your second novel ''The Regis Connection'' is set in Berlin and Russia. What inspired you to write a thriller set in the WWII and cold war eras? ''The Regis Connection'' was inspired by my time living in Berlin during the Cold War. I had many conversations with Berliners who had experienced the Soviets marching into Berlin at the end of the Second World War. They related what happened and the differences in how they were treated by the Soviets and the Allies. I also met people who had been involved with resisting Hitler. One woman told how soldiers broke into her house and shot her husband, because he refused to join the Nazi Party. Subsequently, she was forced to become part of the Lebensborn, a programme that used blonde, blue-eyed women to increase the population of Aryan children often fathered by SS officers.
I lived in the British Sector about two hundred yards from the Wall and close to Gleinicke Bridge where spies were exchanged, as depicted in Hollywood films. Travelling into Charlottenberg, on the top deck of a double decker bus, it was quite normal to see armed Grepos manning the Goon Towers. Gunshots and minor explosions from the East German side were commonplace. Military personnel families lived on constant alert in case the Soviets came over the Wall to invade West Berlin. I actually travelled on the military train through East Germany and experienced the precautions put in place by the British Forces and also visited the Russian War Memorial in Treptower Park in East Berlin. Visits were only allowed with the military and were closely supervised. Compared with the thriving, cosmoplitan atmosphere in theWest, East Berlin looked shabby and poor. Many bombed out buildings were still in existence.
I was so intrigued by events and stories I heard that I decided to write a fictional story based on what I had heard and experienced.
AmeriCymru: You are currently working on your third novel. Care to tell us more about that?
Norma: My latest novel is also a thriller set in present times. Currently, it has the provisional title ''Until Tomorrow Comes''. It is now with the publisher. Below is a brief synopsis of the book.
Chief Inspector Brian Wallace is called in to investigate the murder of a naked victim, wrapped in a blanket, found at the bottom of an old engineering shaft in Shropshire. A local reporter informs him that another naked body was washed up on the beach near Portsmouth suspected of being thrown from a cross channel ferry. The murder had been swiftly hushed up leaving no record of the incident. Wallace is furious when he is warned against pursuing his investigation by the top brass.
Determined to find out if there is a link with the murder in Shropshire he contacts Ernst Dreher, his counterpart in Geneva, who has links with Interpol. Subsequently, he and his pathologist girlfriend, Jo Barnett, fly to Geneva to discuss the case. Unknown to Wallace, Jack Conrad, a former colleague in British Military Intelligence, is also in Switzerland investigating the disappearance of two British army officers, Bruce Foley, working for MI6, and Robert Macaleer of British Military Intelligence. Gradually, Conrad and Wallace uncover a sinister connection between the murders of the two military men, the brutal murder of a young woman in Shropshire, who is connected to Colin Lynes, a Russian ‘sleeper’, and an American senator found dead in a hotel room in Paris.
Their search for the two missing military men sets off a trail of events that leads them to a covert organisation, known as the Black Militia, hidden away in the Swiss Alps. It is headed by a man known only as the Generalissimo. Wallace infiltrates the facility and discovers the full extent of the Generalissimo’s plans before escaping with Conrad. When they return to capture him they find that the entire organisation has decamped. They recover a disk from the Militia’s crashed helicopter containing precise information about the organisation and the Generalissimo''s plans; information that makes their blood run cold. The plot is full of intricate twists and turns. The action takes place in England, Switzerland, Paris and the United States of America.
AmeriCymru: Where can we go to purchase your books online? Are they available on Kindle?
Norma: Both ''Season of the Long Grass'' and ''The Regis Connection'' can be purchased on Amazon.com/ Amazon.co.uk, the Welsh Books Council, Waterstones and other good book stores. Both have five star reviews on Amazon.
''The Regis Connection'' is now available on Kindle
''Season of the Long Grass'' will be on Kindle very shortly.
My new novel ''Until Tomorrow Comes'' will also be available on Amazon and Kindle.
AmeriCymru: What are you currently reading? Any recommendations?
Norma: I have recently read some good historical novels such as C.S. Sansom''s Shardlake series, ''The Revenge of Captain Paine'' and ''Last Days of Newgate'' by Andrew Pepper; also Philippa Gregory''s ''The Other Queen'', ''The Queen''s Fool'' and ''The Red Queen''. I also enjoyed Bernard Knight''s books.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Norma Lloyd-Nesling?
Norma: I am not a single genre writer. After writing two thrillers I am now researching for a novel with an historical twist that moves from the 16th century to the present day. I am also writing a chic lit novel under a pen name. A little note for readers and members of AmeriCymru - my new novel, and any future books, will be published under the name Lloyd Nesling cutting out my first name and the hyphen.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Norma: Getting published is extremely difficult on both sides of the Atlantic. It is hard to know what publishers want other than chic lit, celebrity autobiographies, and what I term ''doom and gloom'' books. Keep at it! You never know when you''ll hit the jackpot. In the meantime write for pure pleasure. Enjoy!
AmeriCymru spoke to author Sarah Stevenson about her latest book The Truth Against The World
"Sarah Jamila Stevenson is a writer, artist, graphic designer, introvert, closet geek, enthusiastic eater, struggling blogger, lapsed piano player, household-chore-ignorer and occasional world traveler. Her previous lives include spelling bee nerd, suburban Southern California teenager, Berkeley art student, underappreciated temp, and humor columnist for a video game website.
Throughout said lives, she has acquired numerous skills of questionable usefulness, like intaglio printmaking and Welsh language. She lives in Northern California with her husband, who is also an artist, and two cats with astounding sleep-inducing powers." Read more here...
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Sarah : Diolch, Ceri, for this opportunity to talk about my writing work! The Truth Against the World is described on the book cover as "a transatlantic paranormal mystery that spans generations"—but I personally like to describe it as a ghostly mystery about a family secret. Two teenagers—Wyn (Olwen), a girl in San Francisco, and Gareth, a boy in London—are unexpectedly brought together online and find out they share a strange connection. Was their meeting a coincidence, ghostly intervention, or something more? Both of them have Welsh heritage, and soon, they begin to trace the mystery together, all the way back to a tiny Welsh village and the secrets it has held close for decades.
I hope that''s enough to whet readers'' appetites without giving too much away…
AmeriCymru: What is your connection with Wales?
Sarah: I have to admit first off that I have no idea whether I have Welsh heritage or not! It was something my grandmother always used to say, but we have no idea if it was accurate, and no real way to prove it. We only know for sure that there''s English, Irish, and French Canadian on that side. Having her say it at all, though, did plant a seed in my mind. I suppose I''ve been interested in Welsh language and culture since my first visit to Wales, at age 4! We took a family vacation to the UK and I remember being quite impressed with the castles in Wales, and the green countryside. I returned with my mother when I was 13, and that''s when I first remember encountering the Welsh language and being captivated by it. In college I had the opportunity to take a couple of Welsh language classes, and since then I''ve kept it up on my own, using online resources, and by attending the Cymdeithas Madog Welsh course as often as I can. Because of that, I now have various friends and other connections in Wales, and feel even more strongly attached than ever. (Now I just have to find time and money to visit again…my last trip was in 2000, for the Cymdeithas Madog Cwrs Cymraeg in Carmarthen.)
AmeriCymru: What influenced your decision to write for children/young adults?
Sarah: To be honest, I hadn''t originally thought about writing for young readers when I first began to pursue a career in writing. Actually, my original career plan was to be an illustrator, and I studied art in college as an undergraduate and even did a year of graduate work in printmaking. After being out of school and working for a couple of years, I was doing some freelance writing of humor articles as part of my job at an internet company, IGN.com, and realized how much I''d always enjoyed writing. However, this was the first time I''d ever thought of it as more than just a hobby.
I took an online fiction writing workshop in about 2001 and that was actually when I first began Olwen''s story. At that point, the characters were adults and it was not a YA novel at all. But I only got about 40 pages in before getting stuck. Shortly after that, though, I decided to return to school for creative writing, and during my MFA program at Mills College in Oakland, I took a couple of courses in writing for young adults and realized not only that Olwen''s story would be a perfect young adult novel, but also that I really had a connection with writing for that age group. I did so much reading when I was a teenager—it was the last time I had really read voraciously and indiscriminately. At the same time, I know how difficult it can be to keep teens reading. I relished (and still do!) the idea of being able to convert and keep lifelong readers. On top of that, I feel like YA novels are all about growth and change and coming of age, and I find that an intriguing underlying theme to explore, regardless of genre.
AmeriCymru: Your book "The Latte Rebellion'' won an IPPY Award for Children''s Multicultural Fiction in 2012. Care to tell us more?
Sarah: Here''s a brief tale of drastic contrasts for you! Although The Truth Against the World was my first finished book, The Latte Rebellion was my first PUBLISHED book. Truth, I labored over for years, first as my MFA thesis (at that point entitled The Other Olwen) and then afterward as I repeatedly rewrote it and tried to get it published. The origin story for Latte couldn''t be more different—I started it during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2007, and finished the first draft less than 6 months later.
I suppose Latte just came "pouring" out of me partly because of the autobiographical inspiration for it, and partly because it was just a very fun story to write—it''s about students of mixed race/mixed ethnicity who decide to form a club for other students like them and sell t-shirts as a money-making scheme, but of course the scheme careens hilariously out of control. As someone of mixed heritage myself (my father was born in India), it''s not hard to notice that there aren''t many books written about characters dealing with the unique set of issues that come up when you have a family that''s blended in that way, bringing together races and/or cultures. I wanted to write something that incorporated characters of mixed ethnicity, because that''s what I grew up with, but I also wanted to write a story that was entertaining and funny and not "issue-based." The Latte Rebellion is what came out.
AmeriCymru: You also write short stories. Where can our readers go to find them online?
Sarah: I don''t have too many short stories available online at the moment—in fact, this question prompted me to check my own website and I found that most of the links to my online work are no longer active! Surprise. However, I will take that as tacit permission to post some PDFs of those published stories very soon on my website, at www.SarahJamilaStevenson.com
AmeriCymru: What are you reading at the moment? Any recommendations?
Sarah: At the moment, I''m reading a non-fiction book entitled Hubbub: Filth, Noise, and Stench in England by Emily Cockayne. I highly recommend it! It''s a fascinating look at what life was like in English cities in the 1600s and 1700s, based on firsthand writings from the time period. I also recently finished reading the third book in a trilogy by a YA writer friend, Robin LaFevers. The book is Mortal Heart, Book 3 in the His Fair Assassin trilogy, a story of magic, mythology, and political intrigue set in Brittany and France in the Middle Ages. All three books are fantastic, with wonderfully dangerous female heroines.
AmeriCymru: Other interests/hobbies besides writing?
Sarah: Lately I seem to find my free time for other interests dwindling more and more, but of course, when I can, I try to continue pursuing my visual art (drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking). I also enjoy cooking (and eating!), traveling, watching BBC shows (just finished Call the Midwife, and I love Doctor Who), listening to music and occasionally playing it (piano, and I''m learning ukulele), and on occasion I have been known to participate in role-playing games.
AmeriCymru: What are you working on at the moment?
Sarah: I''m trying to rewrite a draft of a new book which is part of a two-book set tentatively titled Fuel to the Fire. I like to call it post-post-apocalyptic. (Essentially, it''s a fantasy without any actual magic in it!) Book 1 is called Tinder. It''s set in an imaginary world that relies on water and steam rather than combustion, a few centuries after worldwide disaster has changed the face of the earth. In the stately canal city of Breakwater, a young noblewoman named Chiara is faced with having to undergo an arranged marriage, when all she wants to do with her life is work with technology as an engineer. Meanwhile, a young man, Aden, lives in the poor part of town, scrabbling to pull down enough money from his work as an apothecary''s apprentice so he can pay his dead father''s debts. An irresistible offer of work from a slightly shady individual ends up drawing Aden into a world of thugs, rebels, and guerrillas eager to bring down the noble status quo—and then a shocking, tragic accident brings him and Chiara together. Whether they can stop what they''ve inadvertently helped set into motion is the premise of Book 2.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Sarah: Thank you so much for reading this! For more of my thoughts on books and writing, here are a few more places to find me online:
Blog posts: http://sarahjamilastevenson.com/blog.html
Twitter: @aquafortis
Peregrinations of William Davies Evans During the Later Nineteenth Century
Welsh author Margaret Morgan Jones publishes her great-uncles account of his travels in the USA in 1880. AmeriCymru spoke to Margaret about the book and her future plans.
Buy Travels of A Welsh Preacher in the U.S.A. here
AmeriCymru: Hi Margaret your new book Travels of a Welsh Preacher in the U.S.A is a translation from an 1883 Welsh language original Dros Gyfanfor a Chyfandir. Can you tell us how you became involved with this project?
Margaret: I became involved with the project of translating Dros Gyfanfor a Chyfandir (Over Ocean and Continent) by Reverend W.D. Evans (my great-uncle) after the author’s direct descendants had traced me down on their visits from the U.S.A. to Wales. Because the book was written in Welsh, Evans’ descendants had no idea what the book contained. On one visit, they put me on the spot and asked me to translate this page and that page, so I told them that I would translate the whole book for them. At first, it was only an undertaking for the ‘Evans’ family in the United States, but when two friends of mine – Professor Ivor Wilks and Professor Nancy Lawler, read extracts from my translation, they advised me to have it published in book format. I went along with their recommendation and Myrddin ap Dafydd of the publishing company, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, North Wales was happy to accept my work for publication. I was advised to change the title in order to better reflect its content.
AmeriCymru: What was the purpose of William Davies Evans trip to the States in 1880?
Margaret: My great-uncle, William Davies Evans, was born in a cottage in Talsarn, West Wales, on February 23, 1842. When William was 10 years old, his parents and their family emigrated to the U.S.A. After completing his education in Ohio, William returned to Wales in 1872 with the intention of a short stay, but his diary kept filling up with preaching appointments, so he stayed in his homeland for 15 years. In the year 1876, he married my grandfather’s sister, Jane Jones, Penwernhir, Pontrhydfendigaid. In 1880, he decided to sail to the U.S.A. to gather material for two books he was planning to write.
AmeriCymru: How widely did he travel within the U.S.?
Margaret: After arriving in New York, Evans travelled the breadth of the country – from New York to San Francisco. He was sponsored by certain railroad companies during this venture. He walked up to the summit of Pike’s Peak, Colorado and down again, but spent a few days in bed after this!
AmeriCymru: Can you tell us anything about William Davies Evans later history?
Margaret: William attended Willoughby School after arriving in Ohio when he was 10 years old. It is assumed that he was educated at home when he lived in Talsarn because he wrote that it was in this school he sat behind a desk for the first time. In 1868 he went on to further education at Delaware University College and in 1870 at The Theological Institute in Oberlin, Ohio. In 1871, he took charge of churches in Youngstown, Weathersfield and Churchill before returning to Wales in 1872. On August 13, 1874, he and another 12 ordinands were ordained as fully fledged ministers of religion at Rhydfendigaid Methodist Chapel, Pontrhydfendigaid. Reverend Howell Powell, New York, was one of the ministers who officiated at this service. In 1883, the book Dros Gyfanfor a Chyfandir was printed by The Cambrian News at Aberystwyth. His other manuscript, Hanes Taleithiau America a’r Cymry Ynddynt (The History of the United States of America and the Welsh Living in Them) was never printed because he became depressed because sales of Dros Gyfanfor a Chyfandir were disappointing. The reason for this was: he had serialised the content, letter by letter, in the paper Baner Ac Amserau Cymru (Banner and Times of Wales). In 1886, he uprooted his family from Wales and emigrated permanently to the U.S.A. The following year, he came up with the idea of embarking on a weekly newspaper. He was sponsored by friends in Long Creek, Iowa and Emporia, Kansas and spent almost a year travelling, at his own expense, to persuade people to subscribe to this venture before the launch of ‘Columbia’ on July 4, 1888. He was editor of this paper for 3 years. Afterwards he and his family, moved to Kansas City, where he became a recluse for some time. The lack of Dros Gyfanfor a Chyfandir’s sales was the main reason. However, he picked himself up and according to H. Richards, Otter, Iowa (Y Drych [The Mirror] April 9, 1896) he regained his passion for preaching with more enthusiasm than ever. When he became unwell, he and his wife retired to Tacoma, Washington. William Davies Evans died on December 16, 1907. Respecting his wishes, his funeral was modest with no flowers and he did not want anyone to write a biography of him.
During the American Civil War, William and his brother, Lewis, were called up to serve with the army of the North. William’s occupation was as a draughtsman. As part of his duty, he once had to go as far south as Chattanooga, on the banks of the Tennessee river. He and Lewis spent an anxious time on Point Lookout, just outside Chattanooga, during this period. All is revealed in the book ‘Travels of a Welsh Preacher in the USA’.
AmeriCymru: W.D. Evans had a sense of humour. Care to share some of the lighter moments from the book?
Margaret: Whilst waiting for a train on a transfer in Nebraska W. D. Evans holds a conversation with a young lad from the ‘boot-blacks league’. Evans agrees to a ‘shine’, and the boy questions him intensely about the western towns he had visited. Evans in turn responds by asking the boy questions about himself. The boy tells him that he does not pay a fare for travelling on the train; that he travels on a small seat between the wheels, under the train. Evans asks: ‘what if you collided with a cow or horse?’ The boy replies: ‘I would be better off than the poor animal’ and so forth. All very amusing.
When Evans was in the region of Ashland, Wisconsin, he became unwell and was directed to a respectable and comfortable house. A fellow-lodger was very interested in him after discovering that he had a Welshman as a companion. This man had not met a Welshman for 10 years and took great care of Evans and called on a doctor to see to him. This man asked Evans if he had heard of Twm Chaen Bwlet. The reply was ‘no.’ ‘Never heard of Twm Chaen Bwlet!’ ‘Have you heard of Tom Sayers?’ ‘Yes,’ Evans replies. Apparently Twm Chaen Bwlet trained Tom Sayers to be a boxer. The questions and answers go on and on. Apparently Twm Chaen Bwlet was this man’s brother. All very interesting and amusing.
Another tale is: when a panel of 12 women were sworn in as jurors in a court of law in Laramie. The case before the jurors concerned one of the ruffians of the West. A divine guidance was asked for before returning the verdict. While the women were sitting on the jury, their maids were in their homes singing:
Nice little baby, don’t get in a fury
Cause mamma is gone to sit on the jury.
According to W.D. Evans!
AmeriCymru: Where can the book be purchased online?
Margaret: (i) www.gwales.com Click on ‘Books from Wales’ Search: ‘Travels of a Welsh Preacher in the U.S.A.’ Click – No 9 down the list. Read Reviews.
(ii) Myrddin@carreg-gwalch.com
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Margaret: I hope that readers of ‘Travels of a Welsh Preacher in the U.S.A.’ will find the book interesting. Landscapes are vividly described throughout and it is full of accounts of Evans’ long journey and the people he met and their livelihoods. It also contains 41 pictures.
Regarding the lost manuscript of ‘Hanes Taleithiau Unedig America a’r Cymry Ynddynt’ (The History of the United States of America and the Welsh Living in Them). I discovered 40 of my great-uncle’s Letters to the Press at The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. They are all numbered and entitled ‘From Aberystwyth to San Francisco’. In these Letters, I found material that would have been included in the lost book, had it been printed. I have copied, selected and translated, from Welsh into English, this information. It is now in book format, has been accepted by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch and will be released under the title ‘From Aberystwyth to San Francisco’ before Christmas – next November hopefully. The book contains a vivid picture of the lives of emigrants from Wales and other European countries to the United States at the end of the 19 th century. Different to many books written about this subject, the content was written by someone who experienced life first hand in Wales and America at this time. Dr David Lloyd, Director Writing Program, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, N.Y. has written a very interesting Preface to the book.
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AmeriCymru: Hi Llwyd and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. All your novels have been written and published in the Welsh language. How have they been received by Welsh readers?
Llywd: Very well, in general, although some people don’t like them, of course. But that goes hand in hand with the kind of close-to-the-bone fiction I write. I’m a reasonable enough person to realise that my novels aren’t for everyone. And all my novels have an ‘Indecent Language’ warning on their back covers, to ward off the faint hearted!
AmeriCymru: Do you think that your novels have ''broken the mould'' in Welsh language writing? Care to tell us a little about the Eisteddfod controversy?
Llywd: I don’t think they broke the mould as such (novelists such as Caradog Pritchard, Goronwy Jones, Twm Miall, Owain Meredith and Gruff Meredith have all produced highly controversial novels before me), although they do seem to have opened the door for some like-minded authors – for example Dewi Prysor and Alun Cob – to produce equally exciting novels for a new generation of readers.
There really isn’t much to tell about the so-called ‘Eisteddfod controversy’ (my debut novel was deemed to go “beyond normal and safe publishing boundaries”) except that I’m glad I did not win the 2005 Daniel Owen Memorial Prize because it gave me the opportunity to a) take my pick of publishers, and b) refine and rewrite parts of the novel before it was published in March 2006. That said, it did help ensure a lot of publicity for the novel upon its release.
AmeriCymru: OK I have to ask...do you have plans to translate the remaining four Welsh language novels into English? If so, which one first and when might we expect see it made available?
Llywd: I have no plans to translate the others at present, although I’m certain that it will happen sometime in the near future. I translated Faith Hope & Love so that my wife (a Welsh learner who struggled to get to grips with the Welsh versions of my books) could see what I was up to. And after it was so well received, I decided to translate The Last Hit during a break between writing new fiction. I challenged myself to translate a chapter a week and released the results on my website as a work in progress.
Ame 
Llywd: Personally, I wouldn’t call it a ‘feelgood novel’, but I can’t stop people labelling it whatever they want because, post-publishing, the novel belongs as much to each individual reader as it does to me. I see The Last Hit as a homage to my favourite genre of fiction, namely hard-boiled thrillers as perfected by some of my literary heroes, for example Elmore Leonard and George Pelecanos. It also tips its hat in many ways to my one of my favourite films, True Romance .
AmeriCymru: Faith, Hope & Love sold more copies in the States than in Britain. What do you think is the books'' major appeal in the US?
Llywd: I have no idea why Faith, Hope & Love sold more copies in the US than in Britain, although I’d have to say that the novel’s themes are very universal, so that anyone – from Aberdeen to Atlanta and Aberdare to Adelaide - could relate to them. For example, almost everyone has lost someone close to them; everyone has been betrayed at some point; most people have experienced a broken heart; and everyone has a family with its own unique dynamic. And that is what Faith, Hope & Love is fundamentally about – family and loss, love and betrayal.
Ame 
Llywd : As it happens, the time I spent living in a place called Mission Beach in tropical North Queensland at the turn of the century had a huge impact on The Last Hit. It was here that I met the original, the real-life Tubbs, who became the fictional main character of the novel.
One evening during my first week at Mission Beach, sat around the communal campfire in the company of my new friends and co-workers at what was essentially a hippy commune stroke backpacker hostel, I heard whispers that ‘Tubbs’ was on his way. I had no idea who Tubbs was, so I turned to Trev, sat slumped and smoked-out next to me, and asked him to fill me in. In hushed tones, he explained that Tubbs was a ‘big bloody Bandit’, before passing out. Soon, ‘Tubbs’ was amongst us. A giant. A beast of a man. Six foot six. Twenty stone. Mean looking. Sullen. Serious business. The kind of bloke who could grow a beard from scratch in less than ten minutes. He was there on behalf of the Cairns faction of the Bandidos biker gang in his capacity as a merchant of magic potions and special herbs. Just the man I wanted to see as it happens…
I was introduced to this behemoth, who went through the motions as he weighed up my order:
“Where you from?” He asked.
“Wales.” I replied, which made him turn his head to look at me, his eyes twinkling in the fire’s glow.
“ Where in Wales?”
“Cardiff.”
On hearing this his frown turned into a panoramic smile, before he uttered the words that cemented the foundations of our friendship for the coming months.
“Bloody hell, mate,” he bellowed. “I’m from Dinas Powys!”
The Welsh-connection thrust me directly to the top of the hippy food chain and I soon learnt that Tubbs was born in Llandough in the mid-sixties, although his family moved to Australia before he was one.
Our relationship was a very simple one, thanks mainly to his calling and my girlfriend’s address. Each week, Tubbs would leave the Bandidos HQ in Cairns with a boot-load of ‘product’ and drive to Brisbane and back, calling at several prearranged locations along the way. Every week, he’d call to see his chums at Mission Beach before I’d accompany him in his light grey VW Polo with tinted windows (his secret weapon in his never-ending efforts to avoid incarceration) to Cairns where he’d drop me off at said girlfriend’s house. Along the way he’d regale me with seemingly tall tales about his life as an outlaw, and although it was hard to tell what was true and what was fictional, I lapped it up and stored it all away.
We continued in this fashion for approximately three months, until the time came for me to leave. On my last night in Cairns, Tubbs took a few friends and I to the Bandidos HQ in an undisclosed address in the city, where we were met at the entrance by two guards armed with Kalashnikovs. Of course, bikers in general, and the Bandidos in particular, have a nasty reputation, but what I experienced that night was possibly the best night-club on earth. The place was full of characters, mostly hairy, heavily-tattooed, leather-clad grease merchants with amazing stories to tell; while the barmaids were completely naked. But by that time, nothing in Tubbs’s world could surprise me.
A few years later, now an established author with an award-winning tome to my name, I decided to revisit my time in north Queensland and the relationship I had with ‘Tubbs’. And although I’m not for one second suggesting that the original Tubbs was an assassin (like the fictional one in The Last Hit ), he was a very dodgy individual who supplied the kindling, the firewood, the matches and the petrol that exploded in my mind to create this epic character and the world he exists within.
AmeriCymru: You have been described in the past as "....Wales’s anwser to Irvine Welsh". How do you feel about this comparison?
Llywd: It’s great to be compared to one of your heroes, of course; although I’d exchange it in an instant if my novels would be read by just 10% of Mr Welsh’s readership!
AmeriCymru: Other writers, notably Niall Griffiths who cited ''So Long Hector Bebb'', have acknowledged a book or author who influenced their early reading and perhaps subsequent writing style. Is there an author and/or book that especially influenced you?
Llywd: Two authors in particular have had a huge influence on me and my writing, namely Lloyd Robson and John Williams. Both Robson’s Cardiff Cut and Williams’ Cardiff Trilogy inspired me to write Cardiff-based crime stories. Their books put the city at centre stage, and this is something I have tried to do in my novels as well. As a Cardiff boy, I am proud of the city – both its triumphs and follies – and feel geographically and spiritually entwined with her streets and people. I realise that sounds extremely wanky, but it’s also quite true!
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Llwyd Owen? Are you working on anything at the moment?
Llywd: I am currently working on a new novel about an unhappy and bitter author called… ‘Llwyd Owen’.
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'The Last Hit' by Llwyd Owen - A Review
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"Not everyone deserves a happy ending."
Try as I might to avoid writing ''fanzine'' style reviews for this site it is difficult to avoid playing the role of ''cheerleader'' where Llwyd Owen is concerned. This is the second of his six Welsh language novels published by Y Lolfa to be translated into English and one can only hope that the other four will follow shortly. Whilst ''Faith, Hope & Love ( published in English translation in 2010 ) displayed all the hallmarks of a classic tragedy this book is much lighter in tone. ''The last Hit'' has been described as a feelgood novel and certainly there are happy endings though not everyone comes out of it well. In some ways it resembles a Welsh Western. Our hero Al Tubbs gets the girl and revenge against his evil stepfather in a final showdown in which he exacts ''moral'' retribution for the years of abuse and deceit he has suffered at his hands.
''The Last Hit'' boasts a full complement of sleazeball characters who would be at home in the pages of any Irvine Welch novel but it is not without humour. In fact it is intensely and darkly comedic throughout. Witness this brief exchange before Tubbs and his friend Boda visit Vexl, a Barry island pimp, to punish him for scarring his girlfriend.
"Be careful," Petra pleaded like the lead actress in a hammed-up Hollywood melodrama. "He''s off his ''ead and he doesn''t care about anythen."
"I f*****g hate nihilists," retorted Boda, while Tubbs turned to face her and looked down into her deep blue eyes.Earlier in the same chapter, shortly after meeting Petra for the first time we find Tubbs speculating that she might have been named after the famous Jordanian city and archaeological site. She responds:-
"Oh, Ok. I understand now," ......"But I dont think my pares eva went to Jordan. The people of the Gurnos dont get much furtha than Asda, down Murtha. Ponty at a a stretch. And anyway, I was named after the Blue Peter dog."
The many humorous touches enrich a narrative which moves at a breathless pace as it builds towards its grisly climax. A real page turner, this is a book that you''ll probably finish in a day and be left wanting more. An unreserved five star recommendation.
Llwyd Owen on Wikipedia :- "Llwyd Owen is an award-winning Welsh-language fiction author born in Cardiff in 1977. He lives in Cardiff with his wife and daughters and works as a translator when not writing fiction. As well as publishing 6 acclaimed Welsh language novels and one English language adaptation, he is also a published poet and photographer who presented his own television documentary on S4C on the Cardiff art scene in 2008.
His first novel, Ffawd, Cywilydd a Chelwyddau (Fate, Shame & Lies) was published by Y Lolfa in March 2006, and his second, Ffydd Gobaith Cariad (Faith Hope Love) in November 2006. Ffawd, Cywilydd a Chelwyddau was described by the judges of the National Eisteddfod of Wales'' Daniel Owen Memorial Prize as "close to genius" but was not awarded the prize. Critics have said that it goes "beyond normal and safe publishing boundaries" because of its disturbing content, swearing and slang, which is uncommon in Welsh-language literature. Publication of the book was delayed for a year due to its controversial nature." .... Read More
"Although Wales is where I was born, I feel such an affinity with Walthamstow, London, where I grew up, that the town features in most of my books."
AmeriCymru spoke to Jacqueline about her previous work and her current novel ''The Colours Of Corruption'' and about her future writing plans.
Buy The Colours Of Corrution here
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AmeriCymru: Hi Jacqueline and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. You currently live just outside London and were raised in Walthamstow. What is your original connection with Wales?
Jacqueline: I was born in Wales on a wild and snowy night in February. My father was an army instructor in Anglesey and he and my mother set up home on a pig-farm in Ty-Croes. I went back in my mid-forties to try and trace my roots and there they were: a hearth stone in the middle of a field! I still have relatives in Llantwit Major, Mumbles and Cowbridge.
AmeriCymru When did you first become interested in writing?
Jacqueline: I knew from a very early age that happiness lay in books. I was one of those very shy little girls, tucked behind my mother’s skirts or sat in a corner, sucking my fingers, watching and listening to the grownups’ chatter and storing it up for the future. Or I’d be reading ...
I could read at two-and-a-half and devoured stories of every sort. When I was ten or eleven I discovered the marvellous Louisa May Alcott and her book ‘Little Women,’ and identified immediately with Josephine March. I knew then I was going to be a writer. In fact, when the Beatles wrote ‘Paperback Writer,’ I thought they’d written it just for me! One of these days ...
But it wasn’t until my own children had grown up and left home, and my mother had died without fulfilling her own writing ambitions, that I finally decided that it was now or never. I joined a Creative Writing class and discovered that I could write short stories and articles and get paid for them. I even won competitions. The tutor said – ‘I don’t know what you’re doing now but give it up and write!’ Eventually, I did just that. I took early retirement from teaching and haven’t looked back.
AmeriCymru : We learn from your biography that most of your novels start as short stories and develop from there? Do you also write short stories and if so are any available in anthologies?
Jacqueline: I don’t write short stories now. I took a tip from Beryl Bainbridge who said she didn’t waste ideas on short stories when she could write novels. I need scenes where I can ‘act out’ the plot (I wanted to be an actress at one time), wallow in the words and show the development of the characters. By the end of any book the characters must have changed in some way and a short story doesn’t give them enough scope, in my view. I do have a story in Luminous and Forlorn , an anthology published by Honno Modern Fiction and in ‘ The Smell of the Day ’ (New Essex Writing) and in various small press publications that were around at the time (some 20 years ago, when I started my writing career.)
AmeriCymru : Your latest novel Colours of Corruption is set in Victorian Walthamstow. This was your first foray into the field of crime fiction. How did you enjoy the experience? Can you tell us a little about the book?
Jacqueline: A few years ago, I won a place on a writing scheme run by the Writers’ Centre, Norwich, called ‘Escalator’. The ten winners were awarded an Arts Council (East) grant which enabled us to have ‘writing time’, to do research and to have mentoring in a new fictional genre. My then agent had advised me to ‘go darker’ on the strength of two earlier novels (one still unpublished) so I decided on crime fiction. I have to say I didn’t read ‘crime’, though I loved watching it on TV with my husband, who is addicted to the genre. I didn’t want to write yet another formulaic book about ‘police procedurals’ or private detectives or forensics. There are other writers who do it better than I could, who have more experience of modern policing methods. I wanted to write from the point of view of ordinary law-abiding people caught up in criminal activities through no fault of their own. I love History and I love Art and I love Walthamstow so it was easy to combine the three in a story about a Victorian police artist, Archie Price.
This is Archie ( see gallery below ) – a photo by Julia Margaret Cameron. She called him ‘Iago’ but clearly he is Archie Price, an artist from the Valleys. If he hadn’t painted he’d have gone down the mines or followed his father into the butchery business.
Archie is quite taken with the looks of Mary Quinn. See above another photo taken by Julia Margaret Cameron:
Mary is a poor Irish cleaning woman, widowed and childless. After drawing, from her description, a man she claims to have seen near the scene of a vicious murder, Archie invites her to sit for him, thinking her an ideal subject for his new ‘realistic’ style. Reluctantly she complies but, in selling the finished portrait to a rich and portly ‘entrepreneur’ , Archie manages to involve them both in a web of intrigue, involving murderers, thieves and sexual predators and Mary is forced to flee for her life.
This is how ( see bove gallery ) I imagine Lizzie Kington, Archie’s first love, who chose instead, to marry Archie’s friend John, a tile-maker and the steadier of the two. Since receiving a head injury, however, from a couple of thieves, three years before in Epping Forest, John is now addicted to laudanum and making life miserable for his wife and their toddler, Clara. In trying to help the Kington family Archie inadvertently exposes them, too, to the gravest of dangers.
I certainly enjoyed writing the book, doing the research, exploring the characters, their secrets and failings, and plotting the story, deciding who was to live and who die, and bringing it all to a believable conclusion, helping Archie to solve the crime, in fact, with a little help from his friends.
AmeriCymru : Your first novel, Lottie was described by the New Welsh Review as being - "...something of an oddity, and all the better for it." How would you describe the book?
Jacqueline: They say a novelist’s first book tends to be autobiographical and ‘Lottie’ is just that. The characters are mostly people I knew at school and the story is based on a pact we made (and never kept) about meeting up in London every eleven years when the day, month and year were represented by the same numbers – 6/6/66, 7/7/77 and so on up to 9/9/99 and the new millennium. In the story the pact turns out to be cursed, and Fate (or the supernatural ‘Lottie’ named for the allotment where the blood-pact was made) makes serious trouble for any girl who fails to keep the appointment.
I tried to imagine the turns a woman’s life might take, given her personality, her ambitions, her loves, loyalties and superstitious fears. This story turned out to be a cross between a crime story and a fantasy, but ’incredibly prophetic’ according to one friend who recognised herself as one of the characters. The others aren’t speaking to me!
Yes, it is an oddity, not following the accepted format of any known genre. As such, booksellers found it hard to slot onto any particular shelf. And, though Beryl Bainbridge, Bernice Rubens and Ruth Rendall all liked its quirky character, had Honno not spotted its potential I doubt it would have been published.
AmeriCymru: Your 1997 novel Someone To Watch Over Me was a great success and led to a publishing deal with Piatkus for two sequels. Care to tell us more about this experience?
Jacqueline: I was thrilled to bits when Darley Anderson, the agent, agreed to represent me, on the strength of ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ and got me a two deal with Piatkus. I couldn’t believe my luck having , a few months earlier, had Honno publish ‘Lottie.’ ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ was the first (of three) books about the psychic Potter family and their experiences during and just after the Second World War in Walthamstow and in Newcastle-upon-Tyne where I did my degree and met my husband. I loved doing the research for these novels, learning such a lot about clairvoyants, psychic healers and mediums, and imagining the joys and pitfalls of being able to see ghosts and read people’s minds. In the last book about the Potter family, ‘A Lazy Eye’, I tried to put myself into the shoes of a little girl ‘with a third eye’ who finds it all so puzzling and upsetting.
Imagine my disappointment when the book-covers (in which I had very little say) reflected none of the trials and tribulations of being clairvoyant but showed sweet and pretty Mills and Boon girlie-girls. I felt I wasn’t being taken seriously at all. These covers were such a mistake, so misleading. People wanting Mills and Boon love stories would have been disappointed and people interested in psychic gifts would have passed the books over, thinking they were romances. Little wonder, then, that I went as dark as I could for the next book, so there could be no mistake about its subject.
AmeriCymru : Your 2004 novel Skin Deep is certainly a science fiction thriller with a difference. How did you become interested in cryogenics?
Jacqueline: There was a lot of interest at this time about freezing body parts for transplantation into bodies that needed, say, a new heart, a new lung, a kidney or even a face. I actually met a woman and her husband who have elected to be cryogenically frozen when they die in the hope of being resurrected when a cure is found for whatever killed them. It set me thinking about brain transplants. Who might benefit from them and who would have had the opportunity for such grisly experiments? Questions like these took me back to the war and the Nazi labour camps.
AmeriCymru : What are you working on at the moment? Can we expect another novel soon?
Jacqueline: I am writing a sequel to ‘The Colours of Corruption’ in which Archie confronts the combined problems of Victorian pornography and the miseries of being stalked. I also spotlight the question of euthanasia.
I do have, ‘in the bottom drawer’, so to speak, a contemporary crime story about a woman teaching art in prisons and her gifted student who has his own agenda. This is a finished novel but needs some work to make it publishable.
AmeriCymru : Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Jacqueline: I would urge any reader of AmeriCymru who is contemplating a writing career to get on with it. Don’t leave it, as I did, until you have more time. Make time. Put down your knitting and rug-making and write. Stop playing games on your Ipad. Write. Publishers like to invest in young authors. Experiment with the different genres early on, choose one and concentrate on that. Life is shorter than you think.
His first novel ''Just A Bit Of Banter, Like'' revolves around the adventures and misadventures of Nick Evans:-
".... a young city-slicker with a trophy-girlfriend on his arm. Fast-forward just a day and he''s caught his girlfriend in an uncompromising position with his friend, accidentally sent a rude email to his boss - and he''s on his way home to South Wales with his tail firmly between his legs. Unemployed and single, life seems oh-so simple for Nick back in Southerndown, a coastal village where sheep vastly outnumber people."
AmeriCymru spoke to Chris about Just A Bit Of Banter, Like and his plans for the future.
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AmeriCymru: You have won prizes in many international short story competitions. Care to tell us a little about these? What was your proudest moment?
Christopher: Winning the Global Short Stories Award will always have a special place for me because it was my first competition win. It gave me such a massive confidence boost. I''d enrolled on an online writing course a few months before and began small by writing letters to women''s magazines (yes, I am male). A few got published, I earned a bit of cash and, most importantly, my name was in print! I then entered a few short story competitions.
The Global Short Stories Award was the third competition I entered and coming first was just amazing. I recycled the setting for my short story, Welsh Lessons, in my first novel, Just a Bit of Banter, Like.
After winning the September Global Short Stories Award I entered quite a few competitions and didn''t come anywhere. Zilch. Writing can be quite isolated. You send off a lot of work and sometimes it disappears into a black hole when you get little or no response back.
The Stringybark Stories Awards has served me well. This is an Australian competition but they welcome overseas contestants. It is a great set-up because all short-listed applicants get published in their anthologies. I came first in the Erotic Fiction Award (the first overseas winner) and that felt great because the anthology was named after my short story, The Heatwave of 76. This was the first story that I had published in paperback. Holding a book in your hand that you contributed to was such a thrill!
AmeriCymru: Are your short stories available anywhere in print?
Christopher: My short stories are included in the Heatwave of 76, The Road Home and Fight or Flight anthologies and can be purchased in Kindle or paperback from the Stringybark Stories website. I also have a short story included in the Past Pleasures anthology, available from Amazon and Waterstones.
AmeriCymru: What real life events inspired you to write your first novel, ''Just A Bit Of Banter Like''?
Christopher: This is quite a difficult one! I don''t really think real life events inspired me to write the novel as such, but quite a few of the funnier scenes have definitely been inspired by real life!
I think it was time to write a novel and I concentrated on getting the basics right. I focussed on making the characters involving, the storylines intriguing and the book an enjoyable, interesting and funny read. The characters were a cocktail of people I''ve met along the way. My Nan and Gramps had dementia and this was definitely an inspiration for the deteriorating mental health of Nan in the novel. I grew up in rural Wales and moved to London (but I haven''t yet moved back to Wales!) and this inspired the two central settings. When I moved from London to Birmingham it was a difficult time as I left a decent job and then struggled as a temp. Nick has a massive fall from grace and struggles to rebuild his life. Like Nick, I''ve also examined what is important to me in life. That said, I am a chronic over-thinker and so I''ve examined pretty much everything in my mind over the years!
AmeriCymru: How would you describe the book?
Christopher: It started off as a light-hearted comedy but I realised that I wanted to explore deeper subjects such as dementia, drug abuse and missing people, which didn''t naturally fit in with the ''light-hearted'' category! Getting the balance between the humour and the darker subjects was one of the most difficult aspects. With most descriptions as I have cunningly used the term ''dark comedy'' but I am still searching for something that sounds a little more impressive, if you have any suggestions!
It is a story of family, friendship and discovering what is really important to you. The characters are central to everything. if the reader does not care for them then the overlapping storylines and the element of mystery are irrelevant.
AmeriCymru: The book is set in Ogmore and Southerndown. Can you describe the area a little for our American readers?
Christopher: Ogmore and Southerndown are neighbouring villages on the South Wales coastline. It is were I grew up, but like most things, I only started appreciating its beauty when I moved away. The weather in Wales can best be described as mild in the summer and freezing in the winter, and so the long stretch of beach is more suitable for leisurely walks with the dog than for sunbathing. The residents of each village are in the hundred. The sheep number thousands and they stroll around the greenery and often wander on to the road. The mouth of the river in Ogmore is bordered by pebbles and rocks on one side and sand dunes on the other. You can cross the stepping stones to the other side and a little further down river lies the old castle.
I have many happy childhood memories of both Ogmore and Southerndown.
AmeriCymru: What do you read for pleasure? Any recommendations?
Christopher: I love reading autobiographies because people fascinate me and learning about lives gives me inspiration for my characters. I enjoy gritty contemporary drama by novelists such as Irvine Welsh and John King. I''ve also become fascinated by Welsh literature, such as Ash on a Young Man''s Sleeve by Danny Abse.
AmeriCymru: What are you working on at the moment? Any new titles in the pipeline?
Christopher: I''ve started planning and researching my second novel. It is going to continue the welsh theme, this time focussing on the towns Merthyr and Porthcawl. I love researching welsh history and this novel will be a journey through the last few decades. It is going to be darker and grittier than Just a Bit of Banter, Like and a much bigger project.
My aim is to make each book better in some way than the last. In my mind, it makes sense that my very best work won''t be for at least another few books, but who knows?
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru and the Welsh American Bookstore?
Christopher: I''ve only just discovered the site but it has been so welcoming I wish I had done so earlier. It seems like a dream combination for me. Obviously I love Wales but I also have family in Boston who we visited a few years ago and I had a fantastic time, and so America is close to my heart, too.
I am going to be roaming through books myself as I am sure there are titles that will grab my attention!
If you choose to read Just a Bit of Banter, Like, which naturally I hope you do (!) I would love you to provide me with feedback.
SNOW is the codename assigned to Arthur Owens, one of the most important British spies of the Second World War. Described by MI5 as a typical 'Welsh underfed type' he became the first of the great double-cross agents who were to play a major part in Britain's victory over the Germans. AmeriCymru spoke to author Madoc Roberts about this fascinating and little known character.
Buy 'Snow' HERE ( Kindle edition available )
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AmeriCymru:- Hi Madoc and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. When did you first become aware of 'Snow'? What piqued your interest?
Madoc:- I have my own television production company called Barkingmad tv and amongst other things we traced Hitler’s relatives to Long Island in New York. This involved getting hold of files from both the American and British Governments. Around the same time I noticed files about a Welsh spy called Snow were being released. I started researching him in case there might be a television programme in the story and that was the start of a six year search which ended up as my first book. This involved reading hundreds of secret Mi5 files and tracing his family. I have discovered a son in Ireland and a Hollywood branch of the family.
AmeriCymru:- How easy was it to access the MI5 files necessary for your research? How much work was involved?
Madoc:- The files were all kept at the National archives in Kew where the staff are very helpful. The problem is that the system is not easy to follow so you have to be very persistent to get what you want. There were hundreds of pages on Snow (his real name was never mentioned) so I photographed them all, took them home and started reading this amazing story which had never been told. In many cases you are the first person looking at these files that were written over sixty years ago, so it is a thrilling experience.
AmeriCymru:- How valuable was Owens work to the allied cause?
Madoc:- The pattern that Arthur Owens set as Mi5’s first wartime double agent was followed by all those who followed. By the end of the war Mi5 controlled every single agent that Germany had sent to Britain and they also took their expenses which means that the Germans were paying for Mi5s operation. The greatest success of the double cross system was the D-Day deceptions which saved thousands of allied lives. It has been described as the greatest military deception since a large wooden horse was discovered one morning outside the city of Troy. On top of all this Arthur Owens messages which were sent to his handlers in Hamburg were used to make the first British breakthrough in the German Enigma code. He also went on may exciting missions involving early infra-red systems, trying to capture senior German spies and he brought back information regarding German plans to poison British reservoirs. I would say he was vital to the allied cause.
Madoc:- Arthur Owens has always had bad press and his role as the founder of the double cross system has largely been ignored. The reason for this is because most of the books that bother to mention him rely on German sources for their information but of course these sources were based on false information that Mi5 were sending to the Germans in order to send them on the wrong path. Mi5s problem with him was that unlike most of their other agents who were ex criminals, Arthur Owens was a volunteer. His initial motive may well have been money but he had something of worth and in 1935 when he started spying for the British security services we were not at war with Germany. The public school boys and ex-military types of Mi5 described him as a “typical underfed Cardiff type” and he is often categorised as a fervent Welsh nationalist who sang folk songs to entertain the Germans but his son denies that he could sing a note. The information he gave to the Germans was all cleared by Mi5 and the formation he brought back from his exciting missions was invaluable.
After his final mission to Lisbon Mi5 decided that they couldn’t trust Snow anymore and chose to believe the ex-criminals they had watching him. The problem with the double game was that it was hard to know when an agent was tricking them or just playing their part as a Nazi spy. One false move and an agent could find themselves being put up against the wall and shot by either side. Arthur Owens liked a drink and everyone at his local pub seemed to know that he was a spy so when Mi5 had him detained in Dartmoor it was probably his saving grace. It is typical of Arthur Owens that even when he was in Dartmoor he took it upon himself to spy on his fellow inmates and he brought out some of the first information about the German V2 rockets.
AmeriCymru:- Why do you think the Heath government blocked rehabilitation of Owen's name?
Madoc:- In the 1970s several books were published about the double cross system and this was the first time that their existence was acknowledged publicly. These books painted a very unflattering picture of Arthur Owens who was portrayed as an untrustworthy, duplicitous, womaniser. Upon reading these accounts his eldest son Robert wrote to the Prime Minister asking to be allowed to tell his side of his father’s story. However Ted Heath used the official secrets act to block Robert’s right of reply. Robert probably had a rose tinted view of his father’s activities and by the strict letter of the law none of the books should have been published either. In fact the authors had to go America to find publishers. After the war Arthur Owens used his skills as a master spy to change his identity and vanish because he feared that someone he had double crossed might catch up with him. This not only made it a very difficult task to find him, it also left a vacuum which was filled by myths and half-truths. He didn’t want to be rehabilitated he just wanted to start a new family and forget about his war time activities.
Madoc:- The Mi5 files mentioned that Snow had a daughter who they called Pat. I knew from her age that she would have been born in Canada but finding Canadian citizens is not easy as only family can apply for certificates. The only Patricia Owens I could find in Canada was a Hollywood film star who was the star of the original version of The Fly so I dismissed her as a mere coincidence. There were many people looking for Arthur Owens on the internet but by this time I knew that most of the books were wrong when they gave his middle name as George. I had discovered the patent for the battery invention which gave his middle name as Graham. So when someone replied to one of my requests for information saying that his father might be Snow’s son and that his name was Graham I got in touch with him. We compared notes and it became obvious that I was talking to a son of agent Snow from his second family which he started in Ireland. The Graham told me that as a boy he had been taken to the pictures to see The Fly and his mother told him that the leading lady on the screen was his sister. Patricia Owens had a glittering career appearing in over thirty films alongside the likes of Marlon Brando, James mason and Vincent Price. However she lost touch with her father and lived in fear that the public portrayal of him that emerged of him as a Nazi spy would become public and her career would be over.
Madoc:- Snow is buried in an unmarked grave in Ireland because his son can’t quite work out what to put on his stone. I do find it a bit of a coincidence that he died only a few days after a newspaper article was published about his activities as a spy. At the time he was living in Ireland where he attended nationalist meetings and clapped loudly at the end of speeches although he couldn’t understand a word of Irish. If he had been sent to Ireland to infiltrate Sinn Fein then his time in Dartmoor would have given him the perfect cover but as with all things in Snow’s story you never know if things are true or whether it is all part of the double cross game. I may have to make another visit to the National archives to see if I can uncover even more.
AmeriCymru:- Where can our readers go to buy the book online?
Madoc:- Snow: the double life of a world war II spy is available through Amazon here
It has also just been released in the USA and can be purchased here
If people want to read more about Snow they can go to the codenamesnow site Where there is more information, a video interview with Snow’s son which features clips of Patricia with Marlon Brando in the Oscar winning Sayonara. The site also has a BBC Wales news item about him and a BBC Radio Wales interview I did on Jammie Owen’s show.
There are also lots more pictures including previously unseen family photos on my Facebook site
AmeriCymru:- What's next for Madoc Roberts?
Madoc:- I have just finished editing an interesting episode of the channel four archaeology series Time Team which went in search of Shakespeare’s house in Stratford upon Avon. I am also hoping that we might get a chance to make a follow up feature film to “Flick” which we made a few years ago and starred Faye Dunaway as a one armed cop in search of a killer zombie! Also an American record label has re-released my bands single from the seventies. We were called the Tunnelrunners and we were a punk band which played in the Swansea area. One of the original singles sold on eBay recently for $1,000 and a re-release of four other songs will come out soon. On the book front I am looking at a Nazi plot to kidnap the Duke of Windsor which I am provisionally calling Operation Willi and the Nazi Queen. It is a great story but a bit of a minefield when it comes to the research so we will have to see how it goes.
AmeriCymru:- Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Madoc:- Nadolig Llawen a blwyddyn Newydd dda I chi gyd and if you are looking for a gift with a seasonal title then let’s all hope that we get Snow for Christmas. (Geddit? Sorry.)
Americymru spoke to Welsh writer Richard Rhys Jones about his published work and future plans. Richard is an ex soldier from Colwyn Bay, currently residing in Germany, who has published two horror fiction novels and is currently working on a short story anthology.
Buy Division Of The Damned here
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AmeriCymru: Hi Richard and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. Can you tell us a little about your Welsh background?
Richard: Hi Ceri, well though I live in Germany now, I originally hail from Old Colwyn, Colwyn Bay, on the north Wales coast. My family''s roots sit deep around the region, with my mother''s side coming from Colwyn Bay/Mochdre, and my father''s from Deganwy/Conwy. I lived on a council estate until I was sixteen, then took the Queen''s Shilling and joined the army. I still go back once, twice a year to visit my family, who are all still there. I do miss my home town, and suffer terribly from homesickness, which is ridiculous in a way as I''m forty six and I left north Wales in 1983!
It''s a strange thing though, homesickness. When I did actually leave home, I never gave Colwyn a thought. Yes, I visited now and then but I was young, eager to see other places, meet other people and I didn''t have that empty locker in my heart where you put your memories. Life was exciting, and home was a place taken for granted and visited as a duty.
This all changed with the birth of my children. Danny and Chelsea were born in 1997, and in one swift lesson, I realised what I had given up on when I left Wales. My kids would never go to the schools I went to, they wouldn''t speak English as a first language, nor would they learn Welsh, (to my eternal shame, I am not a Welsh speaker. I''m so glad Welsh is now being promoted as an important part of the Welsh identity). To all intents and purposes, my children would be tourists to my home town and that does twinge a little.
I wrote a piece about my feelings on the matter in one of my more melancholy moments and put it on the net, with a picture of my hometown. The picture is taken from Penmaen Head, an outcrock of rock that overlooks the bay. If you''re interested, you can find it here:
The Boy From The Bay
Don''t get me wrong though, I don''t spend my days morosely pondering on what might have been if I''d stayed in Wales. I have a good circle of friends here, a steady job and my own little family. It''s just that I don''t feel German, I feel like a visitor who will one day still go home to Wales. Whether that will ever happen, I don''t know though.
AmeriCymru: You are currently living in Germany. How did that come about?
Richard: Simply put, I joined the army, was posted to Germany with my regiment, 1st the Queen''s Dragoon Guards, "The Welsh Cavalry", the finest regiment known to man. Once here I met a nice girl, and in January 1992, in a fit of recklessness, I stayed here when my unit left for Britain. I didn''t have a trade, couldn''t "speaka da lingo" and had no contacts to help me. However, in our youth we''re indestructible and I just knew I''d be alright... I know that sounds daft, but I did. Anyway, if things had gone badly, I could always have joined back up again; there was no cloud over my departure, so it wasn''t that much of a gamble.
As it turned out, things went alright. 1999 was the worst year and in January 2000 I asked Tad if there were any jobs going around The Bay area. However, an opening came up in the steelworks that dominate this region, (Salzgitter) and I''ve been there ever since.
AmeriCymru: When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer and what attracted you to horror?
Richard: Writing was something I really came to a bit late in life. I liked writing in school, but it was the lazy schoolboy type of interest; the sort that blasts off like a firework with a burst of ideas but then immediately turns to ashes when the class finished.
Although I read a bit in the military, I didn''t even think about actually writing until I left. I found a job with a crew of ex soldiers working as armed guards for the British army, and suddenly, with lots of time on my hands, I started to think about writing.
I wrote song lyrics, joke ditties for the guys, and I even tried my hand at short stories. However, the idea of writing a full length novel would only ever be a distant castle on the horizon with the writing tools I had at hand, an army typewriter, built around 1954, and the modest library in the camp for research.
This all changed when I was given my first computer, (well, I actually bought it for €50). Suddenly I had no reason not to write a book, I had no excuses; well, apart from the fact that I couldn''t type properly and didn''t have a cohesive plot for a story. However, that didn''t bother me, and with the internet at my fingertips, Microsoft Word guiding my spelling and punctuation, and the fire of inspiration in my blood, I set myself to the task.
I can still remember sitting at my desk for that first time, (which was actually a wooden board on two chairs), and simply going for it, writing the prologue in a flurry of one fingered, type-key hunting, vigour. In that initial burst, those first few months, I was a man possessed and I''ve yet to recapture that same zeal, that same passion as I experienced when I first started writing, "The Division of the Damned".
The first draft was 160,000 words , a massive rambling tome of a book that had everything I''d been interested in since my days as a soldier. The Third Reich, Teutonic Knights, Sumerian mythology, Biblical folklore, werewolves, the Eastern Front and last but not least, vampires. I was forced to cut it down radically, (I think Word has the word count now to be around 117,000) but happily I still managed to keep all the elements in that I wanted, AND hold the story tight.
Why horror or fantasy? Because basically I already had my ideas for the story, concepts that had gathered dust at the back of my consciousness for years, and I just needed a kick start to fire them all into life.
AmeriCymru: Your first novel Division Of The Damned feature s Nazi Vampires in WWII. How did you come by this idea?
The Third Reich is a fascinating story in itself, but a visit to any one of the concentration camps that are dotted around Europe puts it all in a different perspective. The true horror of Nazi Germany hit me when, as a young soldier, I visited Dachau concentration camp, just north of Munich.
It made me wonde r how the Holocaust could have happened, how a land could go from being one of the most cultured societies in the world to a country of uniform wearing automatons; slaves to the Party and executioners of all the inhuman acts it ordered done. I knew it couldn''t be down to the German people being simply evil, something else must have happened. So I started to read about it and the awareness of its fascination gestated in the back of my mind.
Years later now, and I''m working with a colleague who I always thoug ht was Bavarian. However, the more we spoke, the more I realised his accent wasn''t from the south, and so I asked him where he came from.
He told me that his family came to Germany from Romania when the Iron Curtain fell in 1989.
"So you''re Romanian?" I as ked him.
"No, German." he replied, and then went on to explain that the Transylvanian region of Romania is home to a very large population of Germans. The Siebenbürger Sachsen, (Transylvanian Saxons) used to live in Romania among the Romanian population, and yet apart. They went to separate schools, drank in separate pubs, worked in German firms and generally lived as Germans, in a foreign land.
It was like flicking a switch! A German colony living in the traditional land of the Vampire, a more perfect marrying up of elements I could not have wished for and that night, after shift, (I was working the 1400 - 2200 hrs shift) I set about putting down the plot for my book.
AmeriCymru: Your most recent novel The House In Wales features satanic rituals at a remote locat ion in north Wales. Shades of Dennis Wheatley? Care to tell us more?
My publishers at Taylor Street asked a couple of authors if they were willing to write about a haunted house. The reason being the series "American Horror Story" and the film "The Woman in Black" had done so well in the States, and they wanted to see if they could capitalise on that. " American Horror Story", with its bizarre characters and perverse undertones, and "The Woman in Black" with its ghostly ambience and sinister isolation, had turned the haunted house genre around in the public mind, putting it firmly back on the map.
When they ask ed if I was interested in writing a haunted house story I was plodding along with the sequel for "Division". The plot was weak and missing something, the characters seemed tired and it was turning into a chore, so they couldn''t have approached me at a better time.
I knew I simply couldn''t copy those two films; it had to be similar and yet far enough removed so as not to be too familiar. So, cunningly, (well not really, as we''d just returned from a family holiday in my home town), I decided to set in North Wales during World War Two.
The villain of the story is the house keeper, Fiona Trimble, a willowy, seductively attractive lady in her early forties. My problem was how could this slender, graceful woman force her will on the hero of the story, a rough seventeen year old lad from bombed out Liverpool? Surely not by womanly guile alone?
I liked the idea of someone physically frail using a large animal as their muscle, and what better companion than a big dog? However, I wanted to avoid the clichéd Rottweilers, Dobermans or German Sheepdogs, so I decided on an Irish wolfhound.
Irish wolfhounds, as lovable and trustworthy as they are, have always intimidated me by their size. A friend of mine has one, and though he''s friendly, and not particularly large for his breed, he always manages to elicit a tiny shudder of anxiety when he barks, (which he does to every guest before licking them to death). I decided they''d be perfect for the story and gave Trimble one to do her bidding
As I''m no expert on Satanism, though I obviously read quite a lot about it, I decided to concentrate on the characters and let them carry the story rather than let the props take the centre stage. "Division" was packed full of facts woven into a story that moved from Transylvania, Germany, London, Dachau, The Ukraine etc etc.
"House" is set in a village in north Wales, and doesn''t move from there, so I had to focus on the dramatis personae and their emotions a lot more than I did in "Division".
I''m afraid I didn''t think of Mr. Wheatley at all, which in hindsight is unbelievable to me now!
AmeriCymru: What are you reading at the moment? Any recommendations?
Richard: Truth be told, I could sit here and type five thousand titles as recommendations. If a book can take me somewhere else, then I''m sold and with my imagination, it doesn''t take much for a story to whisk me away.
So I''ll go for the last four books I''ve read.
The Martian by Andy Weir. I''ve just finished it. An excellent story, full of facts that slot in nicely to the story. I loved this book and ate it up.
Sliding on Snow Stone by Andy Szpuk. Andy''s father survived the man made famine in the Ukraine in the 30''s, the German invasion during the 40''s and the communists after the war, so he put it down in story form. Brilliantly researched, I loved it.
The Outlaw King by Craig Saunders. First book in a series of three by a very talented Indie author. Craig can write, I haven''t read one bad story by Mr. Saunders yet, and I''ve read most of his work.
Run by Blake Crouch. I picked this up on a freebie and what a find it was!! A riveting story that doesn''t stop right up to the end.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Richard Rhys Jones? Are you working on anything at the moment?
Richard: I have an anthology of short stories coming out with Paul Rudd, a friend of mine and author of the very well received book, "SHARC".
Called, "The Chronicles of Supernatural Warfare", the idea behind the collection is as the title says, to chronicle the supernatural in warfare.
For example, the first story is, "The Vampires of Sparta". Imagine the 300 Spartans who held the pass at Thermopylae were in fact vampire warriors, fighting against Xerxes, the greatest vampire hunter of all time?
The second story is, "The Wooden Wolf of Troy" and, if you''re of the mind, you can read the first three, "chapters", (it''s more of a novelette actually) here: The Wooden Wolf Of Troy
The stories progress through ancient Greece, to Rome, then World War One and Two and then finally the future, with nine tales in all. They''re much more like "Division" than "House" and if any of your readers are of the mind to download it, I''d bear that aspect in mind.
I''m at the research phase right now for a book set in Las Vegas. The background is the fire at the MGM Grand Hotel. If you can imagine, "The Shining" meets, "The Towering Inferno"? Something along those lines.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Richard: In 1986, as a young soldier, I visited Fort Carson in Colorado and fell in love with the area. America is a magical place, with friendly, warm people who are so much more open than we are in Europe. When I found out about AmeriCymru on Facebook, I was electrified.
The Welsh/American link is something special, and I think sites like this, that promote that relationship, should be applauded and supported to the best of our collective abilities.
I''ll stop blathering on now, but I''d just like to thank you, the reader, for reading to the end, and to Ceri for being so nice and setting this interview up.
Hwyl.
AmeriCymru spoke with Mari Griffith author of 'Root of the Tudor Rose' BUY THE BOOK HERE "Immensely readable and compelling…Highly recommended!" Alison Weir, bestselling author of The Six Wives of Henry VIII
“A stunning first novel…this new treatment of Catherine de Valois’ story will be a delight to lovers of historical fiction.” Bernard Knight CBE author of the ‘Crowner John’ historical mysteries
AmeriCymru: Hi Mari and many thanks for agreeing to this interview.
Mari: My pleasure. It's good to have the opportunity to put the record straight about the origin of the Tudor dynasty which is the backdrop for my novel. English writers have had it their own way for too long because despite films, books and television series which would have you believe otherwise, the Tudors weren't an 'English' dynasty. Well, not entirely. Their roots are in France ... and in Wales. And not a lot of people know that!
AmeriCymru: So what's the Welsh connection?
Mari: The original Tudor, the one who gave his name to the best-known royal dynasty in British history, was from Penmynydd in Anglesey. He was Owain ap Maredydd ap Tudur who Anglicised his patronymic Welsh name to become Owen Tudor. He was related either by blood or marriage to three of the ancient royal houses of Wales, the 'Uchelwyr' as they were known. He could claim descent from the families of Ednyfed Fychan (who was chief advisor or 'seneschal' to Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth), also to the Deheubarth dynasty of South Wales and the Powys dynasty. In fact, his grandmother's sister was Owain Glyndŵr's mother. Are you still with me?
AmeriCymru: Yes, just about! So how was it that a young man from North Wales gave his name to this so-called 'English' dynasty?
Mari: Well, so many of his family had supported their kinsman Owain Glyndŵr in his heroic battle to save his people from the English invader, that they were naturally devastated by defeat. Then, with an astonishing degree of arrogance, the English king offered a 'pardon' to Glyndŵr's family which, when offered a second time, was finally accepted by Glyndŵr's son Maredydd who then went to London and entered the service of King Henry V, probably as a sergeant-at-arms. There's no written record to support my theory but I think it very likely that Owen had followed his cousin's example in going to London because he certainly went into the service of the English royal family, eventually becoming Clerk of the Wardrobe to Queen Catherine.
AmeriCymru: That doesn't sound like very much of a job!
Mari: No, it doesn't, does it? But actually, it was. He would have been in charge of her seamstresses, laundresses and tiring women and would have dealt with suppliers like her cordwainer (Ed: Her who? MG: Her shoemaker). When Her Highness travelled, her Clerk of the Wardrobe would have been responsible for the safety of her jewellery, her personal cutlery and plate as well as her gowns, both formal and informal. And, of course, he would have overseen the accounting ledgers for all the expenditure involved. Quite a responsible job!
AmeriCymru: But that doesn't found a dynasty, surely?
Mari: No, it doesn't. What happened was that King Henry V, in the interests of bringing France under English rule, had married the Princess Catherine de Valois, daughter of the French King Charles VI. Then, when King Henry died, Catherine was left a widow at the age of twenty. Her baby son inherited his father's title and became King Henry VI. He was just ten months old and needed all his mother's love and protection so, naturally, Catherine remained at the English court where she was regarded by many with deep suspicion simply because she was French and therefore not to be trusted. Very vulnerable, Catherine had few friends except one - her Clerk of the Wardrobe who was also an untrustworthy 'foreigner' to English eyes.
AmeriCymru: Ah ... I'm beginning to see the connection!
Mari: You've got it! Yes, the two gravitated towards each other and became friends, ultimately falling in love and embarking on a clandestine affair which was enormously dangerous. Though Catherine was the Dowager Queen of England , she was little better than a kitchen wench in that she had been got with child by a servant! They had to keep it a secret at all costs, otherwise Catherine would be sent to a nunnery and Owen would almost certainly lose his head.
AmeriCymru: Dramatic stuff! Have you always known the story? Were you a fan of history at school?
Mari: No, absolutely not. I was a complete dunce. I hated history in the way it was taught to me. It seemed to be little more than a string of boring facts and dates. If only I'd been told the stories behind the facts, I'd probably have loved it. But, no, I failed my History exam gloriously, not once but three times. I've come to History as a subject since I've retired and realised what an important part Wales and the Welsh played in British history of the 15th century. Certainly, many members of the Tudor dynasty would have had a good grasp of the Welsh language - Henry VII was brought up by his uncle, Jasper Tudor (one of Owen and Catherine's sons) in Pembroke Castle and, two generations later, the chief among the ladies in attendance on Queen Elizabeth I was a Welsh woman by the name of Blanche Parry. Yes, there were plenty of us around - and that's only the tip of the iceberg.
AmeriCymru: So, given all these fascinating facts, might you be thinking about a sequel to this book, featuring any more of the Welsh Tudors? What's next for Mari Griffith?
Mari: Well, there is another book in the pipeline though it doesn't continue where this story leaves off, it's more an offshoot of it. The Duke of Gloucester persecuted poor Owen Tudor mercilessly and the next book is about his 'comeuppance'. The Duke's wife, the Duchess Eleanor, had an associate called Margery Jourdemayne who was strongly rumoured to be a witch. Not the broomstick-riding kind, more a village 'wise woman' with ideas above her station. But those who were of a mind to undermine the Duke's authority chose to do so by accusing his wife and her associates of treason and thus bringing him down by association. The sensational trial at which they were accused was the biggest cause célèbre of the fifteenth century and I'm in the final stages of committing it to paper.
AmeriCymru: Well, good luck with that! Have you any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Mari: Yes, of course - I really hope you enjoy reading Root of the Tudor Rose and I'd be delighted to hear your comments. As for the next book, it's to be called The Witch of Eye . It's already commissioned, again by Accent Press, and should be available early next year. And I promise that my friends at AmeriCymru will be among the first to know the publication date! In the meantime, I'll leave you with some links you might like to follow:
AmeriCymru spoke with Mari Griffith author of 'The Witch of Eye' BUY THE BOOK HERE "Eleanor Cobham, the beautiful but unpopular Duchess of Gloucester, is proud of her hard-won status among the English aristocracy. She has used every trick in the book to entrap her royal husband, Humphrey of Gloucester, uncle to King Henry VI who is unmarried and childless...." read more here
AmeriCymru: A year or so ago, when we interviewed Mari Griffith on the publication of her debut novel 'Root of the Tudor Rose', she promised that Americymru readers would be among the first to know about her new novel. And are we, Mari?
Mari: Yes, absolutely! You're certainly among the first because the book has only recently been published. And, by the way, thank you for inviting me back - it's a pleasure to be here.
AmeriCymru: Now, this is your second novel, isn't it, so just before we hear all about it, can you tell us whether the first one did well?
Mari: Very well, I'm pleased to say, particularly in the US which I wasn't really expecting. But perhaps that had a little bit to do with this very web site - who knows?! And I was particularly pleased by its success because Root of the Tudor Rose was a story woven around the little-known Welsh origins of the Tudor dynasty. Essentially it was about the clandestine love affair between Catherine de Valois, the widow of King Henry V and the Welshman Owain ap Maredydd ap Tudur. I was filled with a missionary zeal to point out that the most famous dynasty in English history wasn't really 'English' at all - there was a strong element of Welsh in there, too.
AmeriCymru: And is the second book a sequel to it?
Mari: No, not exactly and neither does it have any particular Welsh flavour though it does continue the story of one or two of the characters we've already met, particularly Eleanor Cobham who became the Duchess of Gloucester during the course of the first book.
AmeriCymru: So what made you want to write this one?
Mari: Because it's such an astounding story. Let me give you a flavour of it ... and perhaps giving you the title is a good place to start. It's called The Witch of Eye and it's the story of the events leading up to the most sensational treason trial of the fifteenth century. Now, the Duke of Gloucester, who was so very nasty to Owen Tudor in the first book, is heir to the throne of his young nephew, King Henry VI. The king is a troubled teenager, spotty and a bit dim, who is by no means suited to the position he's inherited as supreme sovereign of England and France. To the Duchess of Gloucester's way of thinking, her husband, Humphrey, would make a far, far better King of England. She also realises that if anything should happen to King Henry, then her own husband would inherit the throne and she, Eleanor, would become Queen of England. A delicious prospect and she becomes obsessed with it!
AmeriCymru: Don't tell me she tried to bump him off!
Mari: Who, the King? No, not exactly, but she did gather around her a group of advisers, some of whom could interpret certain astral signs and not only read her horoscope but also tell her what the future held in store for the young King. And one of those advisers was the witch of the title - 'The Witch of Eye'.
AmeriCymru: 'Eye' as in 'I Spy'? That's an odd name.
Mari: Yes, isn't it? In fact it was the manor farm of Eye-next-Westminster, the monastic estate which belonged to Westminster Abbey and its Benedictine monastery. If you happen to be a tourist in modern-day London, it's difficult to imagine that in medieval times, a thousand acres of land to the west of the Abbey was prime farming land. It was a cattle station, too, where drovers from Wales and the West of England would take their bullocks to be fattened up before being slaughtered and sold at Smithfield Market to the townsfolk of London who had no room to farm crops and keep animals of their own. The whole of the area now occupied by Hyde Park and Mayfair to the north, right down through Belgravia to Sloane Square and Pimlico in the south, was once part of that farm. The old name of 'Eye' changed down the centuries and became Eybury and, finally, Ebury, which is now seen only in street names. One of these is Ebury Bridge Road which leads on to Buckingham Palace Road and the palace itself stands on land which was once part of the great monastic estate of Eye-next-Westminster.
AmeriCymru: So tell us more about the treason.
Mari: Well, in a sense, poor old Eleanor was more sinned against than sinning because, above all else, she wanted to be able to give her husband a son and heir so that, in the event that he did inherit the throne, at least he'd have legitimate heirs of his own. The only problem was that she sought help from Margery Jourdemayne, a so-called 'wise woman' whose husband was the yeoman-farmer in charge of the Eye estate. Eleanor consulted Margery in her desperate search for magical potions to help her conceive a child. Not such a terrible thing in itself but when the Duke's enemies got hold of the story they blew it up out of all proportion and it all got very nasty indeed. The sensational trial at which they were accused of treason against the King was the biggest cause célèbre of the fifteenth century!
AmeriCymru: Not much chance of a happy ending, then!
Mari: There is a happy ending, as it happens, but only because I invented it! It's the only part of the story which isn't absolutely based on fact. I decided to create a new character, a young Devonshire woman called Jenna, who could provide me with a positive love story which would make things turn out all right in the end. Oh, and there's a little girl in there, too, whom readers seem to dote on. She's called Kitty, or sometimes 'Kittymouse', which is Jenna's pet name for her.
AmeriCymru: It sounds as if the characters really came alive for you.
Mari: Oh, they did. It was almost as though they lived right here in the Vale of Glamorgan - around the corner from our house! I think you've got to believe in your characters before you can expect readers to enjoy your book.
AmeriCymru: Well, from what you've said about it, Mari, it sounds as though readers are already beginning to enjoy it.
Mari: It does seem that they are because it's already picked up several five star reviews. And I'm delighted at that because I've got a bad dose of 'second book syndrome' at the moment, just hoping that people will like the second book as much as they liked the first!
AmeriCymru: So, just remind us of the title again ...
Mari: The title is The Witch of Eye and it's published by Accent Press. You'll find it on Amazon as an ebook and it's out as a paperback too, so it should be available through most US bookshops and via the Americymru web site of course. And by the way, thank you for making that possible and for letting me tell you all about it. But in case anyone has any problems, I'll leave you with some links you might find helpful:
www.marigriffith.co.uk
www.accentpress.co.uk
An interview with Anthony Bunko Welsh writer and author of 'Lord Forgive Me...But I Was A (Business) Bullshit Consultant'
By , 2014-09-18
AmeriCymru talked to Anthony about the book and his new career as a writer.
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Books By Anthony Bunko ...... ......... Press Release
Anthony: I’ve been told by the people who have read it, that it’s a laugh-out loud ''consultant had enough'' memoir about a writer trapped inside a business consultant’s body.
It’s quite funny because when I first landed my dream job as a management consultant I thought it would mean a life of travelling to exotic places, meeting interesting people and making lots of money. Yet, what many people considered to be a glamorous profession, nearly got me murdered in New York, kidnapped in Amsterdam, mugged by the police in Moscow; got me in a fist fight in Germany, threatened by the business mafia in Italy and scared half to death in a ‘Psycho’ hotel in Sweden. And that was just for starters!
I used the experience of writing the mad events as therapy. Instead of lying on a couch talking to some bloke charging me £50 an hour, I used the novel to offload 12 years of walking through the fires of consultant Hell without a safety net.
AmeriCymru: Was there any one incident in particular that made you decide to ''go straight''?
Anthony: There were lots of incidents in many years of talking bullshit for a living that made me ‘go straight’. But below is a little snippet from the book, which was probably the post-it note that finally broke the flip-chart’s legs.
Picture the scene; after 8 hours delay in Cleveland, I finally find myself alone in Newark airport in New York at midnight. My connection to London had gone, I’d lost my luggage and I was in a taxi going to a motel until I could get a flight home in the morning. The insane taxi driver was not only trying to rip me off, but he didn’t have a bloody clue where he was going. I had enough and told him to stop the cab. We both jumped out….here’s what happened next :-
He leant into the glove compartment and pulled out a gun. I sprinted over the bridge without looking back. The car horns blared as I zigzagged in and out of the oncoming traffic. Their headlights lit up my face. I darted up an alleyway, into a side street.
When I thought I was safe; I stopped running. My heart pounding in my chest, my legs felt like jelly. I punched the air. I had taken on the mad taxi driver of Newark on his home patch, and beaten the money-grabbin’ bastard.
Smirking to myself, I slowly walked towards the broken neon sign of the motel. It was only when I looked around did it dawn on me I was in more trouble than ever. I was in the wrong part of town, at the wrong time, and in the wrong whatever else I wanted to add to the wrong situation.
They appeared out of the shadows, staggering towards me like zombie creatures from the Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. In my mind I was sure I could hear the low murmur of the gutter people chanting. ‘Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the fear of a business man!’
I stood frozen to the spot. A gun shot rang out behind me. I screamed and put my hands over my head. Ok, it was probably a car exhaust backfiring, but I didn’t stick around to find out. I ran again, only this time much faster.
I sprinted around the corner; I could see the sign for the motel in the distance. In my imagination, I could feel their breath on my neck and their hands touching my skin.
I barged into the reception area, nearly knocking the door off its hinges. Everyone in there stopped to look at me.
Three prostitutes sitting on a worn-out sofa in the corner smiled. One uncrossed her legs. I swear it looked like a cave at Cheddar gorge. To be honest, if I was smaller, I would have crawled up there and hidden in the safety of her nether regions. It may have looked dirty and smelt of cheese but it looked like the safest place to be at that moment.
Link to amazon:- Buy ''Lord Forgive Me...'' here
AmeriCymru: Why writing? Of all the trades in all the world, what made you take up the pen?
Anthony: I began writing more by accident than design. However, I now think there was always some creative demon inside of me trying to get out. One day in 2002 I sat in a three hour traffic jam on the M4 after returning from a business workshop in London. Bored, I picked up a pen and scribbled down the now infamous title, ‘The Tale of The Shagging Monkeys’. Two months later, the comedy novel based on my mates from Dowlais Rugby Club was born.
The spelling was terrible and the grammer was worser (ha ha), but the mad-cap tale not only made people laugh, it earned me a 4 star rating in the Western Mail, the National paper of Wales.
After that I got bitten by the bug. Writing became my passion. Every spare minute (even though I was working full time as a consultant) I spent writing fiction stories. To me there is still nothing better than sitting in a pub with a bottle of wine and my imagination for company. (But don’t tell anyone about that, they think I’m weird already!)
AmeriCymru: What was it like working with Stuart Cable on the ''Demons and Cocktails: My Life with Stereophonics'' project?
Anthony: Stuart was a larger than life character with a large smile and larger hair style. What I loved about Stuart was he was a down-to-earth rock star, a real people’s person, who always made the time and effort to talk to anyone about everything. I met him while interviewing him for a spoof magazine I was writing called the rag. After several beers we both ended up in his mansion in Aberdare where he told me stories about supporting U2 and the famous tale about how he ate Keith Richards’ Shepard pie after a gig in Paris. Slightly worse for wear, I asked him if I could I write his life story. He shook my hand there and then, and the rest is history. For a year he took me everywhere and I met some wonderful and weird people. Partying with the Oasis brothers, Liam and Noel, who were both great guys, was a night I will never forget. Also becoming a life-long friend with the infamous and lovely Howard Marks, (Mister Nice, the drug baron) was all down to Stuart.
When Stuart died, it was like losing a brother, such a terrible shock and such a sad waste of someone’s life!
Me and Stuart at one of our many book signings
AmeriCymru: You have written a number of other biographies. Can you tell us more?
Anthony: The book Demons and Cocktails changed my life and to a degree my writing. The success of the book led to a London publisher asking me to write books on Hugh Laurie and Hugh Jackman. Then in 2010 I wrote the harrowing true lifestory, Ma’am Anna, about Human Trafficking Advocate Anna Rodriguez which was released in America.
Next stop on my rollercoaster ride found me in Bangkok in 2013, with the outrageously funny and slightly insane Mike Spikey Watkins – former-Welsh rugby captain. 2 hard to handle earned us the title of bestselling authors after it stayed number 1 for 8 weeks on Amazon best sellers book list, beating off the likes of Johnny Wilkinson and Richie McCaw. To date it’s had 35 reviews on amazon, all five stars out of five.
AmeriCymru: We have all been greatly amused by the recent revelations concerning the NATO summit itinerary. What is your involvement with the Walesoncraic site? How did it come to be founded?
Anthony: I’m not a political person at all, but I just find all the nonsense around things like the NATO visit just completely bonkers. I’ve never seen so many armed police in my life and I’ve been to football matches between Cardiff and Swansea !!! These politicians don’t live in the real world. Luckily, I started walesoncraic with a real talented writer, Patric Morgan from Cardiff a week or so before. Both of us had been doing similar types of stuff separately, so we met up in Wetherspoons in Merthyr for a cooked brekkie and within ten minutes, walesoncraic appeared out of the mist like Frankenstein’s monster. Hopefully it’s going to take over the world. Our first week saw us reporting on the Nato summit and all the madness surrounding it.
Link to the site:-
http://www.walesoncraic.com/
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Anthony Bunko? Any new works in the pipeline?
Anthony: As well as the spoof website, I’m also doing a few different type of creative stuff at the moment. Writing-wise, I’m just finishing off a few mad-cap children’s books which I hope to get released in 2015.
I’ve always wanted to write a stage play and I’ve written a comedy play based on the Wizard of Oz, but set in Merthyr today. It’s called the Wizard of Gurnwah and rehearsals starts pretty soon.
I’m also involved in a new creative group in my hometown, called HWYL – Made in Merthyr – its aim is to change the perception of the town to the outside world and also change the perception of the arts in the town itself. Even though the group has just started, I can’t believe how many talented people we have in the town…from writers, film directors, musicians, artists, poets, software designers, fancy cooks (who actually cooked for Obama and Nato in Cardiff Castle)…the list is endless…..I will keep you updated on progress…
AmeriCymru: What do you do when you finish a book?
Anthony: When I get that first copy in my grubby hands, I always lock myself away in my conservatory and read it from cover to cover while drinking a good bottle of wine. Then I put it away and move onto the next thing. I never read that book again…sad but true.’
AmeriCymru: What is your favourite book?’
Anthony: My all-time favourite book is Catch 22 by Joseph Keller. I revisit it every two years or so. It’s the funniest thing I have ever read. Even now it still makes me laugh out loud. The film based on the book didn’t capture the humour at all…but the book is brilliant.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymu?
Anthony: ‘Yep, a simple message for all the creative people out there looking for some kind of inspiration……
’You can walk tirelessly around the world in search of comfortable shoes… only to find a pair already under the bed.''
Make out of that what you will….it worked for me!!!
Here’s the link to most of my books on amazon:-
Books by Anthony Bunko on Amazon
Stay free
Bunko x
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AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh author Dennis Price about his new book, A Tale of Sound & Fury . Dennis has long enjoyed a reputation as an expert on Stonehenge, the world’s most enigmatic prehistoric monument, on account of the prolific investigations on his Eternal Idol site. In 2009, he followed this up with The Missing Years of Jesus , a groundbreaking study of William Blake’s poem ‘Jerusalem’, which suggested that Christ once visited Britain. |
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AmeriCymru: Hi Dennis and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. Care to introduce your new book ''A Tale of Sound & Fury'' for our readers and tell us how and why you came to write an autobiography?
Dennis: Hello Ceri. First of all, it''s a real honour to be interviewed by you. I''ve been aware of Americymru for some time now, so it''s very gratifying that my compatriots or Cymru in America should invite me to speak about myself. Thank you for that.
I''d never seriously thought of writing an autobiography, although now I''ve started, I have to say that A Tale of Sound & Fury is the first of perhaps three such volumes, because it was impossible to put all the stories into one book and do them justice. The book came about by chance when I spoke separately to two friends late last summer, who both urged me to write it. One of them is Pete Mills, someone I''ve known since the early 1980s when I was living in London; he''s long been a highly respected archaeologist with his own consultancy in central London, but he''s also a born storyteller and I''ve lost count of the amount of times that he and I have swapped tales over a few pints late into the night in shady taverns around the country. He''s known me for around thirty years, so when someone like him suggested that I write down my own stories, it really made me think.
The other person is Vivian Widgery, someone else I met not long after I moved to London in 1979. She worked for Hansard for almost thirty years, so she spent most of her career in the corridors of power in Westminster, meeting and working with a vast array of lords, parliamentarians, journalists, consultants and other informed observers on a daily basis. Aside from any other consideration, I''d always been in awe of Vivian''s drinking prowess, so when she too urged me to write an autobiographical work, I was bound to take the idea seriously and I also invited her to write a postscript for the book, which she very kindly did and I''m grateful to her for her generous words of praise.
I also have a son named Jack who''s eighteen and a daughter named Tanith who''s sixteen. It is the way of things that people of that age should regard people of my age, and perhaps their parents, with pity or contempt, so I won''t deny that I wanted to commit to print one or two things that would make them sit up and take real notice, although it remains to be seen if they''re impressed or not! Then I thought about how I''d had an idyllic childhood in a small village in south Wales in the 1960s, so I realised I wanted to record this out of sheer gratitude, if nothing else. There were plenty of other elements involved in my decision to write this book, but I''m pretty sure I''ve told you the most important ones here.
AmeriCymru: We learn from the product description that the book contains an account of your ''missing years'' after leaving school. Can you tell us a little more about that period in your life?
Dennis: Yes, of course, but I suppose I should first explain something about the ''missing years'' reference. Over the last seven or eight years, I''ve had a lot of favourable media exposure on account of my investigations into what you might call ''ancient mysteries''. I''m not complaining about that and I didn''t write "A Tale of Sound & Fury" to ''set the record straight'' in any way, but all the writing I''ve done has meant that I''ve spent a lot of time locked away in my study alone by the dead of night and I''m aware that as a result, I have a certain reputation as an archaeologist, a man of letters or something similar. I''m grateful for all this, of course, but my life hasn''t always been like this by any means.
The bare bones of the matter are that I won a Jones Scholarship to Monmouth School in 1971 and I will be grateful for the education I received there until my dying day. It was the ordained scheme of things that I should go on to university, where I intended to study Egyptology and this was in 1977, before anyone had heard of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
However, as I''ve described in detail in the book, I ended up meeting all four members of Black Sabbath when they were writing material for their Never Say Die album at Rockfield, just outside Monmouth. I was an impressionable teenage kid, so to actually meet my idols in the form of Ozzy, Bill, Geezer and Tony, then to speak with them for around an hour, was a pivotal experience for me. They were the most warm-hearted, generous-spirited people anyone could wish to meet and this made a huge impression on me, to the extent that I pretty much lost interest in my studies, although they shouldn''t be blamed for this.
I left school and worked for a while in Wales while my friends all went on to university, then I moved to London to find work in the winter of 1979. I sang in rock bands for some years, both in London and in Wales, while I later spent five years travelling around Britain, Europe, Scandinavia and Russia as a knight on what was the world''s only touring mediaeval jousting tournament. In the first part of the 1990s, I had a career on television and I suppose the highlight was when I appeared as an actor in the last two series of the Crystal Maze, although there were plenty of other series, rock videos and programmes I appeared in and for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed all this.
I did all this and a great deal more over the years, so I''ve written about as much of this time as I could in A Tale of Sound & Fury. My son Jack was born in 1995, after which we moved out of London to live on Salisbury Plain just a few miles away from Stonehenge, because I wanted him to have the benefit of a rural upbringing in a small village, just as I''d done. This was around the time I started working in archaeology again, but that''s another story.
AmeriCymru: In an appendix you have reproduced your interview with Captain Robert Fore, concerning his experiences during the 1981 rescue of the crew of the Primrose from North Sentinel Island. What can you tell us about this incident? How did you become interested in it?
Dennis: I''ve been trying to remember precisely when I first learned about North Sentinel Island, but I can''t be sure, I''m afraid, although I''ve been mesmerised by the place for the past three or four years. It''s in the Bay of Bombay and it''s home to the last uncontacted island race on Earth, so this alone makes it unique and fascinating, long before we consider what little is known about this secluded realm and the people who live there.
I came to write about the place because I was writing an article on Stonehenge and trying to describe the difficulty of seeing the ruins through the eyes of the people who built it; our ancestors, who have been dead for around four and a half thousand years. As I''d learned about North Sentinel Island beforehand, it dawned on me that there were people alive today who are to all intents and purposes just as remote from us as our dead ancestors are, because the North Sentinelese are unrelentingly hostile to those outsiders they encounter, the most recent example being 2006 when they killed two Indian fishermen who had drifted ashore in their boat. We know next to nothing about the North Sentinelese - we don''t know what language they speak, what gods they worship, what their view of our world is, what they call themselves and so forth, but I don''t think we''ll ever have the answers to these questions.
After I''d written about these people on my Eternal Idol site, I was contacted by Captain Robert Fore, who had a fascinating story to tell that I vaguely remembered hearing about a long time before, back in the early 1980s. Very briefly, a freighter called the Primrose had been stranded on a coral reef just off North Sentinel Island in 1982, which led to the ship''s captain issuing a distress call because he feared that he and his crew of thirty-two sailors were about to be killed by "wild men", as he described them.
These were the North Sentinelese islanders, who were building boats on the shore and waving a variety of weapons in unmistakably hostile gestures, so this rapidly became world news at the time. Due to the appalling weather, the Indian Navy were unable to rescue the ship''s crew, so these otherwise doomed men were most fortunate that Captain Robert Fore was based nearby and immediately agreed to try to rescue them by helicopter, which he succeeded in doing despite the extremely adverse and hazardous circumstances.
AmeriCymru: You were also involved with the search for missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh. How did that come about?
Dennis: Strictly speaking, I wasn''t involved with this search, because all investigations were a matter for the police. For those who haven''t heard about her, Suzy Lamplugh was a beautiful young woman who disappeared in broad daylight from a busy London street in 1986 and she has never been seen since, other than by the person or persons responsible for taking her away. All these years later and hers is Britain''s best-known or most notorious missing person''s case, as it''s never been resolved and she has never been found.
What I can only describe as a cosmic coincidence ultimately led to me meeting and speaking with a man who was suspected at the time of being involved with Suzy Lamplugh''s disappearance. He was and still is serving life in prison, having been convicted in 1989 of the murder of another young woman, so this is where I met him and spoke with him, as he''d invited me to visit him for reasons of his own. This is all described in what is by far the longest chapter in the book and it recounts certain events that made a great deal of news in what was a pre-internet age.
It was all a long time ago for me, but the circumstances of my peripheral involvement were so incredibly strange and they made such an impression on me for such a prolonged period of time that I felt I had to write about them. I''ve been scrupulously careful because I''m fully aware that I was writing about the disappearance and presumed murder of a beautiful young woman who is still remembered and mourned by her surviving family. I can''t do justice to such a prolonged and tragic episode in an interview, so everyone will make their own minds up about my memories of this bizarre episode in my life when they''ve read what I had to say about it.
AmeriCymru: Your first book ''The Missing Years of Jesus'' evolved as a study of William Blake''s ''Jerusalem'' and explores the possibility that Jesus Christ may have visited Britain. Can you briefly outline the evidence for this theory?
Dennis: To begin with, I think if there''d ever been a vote taken when I was at school in the 1970s to decide who was the pupil least likely to go on to write a book about Christ, I think I would have won by a unanimous decision! Thirty years down the line, however, and I found myself fascinated by the idea that Jesus, the most famous person ever to have lived, is unaccounted for during his teenage years and early adulthood, because the Bible stops writing about him when he''s aged twelve, then it resumes when he begins his famous ministry at the age of thirty or so. He was ''missing'' for something like eighteen years, which is over half his entire life, so when this dawned on me in 2004 or thereabouts, I became more and more intrigued by it.
To cut a very long story very short indeed, I found that William Blake''s poem was effectively the best-known expression of the many older legends in Britain that maintained that Jesus had once visited our small island. The more I looked into them, the more surprised I became at just how many legends there were, while they all consistently spoke of him coming ashore from a ship to find water, then working in mines in the West Country. Others were even more specific, telling of how he built what was in effect the world''s first church in Glastonbury that he dedicated to his mother, but I found there were still more legends and they all seemed perfectly credible to me. They were widely dismissed by most academics as being mediaeval fabrications, but I kept wondering why on Earth people of that era would invent what is the face of it the most unlikely story you can imagine.
So, I was hooked, and the more I looked into it, the more evidence I found and it was all absolutely fascinating. I learned of coins that had been struck by the ancient Dubunni tribe in the same area and at the same time that Jesus was said to be there, and these coins carried the name "Esus". I learned of evidence of ancient mariners travelling to Britain from the Middle East and a very great deal else besides, so from what I can judge, there''s an overwhelming case in favour of the idea that Jesus did indeed once visit and live in what is now the West of England and South Wales, but that''s just my personal opinion and others will have to decide for themselves.
AmeriCymru: You are recognised as an expert on Stonehenge. How and when did your interest in this subject develop?
Dennis: My Mum and Dad took me and my little sister Carol there in 1969 when I was nine or ten and I can still remember it as if it were yesterday. At that time, we were free to wander among the stones and the ruins were so huge, so strange and so baffling that they made a profound impression on me. I read a lot about the place over the years, because there was no shortage of books and documentaries about the monument, then by pure chance, I ended up moving to a small village on Salisbury Plain just a few miles away from Stonehenge in 1996, with my young family. I quickly realised that I was eligible for a free local''s pass to the ruins, so I must have gone there roughly three times a week for ten years or so until we finally moved away from Salisbury Plain in 2005.
Jack and Tanith - my son and daughter - would sit in their pushchair eating icecream in the early days, then they virtually learned to walk on their later visits there, but I''d also take them for walks in the landscape to the surrounding barrows and other places. We went to every open access event, as well as to some private ones and the more I saw of the place, the more my fascination with it grew. I regularly spoke with the English Heritage custodians, who were all very helpful and a mine of information, while I also read more and more about the site. I made a short film about Stonehenge for ITV in 1997 or 1998, while I was also interviewed by other channels as someone who was knowledgeable about the extensive folklore connected with the monument.
From early 2000 onwards until around August 2003, I was employed by Wessex Archaeology, so I ended up working on the A303 Stonehenge Test Pit Project, which was a particularly enjoyable experience. I also worked in the Media and Communications Department when the world''s press descended on the place after the discoveries of the Amesbury Archer and Boscombe Bowmen in 2002 and 2003 respectively and of course, I ended up spending a great deal of time talking with other archaeologists who were extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of Stonehenge.
AmeriCymru: Your site ''Eternal Idol'' contains a wealth of information and information about Stonehenge. Can you tell us a little about the history and purpose of the Eternal Idol site?
Dennis: Well, I started Eternal Idol in 2005, I think, because I felt I had original things to say about Stonehenge. This was at a time when it was believed that it was impossible to contribute to our sum total of knowledge about the ruins without recourse to excavation. I thought otherwise, so I started writing about the place in the face of almost universal scorn, but I was never remotely concerned by this. I regularly receive correspondence telling me that Eternal Idol''s the best Stonehenge site on the internet because there''s such a vast amount of information there and because it''s had such favourable coverage over the years in the media, while I also welcome anyone who has anything at all to contribute.
Eternal Idol long ago became so huge and so busy that it became impossible for me to manage on a day to day basis, so I''m fantastically lucky to have a lady from the USA by the name of Aynslie Hanna to help me run the site. Dan Johnston''s another friend of mine from the USA who regularly contributes and he actually published his own book on Stonehenge last year - Stonehenge Unhinged - which is a superb investigation into the monument. Juris Ozols of Minnesota is another long-standing friend and contributor to Eternal Idol, but there are others in what I often refer to as the North American Chapter of Eternal Idol. Anyone is welcome to write in and I''m always happy to promote the work of other writers or investigators. I''m on cordial terms with many archaeologists, as well as with Druids and other pagans, but people of all faiths and none can write in and they frequently do.
There''s just so much there that it would be very hard for me to describe in an interview such as this, but of course I''m particularly interested in the Welsh origins of Stonehenge, such as the famous bluestones and more recently, the so-called "Lord of Stonehenge" from around 3,500 BC whose remains are now on display in the new Visitors Centre, a man who seems to have originated from what''s now Wales. Honestly, I could write about it all for days on end.
AmeriCymru: You were born in Usk, south Wales and educated in Monmouth school. What memories do you have of those days? Can you describe the area a little for the benefit of our American readers?
Dennis: Usk is a small village or town in south Wales that used to be the capital of the ancient Silures tribe, the one group of people in ancient Britain who were never actually defeated by the Romans, because the classical accounts hint at some agreement that the warring parties arrived at after around forty years of vicious conflict on a small island. It''s a lot more peaceful now, of course, with a still-inhabited castle on a hill in the centre of the town, a river, streams, outlying hills, fields and meadows, some churches and a ruined priory.
I can clearly remember growing up there in the 1960s and I loved the place. At one time, it had around thirteen pubs for a population of less than two thousand, but there was a rugby club, a cricket club, a football club, an amateur dramatics society and just about every other amenity you could imagine. It was like Heaven on Earth and I still can''t believe just how lucky I was to have been born and raised in such a place, so I''ve written about it at some length in my book.
By another cosmic coincidence, a friend of mine by the name of Isobel Brown has recently started her own blog site dealing almost exclusively with Usk and its history. She''s a fantastic writer and photographer, so I''ll be featuring her writing on a regular basis on the Facebook site I''ve set up to help promote A Tale of Sound & Fury . If anyone''s curious about Usk, then you honestly couldn''t ask for a better place to visit online, although I''d hope that people will also choose to visit the place in person and of course, I''ve written about it fairly extensively in my book.
As for Monmouth, I won a Jones Scholarship there in 1971 and as one of the conditions of the scholarship, I had to board there, which was a huge culture shock to me as I''d lived literally within a stone''s throw of the schools I''d attended in Usk itself. The school was a wonderful place and I ended up specialising in Latin, Greek and Ancient History, although I studied many other subjects as well and in the last few years, I found myself sharing a house with Eddie Butler, who went on to captain the Welsh national team before becoming a regular commentator on the Five and Six Nations Championships.
The town itself was beautiful and interesting, with all manner of shops, alleyways, markets, museums and pubs, so it was always pleasant to take a stroll around the place after school. The River Monnow flowed past at the end of the town, joining the Wye which ran past the school itself, the other side of the dual carriageway, so this reminded me of my hometown of Usk. Towering over Monmouth itself is the huge bulk of the Kymin, a hill surmounted by a naval temple, oddly enough for such an inland location, but the whole setting was beautiful beyond words and I''ve tried to do the place justice in my book, as well as recording details of my time there. Both Usk and Monmouth are fascinating, enchanting places in their own ways and again, I consider myself very lucky to have been born and raised in the one place, and educated in the other.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Dennis Price? Are you working on any new projects at the moment?
Dennis: I''m working on another book as we speak and it deals with North Sentinel Island and Captain Robert Fore''s mission in 1982 to save the crew of the Primrose. One reason for this is that I consider the word ''hero'' to have been overused in recent times to the point where it risks losing its currency, but what Captain Fore did that day was heroic in every sense of the word, so I feel I should do justice to the way he risked his life to save the lives of many others from what would have been an appalling and terrifying end.
I learned the details of all this a few years ago, but something about the whole event nagged at me, although I couldn''t pin it down. A little while ago, however, another aspect or way of looking at North Sentinel Island and the rescue of the crew of the Primrose finally dawned on me from out of the blue and it left me stunned, so I''m writing about it now.
The ''Primrose'' stranded off North Sentinel Island
I''ve also started writing a fictional work with the provisional title of "Spirits from the Vasty Deep". I''ve spent the last decade or so intimately involved with non-fiction in various ways and I still enjoy what I do, but I feel driven to complete a work of imagination as best I can. I don''t think I''m a novelist, so this will be either a very long short story or else a novella, but as I''ve found myself dreaming repeatedly about the dark, sci-fi scenario, it''s something I want to capture in the form of the printed word.
Otherwise, I''ve been invited to appear in a documentary that''s due to start filming later this year. Some of the other guests who are scheduled to appear in it are giants in the worlds of entertainment and conservation, so I''m incredibly honoured by this, but I think I''ll wait until it''s officially announced before I say any more, as I wouldn''t want to tempt Fate. There are various other projects I''m involved in that may or may not come to fruition, but for now, these are the main three and I''m very pleased with them.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Dennis: I''m sorely tempted just to write "I am dreaming of the mountains of my home..." or even simply "30 - 3", but I''m grateful to Ceri for inviting me to appear here on AmeriCymru because there''s something extremely heart-warming about recognition of any kind from a compatriot. I''m grateful to everyone who''s read this far, so I sincerely hope you found it worth your while and aside from recounting events like visiting vampire-infested graveyards in Britain, personally knighting Scandinavia''s biggest rock star and other unusual occurrences that came my way over the time recorded in my book, I''ve done my best to do justice to my hometown and homeland. Y Ddraig Goch has an almost mystical resonance for me and I suspect for many others, wherever they now live, so thank you all once again for your time and I wish you all a peaceful, pleasurable and prosperous 2014.
AmeriCymru spoke to author and freelance drama and comedy director Griff Rowland about his first book ''The Search For Mr Lloyd''. Griff has worked on shows such as Coronation Street, Wizards vs Aliens (Russell T Davies), Pobol y Cwm and Beryl, Cheryl a Meryl - isio Chwerthin with Tudur Owen. He began writing his novel in between projects. Spanning Bangor and London, the novel tells the tale of Mostyn Price, a young pigeon fancier whose prized bird goes missing during his first international race. The story is his search to find him. The Search For Mr. Lloyd
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AmeriCymru: Hi Griff and many thanks for agreeing to talk to AmeriCymru. After a distinguished career as a TV drama and comedy director what made you decide to take up writing?
Griff: I work as a freelance director and as I made the leap from documentary to drama, I had to take a risk and turn a few job offers down. Waiting for the right project to turn up meant I had to fill my time constructively. I''d been in between jobs years earlier when I was working in front of the camera (as a presenter on S4C) and when I had quiet periods, I''d either be knocking on employers doors or watching mindless daytime television programmes. This time, I thought I wouldn''t waste a day. I''d had this idea for a book and I always wanted to write but fear that I didn’t have a good enough idea, let alone be able to see it through to the end got in the way. So, one day an idea came to me when a friend of mine, who was rather a reckless driver nearly ran over a pigeon. It sounds daft, but I looked into it, and got engrossed in the research and learning about Pigeon Fancying. I became fascinated with racing pigeons and especially what became of those that never make it home. Most of them gripped by the claws of birds of prey, but others lose their unique homing instinct and if not found become undomesticated. I liked this as a metaphor and with some initial research the seeds of a novel began to germinate. I used my directing experience then to outline some structure - as I like to know where I’m going! – and began writing the story in between jobs, and I soon got lost in the world.
AmeriCymru: Your book is about one man''s search for as missing race pigeon. The birds disappearance is a defining moment in the life of the main character, Mostyn. What suggested this theme to you?
Griff: Two reasons: As a lad growing up in Bangor and who went to London as a student I had always been interested in the idea of ''gadael cartref''. Second, the idea for this book came to life when I learnt that a racing pigeon’s homing instinct can be befuddled. Mostyn’s pigeon, Mister Lloyd loses his way in life, if you like and this was an attractive metaphor for me. You see, a few years earlier Mostyn’s dad disappeared from his life. Not that he was a missing person, just that one day he walked out on them and Mostyn never sees him again. The grandfather (Taid) breeds racing pigeons and to help him focus on other things gave one to Mostyn to train. After his first international race, when Mostyn is eleven years old, the bird is a no show. Naturally this stirs in him all those unhappy memories. Not finding his missing racing pigeon is not an option and he refuses to believe it has been killed. And yet how do you go looking for a bird so undistinguishable as a pigeon? It’s an absurd idea, but Mostyn is determined. And eventually when school holidays allow, Mostyn Price sets off from his home in Bangor, Wales to go and find him.
AmeriCymru: We learn from the initial press release that the book was written "in between projects". How easy/difficult has it been to find time to work on a novel whilst maintaining your other career commitments?
Griff: It was fine when I was not working, hours would fly by and it gave me a working structure to my days. But when working on directing projects, It’d be nigh on impossible to do the two. Directing is all consuming and you live and breath it day and night. But I carried around with me a little notebook that I would use to jot anything down. I think going out to earn a living while you’re writing naturally slows down the timescale from start to finish. But if it’s something dear to you heart, you find the time!
AmeriCymru: How do you think your career in television has affected and influenced your writing?
Griff: It has been a great influence. I was definitely writing as if I was editing my own pitures in my head. I’d plan things out as if, I need to here next, there after that. In TV I tell stories through words and pictures. I have to paint pictures in my head to tell the crew what we ant to capture in order to tell the story to the audience. Obviously I found it physically different when writing, but you’re still painting a picture and telling a story with words. The other thing my experience in TV has taught me is to not be scared of being ruthless. When you’re in the cutting room, you have to let go of things, shots you loved are maybe not needed when viewing a show in its entirety. Things you’ve filmed are not needed in the flow of the story. So you have to learn to say, get rid of it! It’s taught me not to be so precious and so, on each reading of the manuscript I didn’t mind cutting things. In a way you had to still write it to be able to say you didn’t need it. It helped me think that deleting chapters was not a big deal. And as Mostyn Price ultimately has to learn to let go, so did I. Gone!
AmeriCymru: Are you planning to write more? Any new titles in the pipeline?
Griff: I would like to write more. I loved writing The Search for Mister Lloyd. I’m looking for my next idea, but until that comes, maybe I will start adapting the book into a script. Seems obvious, really!
AmeriCymru: Where can our readers go to purchase the book online?
Griff: The book can be downloaded on Kindle.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Griff: Not that this is a message - as such - but I may have come across some of your readers when I travelled around the States for a month filming a documentary series for BBC Wales called Star Spangled Dragon which traced the Welsh influence on the shaping of America. this wqas in 2002 and I met so many wonderful people; it was a trip ‘na’i byth anghofio! Diolch am y croeso! And of course when working on it I learned the George Washington quote, Good Welshmen make good Americans’. Fair point!
An Interview With Helen Forder, Author of ''High Hats And Harps''
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"According to some, Lady Llanover was the best friend Wales ever had!"
AmeriCymru spoke to Helen Forder, author of ''High Hats And Harps'', a new book on the life and times of Lady Llanover, a 19th century champion of the Welsh harp and Welsh culture in general.
Buy ''High Hats And Harps'' here
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AmeriCymru: Hi Helen and many thanks for your recent book ''High Hats And Harps''. Care to introduce the subject of the book, Lady Llanover, for our readers?
Helen: According to some, Lady Llanover was the best friend Wales ever had! She was born Augusta Waddington, 6th and last child, all daughters, of Benjamin Waddington and Georgina Mary Anne (née Port). Although English, Benjamin and Georgina had come to live in Wales (Llanover, near Abergavenny, MON.) where Augusta was born on 21st March 1802. Only two of her sisters, Frances and Emilia, had survived beyond infancy, and Emilia later died a young woman, not long after she had married. By this time Frances had married and moved abroad, leaving only Augusta living with her parents.
In 1823 Augusta married Benjamin Hall (III), the son of a family living at nearby Abercarn. They were devoted to each other and shared a love of Wales, its people and its traditions. Throughout their lives they used their position and wealth to champion Welsh culture.
Their social status rose gradually, Benjamin being created a baronet in 1838, and then raised to the peerage in 1859, becoming Lord Llanover of Llanover and Abercarn.
Sadly, Benjamin died in 1867, but Augusta continued the campaign to preserve the Welsh culture and traditions throughout the long years of widowhood. She died in 1896, in her 94th year.
Helen: Although unknown to many, Lady Llanover’s name has been familiar to me all my life thanks to my mother’s stories of her mother and grandfather. Her mother, Elizabeth Ann Williams, Nanny to us, was a member of Lady Llanover’s band of harpists and Mum would show us a photograph of Nanny, sitting at her triple harp while telling us of the time she won ‘the eisteddfod’ playing the instrument. Her grandfather was Lady Llanover’s under-agent.
AmeriCymru: How important was Lady Llanover''s contribution to the preservation and popularisation of the Welsh harp?
Helen: Lady Llanover learned to play the harp, having lessons from Elias Parish-Alvars, but it is thought that her interest in the ‘Welsh’ triple-stringed harp was aroused in 1826 when she attended the Brecon Eisteddfod where she heard John Jones play the instrument so beautifully. Later, John Jones became the Llanover family harper, after the building of Llys Llanover was completed. The position of family harper was maintained for the rest of Lady Llanover’s life.
AmeriCymru: Lady Llanover was often in dispute with another well known harpist from the period, John Thomas. Care to elaborate?
Helen: At the age of twelve John Thomas won the chief prize of a triple harp at the Abergavenny Eisteddfod of 1838. He attracted the attention of Lady Ada Lovelace, Byron’s daughter, who helped him financially to attend the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he more or less abandoned the triple harp, which was played on the left shoulder and, changing shoulders, he learned to play the pedal harp, which is played on the right. A very able student, John found fame at home and abroad with his playing and his compositions. Lady Llanover encouraged him, but when she began her campaign to save the triple harp, he found he could not support her wholeheartedly, as he saw the benefits of the pedal harp and the limitations of the triple.
Lady Llanover was angry with him, seemingly offended that he did not share her enthusiasm for promoting the triple harp, but he regretted the tension between them, saying that this had risen mainly from his ‘inability to view matters connected with [his] artistic pursuits in the same light as herself.’ However, he never forgot her kindness towards him at the start of his career.
Undoubtedly their relationship became strained, but in her nineties Lady Llanover, while in London, attended a Welsh concert arranged by John Thomas, when ‘twenty harps played by ladies in white’ were heard. Doubtless they were pedal harps. Perhaps more has been made of their ‘bitter quarrel’ than was true!
John Thomas had not completely abandoned the triple harp. At the Swansea Eisteddfod of 1863 it was announced that he had secured sufficient money from people such as Lady Llanover, Maria Jane Williams and the Dowager Duchess of Dunraven to establish a triple harp scholarship for ten- to eighteen-year-olds.
AmeriCymru: What was her greatest achievement and what in your opinion can we learn from Lady Llanover''s example?
Helen: Some years ago one might have been justified in thinking that in spite of her life-long efforts Lady Llanover had fought a losing battle. When I was a schoolgirl our music teacher told me there was no such instrument as a triple harp! I knew there was – we had a photograph of ‘Nanny’ with hers, but one did not argue with teachers in those days!
In spite of my grandmother having spent some years, from the age of twelve, living under the ‘Llanover influence’ I never heard her speak Welsh, although Welsh was her family’s first language; and although my mother was brought up as a Welsh speaker she never spoke to us in the language, and we children were actively discouraged from taking Welsh lessons in school. At least she kept the name Lady Llanover and knowledge of the triple harp alive with her stories of her mother and her grandfather and their time at Llanover.
As far as the women are concerned, Lady Llanover did not ‘invent’ the Welsh costume, as many people think, but she did create a Llanover ‘livery’, which is what today’s national costume seems to be based upon. While picturesque, the Welsh costume is not practical today, so it is hardly surprising that it is only worn at eisteddfodau and other Welsh cultural events. However, when it comes to the costume for men, one only has to look at what her family harpers had to wear to realise that costume design was not one of her talents!
Welsh folk dances, however, continue today, with Folk Dance Societies keeping some of the old dances, which were danced at Llanover, alive, for example, Rhif Wyth and the Llanover Reel.
One has the impression here in Wales that there is a resurgence of interest in Welsh culture. Many people are attending language classes, and the harp is a very popular instrument. Thanks to people like Llio Rhydderch ( www.lliorhydderch.com ) and Robin Huw Bowen ( www.teires.com ) the triple harp is alive and well! The first triple harp ‘choir’ since 1913 was formed a few years ago, and they have produced a wonderful CD of toe-tapping music. Consisting of five fine triple harpers, they are carrying on the tradition.
So, in spite of many years in the wilderness, Lady Llanover’s efforts seem to be bearing fruit. Long may it continue. Oes y byd i’r iaith Gymraeg.
AmeriCymru: Whats next for Helen Forder?
Helen: What Next? My website - http://augustaladyllanover.coffeecup.com – is very much in need of updating, so I must spend time on that! Also, I have two harps, a guitar, a piano and a recorder, all rarely played! It is time I settled down to some serious practice. Maybe I will begin again with the harp, not a Welsh triple-stringed harp I am sorry to say, but I know many Welsh tunes to practise.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Helen: Lady Llanover’s mother had been brought up by her great-aunt, Mrs Patrick Delany, who had said, ‘I like, and love, and dislike with all my might’. Georgina exhorted her daughters, ‘Whatever you do, do it with all your might’. This was what Lady Llanover did.
To all my Americymru friends who are trying to learn the old language, ‘Daliwch ati’. – keep at it. The language is well worth saving from extinction, as is the triple harp, and other aspects of Welsh culture.
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In this the third and final part of Welsh author Rhys Hughes'' interview with Americymru he poses a number of ( rhetorical? ) questions to the reader. Feel free to respond to any or all of them in the comments box below.
This is part 3 of an in depth interview with Rhys Hughes , the Welsh Wizard of the Absurd. Rhys was born in Porthcawl, South Wales in 1966 and plans to write exactly 1000 stories in his lifetime ( see his blog here:- The Spoons That Are My Ears ). When this interview was originally published he had completed 468. Currently his total stands at 600+. Rhys can also be found on the web at:- The Rime of The Post Modern Mariner and on his Facebook page.
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Dear Reader,
For the third and last part of my interview with the Americymru Network, I thought it might be nice to do something different. In other words for me to interview you.
So please find six questions below that you may (or may not) answer when you are ready…
1. In Swansea library I recently saw a book with the title "My Ancestor was a Coal Miner". My first thought was how strange it must be to have only one ancestor! I''m confident I''ve had thousands of them and I''m sure that most of them were never coal miners.
Having said that, my grandfather on my father''s side did work in a coal mine as an explosives expert. He kept boxes of gelignite under his bed. But what is the most unusual (or memorable) profession that any of your known ancestors ever had?
2. Authors go out of fashion, sometimes come back into fashion, often don''t. One of the finest and most sophisticated of the English Victorian novelists, George Meredith, is now mostly forgotten and it doesn''t seem likely he''ll ever be accorded the attention he deserves. Despite its rather terrible title, his early novel, "The Shaving of Shagpat", is an exquisite work of deep imagination and manages to combine highly lyrical prose with a humorous muscularity…
Another author with a sinking – perhaps already sunk – star is D.M. Thomas. In the 1980s he was the novelist of choice for all middle class liberal thirtysomethings who wanted to upgrade their emotions and their justifications to ''complex''. I still like D.M. Thomas. Clearly my finger isn''t anywhere near the pulse of modern literary trends. But what unfashionable authors (if any) do you still champion?
3. I have a large collection of books but it''s going down. The reason it''s going down is because every time I finish reading a book I give it away. My aim is to reduce my collection to a manageable size. Otherwise I''ll keep adding to it and will end up with more books than it''s possible for me to read in my entire lifetime!
That seems inefficient and wrong. To stop it happening I have banned myself from buying new books. I read what I already have on my shelves instead. Some of my books have been waiting to be read for thirty years. I don''t want to disappoint them forever! To shrink my collection further I have given away some books that I haven''t read, books I once felt I ought to read but knew I wouldn''t – in other words ''Duty'' books.
Probably the most significant Duty book for me is Robert Tressell''s "The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists". I know it''s a very important novel, a book with a crucial message, but I just don''t want to read it. And I won''t. What books do you own that you know you''ll never read?
4. E-books don''t interest me. I just don''t enjoy reading fiction on a screen. Brief technical articles, yes, but entire novels, no. I can''t bring myself to even read short stories online. That''s why I rarely submit stories for online publication. The only novel I''ve ever read online was James Branch Cabell''s "The Rivet in Grandfather''s Neck" and that was only because I couldn''t find it as a proper book. I plodded through it unhappily even though it is witty, wise and dry. But what is your opinion on this issue? Do you regularly read e-books or not?
5. Writers are required to sit still indoors for long periods tapping away at keyboards or scratching away with pens – I use both methods, sometimes writing one story on a computer and a different story in a notebook at the same time. And yet an inactive life is one that rapidly drives me crazy. I need the Great Outdoors – or in the case of Wales, the Grey Outdoors!
The fact that writing is such a sedate occupation means I''m always fascinated by the attempts of certain authors to infuse physical vigour into their prose. It seems an impossible task, but Jack London and Steinbeck managed it successfully. So did Edward Abbey. But Hemingway and Kerouac didn''t. Just my own opinion. What writers, if any, have made you take to the hills or the lakes or the moors, etc?
6. When I was much younger I read "Lord Valentine''s Castle" by Robert Silverberg. It''s a fantasy novel set on an alien world and many standard fantasy things happen, but the main character isn''t an obvious hero in the conventional sense. He''s not a warrior or a wizard. He''s a juggler. From the descriptions in this book I taught myself to juggle. Balls, fruit, stones, even shoes – though I don''t recommend doing that. Juggling is a practical skill. It won''t help to mend a burst pipe or change the fuse in a plug, but it can break the ice at parties. Sometimes the crockery too. I''m delighted I can juggle and I owe it entirely to Silverberg. Has any work of fiction ever taught you a practical skill?
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AmeriCymru: You write like you''re writing, not as though you''re working to "be" anything in particular: have you ever created consciously with the objective of trying to be a particular type of writer or to try to convey any particular moral message or do you write just to write the story you''re writing?
Rhys: I don''t like preaching and I never try to convey specific moral messages in my writing, but I guess that an author''s own value judgments must unavoidably inform what he or she writes at some level, even if a conscious effort has been made to go against moral habits. And the subtext of a piece of fiction can be more revealing in this regard than the surface text. I''m sure that my own ethical beliefs saturate everything I write, even though I like to think they don''t, even though I try to present an ambiguous face. I feel strongly about the environment, about fair play, about liberty. Do any of these values overtly announce their presence in my fiction?
But when it comes to wanting to "be" a particular type of writer on a technical level, then yes, I have definitely attempted this numerous times. My most recent novel, "Engelbrecht Again!", was a fully conscious effort to write a sequel to the Maurice Richardson classic set of stories about a dwarf surrealist boxer called Engelbrecht. Richardson''s original stories were published in the 1940s and are utterly imbued with the flavour of a Britain that had just emerged from a devastating war. I did my best to write like Richardson on several levels, to capture his dated but still effective surrealism. British surrealism is different from other kinds, more theatrical and less psychosexual. Spike Milligan, J.B. Morton and W.E. Bowman were other masters of the style, but Richardson was the most inventive and original of the bunch.
However, my most deliberately organised attempt to "be" a particular writer came about three years ago. I wanted to prove that I could write straight realism as well as fantasy. It was something that had been on my mind for years, but reading Calvino''s book of linked short stories "Marcovaldo" really spurred me to try. In "Marcovaldo" nothing is false, everything is completely real but it''s also absurd and this relentless absurdity gives the developing story an aura of the fantastic without diminishing its poignancy. The result is a bittersweet epic, one of Calvino''s best books, the one that synthesises most perfectly his opposing urges towards fable and reality. I wanted to use that book as a model of the way the techniques of fantasy can deal with the situations of reality.
But of course my own book quickly went its own way. It became a sort of benign satire on myself! It contains the only autobiographical material I''ve ever written, semi-autobiographical I should say, as some events have been reinterpreted to catch more closely echoes of other events. The title of the book is "My Cholesterol Socks" and that''s a direct, if somewhat obscure, reference to Welsh literature. I wanted to be as painfully genuine as I could when writing it. The absurdity it contains is always possible, never impossible, and in most cases the absurd events really happened, if not to me then to people I knew.
I''m planning a pair sequels, "Your Saturated Stockings" and "Our Malignant Slippers", to close the loop. The overall title for the sequence will be "The Unfeasible Footwear Trilogy" and I''ve based its structure around inter-subjectivity. In other words, the first volume is narrated by a character who exaggerates his bad qualities and downplays his good. In the second volume the same events are told from the viewpoint of his girlfriend, who always exaggerates the good. The third volume will outline the perspective of a third character whose investment in events is hampered by the principles of fair play, neutrality and non-interference. But in fact his presentation of the facts isn''t the true one either. Each viewpoint forms the point of a triangle and the "truth" is located at the centre, available only at the reader''s discretion!
Rhys: Certainly. Absolutely. I know that Dylan Thomas was a great writer, many writers I admire cite him as an important influence, but I just don''t feel inspired by him. I find his work pretty but boring. Pretty boring. Having said that I have no problem with the fact he''s universally regarded as the greatest writer Wales has produced. My own candidate for that honour is Arthur Machen, but I never expect this to be more than a minority opinion... I can''t say that "Nowhere Near Milk Wood" is a direct assault on Dylan Thomas, but it''s definitely a challenge to the restrictive myth that has grown up around him that Welsh literature has to be sentimental if it''s not politically blatant.
I am periodically accused of being non-political, of having no social conscience. I once gave a reading to students and was interrupted by a professor who bellowed, "How dare you write like Umberto Eco! He is a traitor to the working class!" He went on to claim that social realism was the only acceptable form of fiction that a Welsh writer should ever produce and that anything ''clever'' was a knife in the hearts of poor people. I was astonished to be thought of as an imitator of Eco, whom I''ve never read, but not really surprised by the rest of his rant. The Welsh literary establishment has a fixed idea of what constitutes authentic Welsh literature. It must be a semi-Marxist warhead in a lush lyrical delivery system!
But I actually think the professor was more upset by the form of my story than the content, because its guiding principle probably seemed unbearably self-indulgent to him. I read a piece that parodied myself in the style of a reader. What I mean by this is that I''m often told by readers and critics what kind of writer I am and it''s often at odds with the kind of writer I think I am. So I decided to write a story in the style of a writer who really was how I was being defined! I''m sure it was this ''smug'' conceit, rather than the story itself, that prompted his indignation...
AmeriCymru: Jorge Luis Borges is listed amongst your key literary influences. "The New Universal History of Infamy" is one of your better known and more easily accessible works. What inspired you to write a work (loosely) based on the old Borges classic?
Rhys: I have always admired Borges for the way he expanded the function of the short story to include totally abstract themes. His most famous tales have no plot, no dialogue, no characterisation, no psychological interaction, yet they are utterly fascinating. It takes a special writer to do that successfully. Olaf Stapledon managed it, of course... But in the case of Borges I''m thinking of stories such as ''The Library of Babel'', ''Pierre Menard'', ''The Circular Ruins'', ''The Lottery in Babylon'', and a few others. Those texts break all the rules of narrative construction taught in Creative Writing classes. They posit mind-bending ideas, then take those ideas to a logical limit and beyond, and sometimes return them to the original state, as in ''The Congress'', my favourite Borges tale…
But my own tribute to Borges came about by accident. A publisher asked me to write a set of essays on odd people for a history book. I produced an essay on Baron Ungern-Sternberg, who ruled Mongolia in the 1920s, but the publisher went bust, so I was left with a piece that resembled one of the semi-fictions in Borges'' book "A Universal History of Infamy". It seemed natural to write more essays in the same style and collect them together, not as a pastiche of Borges but as a tribute, also as a challenge to myself. It was Harlan Ellison who once said that to imitate Borges is impossible, and because I respect Ellison I had to make the attempt! It was intended to be a low-key project, something that would be issued in the ''Album Zutique'' series, in other words as a tiny pocket book. I was surprised when it developed into a much grander volume and turned out to be my best-selling title!
I find it difficult to anticipate what will capture the public imagination and what won''t. The books I''m most satisfied with often sell poorly and the ones I care less about end up being successful. I don''t know what that says about my own judgment and taste! This doesn''t mean I''m not fond of my ''Infamy'' book, but I do regard it as unfinished. I''m slowly working on a unifying sequel called "A Brand Old Universal Futurology of Infamy" and the first essay from that, on Margaret Thatcher, is already written and available on the internet. Other essays will include non-person-centred topics such as ''Precision'' and ''Sequels''. The last essay will be called "An Exactly Contemporary Universal Presentology of Infamy" and I hope to make that one a parody of all the essays in both books, including itself. Quite how I''ll manage that, I don''t yet know!
AmeriCymru: Some of the action in "The Postmodern Mariner" is set in Porthcawl. You have said previously that Porthcawl is a very atypical Welsh town and that this was an advantage for your fiction. Can you explain for an American audience how Porthcawl differs from other towns in Wales with which they may be more familiar and how this difference benefited you?
Rhys: I''ve often said that Porthcawl didn''t feel very Welsh to me when I was growing up. I regarded it more as a micro-nation, a small independent country, and my friends seemed to feel the same way. Tourists who came to visit in the summer were divided into three categories. The ''English'' were the lowest caste; a little higher came the ''North Welsh''; and finally the ''South Welsh''. All were regarded as foreign. The fact that we lived in a Welsh town and were also Welsh just didn''t register… Although the English were at the bottom of our scale, we feared the North Welsh more, because we knew they lived in caves and were cannibals…
This attitude did have a beneficial effect on my writing, because it meant I never felt constrained by tradition. I was free to write whatever I chose, without reference to a discernable heritage, simply because I wasn''t aware that any specific heritage was mine. That''s a positive way of looking at it, but our attitude can equally be regarded as just another manifestation of a provincial, backwater distrust of anything beyond its own borders. I hope our mentality was more ironic than that, but it''s hard to be sure!
It has been a long time since I was last in Porthcawl and I wrote for many years without mentioning it in my fiction because I craved exotic locales instead. Then I finally realised that to other readers Porthcawl itself might seem exotic. Hence the stories in "The Postmodern Mariner"… I can''t say why it took me so long to become reconciled to the place. It''s a pleasant town, not remarkable for anything but tranquil enough, and I''m grateful I spent my formative years near the sea.
AmeriCymru: Your story ''Castor on Troubled waters'' from "The Postmodern Mariner" features a great strategy for getting out of buying your round at the pub. Have you ever tried this? If so… how did it go?
Rhys: No, I''ve never tried any tricks of that nature, not through lack of desire but because I don''t have the confidence or eloquence to carry them off. I try not to get into rounds in the first place! I don''t drink much beer these days anyway, nor any kind of alcohol. I can''t stand hangovers. When I was a student I imbibed vast quantities of spirits, wine and anything else I could get my hands on. Now such overindulgence just makes me feel ill. The last time I got very drunk was in Poland in 1999. I went to a bar in the Tatra Mountains and drank several mugs of something called ''Tea for Sad People'' that was actually vodka of some kind. All I really remember after that is dancing around a central fireplace with some Australians, head-butting a big iron cowbell on each circuit…
My character Castor Jenkins doesn''t really resemble anyone I know. He is something very rare, almost unique. An authentic Welsh stereotype! So he drinks beer and eats chips at every available opportunity and plays tricks to get out of paying for them. Writing the stories that feature him gave me another opportunity to indulge myself in a genre that I find very appealing, the ‘Tall Story’… I''ve written many of those kinds of tales, for example I have linked sixty together in a volume called "Tallest Stories" that isn''t published yet, but I''m especially pleased with the Castor Jenkins adventures. "The Postmodern Mariner" is perhaps my most accessible book and one that has a special magic for me, but I don''t regard Castor''s tricks as laudable or even workable!
AmeriCymru: You have said that you plan to write 1000 stories. So far you have 400 in print. Any projects that you are currently involved in that you care to share with our readers?
Rhys: I don''t know if I have 400 stories in print. I stopped keeping records a few years ago. It might be more than that number, probably less. I know I''ve written 472 stories but many haven''t even been submitted yet. But I set myself the target of exactly 1000 stories because it gives me a destination that is independent of how popular or unpopular my work becomes. I don''t want to fizzle out. The thousand-story target helps to prevent me becoming demoralised, which is a constant danger with an open-ended writing career. I don''t want to continue forever, I want there to be a time when I''ve finished, when everything is tied together, when the rest of my life has no relation to writing.
But I''m not even at the halfway stage and it has taken me twenty years to get this far! Estimated date of completion of my thousand is around the year 2030 but will probably take rather longer, if I manage to stay alive! I expect to slow down as I get older. At the moment I''m concentrating on reaching the 500 mark. I have several projects in progress right now. I''m writing two novels, "The Pilgrim''s Regress" and "Twisthorn Bellow", and preparing two new short story collections, "Salty Kiss Island" and "Mirrors in the Deluge", which is a neat Welsh reversal of the Merritt title I mentioned earlier. There will be others…. But my next published book should be "Mister Gum", a novel that is partly a satire on the teaching of creative writing. It''s very filthy and I only recommend it to readers with salacious and deviant minds!
Looking further ahead, of the many projects I have planned, I guess two are more relevant to American readers with an interest in Wales than the others. The first is "Gulliver in Gwalia", the shipwrecking of Jonathan Swift''s hero on the shores of Wales, which turns out to be a stranger land than Lilliput or Brobdingnag… And the second is a Welsh Western called "Fists of Fleece", about a man press-ganged in Cardiff Docks and taken to the USA who recovers consciousness believing he is still in Wales. That novel will require me to expand a map of Wales big enough to be superimposed on a map of the USA, as the character travels across forty states thinking they are regions in Wales. There will be an opportunity for a link to the Madoc legend, and I''m excited about the other possibilities it raises, but I need to visit America before I can write it, and I''m not sure when such a trip will be feasible…
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AmeriCymru: You write like you''re having a fantastically fun time, are you?
Rhys: Usually, yes, it's fun. That's one of the best reasons for doing anything. Writing for me is many things. It's an urge, almost a compulsion, but it's also a pleasure. That doesn't mean it's fun all the time. No fun is always pleasurable, strange as that sounds! There's always some anxiety in the background as well, a little tension, the worry that the work I'm doing won't be the best it can be, that it won't express clearly whatever I'm trying to say, that it won't be enthralling for the reader. It's fun but it's also hard work!
But fun is definitely the guiding principle of everything I do. I don't want writing to be a chore. If it becomes a chore I'll stop doing it. I hope this sense of fun conveys itself strongly to the reader. Having said that, the fact that something has been created in a spirit of fun doesn't necessarily mean it's not completely serious, profound or poignant. It may sound a bit cheesy, but great fun creates great responsibility...
AmeriCymru: Who did you like to read when you were a child? What did you like in their stories, what made the biggest impression?
Rhys: I had a somewhat unusual childhood when it came to bedtime reading. I was given adult encyclopedias and history books to help send me to sleep, but in fact I ended up reading most of them several times. I also enjoyed reading about explorers. Marco Polo is still one of my biggest heroes. Until the age of seven or thereabouts I wanted to be an explorer myself. Then I was told there were no new places on Earth left to discover and I remember feeling an acute disappointment! Since then, of course, I've discovered that this isn't entirely true...
Another early disappointment was the realisation that not everything that appears in print is always correct! I was very gullible in my youth and believed everything I read. I also believed everything I heard, so I was easy prey for shaggy dog stories. I was told various incredible lies by plausible adults and accepted them all as facts. They told me the Eiffel Tower was an obstacle that horses jump over in races; that the town I grew up in was Australian, not Welsh, but that this was a secret; that Mount Everest was in Scotland; that rhinoceroses lived in coal mines; that dinosaurs were extinct everywhere except in France; that a mouth ulcer can be used as hard currency in shops.
I sometimes still find myself wondering why all those things aren't true...
AmeriCymru: Who do you like to read now? What do you like about their stories?
Rhys: I like a wide variety of authors, almost too many to mention, but they all tend to be highly inventive. I think it was Michael Moorcock who said he would rather read a bad writer with big ideas than a good writer with small ideas, and I agree with that. Obviously the ideal author has good style and big ideas, someone like Italo Calvino, Donald Barthelme, Jorge Luis Borges, Stanislaw Lem, Flann O''Brien, Boris Vian... Those are the writers I usually list as my favourites, together maybe with Felipe Alfau, Georges Perec, Brian Aldiss, Blaise Cendrars, John Barth, Raymond Queneau, Thomas Pynchon, John Sladek, Jack Vance and Moorcock himself.
There have been periods in my life when I discovered a new author who impressed me so much I instantly became a devotee and an avid collector of his or her work. I also suspect I tried too hard to write like them. H.G. Wells was my first literary hero, when I was about 10 years old; Poe was next, a few years later, when I started writing ''seriously'' myself; then Kafka, Frank Herbert and Ray Bradbury. I remember reading Vladimir Nabokov's novel Transparent Things when I was 19 and being utterly captivated by its contrast of subjective realities, its branching of incidents and truths, and realising that at last I had discovered an author whose impressions of the world truly matched my own. That was quite a relief... Later I learned that this isn't such a wise thing to admit, apparently because Nabokov''s impressions are ''elitist'', ''egocentric'' and ''arrogant''. I don''t share those judgements of his work, incidentally!
Another major discovery was Samuel Beckett. I had been told his works were bleak and depressing, even damaging to the soul, but when I began reading them I found myself laughing. The subject matter may be almost unbearable but his treatment of nihilism is uplifting and deeply humane. I can't understand why his early novels are so neglected. Murphy and especially Watt are comic masterpieces... Another Irish writer, Flann O'Brien, was an even bigger influence on me. Irish writers, and some Scottish writers too, have already attained what the Welsh have failed to achieve, a modern literature that is simultaneously localised and universal, introspective and extrovert, particular and broad, that is both essentially Celtic and authentically global. When it comes to literature, Wales is the poor brother of its larger Celtic neighbours, I'm afraid!
These literary revelations come with much less regularity now. Blaise Cendrars was the last author new to me who really fired me up. I hope he won''t be the last, but maybe I''ve become more set in my ways as I grow older, or perhaps I have already encountered my ideal type of writing and don't need anything different. Or maybe my ideal type of writing doesn't actually exist and perhaps I have to create it myself. Whether it will turn out to be a match for the taste of anyone else remains to be seen!
AmeriCymru: When you're writing a story, how do you feel about it? Do you think about your reader, what effect it will have on them? Do you see the page and hear the words or is it more like a movie in your head?
Rhys: To be totally honest I mostly write for myself. I write the sort of fiction I want to read, not the kind a Welsh writer is supposed to produce, whatever that might be... Calvino said something that made an impression on me. He said he wrote the kinds of books he would like to discover in the attic of an old mysterious house, in other words, books with an exotic aura, books that give off an air of something precious that was lost but is now regained. By definition the ''exotic'' is both alien and alluring, so to write fiction that is auto-exotic requires a fairly major imaginative dislocation at some point. Too much control and the special ambience will break, but too much chaos and it will be lost in a general riot of ideas and evocations.
I guess this is the same as saying I try to write stories that operate on several levels and consist of many layers, with at least some of these layers and levels defying instant interpretation and categorisation. Maybe some levels will even be in opposition to each other. Not that I want to be obscure for its own sake! On the contrary, I hope always to write logically, but there will always be space in my work for engimatic undercurrents and sometimes those more abstruse elements can carry the logical, definite parts of the work with greater force than if everything was only on one level, clearly discernable and conclusive... The point of ''fantastical'' fiction is that it really should be fantastic in the old sense of the word, with a balancing tension between control and chaos.
I rarely see my projected stories as moving films, but I do have a strong visual sense when I'm working. Before I begin a story I usually receive one or more ''still'' images which I can then extrapolate and link together. I prefer to use only images that resonate strongly within me but resonate for reasons I can''t work out... I also have a strong audio sense and frequently I'll divert the course of the story because of some opportunity that language has thrown up. I'm obsessed with wordplay! One disadvantage of this is that my dialogue is never believable, with the exception of a handful of ''realistic'' stories where I deliberately didn't bother with wordplay. If I can ever find a way to make my readers care less about the endless contrivance in the mouths of my characters, to forgive the cleverness, I'll be utterly delighted!
AmeriCymru: Do you have a regular process in creating a story or does it vary from piece to piece? Do you plan your stories or do ideas crowd out and you pick one to finish?
Rhys: My brain is constantly filling up with ideas. The process never stops! I get ideas every day and if I don't use them in a story they refuse to leave me alone, or even worse I forget them and then kick myself for not using them! This has been happening for years. I usually jot ideas down on scraps of paper for future use and then try to forget them until they are needed, whenever that might be! It seems strange now, but I recall that when I first started writing, original ideas came to me with difficulty. Some machinery in my brain must have had a good oiling since then!
I regard my growing collection of ideas as a resource or sometimes a burden! Because ideas do come with such frequency I can't bring myself to follow the orthodox rule of "one idea per story" so I'll try to use as many as possible in as short a space as possible. The danger with this is that the fiction can become overloaded, so the challenge is to make sure the ideas balance each other out in some manner, or amplify or contrast each other, in other words work together.
As for the act of writing, I have several methods that I use. One is to plan the whole thing in detail, but I don't do that very often. My novel "The Percolated Stars" was much more carefully planned than anything else I've done and it ended up having one of my most chaotic plots! Another method is to plant images or incidents through the projected story like oases in a desert and then link them up. That''s the method I use most often. A third method is to rush blindly into the story with no idea what''s going to happen, but even when I do that I still have the same basic structure in mind, which is that I want the plot to be circular, for the ending to mirror the beginning, not as an exact reflection but as a distortion, maybe enlarged or diminished or transformed by irony. I guess I could describe that kind of plotting as being a ''spiral'' rather than a circle! I was once told there's something in the Celtic soul that prefers circles and loops to straight lines. Maybe there is.
But I know exactly when I realised that circular plotting was my favourite kind. It was when I read Jack Vance's "The Eyes of the Overworld". The climax of that unusual, funny and somewhat disturbing fantasy is a repetition of the opening, but because of what has happened during the progress of the novel the context is different, changing the significance of the repeated event, making it more intense. It's a case of something being the same but different at the same time! I was enthralled by this device and decided it was a trick I wanted to play myself!
In my short novel "Eyelidiad", for instance, I began with two sentences, the very first and the very last. I knew I wanted to write a story about a man who carries a living portrait of his younger self on his back, so the first sentence had to be, "On his back, a spare head." Which in turn meant that the last sentence had to be, "On his head, a spare back." Then it was just a case of linking those two equally balanced but different statements with as wild an adventure as possible!
AmeriCymru: Your titles are really wonderful. "At the Molehills of Madness", "The Postmodern Mariner", "Bone-Idle in the Charnel House", "The Just Not So Stories", how do these come about? Do you start with a title and give it a story or the other way around or does it vary? Did these percolate in your head for years or make them up on the spot?
Rhys: For me titles are of fundamental importance. I nearly always begin with the title first. I regard the title as a kind of gene that controls the growth of the story. The more elaborate the title, the more controlled the growth. A title is also the chance for an author to write a one line poem, to create a sense of mystery. I like seeing titles that make me wonder, ''What on earth could that be about? I must know!''
Brian Aldiss said that his own favourite titles tended to be oxymorons, such as "The Dark Light Years", and I can see his point. Such titles create an insatiable curiosity! I yearn to see how the impossibility of the title is going to be resolved, or how the promise of its beauty can be delivered. Boris Vian wrote a book with a beautiful title, "Froth on the Daydream", that also happens to fully deliver its promise. Another of my favourite titles is Milorad Pavic''s "The Inner Side of the Wind", and how could I forget "Dwellers in the Mirage" by Abraham Merritt or "The Well at the World's End" by William Morris?
It's quite easy to create titles that are puns or warped versions of titles that already exist. I've done this many times, often less flippantly than might be imagined. I remember seeing Milan Kundera's novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and asking myself, ''Yes, but the unbearable lightness of being what…?'' The title seemed unfinished. For some reason it didn't occur to me that BEING was the quality in question… I considered the matter and decided that the most unbearable form of lightness probably belonged to a steerable balloon or zeppelin. Hence my short story ''The Unbearable Lightness of being a Dirigible''.
That was one of my first efforts in this regard. Others include ''Chuckleberry Grin'', ''Rancid Kumquats are Not the Only Fruit'', ''The Taming of the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shrew'', ''Gone With The Wind in the Willows'', ''Portrait of the Artist as a Rusty Bus'', ''The Non-Existent Viscount in the Trees'', ''Von Ryan''s Daughter''s Express'', ''Oh, Whistle While You Work, and I''ll Come to You, My Dwarf'', ''The Cream-Jest of Unset Custard'', ''Where Angels Fear to Bake Bread'', ''As I Walked Out One Midsummer Night''s Dream'', ''An Awfully Bubonic Adventure'', ''Hannah and her Cisterns'', ''Sadie Loverlei''s Chatter'' and many, many others.
That's a slightly parasitic way of creating titles and is destined to eat itself up eventually, so I also create titles in other ways. Sometimes I work hard with combinations of words until I find something that resonates. Often a phrase jumps into my head for no apparent reason. Other times someone else may say something that makes perfect sense at the time but if taken out of context becomes wholly improbable or even startling. Then I'll ask permission to use what has been said as a title. That''s how my first book "Worming the Harpy" came about. The harpy in question was originally an ugly cat. Or a title may have an obscure personal significance which sounds surreal but isn't really. "The Smell of Telescopes" is one example of that. I owned a telescope when I was younger and it did have a unique smell. I imagined that it smelled like starlight…
The best titles don't always lead to the best stories and my favourites among my own tales sometimes have fairly mundane titles. ''Eternal Horizon'', ''Less is More'', ''In the Sink'', ''But it Pours'', ''Lem's Last Book'' and ''Loneliness'' are tame titles for me but I''m pleased with the stories they tell. Sometimes a simple title is the only feasible one. If I glance at my bookshelves I see lots of great books by great writers that don't have elaborate or clever titles. ''Ice'' by Anna Kavan, ''Leaf Storm'' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, ''Sphinx'' by D.M. Thomas, ''The Last Museum'' by Brion Gysin, etc. Simple titles but effective.
I keep a list of titles that are still awaiting stories. Whenever I come up with a new title I add it to my list. ''Pell Mell in Pall Mall'' is the most recent. I have absolutely no idea why that phrase jumped into my head, nor what the story is going to be about, other than the fact it involves great speed and must be set in London. Like I said, a gene that controls the growth of the story… Many of my favourite titles haven''t been used in stories yet. These include ''My Rabbit''s Shadow Looks Like a Hand'', ''This Werewolf Prefers Muesli'', ''Dynamiting the Honeybun'', ''Nat King Cole Abhors a Vacuum'' and ''Aldrin''s the Buzz Word'' among others… Some readers have claimed that ''Cracking Nuts with Jan Hammer'' is my best title, but I don't think it is. My personal favourite of all is actually called ''The Story with a Clever Title''.
An Interview With Meurig Williams - Author Of 'Perspectives Of A Gay American Immigrant Scientist'
By , 2014-02-20
Meurig: Yes, this was published by Amazon as a paperback in December, 2013. A Kindle online version is also available.
AmeriCymru: Tell us a little about your Welsh background.
Meurig: Over the generations my family members have been involved in a very wide range of occupations, including farmers, coal miners, small shopkeepers, paramedics, running a small betting organization, paratrooper who landed in Normandy on D-Day, policeman, many teachers at schools and universities, an uncle who died at the age of 107 and whose funeral was attended by many of his college students from far afield including European countries, consulting Forensic Engineer, Foreign Office professional, Chairman of British Beer festivals, human rights lawyer in Africa, Mayor of a town, County Council member, Associate Director of Education, escort for social events to an unmarried Conservative Lord Mayor of London, CEO of a chain of retirement homes, CEO of the Welsh TV station S4C, TV host (on S4C) of a Welsh cultural affairs programme together with Owen Edwards, managing directors at large banks and other companies, an MBE and a CBE. The free secondary education afforded by state-funded grammar schools, founded in the 1944 Education Act, and State Scholarships to universities which were based on merit, were strongly instrumental in the career success of recent generations. By emigrating to the United States in 1962 I lost touch with many of these interesting and colorful people so, in that sense, it was a double edged sword.
It is a matter of significance and pride to me that almost of these family members are or were fluent in the Welsh language, mostly for the purpose of everyday discourse. Others, I am proud to point out (I was not among these) are/were experts in Welsh to high academic standards. In fact, one of these, was the first woman president of the Dafydd Ap Gwilym Society at Oxford University, to which I also briefly belonged, until it quickly became evident that my ability to express thoughts beyond those required for everyday existence was just not there. In the last few decades there has been strong resurgence in Welsh pride in general, and the Welsh Assembly, created in 1998, must have contributed to this, as did the fine St David’s Hall, built in 1982, where concerts and other events of international stature are held, perhaps the most prestigious being the Cardiff “Singer of the World” competition for opera singers from all over the world. It is notable that this building was highly praised by The New York Times architectural correspondent. Ability to speak the Welsh language is a big part of this pride and today, for most public jobs in Wales, such as teaching and representation in local government, applicants are required to demonstrate their proficiency in the language, whether purely verbal or in written form. What a change from the days of “Welsh Not” when pupils were punished for speaking Welsh in schools in the late 19th and early 20 century, and this apparently persisted in some schools in North Wales until the 1940s.
AmeriCymru: How about your education?
Meurig: After Llandeilo Grammar school, I entered Jesus College, Oxford with a Meyricke Exhibition in 1955, interestingly (to me at least) the same award that was held by T E Lawrence (of Arabia). I received a first class honors degree in chemistry, followed by a DPhil (that is the Oxford fancy version of PhD) in peptide chemistry. You may have noticed that amino-acids always have the letter L preceding their names. This is because amino-acids can exist in two forms, L and D, which are identical except that they are mirror images of each other, just like our hands are. L and D stand for Laevo (left) and Dextro (right). A string of several amino-acids joined together form peptides, which constitute many naturally occurring substances in the human body, for example OXYTOCIN, a well-known pituary hormone affecting human reproduction. Proteins are simply very long strings of amino-acids joined together. One of the mysteries of nature is that almost all of the amino acids in naturally occurring peptides and proteins are of the L configuration. On account of their physiological importance, laboratory synthesis of peptides is of huge importance to pharmaceutical companies. Such synthesis is complicated by many factors, not the least being that, in most cases, some of the L form is converted to the D form during the synthesis, like an umbrella turning inside-out in the wind. The D form is then an impurity, so it is important to minimize its formation. That requires understanding how and why it occurs. Generating that understanding was my task in order to get a DPhil degree under the guidance of Dr G T Young, who had also been my undergraduate tutor. Sometimes luck does come one’s way, and I was able to solve that problem quantitativelyI was offered a Fulbright scholarship by Professor Sir Ewart Jones, a fellow Welshman who was born in the small town Rhostyllen, near to Wrexham, and was described as the most influential British scientist of his generation on account of his contributions to government committees, etc. The Fulbright would have provided very generous financial support over 2 years for continued studies at a university of my choice.
AmeriCymru: When and why did you emigrate to the United States?
Meurig: The Fulbright offer came with a caveat – I had to commit to returning to the UK after its completion. To the big surprise of Professor Jones, I declined and told him that I wanted more flexibility, but I did not tell him that the reason for that was primarily to escape from the horrendous homophobia which was prevalent in England at that time. Some will remember the notorious Lord Montagu case. Words like “monstrous perversion” were newspaper headlines for months on end. Murder was a crime against society, but homosexuality was a crime against nature.
Several times during the course of my career, I received letters from Professor Jones enquiring about my well-being and career, and mentioned that he occasionally ran into Dr Young. It was much later that it occurred to me what he may have been getting at. Dr Young’s wife had become Baroness Young of Farnworth, the Conservative leader of the House of Lords. Her main claim to fame, or should I say notoriety, was her adamant stance against giving any kind of equal rights to homosexuals. She ranted and raved on that subject as if she was in some way personally impaired, to the extent that she lost favor with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. London gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell correctly declared that “she had poisoned society with prejudice and intolerance, and future historians will rank her alongside the defenders of apartheid”. I believe that, in view of my close relationship with Baroness Young’s husband, Professor Jones had figured out the reason for my flight from the UK and was concerned about that.
I knew that I was gay from a very early age and always considered homosexuality to be a perfectly normal and healthy part of the human condition, so the opportunity to escape from that hostility was very appealing. My solution was to accept a post doctorate position that the University of California, Berkeley in 1962, where I was tasked with isolating and characterizing the world’s first plant sex hormone, Sirenin. Here is a brief description.
Sirenin was the first fungal sex hormone to have its structure determined. It is produced by female gametangia and gametes of the chytridiomycete genus Allomyces and attracts male gametes of the genus. It was discovered in 1958 by Leonard Machlis and, with the help of organic chemists, was purified and had its structure determined by 1968. Machlis's success is attributable to his association at Berkeley with the world authority on the genus, Ralph Emerson, to his meticulous physiological work on the genus in the 1950s, to his skill in devising bioassays and to his organising ability and drive.
Put simply, Allomyces is a filament-like water-mold plant. Female parts discharge tiny amounts of a chemical substance to which the sperm generated by the male parts is attracted, and this results in fusion. I was presented with a large jar of brown water and told that this contains minute amounts of Sirenin. Using standard chemistry techniques, combined with a very clever method developed by Professor Machlis to assay its concentration, I was able to isolate it in pure form and start the complex process of structure determination (1). This was completed a few years later by a successor of mine.
AmeriCymru: How did your career develop after that?
Meurig: I joined the DuPont Corporation in Wilmington Delaware and stayed for 5 years in spite of a high degree of incompatibility. I will pass over this experience here in order to describe my later experiences at Xerox where the events which led to my recent book originated.
I joined the Xerox Webster Research Center in suburban Rochester, New York in 1970. Its appeal to me was twofold. It was a rapidly growing company with an exciting new product, the copier, which was of surging demand, and also that copier technology was based on sciences that were not well understood, which provided an opportunity for leading edge research. The success of Xerox represents one of the greatest technological triumphs in history, on account of the extraordinary complexity of the process combined with that lack of scientific foundation in two areas. One of these is called triboelectricity or simply contact charging. Whenever two materials touch and separate, an electric charge is generated. Buildup of such electrical potential can lead to electrostatic discharge with consequences that can range from discomfort, such as the mild jolt we experience by touching a doorknob after walking across a carpet, to disaster such as the fiery crash of the Hindenburg. Until recently, there was extremely little understanding of how and why such charges are generated, one of the main reasons for this being the assumption that it was a physics problem. I pointed this out in a cover page article in the July-August 2012 issue of The American Scientist, entitled: “What Creates Static Electricity? Traditionally considered a physics problem, the answer is beginning to emerge from chemistry and other sciences" (2). In addition, I published a detailed review of this subject in AIP (American Institute of Physics) Advances in February, 2012 (3), so I am well positioned to provide the following elementary explanation of this phenomenon.
When two metals touch and separate, it is well established that it results from the simple exchange of electrons from one to the other, a straightforward phenomenon in physics. When both materials are electrical insulators, such as most polymers, the mechanism is complex and is currently being unravelled in brilliant research by two groups, headed respectively by Professors Grzybowski at Northwestern University and Galembeck, Director of the National Nanotechnology Laboratory, Brazil. When two polymers make contact, some degree of entanglement occurs between the polymer chains at the surfaces, so that separation is accompanied by polymer chain scission and the transfer of material of nanoscopic dimensions between the surfaces. This chain scission is accompanied by the formation of free radicals at the ends of each chain. As is well known, free radicals are highly reactive and are converted to positive and negative ionic charges either by reaction with ambient water or exchange of electrons. Use of advanced high resolution analytical techniques revealed that each surface, after separation, supports a random mosaic of oppositely charged regions of nanoscopic dimensions, and the net charge on each surface is the arithmetic sum of the individual domain charges. So it is the mechanical forces causing bond cleavage of the polymers that is the driving force for charge generation, and this takes future studies into the realm of mechanochemistry, an obscure and complicated field. Grzybowski et al took this understanding a step further by explaining that the surface charges are stabilized by intimate association between the polymer radicals and the ionic charges. They pointed out in a recent paper in SCIENCE that, if the polymers contain materials that act as radical scavengers, the stability of the surface charges is lost and the charges fail to build up or dissipate rapidly. I explain this here on account of its extraordinary importance to the electronics industry. Damage to electronic equipment by static discharges accounts for the loss of billions of dollars each year. And the continued miniaturization of electronic equipment renders it even more susceptible to low voltage discharges. Gross reduction or elimination of such discharges by the above process discovered by Grzybowski et al would go a long way to the prevention of such losses. It is my opinion that this work by Grzybowski et al may well result in a Nobel Prize on account of its combination of scientific brilliance and enormous economic importance.
The third case, of course, is contact between a metal and a polymer, and it is believed that both of the above mechanisms, electron and material exchange, occur. I have been the first to recently propose an approach for determining the degree to which each occurs in any given contact event (4).
AmeriCymru: How is this related to your book?
Meurig: My book was not originally a planned event. I have now been retired for 13 years, and is not uncommon to reflect upon the past in retirement! Such reflections on my early career led to a discovery only a few years ago of some shockingly unprofessional behavior by my colleagues at Xerox several decades ago. I thought that a description of these events, together with an analysis of cultural factors pertaining to them, made a good story that would be of interest to some readers.
It was my response to that shocking discovery that led to a process of self-reinvention resulting in my book. I described this process in the following comments I recently contributed to an article “American Voices on Reinvention” in The Huffington Post (5):
"The driving force for self-reinvention can evolve and change as the process takes place, so that one reinvention leads to another. Well into retirement, I recently discovered that my scientific publications from 35 years ago had been treated by corporate colleagues in ways that could be considered misrepresentation and plagiarism. Addressing those injustices after such a long time required a reinvention of myself by returning to the world of scientific journals and research after an absence of over 30 years. Thanks to the online availability of scientific journals, I brought myself up to date on the recent developments in the field, and integrated them with my early work. This resulted in a series of successes - several publications in peer-reviewed journals, a cover page article in The American Scientist in 2012, an invitation to be a keynote speaker at a major conference hosted by NASA in 2013, and a job offer. On further reflection, I wondered if there could have been a connection between the way I was treated and the corporate culture of those times. Being both a relatively openly gay man and an immigrant (from the UK) was a combination which made me a socially acceptable target for homophobic and other forms of abuse. Such thoughts propelled me into a second reinvention. I wrote a book entitled "Perspectives of a Gay American Immigrant Scientist," which explored and expanded upon these considerations, including a discussion of experiences and cultures at Oxford University, UC Berkeley, DuPont, and Xerox.
AmeriCymru: Do you think homophobia is any more or less prevalent then it was half a century ago?
Meurig: In general, homophobia in most developed countries is far less than half a century ago, but there is still a very long way to go before we are well integrated into society. The clearest indicator of progress is the advances made in legalization of gay marriage. The most pronounced generalization remains the correlation between progressive attitudes on homosexuality and the general standard of living in a country. Scandinavia and Holland have long been at the leading edge, and African and some Caribbean countries at the other. I have not yet heard an explanation for Putin’s retrogressive attitude.
A very important development for scientists and engineers was the establishment in 1983 of the major and thriving organization NOGLSTP (National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals, Inc.), based in Pasadena, CA. This is a non-profit organization that educates and advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students and professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
In addition, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) announced in January 2014 a change to their code of ethics to include language prohibiting discrimination on account of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The importance of these changes cannot be overstated. With nearly 400,000 members in 160 countries, the IEEE is the world's largest professional organization. Now, electrical engineers and computer scientists around the world, including those in countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia, know that their professional organization stands for non-discrimination against LGBT individuals both as practice and as rule.
A very surprising event was the recent position taken by Pope Francis that he would not pass judgment on gay people. Whether this is true leadership or political positioning remains to be seen. Wouldn’t it now be time for the British Royal family to show leadership on this issue? Are we to believe that they are the only family in Britain not to have any gay members? We know better of course and, the Queen being the head of the Church of England makes it a bit sticky for them. Both the Church of England and the Catholic Church have in common large numbers of gay clerics as most people know, but this still needs to be unspoken. A prominent gay Welsh Bishop was a personal friend of mine at Oxford, as was the chaplain of one of the older colleges.
Several gay athletes are now coming out of the closet, as they say, and this is clearly just the beginning of a trend. Very recently, 24 year old University of Missouri's star football player Michael Sam announced that he is gay. Unlike many athletes, Sam chose to come out at the start of his career, which will represent a test for the readiness of the NFL (National Football League) which he is expected to join later this year. His name is added to the growing list of prominent sportsmen and women who have come out: Gareth Thomas, Wales's former rugby union captain; retired Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger; Surrey cricketer Steven Davies; Orlando Cruz, the Puerto Rican featherweight boxer; and basketball star Jason Collins. Sam was personally congratulated by President Obama and his wife Michelle. Sam’s timing is also opportune. With gay rights issues overshadowing the Sochi Winter Olympics and Casey Stoney, the captain of England's women's football team, declaring herself gay, the sports world has found it can no longer confine the debate about the sexuality of its stars to the margins.
AmeriCymru: Where do you go from here?
Meurig: I am considering writing another book. Now why would I want to do that? The process of writing is addictive and it is a satisfying experience when one can put forth thoughts and ideas hopefully in a clear and logical manner. Then, my published book could have been a bit less terse, and I could have smoothly elaborated on many of my points. But above all, it is this. In the book I have made comparisons between Britain and the United States and Scandinavia, but none between England and Wales. And yet, I have long been of the opinion that the acceptance of homosexuals was very different in these countries. I have described that “of all of the world’s developed nations, Britain stood alone in its extreme attitudes towards, and heavy penalties for, homosexual acts”. I used the word Britain loosely here when I should have used the word England. I do have some ideas on why Wales was far kinder to homosexuals than England several decades ago and, if I am able to research and develop a persuasive case for this, then another book will be in order.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Meurig: Whereas I state that “my purpose in writing this (book) is to make a small contribution to the furtherance of progress by throwing light on some personal experiences”, I have also introduced some provocative ideas and hypotheses which may be debatable. It is my hope that a discussion on these can be stimulated.
References
1. Production, Isolation and Characterization of Sirenin, L. Machlis, W H Nutting, M W Williams and H Rapoport, Biochemistry, Vol 5, No 7, July 11, 1966
2. What Creates Static Electricity? Traditionally considered a physics problem, the answer is beginning to emerge from chemistry and other sciences. Meurig W Williams, The American Scientist, July-August 2012
3. Triboelectric Charging of Insulating Polymers, Meurig W Williams, AIP Advances, Feb 8, 2012
4. Triboelectric charging in metal-polymer contacts – How to distinguish between electron and material transfer mechanisms, Meurig W Williams, Journal Electrostatics, Feb 1, 2013
5. American Voices on Reinvention, The Huffington Post 2/12/2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russell-c-smith/american-voices-on-reinve_1_b_4777992.html
Julie McGowan is a Welsh writer, living in Usk, south Wales. Her first novel, ''The Mountains Between'' was a regional best-seller on its first release and is now in its third edition, having received much acclaim in Wales (including promotion on BBC Wales radio). ''Don''t Pass Me By'' is also set in S. Wales. It was released a month ago and is already achieving great sales and reviews.'' Buy ''Don''t Pass Me By'' here
Read Julie''s guest article here:- What''s In A Name?
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AmeriCymru: Hi Julie and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed. You were born in Blaenavon and lived there for 12 years. Can you describe the town for our American readers? What effect did your upbringing have on your writing?
Julie: Thank you very much for interviewing me.
Blaenavon is a small town in the Eastern Valley of S. Wales, sprawled across the lower slopes of the Blorenge mountain which separates it from the market town of Abergavenny, gateway to the Black mountains and the Brecon Beacons. Facing the town rises the Coity mountain, where major coal mining took place. Blaenavon grew substantially in the industrial revolution, when coal began to be mined there and an iron foundry was developed. It is of sufficient historical importance that it is now a world heritage site, although the iron and coal are long finished. However, the mine – Big Pit – is now a national museum.
Row upon row of terraced houses were built during the industrial time when the town prospered, to house the miners and their families, and most of those terraces are still lived in today, although they have been modernised. I grew up in one such house, but at that time we had no central heating – just coal fires in the downstairs rooms – and no running hot water. There was a cold water tap in the kitchen, no bathroom (we bathed in a tin bath in the kitchen, which was filled with water heated by a small electric boiler) and there was one toilet outside in the yard. But there was no sense of deprivation because everyone else lived in similar houses – we were all in the same boat.
Like all valley towns, as Blaenavon grew it spawned a public house on every corner, and a nonconformist chapel on the opposite corner, and the residents were ardent chapelgoers, although these have dwindled in recent times and several of the chapels demolished. But during my childhood social activities at chapel formed a large part of one’s life as everything we did happened in Blaenavon. Very few families had cars, and if they did, the car was used by the father for work – the mother stayed at home to care for the children, and few women could drive. Social activities also took place in the Workman’s Hall – a wonderful Victorian building built from the penny subscriptions of the miners, which housed a library and a cinema for everyone, and billiard rooms used only by the men and from which children would be chased away.
The Workman’s Hall Blaenavon
So it was a very close-knit community, and, as families rarely moved away, one had relatives in every street – and even those adults who were neighbours rather than actual family were referred to as ‘auntie’ and ‘uncle’.
The cliché ‘we were poor but we were happy’ really applied during my childhood there – particularly as we weren’t aware of our level of poverty because it was all we knew. Winters were cold and harsh, with biting winds coming off the mountains, often bringing snow with them, but summers, even though not particularly hot, were times of freedom, when we would go out to play all day, roaming throughout the town and the mountainside, secure in the knowledge that we knew everyone and everywhere was safe, and with very little traffic around to worry about. We would only come home when we were hungry or when our inbuilt clocks told us it was nearly a mealtime.
Blaenavon is still a close-knit community of people who have lived there all their lives, brought their children up who have also stayed and married within the town, and so on. But it has suffered in recent decades from the loss of the mines and a big downturn economically that even the world heritage status has failed to alleviate.
Thus, my upbringing gave me a huge sense of the importance of family and community, and a need to belong. The feeling that Wales is home never left me because we always came back. Although we moved to England for my father’s work, every holiday we ‘went home’ to visit the vast network of family and friends, and, after 20 years back in Wales, I still get a thrill when driving through the spectacular countryside and the little streets and lanes of my childhood, that I am ‘home’ again.
The chapel side of my upbringing also gave me a sense of duty (without meaning to sound pious) and a continuing faith, and, being part of a community where it was important to stop and chat to your neighbours and friends whenever you met them, I have an abiding interest in the lives of others!!
AmeriCymru: When did you first become aware that you wanted to write?
Julie: I had always loved English literature lessons at school, and went through the common habit of writing poetry (seen by no-one) to describe my teenage angst. However, the desire to write properly came about when we were living at a private school where my husband was headmaster. As the headmaster’s wife in such a school it was always one’s fate to be roped into something that no-one else wanted to do. I had been a keen participant of amateur dramatics since a child, so when there was no-one to run the school annual drama performance, that task fell to me. I then discovered that it was nearly impossible to find a script that had sufficient parts for all the children I needed to get on stage. So, in my rather typical ‘gung-ho’ fashion, I decided to write one, and that was my first foray into writing. Not only was it well-received, but I found myself enjoying it enormously and decided that I would embark on writing as a part-time career. I felt that I had at least one novel in me, but, given the work ethic that a Welsh chapel upbringing had impressed upon me, I couldn’t justify writing as an indulgence if it wasn’t going to pay. So I started writing commercial short stories, and only when they were being bought and published did I feel that I could also give novel-writing a go.
AmeriCymru: Your first novel The Mountains Between enjoyed considerable success. Care to describe it for our readers?
Julie: ‘The Mountains Between’ is set in my favourite part of the world – Blaenavon and Abergavenny – between the years of 1929 and 1949 and follows the fortunes of Jennie, youngest daughter of a prosperous farming family who live just outside Abergavenny, and of Harry, youngest son of a family living just the other side of the Blorenge mountain in Blaenavon; a very different existence marked by poverty and unemployment.
Jennie is just 8 years old, living a difficult, though comfortable life, under the critical eye of her harsh, autocratic mother, Katharine. At the start of the book Katharine has just told Jennie that she was never wanted. This rejection haunts Jennie throughout her childhood and, ten years later, spins her into a hasty marriage as World War 2 breaks out. The malign influence of Katharine continues to spoil her life and ultimately she has to make the decision to take charge of her life if she is ever to overcome her sense of unworthiness.
Harry, meanwhile, although poor, is surrounded by people he loves and who love him. At the start of the book he is 15, desperate to be a man and go down the pit, but ends up working in the local co-operative store. He is also desperate to find a girlfriend, and the first section of the book follows his fortunes in this department. But life grows harsher still as the Depression hits the community hard, and by the outbreak of the Second World War Harry is already a young man who has known much sadness and heartbreak.
Do Jennie and Harry ever meet? Do they each find someone to love? You have to read the book to find out!
‘The Mountains Between’ came about after I started recording the memoirs of my parents and realised that not only did they give a fantastic insight into life in the early part of the 20th century, but also that they had had such different upbringings that it was a wonder they ever got together – and so the idea for a novel was sparked. All of the places and big events that happen in the book are real, only the story is fictionalised.
AmeriCymru: Your second novel is set in Cornwall. What can you tell us about Just One More Summer ?
However, the premise of the book is that Allie, at nearly 30, is recovering from a broken marriage and decides to spend the summer in Cornwall, the place of long-remembered childhood happiness, in order to lick her wounds. She herself is the product of a broken marriage and had vowed that when her turn came she would have a long and happy partnership, so she was devastated when her husband left her. In Cornwall she strikes up a friendship with an unlikely group of young people who appear to be led by an ageing hippy-type of woman, Marsha. Allie discovers that the other members of the group have all been ‘rescued’ at one time or another by Marsha, who helps Allie to find her own hidden strength. But as Allie finds herself falling for one of the young men, Adam, she also discovers that Marsha has secrets of her own, that Allie’s idyllic memories of childhood are flawed, and that back in London family issues have become ever more complicated. And at this point her husband, Will, decides that he wants to give their marriage a second chance.
Again, to find out what happens to Allie, you will have to read the book!
AmeriCymru: Your third novel Don''t Pass Me By is about a group of children evacuated to rural Wales from wartime London. Care to tell us more?
Julie: When I was researching World War 2 for my first book, I read a lot of accounts from people who were evacuated during the Blitz to South Wales. It struck me that these days we tend to look back on this mass evacuation of children with nostalgic rose-coloured glasses, but, in reality, whilst some children were very well cared-for, others had a really bad time with their ‘foster’ parents. At the same time I was writing features for magazines about how we agonise these days when our children leave home to go to college; will they be safe, will they be happy, will they manage? And these are 18-year-olds! Yet, in the Blitz, these small children of 5 years upwards were sent across the country to goodness-knew-where to live with complete strangers.
So I increasingly felt I wanted to write a book which reflected some of the things that evacuee children encountered.
‘Don’t Pass Me By’ has three main characters:
Lydia is a young woman who is desperate to escape from her violent husband, and joins an evacuee train with her young baby in order to get away. Once in the tiny village of Penfawr, near Swansea, the billeting officer has no idea what to do with her, as she’s not on his list, so she is foisted onto the unwelcoming local doctor, to act as his housekeeper.
Arthur is a young lad from the East End who just wants to go back to the life he led with his mother – who leads a rackety sort of existence, the immorality of which Arthur is only vaguely aware of. He loses contact with his mother during his time in Penfawr and subsequently causes a lot of headaches for the kind family who have taken him in.
Amy is also from the East End, a timid child who is scared of the dark. She is placed with the bitter, God-fearing widow, Mrs Preece, and her strange son, Edwin. Amy suffers terribly during her time in this household and doesn’t know who to turn to.
The stories of these 3 characters intertwine throughout the book and, ultimately, none of them can help themselves without helping each other.
AmeriCymru: You have also been involved with local theatre in your home town of Usk. Is theatrical writing something that you might explore in the future?
Julie: I run the local theatrical group with my husband, and write all the scripts for our shows and our annual pantomime – a strange, very British concept – and sell these scripts via my website.( www.juliemcgowan.com ) I really enjoy this work, especially as most of it is humorous, so is very different from much of my other writing, but I don’t have a burning ambition to write for the theatre in any other way. I think my scriptwriting is too light-hearted for modern theatre which seems to need a lot of depth and angst and to be more obscure.
AmeriCymru: What are you reading currently? Any recommendations?
Julie: I’ve just finished reading ‘All Change’, the 5th and final volume of the Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard. The books are a wonderful evocation of English upper middle class life and I’ve enjoyed them enormously. Each volume can stand alone, but I would recommend that anyone who is interested should really start with volume one ‘The Light Years’ and work their way through the whole series.
I’ve also just read ‘The Testament of Mary’ by Colm Toibin, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It’s Mary’s account of what happened at the crucifixion – beautifully written, but I’m going to read it again as I’ve been discussing it with a friend and we’ve come away from it with completely different views!
One of my favourites from last year was ‘Me Before You’ by Jojo Moyes – a brilliant book which took me by surprise with its depth and emotion when I thought it was going to be quite light and frothy.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Julie McGowan? Are you working on another book at the moment?
Julie: Yes, I am working on another book, but it’s slow going when I have to currently spend a lot of time promoting ‘Don’t Pass Me By’! The working title of this next one is ‘Yes I’m gonna be a star’ and it’s the story of a teenage girl in 1971, who decides that she wants to be a famous singer, and goes off to London to do just that. She succeeds, but there are dreadful costs to pay along the way.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Julie: I am very grateful for the opportunity to promote my books with you. I sincerely hope that ‘The Mountains Between’ and ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ fill readers with nostalgia and love for ‘the old country’ and that they enjoy reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. I would love some reviews (good or bad, but hopefully good!) on Amazon, Goodreads, and any other book-based sites, and welcome emails from readers ( juliemcgowanusk@live.co.uk ) And finally, congratulations to all at AmeriCymru for the work you do in promoting all things Welsh – if any of your members are ever in this part of S. Wales I would happily give them a guided tour of my little part of it.
Product Details
Available in Paperback
"The novel is set in the south west of Wales, in northern Pembrokeshire, where I live now. Even today, it’s isolated, west of the mountains, with poor road and rail links. In the nineteenth century it was one of the few areas where the population remained static or fell, while everywhere else it was exploding."
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AmeriCymru: Hi Thorne and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. Care to introduce your new book ''Time For Silence'' for our readers?
Thorne: A Time For Silence tells of a girl, Sarah, a one-time singer, from the home counties, near London. She’s going through numerous crises, including an impending marriage to an up and coming company lawyer and a career in advertising that she got into by mistake, and she’s feeling trapped. Returning from a visit to her mother in Ireland, she’s passing through Wales when she chances upon the ruined cottage, Cwmderwen, where her grandparents had lived, and it prompts her to enquire a little more about that side of her family.
When she discovers that her grandfather, John Owen, did not simply die there, but was murdered – a small matter that no one has ever thought to mention, she starts to escape into an obsession with the place, buying the cottage, and embarking on a determined investigation of a crime that happened in 1948. She’s hampered by the fact that the few people still alive who remember it are unwilling or unable to talk about it. Worse, she is a successful English career-girl, living in the twenty-first century, divorced from her grandparents’ world by time, economics, education, language, religion and attitudes. As a result, she misinterprets most of what she is told. But finally, she does come to realise what happened back in 1948.
The reader is there before her, because interwoven with Sarah’s tale is the story of her grandmother, Gwen Owen, from the day of her marriage to John Owen in 1933, through the war years, with a POW camp down the valley, to the aftermath of his death in 1948, and to the reader it is very quickly clear that life in the little cottage of Cwmderwen bore no resemblance whatsoever to the rural idyll, with roses round the door and songs around the piano that Sarah has imagined. It’s a life of grinding poverty and increasing oppression that is doomed from the start.
Once Sarah learns the truth, she realises the pain and trauma that went into ensuring that one good thing emerged from the tragedy, and it’s up to her, now, to make it worth while.
Frenni Fawr, Pembrokeshire From geograph.org.uk Author Dylan Moore Creative Commons Licence
AmeriCymru: Can you describe the area of Wales in which the novel is set for the benefit of our American readers?
Thorne: The novel is set in the south west of Wales, in northern Pembrokeshire, where I live now. Even today, it’s isolated, west of the mountains, with poor road and rail links. In the nineteenth century it was one of the few areas where the population remained static or fell, while everywhere else it was exploding. While the south of the county, known as
Little England, is rolling open farm-land, and almost exclusively English speaking, the northern area of Cemaes, bordering on Ceredigion, is a little lost kingdom all of its own, very wooded, very wild, with tiny bronze-age fields and hills littered with prehistoric monuments and hut circles. It’s the area from which the blue stones of Stonehenge were dragged. In fact, across the road from me is a hilltop circle that has been suggested as the original site of the bluestone circle. The area is still very Welsh: my niece was educated in Welsh before disappearing to the far end of England for university.
There are a lot of images of the area on my website at http://www.thornemoore.co.uk/gallery.html
AmeriCymru: Much of the story is set in in pre-war rural Wales. How did you research the period? What are the most significant ways that rural Welsh lifestyles have changed since those days?
Thorne: I moved to this area 30 years ago, from industrial Luton, and it’s changed a lot in those thirty years of course, but I was startled, when I first arrived, by how different it was to the world I knew. I ran a tea shop in a village where some elderly and talkative customers had memories stretching back to the start of the century, and they used to tell me stories about life in earlier years, as servants in big mansions, or working in the local quarries (long greened over now).
When I moved to my present home, a few miles from the village, I was told of an old cottage nearby where… something had happened (read the book) and everyone knew about it but no one, including the police, had said anything.
I was intrigued, because I could not imagine a situation back in the area where I’d grown up, where it would be possible for secrets to be maintained in this way; someone would have said something. So on a visit to the National Library in Aberystwyth, I took a look at some old copies of the local newspaper, in the vague (and utterly forlorn) hope of finding a mention of the story.
What I did find was a wealth of information about the area in the 1930s and 40s, which painted a very vivid picture of it, including health reports detailing just how poor and malnourished life could be out on the tiny farms. I was particularly struck by a story of a village eisteddfod, just after the war, being won by a German prisoner of war from the local camp. I met several former POWs, who decided to stay on after the war and marry local girls. They were fluent in Italian or German and Welsh, but not so strong on English.
The story that had most effect on me however was a report from a magistrate’s court, in which a young girl was charged with a ‘wicked’ crime that wouldn’t be considered a crime today. The way it was dealt with made a huge impression on me, and I determined to write about it. It has changed, in my book, but the essentials are there. If I am not being explicit, it’s because I don’t want to give the plot away.
Welsh was another matter I had to research, while tearing out my hair. I speak some theoretical Welsh, but in real life every valley seems to have its own dialect, and the Pembrokeshire dialect (probably died out by now) was odder than most. I needed a perfect translation of a couple of phrases, so I sought help from my neighbours, a very local couple and their daughter who chairs the Welsh Language Society: surely they would provide me with the definitive answer. For one three-word sentence they came up with four possible options. I took a deep breath and chose one. I am still waiting for an angry email telling me I got it WRONG!!!
North Pembrokeshire has changed a lot since the time described in the story. It’s changed a lot since I first moved here. Despite Welsh-speaking schools, it’s probably a lot less Welsh-speaking, thanks to an influx of English, retiring here or buying holiday cottages. What industry there was, like quarrying, and even the Ministry of Defense, has more or less vanished, and even farming is on the back foot, but the industry that now overwhelmingly dominates is tourism (please come). We have the most spectacular coast in the country. The world. The universe.
AmeriCymru: Where can people buy the book online?
Thorne: It’s available in print and as an e-book through Amazon, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble and probably many other places.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Thorne Moore? Are you working on anything at the moment?
Thorne: My second book, Motherlove, which is also set partly in Pembrokeshire, is due to be published some time in the next 12 months (I haven’t been given a date yet) and I am working on polishing a third book, set very much in Pembrokeshire, which is called Shadows at the moment, although the title may change.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Thorne: Come to Pembrokeshire. Just remember to bring hiking boots and waterproofs.
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Christian Saunders is an author from New Tredegar in South Wales. He has worked as a freelance writer contributing to several international publications and a regular column to the Western Mail newspaper.
His short stories have been anthologised in numerous horror publications and his latest novel is: Sker House and a definitive account of the history of Cardiff City Football Club: From The Ashes: The Real Story Of Cardiff City FC
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AmeriCymru: Hi Christian and many thanks for agreeing to talk to AmeriCymru. When and why did you decide to become a writer? What was the first work you submitted for publication?
Christian: I guess I always wanted to be a writer, but to be perfectly honest I wasn’t the brightest at school, so most people thought it was beyond my capabilities. I wasn’t stupid, exactly. I just had no interest in the things I was meant to be learning at school. I much preferred reading books by myself. I always remember being 16 and the deputy head asking me what I was going to do with my life. I said I wanted to be a writer, and he laughed out loud. Well, the joke’s on you now, Mr Richards!
I didn’t have much confidence in my ability at that stage, though. I left school with no qualifications, went to work in a local factory in the south Wales valleys, and wrote stories in my spare time for my own amusement. When I was in my early twenties I thought it wouldn’t hurt to send a few stories out, just to see if they were as bad as I thought they were. This was the late 1990’s, pre-internet, and the small press was flourishing. There were thousands of genre magazines on the market. One, called Cambrensis, specialised in Welsh fiction written in English and was run by a sweet old guy called Arthur Smith, who sadly isn’t with us anymore. By some unimaginable stroke of luck he accepted the very first short story I sent out, which was called Monkeyman.
Looking back, I think I got the sympathy vote from dear old Arthur. I submitted the entire story in BLOCK CAPITALS! But he would do anything he could to give writers a start. He saw it as his life’s work. He re-typed the whole thing, and sent me a few encouraging letters. The payment was a subscription to the magazine.
AmeriCymru: You write mainly horror fiction. What attracted you to the genre?
Christian: It’s just what comes naturally to me, I guess. For me it’s by far the easiest genre to work in. I wouldn’t know where to start with a love story! I’ve always been a fan of horror movies and books, though ‘horror’ is a very broad genre and can encompass most things.
I’m a jack-of-all-trades, really. I’ve also written non-fiction about the unexplained and supernatural, some music journalism, I do a lot for men’s lifestyle magazines, now I write mainly about sport. It’s strange, though. People only ever notice my fiction!
AmeriCymru: Can you tell us which anthologies your work appears in and where they can be purchased online?
Christian: So far, I’ve been lucky enough to have had stories published in nine or ten anthologies. The most recent was The Delectable Hearts in Legends of Urban Horror on Siren’s Call.
I have stories in two other anthologies, which will be available in the coming months. The Elementals & I in Dark Visions 2 on Grey Matter Press.
And Altitude Sickness in the first anthology by DeadPixel Publications, which is basically a collective of independent writers.
When I write fiction, I use the pseudonym CM Saunders.
AmeriCymru: Is there a horror fiction writer that you particularly admire or would like to recommend? Are there any that strongly influenced your writing?
Christian: Sorry I can’t give a more original answer, but I love Stephen King. He’s a master storyteller, and his story is inspirational. He used to work in laundry in the days and write in the nights. Apart from SK its good to see his son Joe Hill continue in the same vein. He’s a great writer. Credit to him for not taking his dad’s name for the commercial value attached to it, but if anything he’s trying a bit too hard. Let it go, dude. Just write. I also like Dean Koontz (though he’s been wheeling out the same formula time after time for the past fifteen years or so, some of his earlier works are stone-cold classics), Richard Matheson, Graham Masterton, Richard Laymon, Ramsey Campbell, and Joe Lansdale. I’m more of a contemporary horror fan, though I did read and enjoy a lot of Poe, Lovecraft, M.R. James, Jules Verne and Robert Loius Stevenson when I was younger.
I think everything you read, and everything you see and hear, influences your writing to an extent. As I get older I find myself reading more autobiographies. I am currently reading American Sniper by Chris Kyle and Waiting to be Heard by Amanda Knox.
AmeriCymru: We learn from your bio that you are are currently living and teaching in China. Is this a permanent relocation and how are you enjoying your experience there?
Christian: Actually, I’m back in the UK now! Maybe I need to update that bio. I came back in January to work for a magazine in London. I eventually went to uni as a mature student, after that 9-year factory stint, then when I graduated I went freelance. I was living in Southampton at the time, and I just had the urge to travel. I’d always been drawn to Asia, and China in particular. It’s a vast, mysterious country. The kind of place you can get lost in. I taught English to university students there in Beijing, Tianjin, Changsha and Xiangtan, and stayed for five years altogether. It can be a bit surreal but all-in-all, it’s a great life. I had a lot of time to travel, think and write. I did very little journalism out there (you need special accreditation from the government, and a license) so that was when I went back to writing fiction after a long gap. I was never a teacher. I was always a writer in disguise!
Looking back, I’m glad I had the experience, and I feel lucky. It’s important to explore other cultures. I’m from a very small village in the Rhymney valley called New Tredegar, which has a large percentage of narrow-minded people who very rarely (if ever) leave the place. I didn’t want to be one of those.
AmeriCymru: You have also recently published a novel Rainbow''s End Would I be right in saying that it is partly ''autobiographical''?
Christian: Yes indeed! I would say it’s around 90% autobiographical. I made up the other 10%. But of course, I would never tell anyone which 10% I made up! It’s about a young guy growing up in south Wales who wants to be a writer and travel, but various things hold him back. Until, eventually, he finds a way out.
AmeriCymru: Which brings us to From The Ashes How did you come to write it and how long have you been a Cardiff City fan?
Christian: I’ve been a Cardiff fan for about 25 years, I guess. The first game I ever went to was a 1-1 draw with Barnet when we were in the old fourth division. Every club has a lot of history, but the Bluebirds have more than most. We remain the only club to take the FA Cup out of England, and won the Welsh Cup that same year, making us the only club in history (as far as I could tell) to hold the national cups of two different countries simultaneously. That FA Cup was the first to be broadcast on live radio, and the Radio Times published a numbered grid to help listeners follow the game. That, allegedly, gave rise to the popular saying ‘back to square one.’
I started writing the book about ten years ago, using mainly the microfilm newspaper archives at Cardiff library. I got a publisher interested in the book, but they pulled out saying, basically, that the club wasn’t big enough to justify costs. After that I moved on to other things, and only when it looked like we might win promotion last season did I start offering it around. Luckily, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch expressed an interest so then it was a mad rush to bring the book up to date, which I managed in just a month or so. The hardest thing was sourcing the pictures. I contacted the club, who were no help at all, and ended up buying a load from Getty.
So far the book is doing very well!
AmeriCymru: OK I have to ask...can Cardiff City cut it in the Premier League and where do you think the Bluebirds will be in the League table at the end of the season?
Christian: Sure, I think we are more than capable of staying up. Malky Mackay has made a couple of great signings this summer. Both Gary Medel and Steven Caulker were wanted by much bigger clubs and ended up buying into the dream and moving to the CCS. There are much worse teams than us in the Premier League! I’m under no illusions, I don’t think we’ll qualify for Europe, but we won’t finish in the bottom three, either. Somewhere in-between, I’d say. After the move from Ninian Park, last season we turned CCS into a bit of a fortress. If we can continue that home form, and it’s looking good so far with that win against Man City and the draw against Everton, two of the better clubs in the league, we have every chance of staying up. The win against Man City, when we came from behind to win 3-2, gave the players, fans and the local media a massive confidence boost and hopefully we can build on that.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Christian Saunders? Do you have any new publications planned?
Christian: At the moment I’m working full time for Sports Direct magazine, so any new fiction will have to take a backseat for a while. Saying that, I’m always working on something, and I have lots of projects at various stages of development. I’ve decided to go independent with regards to fiction, and early next year I’m putting out an ebook compilation of short stories called X, most of which have been published before in various places. It’s all ready to go. If I don’t go through a publisher I’ll be able to sell the book a lot cheaper and hopefully reach a wider audience. I’m also re-writing my first book, Into the Dragon’s Lair – A Supernatural History of Wales, which will be reprinted by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch hopefully sometime next year. When that is done I’ve been thinking of doing a follow-up to Rainbow’s End, about a valley boy and his experiences of living and working in China!
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Christian: You only have one life, so follow your dreams, do what makes you happy, and don’t let anyone hold you back!
Thanks for reading, and feel free to drop by my blog:
http://cmsaunders.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"> http://cmsaunders.wordpress.
Or follow me on Twitter CMSaunders01
AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh author and novelist Jenny Sullivan about her new book Totally Batty and her plans for Christmas. Jenny is the author of many children''s books including Tirion''s Secret Journal and Full Moon which won the prestigious Tir na n-Og award in 2006 and 2012 respectively. She is currently working on a series of historical novels based on the life of Owain Glyndwr . Jenny was born in Cardiff and now lives in France. She travels to Wales to work with school students on a regular basis.
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Jenny: I think it''s funnier that "Full Moon" and I like the title better, too. I wasn''t allowed my original title for "Full Moon" which was "As Mad As A Box Of Frogs" which was a pity, because "Full Moon" is the title of several other books that aren''t by me!
AmeriCymru: ''Totally Batty'' is the sequel to the Tir na n-Og Award-winning novel Full Moon. Care to tell us more about the earlier book?
Jenny: It''s about a (fairly) typical Welsh family living somewhere in the Welsh Valleys. The plot centres on Nia, whose Aunty, Gwen''s hobby is running a sort of underground railway (as in the Deep South during slavery) but for supernatural beings. When Gwen is mugged for her pension and winds up in hospital she asks Nia to go to her house and leave out some food for a visitor... Nia quickly discovers that the ragged boy she finds in her Aunt''s basement is actually a werewolf. The sub-plot concerns Nia''s sister Ceri, who has been discovered by an agent and has a new career as a TV star, and Nia''s Mam, who desperately wants to act but can''t. The family is as mad as a box of frogs and very Welsh. I had a lot of fun writing it and liked the characters too much to let them go. Which is why "Totally Batty" was written. This book may contain the only recorded case of vampire headlice. Think about it...
AmeriCymru: When last we spoke you were researching part three of your trilogy of novels based on the life of Owain Glyndwr, “Silver Fox ~ the long Amen” . How is the novel coming along?
Jenny: Slowly. I''ve only managed about 50 pages. It''s been one of those years. I seem to have been running as fast as I can just to stay in the same place. And of course Owain has to be researched so I don''t make any historical howlers.
AmeriCymru: Any other projects in the pipeline?
Jenny: A sequel to "The Great Cake Bake" (that came out in September), called " The Great Granny Hunt" and I''m sort of walking around a novel full of teenage angst, though teenage books are notoriously hard to sell. Apparently teenagers don''t read. Or so I''m told.
AmeriCymru: What will you be doing for Christmas this year?
Jenny: This is where I wear a great big smile. We''re going over to the UK to spend three days with my eldest daughter and her partner Art and my three Grandchildren, 8 year old Daisy, 6 year old Tove and The Boy, Dylan, who is 3, doesn''t know his own strength and has been known to knock me off my feet in his haste to get a cwtch. They''re in North Weald in Essex. Then we go on to Ealing in London to spend a couple of days with my middle daughter Tanith and her husband Daz, (who is recovering from a massive heart attack three years ago). I can''t wait and am getting what Tanith calls "silly and excited ". If only we could also see our youngest, Stephanie, too, but she''s living in Northern Ireland with her husband Conall and their two children Catrin and Joseph and we can''t be in two places simultaneously. Joe was born in January and I spent nearly three weeks over there on Granny duty, including taking over the night feeds. I was a wreck when I came home! I last saw them all together in July on holiday en famille in Fishguard, which was uncharacteristically sunny the whole time. Magical!
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Jenny: Yes - I''m Patron of Reading to three primary schools in South Wales. This involves a visit to each at least once a year and a monthly newsletter from me to them all with news, projects, reading suggestions, challenges and competitions. If there''s someone involved with a U.S. school reading this, and would like me to be Patron to their school too, please get in touch. I can only manage one more school, so it will be first come, first served. I can''t promise an annual visit, however! I would like to love there to be a Welsh-American link and perhaps the schools themselves might develop links eventually.
My web page is The Magic Apostrophe page and most, if not all of my books (there are some that are contributions only) are listed on AmeriCymru
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Jenny: I don’t think anyone “decides” to become a writer. One either is, or is not, and wishing can’t make it so. (I seem to meet a lot of people who “have always thought they could write a book”. My answer is usually, “then do!) The first time it entered my head was in primary school, when my beloved Miss Thomas, a spinster lady of probably quite youthful years, although she seemed ancient, of course, to an 8 year old, read one of my stories, tugged my plait and told me that if I was prepared to work very hard, one day I would become a famous writer.
I remember being quite taken with the idea, rushing home to see my poor, put-upon mother, who had five other childebeasts beside me, and reporting Miss T’s opinion. Mum put down her potato knife, sighed and said “I’m going to have to go up the school and have words with That Woman, putting stupid ideas like that in your head”.
She didn’t, however (too busy) and from that moment on I was A Writer. I wrote my first novel, aged 16, about a racial war on the Isle of Wight (go figure). That one I buried in the garden. The one after that I put in a metal wastebasket and set fire to it. Lost my eyebrows...
AmeriCymru: You are currently writing a series of historical novels based on the life of Owain Glyndwr. Care to tell us a little more about the ''Silver Fox'' series?
I did two years’ research before I wrote a word, and when the time came for me to stop researching and start writing, I just couldn’t find the “handle” into the book. So I went to that magical place, Ty Newydd, the Welsh National Writers’ Centre in Llanystumdwy, near Cricieth, David Lloyd George’s old home, leaving my family at home, and to cut a long story short, the Welsh Wizard worked his magic, and the writing began. That first book took me another two years to write and edit, and then I had to tackle the loooooong dissertation, but at last I was able to submit it (which is another tale entirely!). THEN I found out I had to have something called a “vive” or “viva” or something. Didn’t have a clue what this was until m’tutor explained. About 20 minutes of grilling, he said, do defend your novel and thesis. At that point I went into total panic.
The interview was on 12th December, my husband was working away, all my children were at work or college and I betook myself to Cardiff for the aforementioned torture session. Forty-five minutes later, a small, limp rag came out of the interview room. I was hooked into a tutor’s office, and he kept me supplied with Kleenex for the next fifteen minutes while I snotted and howled. I knew I’d totally blown it. Summoned back, the Chair of the panel said, “congratulations, Dr Sullivan”... Leaving the college, I phoned one husband, three daughters and my father-in-law. Not one of them answered. I had to wait until 7pm that night before I could tell anyone.
Then, of course, I had to write part two. Did that. Loved every moment of it, because I knew I didn’t have to submit this to anyone but a publisher. I started submitting part one, but couldn’t get any of the Welsh publishers to even read it. Historical fiction, apparently, doesn’t sell. (Tell that to Hilary Mantel.) I found a London agent who loved it, wanted to handle it, but wanted her colleague to see it first. Colleague loved it too, but “nobody’s interested in history, especially Welsh history, so we’d like you to take out most of the boring historical stuff and put in more sex...” So that was another avenue closed. I went the self-publishing route, paying for the first edition, and when that sold out I went to Amazon CreateSpace and republished in Kindle and paperback, following it up with part two. I’m currently working on part three, which I hadn’t planned, but I keep getting emails from people who want to know what happens to the characters next. I’d hoped to get away without writing the tragic end to the Glyndwr story ~ but I’m going to have to tackle it. I’ve just started research and am much cheered by the wonderful reviews the first two are getting on Amazon ~ and not all, I should add, from family and friends!
AmeriCymru: How difficult is it to imagine the world of the 15th century and in particular the life and times of Owain Glyndwr?
Jenny: Imagining the 15th century isn’t difficult. People then were just people, just as we’re people in the 21st century, with the same desires, same hopes, same frustrations, only with more blood and fewer iPads. I enjoyed writing the novels so much that, because my husband often worked away from home at that time, I sometimes used to work all day and late into the evening. It was bliss. I remember one night realising I was overdoing it, however, when I had one of my 15th century characters checking his wristwatch...
AmeriCymru: You have written many childrens books. How does writing for children and adults differ?
Jenny: That one’s easy. Adults will persevere with a book if they really want to read it. Children, if they aren’t captured in the first couple of paragraphs, will give up and go back to their X-box or Wii or whatever. I love writing for children ~ it’s pure escapism, and “I” have the most amazing adventures.
Which is why, I suppose, most of them are written in the first person. I thoroughly enjoyed writing my two historical novels, “Tirion’s Secret Journal” and “Troublesome Thomas”, both set at Llancaiach Fawr Manor near Nelson in mid-Glamorgan, and may revisit the house in Tudor times when I’ve finished part three of Silver Fox.
AmeriCymru: You have taught Creative Writing to adults and children in primary and secondary schools. Although you currently live in France you visit Wales a couple of times a year to work with school children. How important to you is this ongoing classroom contact?
Jenny: When we moved to France it was on the understanding that I could return three or four times a year. I love that contact with children, teachers, librarians, parents, and of course it helps to sell books, although that’s the least important reason of all. I love the buzz of meeting a class of children and getting ALL of them writing and achieving things they didn’t think they could. I often have teachers say at the end of a session “that boy (it’s usually a boy), I’ve never managed to get more than two lines out of him, and you’ve got a page and a half”. I’m quite smug about it, but that’s the reward ~ something they can do, that they didn’t think they could.
When I visit my daughter and her family in Northern Ireland I always visit my primary teacher son-in-law’s class and work with them. As he says, “I don’t always agree with your methods, but I admit you get results”. The other thing that arises from my school visits is that I always have an eye peeled for talent ~ if I can say to a child what dear Miss T said to me, I’m delighted, and I always offer to mentor children and young people that I meet who really want to write and are prepared to put in the necessary slog to do it. I spent the weekend talking one of my protegees out of nearly £700 worth of self-publishing (with a publishing company with a reputation like a venus fly-trap), editing a chapter for her, and recommending Lynne Truss’s “Eats, Shoots and Leaves”... Nuff said!
AmeriCymru: You have won the Tir na n–Og Award twice, once in 2006 for ''Tirion''s Secret Journal'' and again in 2012 for ''Full Moon''. How did it feel to win such a prestigious award? Can you tell us a little about the prize and the selection process?
The helicopter flight was the best fun I’ve EVER had with my clothes on...
The Tir na n-Og is chosen by librarians, who are “shadowed” by children from various schools. I don’t know any more about the process than that, but I’m glad they do it! The first time I won, in 2006, the whole thing was fairly low-key, and my overall opinion of the evening was that the Welsh language winning author was more highly regarded than the English one. The cheque for £1000 was good, though!
The 2012 award was a whole different kettle of fish ~ the Welsh award was presented on a different evening, and as well as the cheque I was given a gorgeous glass trophy, which means considerably more, given that the cheque disappeared, pided between three daughters and a husband, and there were lots of interviews from newspapers and radio and the WBC made a You Tube fillum about me, which is interesting but fairly dire from a vanity point of view. It’s a wonderful feeling to be recognised by the people who matter in literature ~ children first, then librarians and the Welsh Books Council, who organise the Tir na n-Og.
AmeriCymru: Where can people go online to buy your books?
Jenny: All my children’s books can be purchased from the Welsh Books Council on line, or from Pont/Gwasg Gomer on line, or indeed from Amazon. The “Silver Fox” books can also be obtained from Amazon, in paperback and for Kindle e-readers.
AmeriCymru: What are you reading at the moment ? Any recommendations?
Jenny: Just discovered the Kate Shugak novels by Dana Stabenow, and have read the lot. I can recommend “The Princess Bride” and anything at all by Dorothy Dunnett. I love the Jacquot books, about a French rugby-playing policeman. My favourite book of all time, however, and perhaps the book that has influenced me and my writing more than any other, is T H White’s “The Once and Future King”. It’s the story of King Arthur, and it can be read on so many different levels. Children can enjoy “The Sword in the Stone” part of it, and adults will enjoy that and the other parts two. It’s a wonderful book.
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Jenny Sullivan? Any new titles in th e pipeline?
Jenny: “Silver Fox ~ the long Amen” is being researched; I have at least five other books with Pont awaiting publication (I may get impatient and self-publish through Amazon); I’m half way through writing a fantasy for teenagers, and somewhere along the line I’m going to write a novel about two families (loosely based on mine and my husband’s) during the two World Wars, and something bloody and murderous when I can find the time. I read loads of crime fiction and want to see if I can write it too. It will be a far cry from my children’s books, but fun to write, I expect.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru ?
Jenny: Just ~ helo, Cymru am Byth, and aren’t you glad we’re Welsh?
Interview by Ceri Shaw Ceri Shaw on Google+
LINKS
Jenny Sullivan wins 2012 Tir na n-Og award with Full Moon
Jenny Sullivan''s page on AmeriCymru
Children''s author Jenny Sullivan on basement werewolves and mad aunts
"It is the Tale of American Wales,or South Wales or Modern Wales, since 1945...."
Read our review of Dream On here
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AmeriCymru: Helo Dai and many thanks for agreeing to talk to AmeriCymru. ''Dream On'' is your first novel. What inspired you to write it?
Dai: Dreams are as actual as day to day living but elusive in any representation of that living. Writing history is another way of dreaming up that past life by imposing a narrative or analytical order which the simultaneity of living,in past and present and in dreams and waking, implicitly denies. So,I wanted to find a form to tell an underlying truth,one to be found in the rhythm of dreams,about the people and places which hold me and which I have long attempted to reveal in my historical writings. That form was a fictive one, for a deeper story.
AmeriCymru: How would you describe the novel for an American audience?
Dai: It is the Tale of American Wales,or South Wales or Modern Wales, since 1945, and the intermeshing of the global and the local in various lives fixed by this space over time. My novel is a kaleidoscope which the passage of years shakes to rearrange the shards of individual, yet related lives. Something was available and someting has been irretreivably lost.Then,in keeping with my tragic theme,I use the bewildering variety of genres and language,of cultures and attitudes, which expressed those lives,at times irrespective of intentions or desire. We move at a pace from the blackly comic to gothic grotesque, from the noir of the thriller to the mundane entrapment of manners and customs.The intention is to subvert, by plot and tonality, any easy expectations at every turn. Just as it was in the lives of the dreamers I here imagine.
AmeriCymru: How significant was the immediate post war period in Welsh and indeed, British history? What role does the memory of that period play in the novel?
Dai: South Wales, politically and socially and culturally, was centre stage in British life for almost two decades after the Second World War. It was the very embodiment of the Phoenix which was set to emerge, and almost did, from the ashes of Depression and War. Think Aneurin Bevan and the NHS, Richard Burton and Stanley Baker, Gwyn Thomas and Dylan Thomas, and a supporting cast of hearts, minds and dreams. But, of course, as an economy based on coal and steel the Star was dying from within, even as its glory burned brightest. This, too, is my subject,and the contrast between the wild aspirations of the beginning of the twentieth century and of this more circumspect one.
AmeriCymru: There is much in ''Dream On'' to suggest a decline in political idealism since the miner''s strike of 84-85. Do you think this is true?
Dai: Yes. But one world has passed, and this new one needs a different approach, albeit if some human values must be constant.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us something about your other recent title ''In the Frame: Memory in Society 1910 to 2010''?
Dai: That book, a compound of Memoir and History, was the bridge I constructed to let me cross over as a writer of fiction. It is a one way bridge.
AmeriCymru: What was the book that most influenced your fiction writing — and why?
Dai: The Great Gatsby. Because it remains the quintessential Fable of Modern Life, set to shape and direct all aspects of existence. And because it is gorgeous and indeed great. I never tire of reading it.
AmeriCymru: What are you working on now?
Dai: Well, I have just edited two volumes called "Story", to be the definitive volumes of short stories written in English from Wales. It will appear in the Library of Wales Series, of which I am General Editor, in the autumn. And a sequel to "Dream On", but set further back in time, is irrepressibly bubbling up.
AmeriCymru: Any final messages for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Dai: That we are closer, for all our differences, than some may ever care to know.
AmeriCymru spoke to Vanessa Gebbie recently about her novel ''The Coward''s Tale'' and her future writing plans. Vanessa is an author from South Wales, currently living in the south of England who has previously published two collections of short stories. ''The Coward''s Tale'' is her first novel and it is to be hoped, the first of many more. Visit Vanessa's website here Find her AmeriCymru page here Buy The Coward's Tale here
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Vanessa: Hi, and thank you so much for the invitation! Merthyr was always referred to as ‘home’. ‘Home’ was with my paternal grandmother Ethel Rose Rees, my uncle, aunt and cousin, in Highland View. Other relatives lived in Gwilym Terrace, off Plymouth Road, and Christopher Terrace. Memories are so many and so clear - I could (and probably did...) fill a book with them. But a few...
Wild ponies came to graze on the old coal tips at the end of Highland View. There were a few of us kids - we used to try to catch them with lassoos made of washing line. No chance! I remember one, a beautiful thing, grey as the mist. We called her Venus, but I expect that made no difference. As a small child, I would go up to bed before Coronation Street came on the television. I shared my grandmother’s double bed - and can remember the struggle to climb up, and how lovely it was - soft as anything. In the intermission, she would come up with a pack of sweet cigarettes - and I would lie and ‘smoke’ listening to the theme tune trickling through the floorboards. Listen - “Da - da da dee di da...” (!)
There was no plumbing inside the house - apart from in the kitchen. No bathroom. I remember how cold the china pot under the bed was!
I used to go with my uncle for walks across the river. He knew many things - where to find wild strawberries, and where the gypsies camped, and how to trick people into shaking his hand when he was holding rabbit poo. Squish...
He took me to the mouth of the old railway tunnel and we would stand together and shout into the darkness to hear the echoes. You could see the rib cage of a sheep a long way in, across the rails, like it was luminous.
And I remember my aunt sitting so close to the fire in the front room, that her left leg changed colour. It became mottled, like a map. I was fascinated to see how far up it went - but never found out.
Vanessa: Thank you for the comparisons - I learned a lot from Dylan Thomas, obviously, but I wanted to create something that wasn’t mere whimsy, like Under Milk Wood - lovely and genius though that is. Yes, there are individual tales - but the whole is a weave that makes them impossible to take out - or the whole would miss something - I hope you agree!
At the back of all the tales there is the echo of a disaster that happened a few generations ago - the collapse of a coal mine called Kindly Light. Families now are still coping with the fallout - even though they had no direct experience of the accident. One of the themes I was exploring is that of coming to terms with the past - understanding and acknowledging it - and then you can move on. Without that understanding, we are tethered, somehow.
That all sounds rather heavy - but the book isn’t heavy, is it? Like life, it is at times sad, then funny, sometimes serious, sometimes not.
I was also exploring the importance of ‘story’ to us all. Isnt it through fiction that we learn important truths about ourselves and others? I’ll leave that as a question.
AmeriCymru: ''The Halfwit''s and the Deputy Bank Manager''s Tale'' resolves itself with a wonderful and symbolic device. The dead and frozen fish rescued from the Taff illuminates the theme of the whole with a clarity that caused this reader to gasp with delight. As an aspiring short story writer I must ask ....how do you construct your stories? Do these revelatory episodes arrive first in your imagination and is the rest of the story constructed around them?
Vanessa: I am delighted you liked that story. And although I don’t plan and plot when I write, I often do have an idea of the final tableau of a piece - and set characters loose to work towards that tableau, to make sense of it. I think that’s how that piece happened - I wrote most of it in about 2005/6 so it’s a while back now.
The river freezing was a real gift - when things like that happen as I write, it reminds me why I love this work. Then I found photos of The Taff frozen over in reality - and that was great. Here’s a link to some images, taken in 1895. http://www.peoplescollection.org.uk/Item/7446-view-of-the-bridge-over-the-frozen-river-taff
But if course, this happens in September, in The Coward’s Tale, and at the end of that piece it says, “but rivers don’t freeze in September...” so it’s up to the reader to decide whether it did or didn’t! I love playing games.
I am a visual writer, and take inspiratation from visual images too. Photos, paintings, all sorts.
If you are a short story writer, I think Short Circuit - Guide to the Art of the Short Story is available in the US. I was asked to pull together a text book on writing short fiction - and as I’d never got to the end of a single-author ‘how-to’ book myself, decided to invite over twenty prizewinning short story writers, who are also teachers of writing, to contribute chapters/essays on all sorts of craft and process issues. It’s gone down well - and is recommended reading on many writing courses. It’s deliberately slightly different - there is no single ‘do this and you will be successful’ message, like there is with so many others. Something for everyone.
AmeriCymru: In a recent Telegraph article the reviewer/interviewer observed that "...Astute readers will find the 12 apostles in the characters he (Ianto Jenkins ) describes." Is this a religious novel? Does it have a religious dimension?
Vanessa: No - it isn’t. Not in the “Religious with a capital ‘R’” sense. I am not religious, really. However, the creation of the main characters was greatly helped by images and myths that have attached themselves to the twelve men who we have come to know as The Twelve Apostles. All I was doing was using those images as guides in making up my men, and/or their problems. They gave me jump-off points.
Some were easy - Peter, for example, The Rock - it was obvious to attach him to coal in some way. Others were less easy. Nathan, or Bartholomew, for example - less immediately well known images. I needed to research, and I much enjoyed finding out about the myths and legends, and in many cases used Biblical stories too. The Clerk’s Tale, for example, uses Tommo Price, a character who is a modern version of Doubting Thomas, in large part.
But having said I am not religious - I wouldn’t say I am not spiritual. Maybe partly, the novel is saying we need to accept the existence of things we don’t understand, things that have no or little logic?
AmeriCymru: I know you must have been asked this before but how does it feel to have your first novel described as "the legitimate offspring of Dylan Thomas and Gabriel Garcia Marquez” ?
Vanessa: Rather nice! I am immensely grateful to a fab writer, Charles Lambert, for that quote.
AmeriCymru: Besides appearing in numerous anthologies you have also published two collections of short stories, ''Storm Warning'' and Words From A Glass Bubble Can you tell us more about these collections? What can we expect to find between the covers?
Vanessa: “Storm Warning - Echoes of Conflict” is my ‘war book’. Written for my late father, who was a Sapper, and decorated in WWII, it explores conflict from the point of view of those caught up in it.
My father was a mild, gentle man from a Welsh valley town, working in a drawing office. He was pivoted into WWII as were so many, not really knowing what he was going to. He rose to the rank of Captain in the sappers, and was awarded the MC. But afterwards, he never really came to terms with what he’d experienced - it affected him for the rest of his life, in subtle and not so subtle ways.
‘Storm Warning’’s stories usually take place after the conflicts - WWI, and WWI, Vietnam, and many many others - and explore the legacy of the conflicts. (My Vietnam story is interesting, about power, and revenge - a man wants to take revenge on his old commander, and takes a job as janitor in the block of flats where the now-retired man is living...)
‘Words from a Glass Bubble’ is my first collection, a gathering of stories that had won prizes here and there, at Bridport, and Fish among others. Both that and ‘Storm Warning’ are from Salt Modern Fiction.
AmeriCymru: From your blog ( http://morenewsfromvg.blogspot.com/ ) we learn that you run a series of ''Daily Story Gym Exercises'' on Twitter. Care to tell us more about these?
Vanessa: Sure. I tweet as vanessagebbie on Twitter. But it struck me that it would be nice to have writing prompts appearing out of the blue, not attached to any writer in particular. So if you search for #StoryGym on Twitter, you will find a daily writing prompt tweeted by me, designed to intrigue, to kick off a new character, a story, perhaps. It’s about the first thing I do every morning!
AmeriCymru: What are you working on currently? What''s next from the pen of Vanessa Gebbie?
Vanessa: A novel, but it will take a long time. It is a prequel and a sequel in one, to The Coward’s Tale. Ianto and Laddy feature large as life. I am also writing poetry, and doing a lot of teaching.
AmeriCymru: Any plans to visit the US?
Vanessa: I wish! Who knows, maybe if the book does well, Bloomsbury will stump up for a ticket and a vist to an Eisteddfod. Wouldn’t that be great!
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Vanessa: Thanks for your time reading this, it is greatly appreciated. And thanks Ceri for such interesting questions. Good luck with your own writing.
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Sam Adams comes from Gilfach Goch, Glamorgan and is a former editor of Poetry Wales and a former chairman of the English-language section of Yr Academi Gymreig. He edited the Collected Poems and Collected Stories of Roland Mathias, is the author of three monographs in the ‘Writers of Wales’ series and is a frequent contributor of poems, criticism and essays to a number of magazines. He published his third collection of poems, Missed Chances in 2007.
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Sam: Let me say first that I am delighted to be given this opportunity by AmeriCymru/Welsh American Bookstore, to talk about the novel, and its subject, the historical Thomas Prichard, who still fascinates me.
But to answer your question: much of Prichard’s Nose is, I suppose, an old-fashioned picaresque novel, written in an approximation of nineteenth-century style, because Prichard is supposed to be writing an account of his own life. Readers will find the ‘autobiographical’ chapters begin with the sort of summary of their contents that you often find in nineteenth-century books. His story opens on a small farmhouse high on a ridge overlooking the River Usk in Breconshire, where he has come with his mother as an infant. The scandalous event that brought them there gradually emerges during the story. He describes his boyhood on and in the neighbourhood of the farm, his education at the home of a wealthy great-uncle in a nearby village, and his bitterness at the discovery that this relative has no intention of helping him any further. Having learned his father left him and his mother to join a brother in London, he determines to go to the great city and find him. He journeys there on foot, with a company of drovers driving a herd of cattle across England to a sale for the London market, where he says goodbye to his companions and makes his way alone to the last known address of his father. There his uncle takes him in, for his father is dead. His adventures in London begin quietly enough when his uncle obtains for him an apprenticeship in a firm of accountants, but an interest in all kinds of theatrical entertainments and a chance meeting with a group of actors lead to his being engaged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, under the management of the famous Shakespearian actor Philip Kemble. Although he gains some modest success on the stage, he realises he will never be given a leading role and his ambition turns in another direction: he will become a writer. At the end of his account he has a book of poems on Welsh subjects that he plans to sell in Wales.
In parallel with Prichard’s autobiography, the novel tells the story of Martin, a hapless, lonely young man, who also harbours the ambition to be a writer, and has taken on the task of researching Prichard. He begins grudgingly but finds himself drawn into the pursuit of this actor, known as ‘Mr Jefferies’, and (poor) poet with the pen name ‘Jeffery Llewelyn’, who was the first to write a book about Twm Sion Catti, and who somehow lost his nose. Martin finds the manuscript of Prichard’s story, which has long lain neglected in a library, and, to his utter confusion, that another researcher, the cleverer, more confident Rachel, has beaten him to this discovery. They meet and Martin, on the rebound from a brief disastrous marriage, falls for Rachel. Their doomed relationship is conducted by correspondence, the letters serving also to explore Prichard’s later life.
The book operates in two time frames, one in the first quarter of the nineteenth century and the other in the last quarter of the twentieth (but before mobile phones and email simplified and speeded contact between people), and the style varies accordingly. The last section of the book, as I have already indicated, is written in the epistolary manner, another old-fashioned approach to story telling, though one still quite often used.
AmeriCymru: How did you first become interested in Thomas Prichard?
Sam: I did not even recognise the name on that day in 1972 when, in the course of a visit to his home in Brecon, Roland Mathias said ‘Why don’t you write something about T J Llewelyn Prichard – the man who wrote Twm Sion Catti? As editor of the Anglo-Welsh Review, the outstanding journal of literature and the arts in Wales at the time, Roland was keen to fill gaps in the history of Welsh writing in English, and to encourage young writers, a category for which I just about qualified at the time. ‘All right,’ I said, ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
My first stop was the Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig, the Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The brief Prichard entry told me very little and, as I soon discovered, was inaccurate. It said he was born in Trallong, a hamlet in Breconshire. He wasn’t. It said he married Naomi Jones of Builth. No, he married Naomi James, and she came from Hereford. It was partly right in saying he died in poverty in Swansea in 1875 or 1876, when actually he was rescued from abject poverty by the Samaritan actions of good citizens of Swansea shortly before he died, more than a decade earlier, in January 1862. It said he was buried in Tabernacle Graveyard in the heart of Swansea. That, too, was wrong: he was tumbled into a paupers’ grave, which he shares with several others, in Dan-y-Graig Cemetery on the eastern outskirts of Swansea, and you cannot find the precise location now since scrap-metal thieves have stolen the small, numbered cast-iron marker that formerly identified it.
There were clues to follow up in DWB: for example, the entry mentions his having acted in plays in Brecon and Aberystwyth, and his employment for a time by Lady Llanover. However, the verifiable facts I discovered about Prichard I owe to a lot of reading, leg work and luck, and those wonderful storehouses of knowledge, public libraries, especially in Cardiff and Swansea, and the National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth. In Cardiff library I read all that Prichard wrote, some of it, especially the poetry, an uphill struggle, but Twm Sion Catti, unsophisticated as it is, was well worth the effort; and at Swansea, in the great bound volumes of the broadsheet Cambrian newspaper, I found the sad and moving facts of his final days. He died as a result of falling into his own fire, as the report of the inquest describes at length.
There was also the account (published in a journal called Cymry Fu) by Charles Wilkins, postmaster of Merthyr Tudful, of meeting Prichard at a dramatic performance in the town in 1857, when, in his late sixties, he was still wandering around Wales trying to sell copies of his Heroines of Welsh History, perhaps the first feminist take on historical studies. Wilkins describes a gaunt old man with a wax nose held in place by his spectacles, who spoke with ‘an earnest snuffle’ about great days acting in London’s top theatres.
It was no wonder that barely half way through gathering evidence for the article I had promised I would write for Roland Mathias, my subject had become an obsession. I continued to research Prichard, off and on, for more than thirty years, and at the end was still dissatisfied. I knew that, no matter how long I kept digging, I would be unable to find answers to all the questions that nagged at me. That was when I had the idea of writing a novel, which would allow me to use my imagination to fill the gaps in Prichard’s life story that another lifetime of research could not possibly bridge.
Twm Sion Cati''s cave, near Llanymddyfri
AmeriCymru: Can you tell us a little about Twm Sion Catti for the benefit of American readers?
Sam: Prichard’s book Twm Sion Catti, published in Aberystwyth at his own expense in 1828, is littered with anachronisms and not even faintly historical. It is based on folk tales, embroideries on far distant facts passed from generation to generation by word of mouth, until gathered in chapbooks sometime in the eighteenth century and sold by fair-day hawkers. I am fairly confident this was Prichard’s source material. To it he added another, thicker layer of embroidery. That the book was a commercial success, his only commercial success, we gather from the existence of pirated editions. Hoping to cash in again, he published a considerably expanded version in 1839 and, among the papers left when he died, was a third, further enlarged, text, which was published posthumously in 1873. There have been dozens of versions since, a few in comic book form, all owing something to Prichard’s original.
The historical Twm Sion Catti was more properly Thomas Jones, born about 1530, the illegitimate son of a Cardiganshire landowner, who lived at Fountain Gate near Tregaron. The name by which he is familiarly known derives from a combination of the names of his father and his mother: he was Thomas, or Twm, the son of John (Sion) and Catti (Catherine). He was formally pardoned by the highest court in the land in 1559, at the time of Elizabeth I, though of what is not clear. Perhaps before he settled down he had been the madcap witty reprobate and outlaw that we find in the folk tales. He became a man of substance – a landowner in succession to his father, an antiquary, genealogist and bard, whose manuscripts, dating from about 1570, may be consulted at the National Library. His wealthy second wife, whom he married in 1607, was Joan, widow of Thomas Williams of Ystrad-ffin and daughter of Sir John Price of Brecon Priory, but he did not have long to enjoy the marriage: he died in 1609.
AmeriCymru: Where can people go to buy Prichard’s Nose on line.
Sam: The book was published by Y Lolfa in 2010. It is available as a paperback from Amazon and it can be downloaded as a Kindle book.
AmeriCymru: You are also a poet. Care to tell us a little about your poetry?
Sam: When I started out as a writer I thought of myself as a poet. Although I have written a great deal of prose in recent years, notably in a long and continuing series of ‘Letters from Wales’ for the Carcanet Press magazine PN Review (which I know is available in the USA), I still get a special feeling when I write a poem that other people enjoy. My early poetry was chiefly about Gilfach Goch, where I was born, the place and its characters, and while I still turn to those close-to-home subjects from time to time, I now draw on a far wider range of times, themes, people and places. My poems have been published in all the leading magazines of Wales, elsewhere in the UK and overseas. I have published three books of poems, the latest, Missed Chances, from Y Lolfa in 2007, is available from Google Books, Amazon and Abe Books.
Better than trying to describe the kind of poems I write, perhaps I should just give you a sample. The first is a childhood memory from World War II, the second a kind of extended metaphor, and the third comes from visiting the rooms in Rome, just alongside the Spanish Steps, where the artist Joseph Severn was nursing his friend John Keats in his final illness.
Bomb on Gilfach
Not meant to be the target, we copped a stray.
When Swansea burned and set the sky alight,
Some German aircraft, limping loaded from the fray,
Fleeing shattered streets, dismembered dead,
Droned on and onwards through a moonless night.
The pilot, frantic for a fix, and the valleys'' spread
Fingers black on black beneath, said
''Drop the poxy thing, we''re losing height''.
A bomb fell in the night and no one died.
The news arrived as fat bacon fried
For breakfast with yesterday''s damped bread:
The doctor''s surgery was smashed, they said,
The old man, wrapped in wool and flannelette,
Descended safe abed through splintered planks
To the floor below. The windows of the church were blank;
Entire its slated roof had shifted
As if a clumsy hand had lifted
And once more, at an angle, set
It down. The war had come to seek us out
And we had slept. Some evil Nazi lout
Had dropped a bomb a few yards from our door
And no one heard. But all our nights were full
Of lumbering drams, the thump and roar
Of engines, infernal rattles as the coal was screened.
We would start to wakefulness if a lull
Occurred and somehow silence supervened.
Behind the skew-whiff church and silenced bell,
On a rushy patch of moss and water seep,
A vast inverted cone of mud struck deep
Into the hill. The frogs had been through hell.
We searched and fought for jagged shards
Of bomb, swapping spares for sets of cards
Or stamps – and watched them rust on windowsills;
Most wonderful, the doctor''s cellar door, blown down,
Disclosed his scattered packs of bandages and pills,
And, lustrous in the sunlight, carboys, blue and brown.
Kite Flying
On days of noisy wind that combs
The rippling grasses this way and that
As it passes, and tugs at clothes
With sly unbuttoning fingers
And takes the breath away, I think
How we would lie in some drowned hollow
While the slow kite wriggled in its stream.
How sad that some boys never learn
To fly a kite. I thought that I
Should never get it right – perhaps
I had made my cross to rigid,
Perhaps my paste and paper were too frail.
We knew those moments when the breeze
Would fail our fledgling project
And the taut held line would sag,
But we launched out sweetly on the air
Again and cast off twine enough
To let our hobby climb and climb.
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At the Spanish Steps
February again, late afternoon:
Black fingers tilt
The fountain''s silver, quick
In its marble spoon.
Sun stripes spilt
From a shadowed alley
Across the cobbled square
Will not linger there.
Darkness follows soon.
Severn, sentry in the march
Of life, saw the fountain,
Like a foundered boat, lurch
At its mooring. Light ebbing,
Descended the steep stair, ran
One thirty steps across the square, sobbing,
To the trattoria,
Bought supper for a dying man.
Six sentry paces past the narrow cot,
Two at the blank wall,
Six paces back, turn,
Three at the tall,
Shuttered windows. Look down:
There in the marble hull,
Like blood, the waters for a moment burn.
After the death mask,
The scissored curl of auburn hair,
After the bonfire, the sickbed burned to ash,
After the vengeful smash
Of unflawed pots, the room waits,
Still at last, stripped bare.
And troupes of lovers pass
To climb the steps and meet
With others going down, or pause
To sit and lean together, close.
Water in the wallowing boat
Catches a gleam, holds it afloat.
Like Severn, I see the sun''s snail track
Recede across the water''s black,
Walk six paces back.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Sam: I greatly appreciate the opportunity you have given me of meeting members and readers of AmeriCymru and telling them something about my writing. Of course I hope they enjoy it, and if reading this raises further questions I would be glad to attempt to answer them. Dylan Thomas, R S Thomas, Roland Mathias and others, are I know well remembered, but it is quite wonderful that an interest in Wales and things Welsh, particularly the work of living authors, is alive and well in the USA, thanks to the care of and enthusiasm generated by AmeriCymru.
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AmeriCymru Interview With Bernard Knight 4/17/12
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AmeriCymru: Hi, Bernard, and many thanks for agreeing to talk to AmeriCymru. In the course of a distinguished career as a forensic pathologist, medical doctor and barrister you have also found time to write more than 30 novels since 1963, in addition to radio and teleplays and non-fiction works. What was your main motivation when you began writing fiction? What inspired you?
Bernard: I suppose my literary career began when I was a medical student in Cardiff in 1949, which was after being first a farm worker in Gower and then a hospital lab tech. By default, I became editor of the student magazine, appropriately called ''The Leech'' - and as usual, being editor of any small publication meant you had to write most of it yourself. But novel writing started not from ''inspiration'', but boredom. When called up to the Royal Army Medical Corps for compulsory military service in 1956, I had not long been married and applied to stay in Britain – so with the usual military efficiency, they sent me to Malaya for three years! Here the bloody twelve-year ''Forgotten War'' against the communist terrorists was going on and I was posted to a small military hospital in North Malaya, a place a bit like MASH, complete with helicopters and a mad commanding officer!
My main recreation was reading books from the camp library – many were crime novels, but as the hospital pathologist, I found many of the forensic aspects so wildly inaccurate that I decided I could do better myself. I started writing one and when I came back to my first forensic job in London, I mentioned this to a court reporter, and was astonished to see my boast in the next day''s Daily Mirror!
The next day, I had a letter from a publisher asking to see my manuscript – I had only written a bit of it, so I dashed off the rest and he took it! It doesn''t happen like that these days!
After this first shot at crime fiction with ''The Lately Deceased'', I went on to write about half a dozen ''stand-alone'' novels, several based in South Wales. Following this, I also started writing scripts for radio plays for the BBC and then for television. I wrote the story-lines for a very popular BBC forensic series called The Expert, and did quite bit of TV work, even presenting some documentary stuff on forensic topics like skeletons. A few years ago, I was involved in two programmes where we examined the alleged bones of St David, kept in a chest behind the high altar at the cathedral in Pembrokeshire– unfortunately, we showed that they were six hundred years too recent to be our patron saint!
I did some Welsh Language programmes, too, though I''m not fluent, much to my sorrow. One was a series about spies at the missile range in West Wales and more recently I wrote the stories for Dim Clew, a forensic team game on S4C.
I even had a try at biography and came to New York to write the life story of Milton Helpern, the famous Chief Medical Examiner of NYC. The book, written as an autobiography, called Autopsy,was very successful, going into five editions and book clubs, though unfortunately my old friend Milton died just before publication.
As a full-time pathologist, working for the university and the Home Office, I had to do all my writing at night, sometimes until three in the morning – I once passed my resident mother-in-law, an early riser, on the stairs as I was going up and she was going down!
AmeriCymru: How do you choose your subjects and can you tell us a bit about your creative process?
Bernard: My abiding fascination with Welsh history tempted me to write my first historical novel Lion Rampant in 1972, the true tragic romance of Princess Nest and Owain ap Cadwgan. It''s still my favourite book, being so closely bound to real history. I followed this with another twelfth century yarn Madoc, Prince of America , about which more below. These two books really got me hooked on the twelfth century, which set the pattern for Crowner John.
The creative process is a bit of a myth in terms of ''inspiration'', in that once I get a general idea for a book, I first beaver away at the historical background, this research being the most interesting part of the job – in fact, I don''t really like the chore of writing, slogging away at a keyboard. It''s the research that grabs me, it took a year''s work to get the facts right for Lion Rampant.
The themes for the Crowner John books were very varied – the business of sanctuary, where criminals sought shelter in a church; tournaments ( the medieval equivalent of football, horse-racing and baseball); the harsh forest laws; witchcraft, piracy, tin-mining and of course, ever-present dominance of the Church.
I used to write a detailed synopsis of a book before I started, even if the finished product diverged considerably from it. I''ve got lazier now, but I still need to know where I''m going with a book, rather than the ''sit-down-and-hope-for-the-best'' approach that some writers seem to get away with.
I now start with a flow-diagram on a single sheet of paper, with characters called X,Y.Z, and build up a visual pattern with arrows for motives. Then I put names on the people and write a ''curriculum vita'' for each, so that I can establish continuity.
This is vital for a series like Crowner John, with fifteen books to handle. I have a large file which I call ''My Bible'', which has separate sections for the personal details of each character, then bits about costume, diet, locations, maps, etc, so that I can keep a grip on things. Even so, one makes slips and my many readers around the world are swift to let me know – for example John''s cook-maid was blonde in one book and brunette in another!
Anachronisms are another problem - I had an Email from somewhere in the world to tell me that I had screwed a booby trap to the lavatory wall, which was impossible because screws weren''t invented until the 14th century!
Even in dialogue, anachronisms are hard to avoid – can you say in a 1195 book that someone was a ''sadist'' – or a man was ''mesmerised'', when those eponymous words were still centuries in the future?
The hardest part of a book is the ending, which causes many otherwise good books to fall flat. In crime books, the old standby, the ''denoument'' beloved of Hercule Poirot, with the suspects gathered together in the drawing-room, is quite unrealistic in real life, but there is only a limited range of outcomes – the culprit is either arrested, shot, commits suicide or conveniently has a fatal accident. It''s ''not cricket'' to let him get away with it!
AmeriCymru: You are perhaps best known as the author of the Crowner John Mysteries. Care to explain for our readers what a Crowner was and did?
Bernard: As a forensic pathologist, my instructions – and payment – for an autopsy came from the coroner, an official always either a lawyer or a doctor, responsible for investigating deaths which cannot be certified by a physician as natural causes. It was with the idea of becoming a coroner that I also studied to be a barrister, as an insurance against not getting a senior medical post.
The word ''coroner'' comes from the Latin ''Custos placitorum coronae'', meaning ''keeper of the pleas of the crown''. The office originated in 1194, partly as a means to attract fines from the population to help pay for the ransom of Richard the Lionheart, captured in Austria on his way home from the Third Crusade.
Anything 12th century was of interest to me and after a bit of academic delving, I had the idea to write a one-off book about a fictional first coroner. I would have liked to have set it in Wales, but that was impossible as in 1194, we were still independent and had our own laws of Hwyel Dda – so I had to go to England and I chose Devonshire.
Most of the characters I used were real and actually held the jobs I portrayed, like Sir Richard de Revelle, the sheriff . There was no record of the early coroners, so I invented Sir John de Wolfe, a returning Crusader who was looking for a job.
The title ''crowner'' is a bit of cheat for 1194, as it was not used until the 14th century as a slightly derogatory nickname – Shakespeare uses it in that sense in Hamlet.
The coroner''s job was to hold inquests on all deaths that did not occur in the bosom of the family, including murders, suicides, accidents etc – and where possible, bring any culprits to justice. He had to attend hangings to seize the property of felons, take confessions from sanctuary-seekers, attend ordeals, examine assaults, rapes, robberies, fires, wrecks, catches of the royal fish (whale and sturgeon) and many other legal tasks, most designed to gather money into the royal exchequer, rather than let the local lords continue to use their own courts. Essentially, his job was to record every legal event and present them to the king''s judges when they circulated around the county towns to administer justice.
It seemed a good basis for an investigative story, as at least it really was the coroner''s job – not like the many old ladies, writers, aristocrats and priests that abound in detective fiction! I thought this was to be a single book, but it was so popular that the fifteenth will be published this coming August.
AmeriCymru: From the Wikipedia we learn that:- "Apart from John, most of the main characters actually existed in history and every care is taken with research and the creation of atmosphere, to offer an authentic picture of twelfth-century England. Most the places described in the stories can be visited by readers today, even the gatehouse of Rougemont Castle in Exeter, where John had his office." How difficult is it to weave a fictional narrative around the lives of real characters? What proportion of your time is spent on research?
Bernard: Amongst historical novelists, there is a divergence of opinion about whether you should use real characters in the books. Some say it is perverting history and also risks possibly blackening the name of nice folk. I don''t think this is valid, especially after 900 years, as everyone knows the books are meant as entertainment, not teaching - though many ''fans'' have told me that they enjoyed such a painless way of learning some history, especially about common folk. I always try to tell life as it really was - the squalor, the dirt and the poverty, as well as how people ate and dressed all those centuries ago.
My information comes from all sorts of sources – history textbooks, monographs, direct questioning of very helpful experts – and of course the Internet, though one has to be careful in accepting everything in Wikipedia, as you never know if some historical essay was actually written by some spotty kid in Idaho!
I am almost obsessional about authenticity and cannot use anything I know or suspect to be wrong. Some of my writer friends are not so fussy, saying that it''s only entertainment, but I go to considerable lengths to try to get it right, even though I still slip up some times.
For instance in one of the earlier books, The Grim Reaper, I had the bright idea of having my serial killer, a priest, leave a relevant Biblical quotation at the scene of each murder, such as ''The Gospel of Mark, Chapter Ten, Verse Six.'' However, before I had finished the book, doubts began to gnaw at me and after consulting some theological colleagues, discovered that I could not do this, as the Bible in 1194 was continuous! Chapters were invented by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 13th century and verses came in far later as a printing convenience.
Everywhere I write about, I have visited. It''s important, I think, to ''walk the territory'' which gives you a far more realistic impression of the scene than looking at photos or reading descriptions. I have even been up on Dartmoor in the snow to visit the place where the Devon tin miners used to hold their parliament.
I also find it very satisfying to tread the same stones as my characters did, all those centuries ago, like the gatehouse of Exeter Castle, built by William the Conqueror as early as 1068.
AmeriCymru: Crowner John could be called an "ancestor" of the modern pathologist, in writing about the beginnings of your own field in the 12th century, was it challenging to translate your much more vast knowledge of pathology to John''s limited resources, the information or education he would have had and the circumstances he would have had to work under?
Bernard: I went out of my way to avoid using my forensic pathology expertise in the Crowner John books, though of course, my more recent Dr Richard Pryor series based in South Wales in the 1950''s depends entirely upon it. But writing all those Crowner John stories was really a form of escapism for me, and it would have been a ''busman''s holiday'' if they contained any significant pathology – as well as being a total anachronism!
I confine the post-mortem examinations of John and Gwyn to crudely testing rigor mortis to guess how long someone had been dead – they probably did as well in 1194 as we do now, as it''s a pretty useless test! As for wounds, both John and Gwyn consider themselves experts after a lifetime on the battlefield, but they go little farther than sticking a finger into a stab wound to see how deep it was!
AmeriCymru: You have also written seven novels under the pseudonym "Bernard Picton". Can you tell us a bit more about those?
Bernard: In former years in Britain, it was unethical for doctors to professionally advertise themselves in any way - even the first TV doctor used to sit with his back to the camera! When I started writing in 1960, I could not flaunt my forensic knowledge in my novels and scripts, so had to take a pseudonym. At the time I was living in an old pub near Cowbridge, which had been ''The General Picton'', so I took that as a pen-name. Later, Margaret Thatcher forced the professions to open up and there was then no reason not to use my real name.
After my first novel in 1962, I went on to write another six ''stand-alone'' detective stories, all with a forensic flavour, one of them a ''link book'' to go with a major BBC forensic series called The Expert. I wrote the plots and acted as technical adviser for it, which I have done for several such programs – not that the producers took much notice of what I advised, if it didn''t suit their preconceptions!
These early books used forensic ''hooks'' on which to hang the plot and were sited in a variety of locations, from Cardiff to Newcastle, from Cardigan to Leningrad – the last one based on a trip I made to the Moscow State Forensic Institute in 1965.
AmeriCymru: Lion Rampant tells the story of a Welsh princess, Nest aka ''Helen of Wales'', and Lord Owain ap Cadwgan, Prince of Powys. Care to tell our readers a little about the book and how Nest came by that pseudonym?
Bernard: After the Norman invasion of Britain in 1066, England was rapidly conquered, but it took another 200 years for Wales to be completely subjugated, when Prince Llewelyn was killed in 1282 by Edward Ist – from whom, unfortunately, I am descended.
But in the flat lands of the south and west, the Normans swept in early and in 1093, Rhys ap Tewdwr, King of Deheubarth was slain by the conqueror of Brecon. His beautiful young daughter Princess Nest was taken prisoner and made a ward of King Henry 1st, who made her one of his many mistresses and by whom she had a child. Then he married her off to Gerald de Windsor, castellan of Pembroke Castle, by whom she had five children, starting a Fitzgerald dynasty that included a Bishop of St David''s and Maurice, a conqueror of Ireland, from whom John Fitzgerald Kennedy could trace his ancestry. Maurice took his father''s flag to Ireland, where it was called St Patrick''s Cross and is now part of the Union Jack.
One of Nest''s grandsons was the famous cleric and writer, Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald the Welshman) from whose pen we have such a great knowledge of Wales in medieval times – and her nephew was ''The Lord Rhys'', who held the first national eisteddfod in Cardigan Castle in 1176..
At Christmas 1109, Nest was abducted from Cilgerran Castle, high on a crag above the Teifi, which belonged to her husband. The hot-blooded rescuer was her second-cousin, Owain ap Cadwgan, Prince of Powys, who having heard of her beauty, broke into the castle with a small band of men and galloped away with Nest and her children, after setting fire to the keep. Gerald escaped ignominiously through the latrine shaft – and again Nest gave birth to a child, this time Owain''s.!
This started a full-scale war and for this, Nest was later known as the ''Helen of Wales'' after the classical lady of Troy whose beauty was supposed to launched a thousand ships. Years later, Gerald killed Owain in revenge and Nest went on to have more chilldren by another two Norman knights – quite a fertile lady!
I mentioned my other Welsh historical novel earlier, Madoc, Prince of America.This well-known legend of the prince of Gwynedd who was alleged to have reached Mobile, Alabama in 1170 and gave rise to the ''Welsh Indians'' always intrigued me. I wrote yet another novel about it, using all the available ''evidence''. It has now become a bit of an embarrassment to me, as some years ago I became President of the Madoc Research Association – actually a small group of folk who met monthly in a pub in Maesteg to drink beer and gossip about Welsh history.
Though the legend has been around since Tudor times, being originally plugged by them politically in order to contest the prior claims of the Spanish to parts of North America, it was brought to modern public attention by a book published in 1966 by Sunday Times editor Richard Deacon. He produced a great deal of convincing new evidence to support the story, but recent research has shown that he was a pathological liar who fabricated most of his supporting evidence.
I no longer believe in the story, other than accepting that there was a tradition in medieval Wales of a mariner who ventured out far into the Western Ocean - a far cry from a Welsh prince ( of whom there is no trace in any historical records) reaching the Gulf of Mexico and then fighting his way up to the Ohio River and then the Missouri to found the Mandan tribe.
As a legend, it''s fine, but so much nonsense has been added to the story that it now lies beyond any credibility. For a balanced view of the legend, read Professor Gwyn Alf William''s 1979 paperback called Madoc.
AmeriCymru: The third book in your Dr. Richard Pryor series, Grounds for Appeal came out last December.. The Dr. Richard Pryor novels are set in the Wye Valley in Wales and take place during the 1950s, how much of your own life and experiences went in to these stories?
Bernard: These books have had a long incubation period, as in the early ''nineties, I wrote a proposition for a television series about a Welsh forensic pathologist who went into private consultant practice. This was taken up by a Cardiff TV production company and we developed story-lines and sample scripts. However, when we hawked it up to London to the large network companies, they were not interested, a common phenomenon with anything Welsh taken to London!
As it was not financially viable without network contracts, it was abandoned, but a few years ago, wanting a change from the twelfth century, I altered the names and locations and turned it into a book, ''Where Death Delights''. (This is a translation of part of an ancient Latin aphorism that is displayed in the entry hall of the New York Medical Examiners Office)
I wanted to get away from the current beaurocracy of the British ''nanny state'', with all its stuffy restrictions about Health and Safety, Human Rights, Race Relations, Data Protection and write about the days when I started pathology in 1955, when detectives in long raincoats and trilby hats could stand gossiping in the autopsy room with a cigarette and a mug of tea!
It was sheer nostalgia, writing about those post-war days when life was still austere, but freer from endless controls and restrictions.
I invented Dr Richard Pryor, a former Army pathologist who after service in the Far East, had stayed on in Singapore until he got a golden handshake and came home to Wales. His old aunt had left him her house in the Wye Valley where together with a disillusioned government forensic scientist, he sets up a laboratory and takes on a variety of cases from South Wales and the West of England. In addition, I run a mild romance through it, as Dr Pryor not only has this glamorous scientist at his elbow, but also a demure secretary, a pretty laboratory technician and a visiting anthropologist who looks like Sophia Loren!
Like the first Crowner John, I meant it to be a ''one-off'', but it proved very popular and I was asked for another two, which have recently been published, called According to the Evidence and Grounds for Appeal. The cases are naturally fictional, but have strands of reality running through them taken from my forty-five years in the job and there is an element of both nostalgia and autobiography in them. I have to think hard to make the techniques consistent with half a century ago, but at least they are a bit more complex than Crowner John''s primitive methods.
AmeriCymru: A lifetime of experience in medicine generally and forensic pathology in particular would seem to give you a "head start" as a mystery writer, has that freed you in any way to concentrate more on plot and character than might a writer less knowledgeable? Has your real-life experience been plot-inspiring for you or have you found real life forensics experience useful in crafting fiction and have you based incidents in your fiction on real-life cases?
Bernard: As mentioned earlier, the Crowner John books were in no way related to my professional life, quite the reverse. But of course, the many other crime books, plays and a few documentaries depended heavily on my forensic knowledge, though I never lift real cases into my fiction writing. However, parts of old cases, made unidentifiable, certainly get grafted into the stories, especially in the Dr Pryor books, but in a fragmented way, picking bits from different cases so that overall, they are unrecognisable. For instance, in one Dr Pryor book, my murder was concealed by letting a tractor wheel fall on to the victim''s neck – this was an echo of a suicide method I saw many years ago.
One problem about being a forensic pathologist is that it makes it hard for me to enjoy other crime novels where the forensic aspects are so badly portrayed – and in the case of the endless ''forensic'' television programs, impossible for me to watch, as they raise my blood pressure to dangerous levels! The greatest offender is ''time of death'' where the ludicrously-accurate claims of the author''s pathologist are exasperating. I edit the only textbook devoted solely to estimating the time of death – it has 270 pages, costs up to £100 and basically says that it can''t be done except within a very wide margin of error!
AmeriCymru: You''re also a founding member of a group known as The Medieval Murderers which has, among other things, produced seven novels, can you tell us what that is and how it came about?
Bernard: Other than the ''big name'' authors, most crime-writers are in the ''mid-list'', meaning that though they are not Dan Brown or John Grisham, neither are they complete dumbos whose books soon end up in the charity shops. However, this usually means that the publishers will spend little or no money promoting our books, so about ten years ago, a few of us historical mystery writers decided to form a self-promotion group called The Medieval Murderers, to go around libraries, bookshops, clubs and literary events giving informal talks about our work, either in a full group or as ones and twos. The members were Michael Jecks, Susannah Gregory, Philip Gooden, Ian Morson and myself, later joined by C J Sansom and Karen Maitland. We even had T-shirts made with a bloody dagger on the front!
Then a year or so later, we decided to write a book between us, which was not just a collection of short stories, but a ''chain book'', where each member wrote a ''novella'' of about 20,000 words which carried forward a theme set out in a Prologue and then tied up in an Epilogue. Once again, this was intended to be a ''one-off'' but The Tainted Relic was so successful that we have done one a year since then, with the eighth out soon and two more in the pipeline.
The writing method was unusual, being organised entirely by Email, as we all live far apart – Ian Morson was in Cyprus for most of the time. In fact, he has made a collection of all the messages, which he claims is longer than one of the actual books!
We began by deciding on a theme – the first was about a chip of the True Cross cursed when it was stolen in Jerusalem during the First Crusade, which killed anyone taking it from its container. Then we each wrote a story about it, using the period and characters from our own series, the idea being to publicise these other books. As the oldest (historically and personally!) I wrote the first chapter, using Crowner John to deal with the relic arriving in Devon. Then I had to leave it somewhere at the end of my story where Ian Morson, next in line in the 13th century, could pick it up – and so on up the line, until the end where I brought the saga into modern times in an Epilogue.
None of us knew what the others were writing, all that mattered was that the object was handed on smoothly between us. Later books used a sword, an abbey, a book of Celtic prophesies and the alleged bones of King Arthur as themes for the stories.
AmeriCymru: Do you have a particularly favorite character of your own that you especially like or enjoyed writing? A particular book that you enjoyed writing or are most proud of having produced?
Bernard: I suppose Crowner John himself is my favourite, he was physically modelled on a well-known local barrister that I worked with, tall, dark and saturnine. I made him somewhat unimaginative and not endowed with a great sense of humour, but honest and faithful to his friends and his king. Every sleuth needs his Dr Watson, so I gave him Gwyn, a big, amiable Cornishman, together with a diametrically-opposite character in Thomas de Peyne, a little runt of a priest with a slight hunchback and a limp. Unfrocked for an alleged indecent assault, he is pitifully thin and poorly dressed and I have had literally scores of letters, Emails and personal comments from ladies who seem keen to mother him!
As I''ve said before, Lion Rampant is still my favourite book, perhaps because it was my ''first-born'' historical novel, but from sheer nostalgic pleasure, I think my Malayan novel Dead in the Dog, which comes out this March, is high on the list of my favourites.
I also like the post-apocalyptic book I wrote in 2003, called Brennan . I wanted a complete change from the Middle Ages and decided to write a parody of the historic Arthur story, by describing the leadership of a senior Army officer from a South Wales barracks, who is left to collect and protect the few survivors of a viral plague that kills almost all the world''s population.
It had good reviews, being compared with Stephen King''s The Stand.
AmeriCymru: Do you read fiction for pleasure and, if so, what writers are you reading?
Bernard: I am an obsessive reader, can''t sit down without a book, even in the toilet. I''ll read anything, even the phone book if I''m desperate. For many years I was a reviewer for the crime website Tangled Web, so regularly got boxes of books through the mail with no control over the titles. Then I was one of the Crime Writers Association judges for the Silver Dagger Awards for non-fiction crime - and the local public library sees me about twice a month for a re-load, so I''ve had a heavy literary diet for most of my life.
Hard to say who my favourite authors are, it depends on how I feel – Lawrence Block, Ed McBain, Michael Pearce, Leslie Thomas, Alan Firth, John Le Carre, Len Deighton, Somerset Maugham – the list is almost endless. I love spy books and some SF, as long as it''s not the current fad for gold-brassiered princesses from Planet Zog!
AmeriCymru: What''s next for Bernard Knight?
Bernard: I''m pushing eighty-one now and swore that the fourteenth Crowner John would be my last, but clamour from fans made me squeeze out another final one. I have another two Medieval Murderers projects ahead, but they are relatively short. I don''t fancy sitting down to hammer out books of well over a hundred -thousand words any more, but I''d like to do some short stories. Not much of a market for them these days, but maybe Kindle might be the way forward. A couple of years ago, I wrote a short story by invitation for a ''Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes'', called The Birdman of Tonypandy, about a pub landlord in the Rhondda who murders his wife. The editor put it last in the book, as he said that nothing could follow it!
I''ve also a yen to write something about the adventures of a Cardiff tramp steamer in the 1930''s, as I was born in Cardiff''s Grangetown and both my father and grandfather ''worked down the Docks''. I used to get rides during the war on ships between the lock gates and the berths which gave me a life-long affection for merchant ships.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Bernard: I know the US pretty well, having been there many times for medico-legal congresses, giving evidence in courts and visiting my many forensic friends, such as Dr Tom Noguchi, the colourful former coroner of LA . It''s a fantastic country, but I couldn''t live anywhere else but Wales, which is as much a part of me as my feet. To stand in the evening on a Pembrokeshire cliff or walk the lonely moors near the Teifi Pools is both peaceful and exhilarating. Everywhere you look, there is history, my history, your history. So all I can recommend is for readers to come back to Wales, for as long a time that you can manage.
Interview by Ceri Shaw ... Home ,,, Email
Works by Bernard Knight on Amazon
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AmeriCymru: Your latest novel - Uncharted has been described as:- "a tale of Tango, unfathomable mysteries, and two ancient lovers who will not be parted". How would you describe it for an intending reader.
Jon: A friend said that it "mythologizes an Argentine woman's journey around the world" and that pretty much sums it up. The woman, Flavia, is in a sort of purgatory, neither alive nor dead. Her story becomes a myth which becomes a religion, a case of global Chinese whispers.
I tried to write about a character much as Dickens' writes about Little Nell, and wanted people to be moved by her death. To make me care a lot about her I modelled the central character, Flavia on my wife Sarah but when I came to killing her off I couldn't because it seemed too much like wishing my wife harm, so I kept her alive. Or seemingly alive!
AmeriCymru: The story is set partly in Buenos Aries, partly in Oakland and partly in Cardiff ( including a wonderful description of Caroline St, the hub of Cardiff's sophisticated nightlife ). What made you choose these locations?
Jon: I've been lucky enough to travel a lot in Latin America but hadn't visited Buenos Aires. When I did I fell completely in love with the place and came back to Wales on fire with a need to write about it. The competition for the prose medal at the Eisteddfod the following year required an urban theme, so I found myself writing about B.A and after some 10,000 words thought where else can I go? I decided to write about other ports I knew well, so plumped for Oakland, California, my wife's home town and as the Eisteddfod was in Cardiff I thought I'd write a judge-pleasing ending and set it in my own home. So it's a tale of three cities.
AmeriCymru: The book is adapted from Dalar Llanw ( Catching The Tide ) which is the first book you have written in the Welsh language. Is writing in a second language ( or perhaps i should say first ) a problematic or an enriching experience?
Jon: I usually try to write prose that has a melody and found writing the English translation difficult at first as I was trying to impose the Welsh "music" on the English version, that is until I decided to go with the English music. Adapting the book also gave me a chance to winnow out some weaknesses, and to alter the ending. The current archdruid James Jones said he didn't like the ending of Dala'r Llanw and I agreed with him, so I tacked on a new conclusion, which is less Hollywood ending and much more lyrical.
AmeriCymru: This is not the first time that your writing has featured an American location. In An Island Called Smith you presented an account of your stay on Smith Island in Chesapeake Bay. Care to tell us a little more about that experience and about the book?
Jon: I was intrigued to read a tiny little newspaper article about the Welsh and Cornish settlers of Smith Island and kept the piece of paper. Years later I was lucky enough to win the John Morgan travel writing prize which funded two trips to Smith Island, a disappearing island because of sea level rise. Here crab fishing is the mainstay of the economy and it was a rare opportunity for me, as a naturalist, to spend time with people who understand the richness and complexity of the natural world in an instinctive way. It's also a Methodist island, and gave me a glimpse of what parts of Wales were like when it was one of the most religious countries on earth.
AmeriCymru: You have also written short stories, some of which are anthologised in a collection titled Big Fish Care to tell us more about this volume?
Jon: I see myself as a short story writer above all else, although it's a form that doesn't sell. I still find this surprising when you consider reduced attention span, the pace of life, etc: it should be conducive to people's lives nowadays. 'Big Fish' mashes up Welsh themes with my take on American style, reflecting the fact I've always read a lot of American fiction, especially John Updike, Annie Proulx and Alice Hoffman. People found the stories zany, and I like that.
AmeriCymru: What is your working routine?
Jon: I have two daughters, Onwy who is twenty months old and Elena, who is five and a half years old I have to write around them, so it's a case of trying to get up before them to write, or doing so after they've gone to bed. Luckily, owing to years of news journalism I can write quickly in the time available. Though they often hear me getting up early and see it as a cue to get up themselves. Anyway 1000 words a day assuages enough guilt to allow me to enjoy the rest of life, and them. They're great kids.
AmeriCymru: Where do you get your ideas?
Jon: If I'm really stuck I deal a card from the Oblique Strategies website. The musician and record producer Brian Eno used to write post it notes in the studio with tips he and his engineer Peter Schmidt culled from their working day. They turned into a physical pack of cards and now you can generate one at random on the website. Even though they're about music they can usually get you out of a corner, or spark something off.
AmeriCymru: How did you become a writer?
Jon: I've always enjoyed writing, but writing books is an offshoot of earning a living as a journalist and trading words in that way. Gradually I've moved away from non fiction to fiction and like the freedoms of lyricism and imaginative flight.
AmeriCymru: Which of your own books do you like the best?
Jon: I'm genuinely proud of 'Uncharted' and like the fact that many people who've read it have enjoyed doing so. Not that it'll be everyone's cup of tea, of course.
AmeriCymru: Where can people order copies of 'Uncharted' and your other works online?
Jon: In the U.S you can get it through the Big Beast, Amazon.com. You have to hunt for some of the others, but Powells is a good place to start.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Jon Gower?
Jon: There's a new Welsh language novel out next year, when I finish it! It draws heavily on my own life and I spend a lot of time trying to protect the innocent! That will be followed by collections of stories in both Welsh and English ('Too Cold for Snow') in 2012 and then, in 2013 or 2014, I'm hoping that my "deep map" of Y Wladfa, the Welsh settlement in Patagonia will see the light of day, ahead of the 150th anniversary of its establishment in 2015. It's inspired by William Least Heat-Moon's wonderful book about Chase County in Kansas.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Jon: Do check out the books on the long list for next year's Wales Book of the Year, due out in March. I'm one of the judges and even though we've yet to reach year's end it strikes me that there will be some wonderful books on the list, a very strong year seemingly and hopefully a good snapshot of the variety and confidence of Welsh writing at the moment.
Jon Gower on Amazon
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Dr. Karl Jenkins is one of Britain's greatest and most versatile living composers, the author of an ocean of amazing and exalting music unlimited by genre, style or instrument. He holds a doctorate of musicology from the University of Wales and the Royal Academy of Music London. His many awards include several fellowships at various universities and an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for "services to music." He has composed for jazz bands, orchestra and voice, for advertising, film, and live performance. Dr. Jenkins is a native of the village of Penclawdd in the Gower peninsula, where his father was a school teacher and the choirmaster and organist of the Methodist church the family attended.
Two of his most recent works are Stabat Mater (2008), an adaptation of a 13th century Roman Catholic prayer and Stella Notalis (2009), adaptations and compositions of Christmas carols from around the world.
Americymru: You'll be appearing as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall on March 6th . What are the circumstances and what will you be conducting?
Karl: As part of Welsh Week I've been asked to conduct some of my music as the first half of the concert. I have a strong relationship with Jonathan Griffith of DCINY who has arranged the event and who has been fantastic in that he has conducted and supported much of my work in the USA. On Martin Luther King Day 2010 he performed my The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace and my Requiem. On this occasion I shall be conducting Palladio [famous for its use on a TV ad for diamonds], two choral extracts, Benedictus & Ave verum [from the Armed Man & Stabat Mater respectively] and the USA premier of my Concerto for Euphonium & Orchestra played by David Childs for whom it was written.
Karl Jenkins Conducts "Palladio"
Americymru: You're a musician, your wife is a musician, your son is a musician, your daughter-in-law is a musician, your father was a musician, has music always been part of your family's life?
Karl: Well obviously that is the case. My father started the ball rolling really since he was hugely influential with regard to my musical education. He taught me piano from an early age and music was always in the house, both live & recorded. My wife Carol Barrat is a celebrated music educationalist while our son, a percussionist and film composer has just scored a Bollywood movie! His wife Rosie, whom he met in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain is currently playing oboe with the London Symphony Orchetra.
Americymru: You've said in other interviews and your biography that your father was the organist and choirmaster at your village's Methodist chapel, was he the greatest musical influence in your life? Do you think you've been the same influence in your son's life?
Karl: What we've done as parents is introduce Jody to music and by default, the musicians life so he's quite worldly for a young man [he's 28]. We did not force him in any way and having played piano & flute as a child, he asked to play percussion when he was ten. This was his instrument and became principal in the aforementioned NYOGB, won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music [where I had studied 30 years before] and graduated with first class honours. So, he's been his own man really but I suppose it helps in that we work in different areas. What we do all share as a family is a love of all good music, regardless of categorisation, and in any genre.
Americymru: How would you describe Welsh congregational singing to someone who's never seen it? Would you say that growing up with that musical experience effected or enriched you as a composer?
Karl: It's obviously hard to describe music in words but what makes it unique is the rawness of the vocal sound. On the printed page it looks like any other four part hymn but the sound, to me anyway, is hugely atmospheric especially when sung in Welsh. The sound influenced my Adiemus project which had a degree of global success. This was a mix of the 'classical' but with voices that were not from the European classical tradition but more "tribal". The text was my own invented language.
Americymru: You've performed and composed a very wide variety of instruments and styles of music and incorporate a great variety in your work, from the 13th century Roman Catholic Stabat Mater to Japanese haiku and African folk - what inspires or directs fitting these styles together in a piece? Where do you start writing music or creating music?
Karl: My musical journey, following academic classical training at Cardiff University & the RAM, has taken in a wide variety of genres and I've arrived at what I do now by way of being a musical tourist. Essentially I am a composer who always looks outside the European tradition for influences, texts & instrumentation, particularly percussion. With regard starting a piece, if I'm setting words then I immediately have a peg on which to hang the piece. If it's instrumental or Adiemus then I'm on my own! The principle is searching around for ideas [usually using a piano] and developing what takes my fancy. A huge amount of intuition is involved, but intuition based on an armoury of acquired musical craft; harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, form et.
Americymru: "Stabat" Mater (2008) is your adaptation of a 13th century Catholic liturgical hymn, in which you included an amazing variety of instruments and material from sources as wide as 13th century Persian poetry and the Epic of Gilgamesh, how did you come to create this, what was your process in expressing this?
Karl: Well the established text is there already. Then much of what I have expressed above came in to play, looking outside Europe to the Middle East/Holy Land for relevant [i.e. concerning grief] ancient text, employing languages that were lingua franca at the time and including indigenous instruments in the orchestration. The eminent Welsh poet [and academic] Grahame Davies [who wrote the words for my recently composed anthem for the National Assembly of Wales] did quite a bit of research for me with regard to the literature.
Americymru: You've said in interviews before that you "don't see any point in being a composer if you don't communicate with people," what does that mean to you? Do you feel that response in the audience is important, that response is the "product" or goal of a piece of art or music? What response do you want to create in your audiences?
Karl: I believe music should emotionally connect with an audience; make them cry, laugh, administer 'goose bumps! I've heard far too much music with 'one man and his dog' in the audience, the piece never heard again and the event receiving "critical acclaim".
Americymru: Wales seems to produce a lot of musical artists who would be (or are) described as "crossover", yourself included - do you think Wales has a musical character or tradition that inspires or tends toward experimentation or something like hybridization, a lack of adherence to artificial limitations of genre?
Karl: I don't like to use the term cross-over. I'm not sure what it means and I've explained what I do above. I don't think the Welsh like music particularly. What they do like are singers which is not necessarily the same thing. I like to think that what I do is at least individual and at least it's new. Most albums and repertoire [not just by Welsh artists] are a series of singers singing the same songs, songs that everyone knows. Many such artists are described as opera singers when they have never sang in an opera in their lives. At least good modern 'pop' has more integrity since it is newly composed.
Americymru: Did you have particular creative goals as an artist and if you did, have you achieved them? What would you like to look back on at the end of your life and see that you did or created?
Karl: Following my journey, I have come relatively late in life to what I do now, but the corollary is that I would not have arrived at this point without this musical tourism and the influence and skills that have come with it. There is still much to do. I'm setting the Gloria text for a Royal Albert Hall premier in July and there is much more to do.
Americymru: Is there any particular instrument you especially like to compose for? If so, what instrument and why?
Karl: Sounds pompous [which I'm not] but my instrument is the orchestra [& choir] and the rich palette of colours it provides.
Americymru: Is there any one work or piece that you created that you're particularly proud of or happy to have done? If so, what is it and why?
Karl: The worrying thing is that some of my most popular pieces were kind of written quickly and which I didn't set great store by. However, I suppose the Armed Man because of it's impact but I think there is better music in the Requiem.
Americymru: What music do you listen to for pleasure?
Karl: I listen far less than I did, most certainly because I'm always writing and I need a break! Favourites would be Mahler, Strauss, Wagner, Bach, Stravinsky, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Weather Report, Steely Dan........
AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh legend Max Boyce - " I have another big concert tour starting in October until December following a very successful TV programme celebrating my 70th Birthday which was actually had the highest viewing ratings that year! I am also in the process of writing my autobiography for publication when I finally finish it! "
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AmeriCymru: Hi Max and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. I read in a previous interview that you have "always loved folk music and poetry". Are there any particular musicians or poets who influenced or inspired you?
Max: I would probably say Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie & Ewan MacColl.
AmeriCymru: You worked as a coal miner in the 1960's. How and to what extent did this influence your music?
Max: I did indeed and this influenced my music massively. To write accurately about your subject matter you have to experience it personally. For me, it was that special camaraderie and sharing the same dangers that really enabled me to write my songs with first-hand experience and which ultimately has given my songs their poignancy. All great works, whether they be paintings or songs are at their best when created from personal experience.
AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about the night your Live in Treorchy album ( 1974 ) was recorded?
Max: Well it was put together very hastily so not foreseen at all! Initially I was selling my tickets for 50p just to get an audience for my show as I needed them for my chorus songs! I was in fact giving them away and think people only came to see me out of sympathy! It was the audience’s spontaneous reactions that made this album the success that it was. I made a conscious decision to choose a place where I had never been before so I got a fresh reaction and it went fantastically well!
Max Boyce Live At Treorchy
AmeriCymru: How did it feel to go straight to number 1. in the charts with your second album 'We All Had Doctors Papers'?
Max: Unbelievable! I still find it strange when I think back. Wherever I was in the country I would always buy a copy of The Melody Maker and The New Music Express just to see if I was still up there! I remember seeing my name on the list ABOVE Rod Stewart and The Beatles! Totally amazing.
AmeriCymru: Did you ever think that your song 'Hymns And Arias' would become anthemic? How did that song come to be written?
Max: No I didn’t. No-one could foresee that. It became a song of the people which just cannot be manufactured. Funnily enough the Irish and Scottish anthemic folk songs ‘Fields of Anthenry’ and ‘Flower of Scotland’ were actually written at a very similar time to when I wrote ‘Hymns and Arias’. I had just been to Twickenham and was writing topical songs. So I basically wrote about my memories of the whole trip and probably did it in about 2 hours! I wish I could change a line or two today but obviously cannot!
AmeriCymru: You have performed all over the world. What was your most memorable performance and why?
Max: Probably Wembley before the Wales vs England game. It was a home game and should have been in Cardiff but they were building the stadium for the World Cup. Such an iconic venue with 80,000 people singing along..wonderful.
AmeriCymru: You toured Australia in 2003 during the rugby World Cup. Any memories you would like to share?
Max: Performing at Sydney Opera House was tremendous and I had Katherine Jenkins as my guest. She performed one song and then was very quickly signed up after that!
Hymns and Arias
AmeriCymru: You have visited and performed in the States in the past. How did you enjoy your time in the US?
Max: I absolutely loved it and I loved the different culture. Also what a privilege afforded to very few, if any, to play for 2.5 months with The Dallas Cowboys. To be picked by Coach Landry to play offence in the first game in the Texas Stadium against the Green Bay Packers is something I will never ever forget. Following on from the success of that, I was then also asked to ride bulls in the rodeo and again, was very touched by the similar camaraderie that they had, as we did in coal mining, in sharing the same dangers. Bull riding is America’s truest sport I think and an experience that I will treasure always.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Max Boyce? Tours? Recordings?
Max: I have another big concert tour starting in October until December following a very successful TV programme celebrating my 70th Birthday which was actually had the highest viewing ratings that year! I am also in the process of writing my autobiography for publication when I finally finish it!
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Max: Please carry on with the missionary work and come back and see us soon – we miss you!
AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh musician and Taran founder Gerard KilBride about the recent S4C series 'Ffwrnes Gerdd' .
"The programme, an original idea by Gerard KilBride and produced by ffilmiau’r ffwrnes, continues the tunechain series and features a wide variety of styles and performances by different performers in the beguiling atmosphere of the Ffwrn café and restaurant at Fishguard, Pembrokeshire."
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AmeriCymru: Hi Gerard and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. What is Ffwrnes Gerdd and what was your involvement with it?
Gerard: I am the ideas originator, Producer, Musical director, tea boy and general dogs body.
Ffwrnes Gerdd is the first ever co-production between Arts Council Wales and S4C, and continues a series of short films I made in 2012 with Rhodri Smith, supported by trac called Tunechain/ Clustfeiniau.
These short films start with Robert Evans who discusses how he became involved in Welsh folk music and then he plays a tune he learnt from me. It then continues to follow the chain from musician to musician, a journey around Wales, discovering the aural tradition. They are absolutely beautiful but very low budget filmed and recorded on iphones.
- 01 Tunechain: Clustfieniau - Robert Evans
- 02 Tunechain: Clustfieniau - Gerard Kilbride
- 03 Tunechain: Clustfieniau - Gafin Morgan
- 04 Tunechain: Clustfieniau - Beth Williams Jones
- 05 Tunechain: Clustfieniau - Stephen Rees
- 06 Tunechain: Clustfieniau - Robin Huw Bowen
- 07 Tunechain: Clustfieniau - Gwenan Gibbard
- 08 Tunechain: Clustfieniau - Ceri Rhys Matthews
- 09 Tunechain: Clustfieniau - Elsa Davies
They were a great success, but limited by their low technology approach, so I approached ACW to make another set of films, using Welsh fiddlers, playing Welsh music on Welsh made violins. We also had help from Gethin Scourfield, another fiddler from the 80's band Penderyn and a legend in Welsh TV, producer of Welsh language hit Hinterland. He is working on the next series as I write this. So we approached S4C with the same idea but with Welsh singers. When S4C and ACW heard that we were working on two different projects they asked if they could co-produce and share some of the content? At the same time Theatr Mwldan, Aberteifi, and I had been planning to tour the Songchain/Cylchcanu idea using 10 artists from the films, touring Welsh arts centres and theatres.
This has just finished and was a great success - a game changer for Welsh music in Welsh theatres. We intend to tour again next year, with big plans for a collaborative project in Patagonia next year.
AmeriCymru: How many other Welsh musicians were involved with the project?
Gerard: In total 33 Welsh musicians, all masters of their crafts and touring.
AmeriCymru: Where can readers go online to view the programs or excerpts from them?
Gerard: We did a re-edit of all the tunechain clips for Lorient Interceltic 2013 and they are here in one programme :
Ffwrnes Gerdd, the two main programmes are on s4c's clic channel:
and
A ll links will always be at www.pibgyrn.com and http://www.trac-cymru.org/
AmeriCymru: When did you first become interested in Welsh traditional music? What are your musical influences?
Gerard: Both my parents played music and were instrumental in the Welsh music revival back in the 60-70s here in south Wales, so they were my first influences. They ran a dance band called Juice of Barley for thirty years so we all grew up with music all around us, my brothers and I learnt via osmosis.
Bernard is one of the fiddlers included in the films, a great fiddler and Dan who also played a big part in Taran, is currently the director of trac, Wales' Folk Development organisation.
My dad was a Ship's Captain who used to bring back tunes and whiskey from all over the world, we laugh thinking that a fiddle playing ship's Captain brings new meaning to the Mari Celeste.
My early Welsh influences were bands like Yr Hwntws who I was very proud to play the fiddle with, Pedwar yn y bar and Plethyn . Bob Evans who starts the tunechain and was also on the songchain tour, was a huge influence on my fiddle playing, he taught me there was "no such thing as a bad tune." But many great musicians passed through our doors all leaving a tune or two behind, it wasn't all plain sailing as we all rebelled and formed a punk rock band, but gradually our parents won us back with the offer of steady paid work in their dance band.
I learnt the fiddle when I was about 18 and after trying to make one, being a carpenter and joiner, decided I would learn to repair and make them. So I went to Newark School of Violin Making where I met the amazing Shetland fiddle player Ewan Thompson, who to this day is my biggest musical influence. He is a living legend, and a thoroughly lovely bloke.
AmeriCymru: Would you agree that Welsh folk and traditional music suffers by comparison with Scottish and Irish music in terms of international exposure? If so what do you think are the reasons for that?
Gerard: Not really, it is nowhere near as popular, which isn't a bad thing, but I think it's one of Wales's best kept secrets. If it was hugely popular it wouldn't be as special. History played a huge part. Ireland and Scotland almost lost their language but kept their music, in Wales it was the opposite. Wales as a nation has not promoted or supported its traditional music, comparing Welsh music to Irish and Scottish is also I feel, like comparing different fruits, an orange will never be an apple, sorry if that's obscure?
AmeriCymru: Is Welsh traditional music currently undergoing a renaissance?
Gerard: There are lots of young talented people, taking up instruments and putting the spirit into it and a lot of classical musicians joining in, which I have some mixed feelings about. I don't feel written music is the way to learn traditional music, but I could go on about that for hours. L et's not make it too popular 
Welsh Pibgyrn By Coppop (Own work) [ CC-BY-SA-3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
AmeriCymru: Your site, www.pibgyrn.com contains a wealth of information about the oldest of Welsh instruments, the pibgyrn. What advice would you give people who are seeking to become acquainted with it? Where would you acquire a pibgyrn?
Gerard: Many people think the pibgorn is a simple instrument, and feel that if they play the recorder or whistle then this instrument will be an easy transition.....not many who come from this route persist.
At first it is the most frustrating instrument to learn and to keep in playing condition. Moisture/ spit and condensation are the enemies and new players rarely understand how to manage this moisture.
It was for this reason that I made www.pibgyrn.com. As a professional instrument maker in Wales I found there was a huge myth and lack of decent information on the pibgorn. Those who knew how to play it were not keen to pass it on. This has changed now and the site is set up to dispel many of those myths.
Most of the players worldwide input into the facebook group here with lots of good advice,
https://www.facebook.com/groups/162020927154723/
The best advice I have heard so far is, until you understand fully how to adjust a pibgorn reed "do not touch or alter that reed!". Also moisture is your enemy. Learn to circular breath, and cross finger to save air, as they do with the Basque alboka.
The finest maker of Pibgyrn is Jonathan Shorland, his horn carving is second to none and like a fine porcelain, they are generally louder than most other makers instruments. He can be tracked down on the internet, he doesn't advertise, look for the band Celtech.
Gafin Morgan also a member of the band Taran, has made a pre cast plastic Pibgorn which works. It is available here www.pibgorn.co.uk . He again is a lovely man who has spent years trying to promote the instrument and through his efforts will continue to improve the manufacturing techniques.
AmeriCymru: You are the leading light and founding member of Welsh Celtic band Taran. For the benefit of any of our readers who are not familiar with it can you tell us a little about the 'Hotel Rex' album released in 2011?
Gerard: Hotel Rex, was a huge undertaking, with 26 performers from 3 different countries, and took just over two years to make. I am very proud of the outcome although it was not to the general publics taste. It is still Available on itunes and CD baby.
It starts with a sample of Jimmy Hendrix and ends with Dylan Thomas reading " and death shall have no dominion". It was the second CD for the band Taran, who mixed samples of ancient poetry, bagpipes and beats to Welsh traditional music.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Gerard Kilbride and Taran? Any new recordings or tours in the pipeline?
Gerard: We will be touring the Songchain/Cylchcanu project again next year, and I would like to continue to make short films about music. I have big ideas to include more English speaking Welsh artists and do some more collaborative work. Patagonia for the Mimosa's 150th landing celebration would be exciting. Members of Taran continue to work together in different outfits and if a project came up that interests us we would be back together in a shot. I am busy making and restoring fiddles and run several web e-commerce solutions for high end violin dealers. I am also trying my best to bring up a young family.
I would love to do more recording and playing, but no longer have the time to commit to something as large and all consuming as Taran.
Also I have another long term research project on violin bridges www.violinbridges.co.uk
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Gerard: Thanks for your interest and I hope you enjoy some of these projects. I would love to come back to the States sometime as I was blown away by the sheer scale and beauty of the place.
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David: Thanks for giving me the chance to talk about the book! It's the first full length study of the part played by Wales and the Welsh in naval history, beginning in the Roman period, going through the age of the independent kingdoms and the conquest right the way up to the present day. It's based on several years of detailed research, including a great deal of work on original sources and my own fieldwork in different parts of the country. The book's been very well received, and was recently shortlisted for the prestigious Mountbatten Literary Award. ...
AmeriCymru: How significant was the Welsh contribution to British naval history?
David: Enormous! For example, Nelson's navy couldn't have been as successful as it was without Welsh copper, mined at Parys Mountain on Anglesey and smelted in Greenfield, Swansea and elsewhere: because it reduced the frequency of major refits, coppering effectively increased the size of the operational fleet by a third, giving it a huge advantage over Napoleon's navy. The Victorian Royal Navy depended entirely on Welsh coal, and so, too, did the navies of many European states before 1914, including Russia and France. And Wales always provided large numbers of men for the Royal Navy. For example, in the book I make the pretty controversial, but thoroughly documented, claim that at the Battle of Trafalgar, the proportion of Welshmen in the fleet - relative to size of population - was much greater than that for the Scots or Irish, and if you count seamen alone, even slightly larger than the English contribution, again relatively speaking. The book also discusses famous Welsh naval men, such as Sir Thomas Foley (Nelson's right hand man), Henry James Raby (the first man ever to actually wear the Victoria Cross) and Commander Tubby Linton, one of the most brilliant submarine commanders of World War 2. It also looks at the history of Pembroke's royal dockyard, which built over 250 ships for the Royal Navy - including many famous battleships, five royal yachts, and Sir John Franklin's Erebus , the wreck of which has recently been rediscovered in the Arctic.
AmeriCymru: Does the book examine the Welsh contribution to the history of piracy?
David: To an extent, yes, although I was aware of the fact that there are already several books in print about Welsh pirates, so I deliberately decided to focus on the much less well known story of the Welsh role in 'official' state navies. But it would have been impossible not to mention the likes of Sir Henry Morgan and Black Bart Roberts, so they do feature in it!
AmeriCymru: The book includes a chapter on Welshmen in non British navies. Does the US Navy feature here? Any significant names?
David: Yes, I've included a lot about the Welshmen who served in the United States Navy, and in the Confederate Navy, too. Probably the most significant name is that of Joshua Humphreys, the Philadelphia shipwright responsible for the US Navy's famous 'six frigates', including the USS Constitution . There were Welshmen aboard both the Monitor and the Merrimac/Virginia , and the likely remains of one of them were interred with full military honors at Arlington just last year . The book also includes a substantial and in some ways quite controversial section on the almost unknown naval context behind the survival of the Welsh colony in Patagonia.
David: I loved Patrick O'Brian's books, but I was very aware of the fact that the vast majority of the naval historical fiction genre was set within what might be called 'the age of Nelson', from about 1750 to 1815. Seventeenth century naval history had been neglected in comparison, and I wanted to rectify that, especially as I'd been working on the period as a historian for many years and had published two non-fiction books about it. It's a fascinating age, with spectacular events like the Great Fire of London, larger than life characters like King Charles II and Samuel Pepys, and a series of very hard fought Anglo-Dutch wars , which form the focus of my books. My hero, too, is different to the likes of Hornblower or O'Brian's Jack Aubrey, who go to sea as boys and are therefore highly skilled and experienced seamen when they take command. Captain Matthew Quinton is typical of the 'gentlemen captains' of the Restoration period - young Cavaliers who were given commands despite having next to no experience at sea. Matthew's first command is wrecked due to his inexperience, but he's given a second chance, and this leads him into all sorts of adventures during the course of the series, from the north of Scotland to the Baltic and the River Gambia! In a future book, I hope to take him to the Caribbean, too. At the moment there are five books published in the series: Gentleman Captain, The Mountain of Gold, The Blast That Tears The Skies, The Lion of Midnight , and The Battle of All The Ages.
AmeriCymru: Any new books in the pipeline?
David: I'm currently finishing the sixth Quinton book, which is going to be a little bit different to its predecessors - although I can't really say any more than that at this stage! I also have a couple of non-fiction projects in the pipeline, too.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
David: I think it's really tremendous that there's such a strong and active American network devoted to Welsh heritage! I'm originally from Llanelli, and part of my mother's family emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1890s; my mother still remembers the return visit one of them paid, a few years before I was born, and I have a copy of the diary that he made of his trip back to Britain, so I've always been fascinated by the Welsh diaspora. I hope that if any members of that diaspora have a look at Britannia's Dragon, you'll thoroughly enjoy it!
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AmeriCymru: Hi Brendan and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. How would you describe 'Dark September'?
Brendan: Dark September is a fast paced alternate history thriller set in Wales during WW2. It touches on the desperation and raw fear of ordinary people trying to survive against odds that are definitely not in their favour.
In the story Germany invades the UK. Soldiers pour ashore from warships in the Severn Channel, determined to secure the steelworks and the coal mines of South Wales.
Irishman Danny O’Shea is on his way to work in Newport Docks. His house is bombed and his wife is killed. His young son Adam, who nearly drowned when he was a baby, has severe learning difficulties. Terrified of what the Nazis will do to him, O’Shea resolves to take him to neutral Ireland.
Penniless and desperate, they head for Fishguard. But on an isolated Welsh road they witness an attack on a German convoy carrying the blueprints for an awesome new weapon that was discovered in a secret laboratory near Brecon.
German Captain Eric Weiss, responsible for the blueprint’s safe transfer to Berlin, knows that his job - even his life - depends on him getting it back.
But, following a major disagreement amongst the insurgents, the blueprint disappears. Then O’Shea goes to the aid of a dying woman - and both the Germans and the insurgents believe she’s told him where the blueprints are.
Suddenly O’Shea is separated from his son and catapulted into a world of betrayal and brutal double-cross. Pursued by both the Germans and the insurgents, his only concern is to find Adam and get him to safety.
One reviewer did think that the violence was too sudden and disturbing, but it only reflects the horror of the times and is not deliberately gratuitous.
AmeriCymru: How did you come to write the book and what is the story behind the new edition?
Brendan: The germ of the story has been in my head since the time I was in the Navy and we did exercises in the Brecon Beacons. I wondered what it would really be like to be running for your life through such inhospitable terrain with the bad guys determined to do you a serious injury if they caught you. But why would my character be running from anyone? What year should it be set in?
Later on I saw some disturbing footage of Nazis guards disposing of people with special need, and I felt tremendous sympathy for their families. How would I have react if I was in that position and Germany invaded the UK? Where would I take my child? Being Irish I felt it would be natural to gravitate to Ireland, which was neutral. And the chances were I’d still have some family there to go to.
Of course, once I’d started writing the story it took on a life of its own. Characters reacted in ways I never intended. People I created as decent characters turned into monsters half way through a chapter, even a sentence. It was exciting and disturbing all at the same time, and I enjoyed every moment of writing it.
I was concerned about making the leading nasty persons - two sisters - direct descendants of a treasured Welsh historical character. Initially they were beautiful, kind and loving girls but they were corrupted by both love and riches. But so far I haven’t had any negative feedback about it. I would appreciate the views of my Welsh readers on that.
The original book was self-published with Smashwords.com but it has now been taken up by http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com
AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about your background as a writer? When did you first put pen to paper?
Brendan: When I won my first writing competition I was so excited I ran all the way home. I was about eight years old. The Fun Fair was coming to Tralee - our little town on the West coast of Ireland - and apart from Duffy's Circus which came every September, this was the highlight of our year. Our English teacher asked us to write an essay about it, and I won the only prize - a book of ten tickets for the fair.
There were eight kids in our family so everyone got a ride on something. Even The Mammy herself had a go on the dodgems.
So writing was in my blood from a very young age. I loved essays and English literature, but we were a very close family - physically as well as emotionally - so there wasn't much free space in our little house in Railway Terrace for me to sneak off to and indulge in my hobby.
My grand-uncle Moss Scanlon was a harness maker and he had a small shop in Lower William Street, Listowel - a rural town in Kerry that was just a bus ride from Tralee - where we spent some wonderful summer holidays. Down the lane opposite the shop was the River Feale, and Moss did some serious fishing there, standing out in the middle of the river in waders that came up to his neck while us kids swam in the cool brown water or just chilled out on the grass watching him struggle with a pike or a trout.
The shop had a wonderful magic about it - a magnet for all sorts of colourful characters who'd wander in for a chat and a bit of jovial banter. One wonderful storyteller who often popped in was John B Keane, and it was a great thrill to actually meet him. I asked him once where he got his ideas from, and he told me that everyone has a story to tell, so be patient and just listen to them.
And I was there, sitting on the counter in the shop, when John B's very first story was read out live on Radio Eireann. I can still remember the buzz of excitement and the sheer pride of the people of Listowel. And the seeds of storytelling were sown in my soul.
Another source of raw encouragement was Bryan MacMahon, one of Listowel's finest writers and a schoolmaster to boot, who was a very easy person to talk to.
Anyway, I left school at fourteen and went to work in hotels in Killarney, and I quickly got caught up in the excitement and colourful buzz of the tourist industry - remember, this was in the 60s when the Beatles were creating a heady revolution and engulfing the youth with hopes and dreams of a wonderful future - so I felt no great urgency to write. I dreamed of being a writer, of course. I wanted to be a writer - but somehow life just got in the way.
When I joined the Royal Navy at eighteen I was sent to the Far East, and I spent the first three years between Singapore and Hong Kong, and again I was having so much fun I didn't get to write anything, although there were loads of stories bursting to get out.
It was only when I got married and the children came along that I made any serious attempt to put pen to paper, and the result was Dark September, an alternative history thriller set in wartime Britain.
I loved writing it - I always wrote in longhand in a school notebook - but I hated having to type it. After working a ten-hour day, I'd be clattering away into the early hours of the morning on an old Olivetti typewriter and getting on everyone's nerves. Then I'd scream in frustration when I'd discover that hours of hard work were ruined by some horrendous typo error, and I'd have to start all over again.
Amazingly, I found an agent almost immediately, but she insisted on some major changes so I spent a year re-writing it.
Unfortunately my agent died suddenly and the agency closed. It took ages to find another agent, but he too demanded even more changes. It became too much for Jennifer and the kids, so my manuscript hibernated in the attic for a few years.
Then Jennifer bought me a computer for Christmas - with Spellcheck! This time finding an agent has proved an impossibility - they only want to represent people who're famous for just being famous - so I self-published it with Smashwords.com, though I still longed to have it accepted by a mainstream publisher.
Now I'm delighted to say the book has been accepted by Tirgearr Publishing - http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com - an Irish company, and I'm delighted with the result and all the hard work they've put into it to make it a great success.
AmeriCymru: You also write short stories. Do you have any plans for a new anthology?
Brendan: I’m always troweling through the old stories looking for inspiration, and so far I have about six that would be good enough. But I’d need a few more before I could put an anthology together.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about your collection of Irish short stories, 'Dreamin Dreams'?
Brendan: While Dark September was languishing in limbo I discovered that writing short stories is amazingly therapeutic. I get a great buzz from taking an idea and developing it, often watching it evolve into something completely different from how it started out. And I realized too that great ideas are all around us. Little gems are waiting to be harvested everywhere we look. I found myself listening to what people are saying, and the way they say it.
For instance, the Irish are famous all over the world for their colourful and exaggerated expressions, always using a dozen words when one would have done, so I build on that and set all my stories in Ireland. The names are changed, of course, because I don't earn enough to sustain a major lawsuit. I've written hundreds of stories, most of which are still stuffed in drawers somewhere, but I did manage to get more than twenty of them published over the years, in anthologies, e-zines and magazines as well as web sites.
Dreamin’ Dreams - published as an eBook with Smashwords.com, and in paperback by Lulu.com - contains twenty of my published stories, of which I'm very proud. They're all based on real people who passed through my life at some time or other, or events that actually happened to me. Enhanced, of course, and sometimes exaggerated out of all proportion.
The title comes from something my father said years ago when I got poor grades at school. 'What do you expect?' he said to my mother. 'He never does any studying. He just sits there, dreamin' dreams.'
The image on the cover is the statue in The Green, Tralee's town park, and it represents the characters in the song The Rose of Tralee. It's a tremendously impressive statue, and in a beautiful setting too.
Anyway, if you do get the chance to read Dreamin' Dreams, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
AmeriCymru: Where can people buy your work online? Do you have a website?
Brendan: bgobrien.com is my website.
Dark September can be found through Tirgearr Publishing and read on all e-readers.
http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com
Dreamin’ Dreams can be found through Smashwords.com, and all e-book retailers.
And in paperback from Lulu.com
AmeriCymru: What are you working on at the moment? Any new novels in the pipeline?
Brendan: I’m about two chapters away from finishing my latest novel, which is also an alternate history thriller.
Set in 1941, Ireland is sinking under the hordes of refugees swarming there to escape the war in Europe. Danny O’Shea is a Local Security Force volunteer - an auxiliary policeman, in other words.
A man is shot dead in a crowded pub and no one sees or hears anything. Then a young woman is found dead in the town park the very next day.
But when a child disappears from a hospital the suspense is ratcheted up several notches …and the Gardaí need all the help they can get from the LSF. But can O’Shea step up to the mark?
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Brendan: Thanks for taking the time to read this - I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did doing it. Remember AmeriCymru is a great place to hang out and chat with people who share a common interest - all things Welsh - so enjoy it and spread the word.
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AmeriCymru: Hi Brian and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. What can you tell us about your latest novel Acts of God ?
Brian: Thanks for the invitation! It's always good to communicate with compatriots and friends on the other side of the pond. I'm not sure how to describe the new novel. I hope it's got more depth to it than the average thriller, which tends to place action (normally violent) above character development or the interactions between groups and individuals. And many of the thrillers I have read over the years don't give you much of a sense of place. I'm a geographer by training, and a sense of place means a great deal to me -- like everybody else in Wales, I have hiraeth in my blood! But here the place that becomes a character in the story is East Greenland rather than Wales.
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AmeriCymru: Why there?
Brian: Well, because I went to East Greenland and its amazing fjord landscape in 1962 as a student, as joint leader of an Oxford University expedition. The area around Scoresby Sund is referred to -- with some justification -- as the Arctic Riviera, because of the freakish hot and dry weather normally experienced there during the Arctic summer. It's the only place in the world where I've ever experienced heat stroke! We had a fabulous time in the field over a period of eight weeks, but we had a few close shaves with disaster, and realised at the end of the expedition that we had been lucky to come out of it without any major injuries or even deaths. We were completely unsupported, a hundred miles from the nearest help if anything had gone wrong, and not even any radios to call for help. In retrospect, we took some crazy risks, as young men tend to do. We probably thought we were immortal.
But there were also some intriguing things that happened to us -- heavy aircraft high overhead, encounters with US military personnel, and of course a strong US presence at Keflavik in Iceland, not very far away. We were there, after all, at the height of the Cold War. In 1962 Gary Powers, the U2 pilot, was released. The USA was still recovering from the Bay of Pigs disaster. The Cuban Missile crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The Berlin Wall was being built. There was tension in the air. So back in 1962 I suppose the seeds of this novel were sown in my mind -- and for over 50 years they have been slowly germinating. And a couple of years ago I worked out the theme for the novel and started work on the first draft.
Camp site on the Oxford Glacier in 1962. Some of the incidents from the OU Expedition to East Greenland were used as the basis for episodes in the new novel
AmeriCymru: And the theme is?
Brian: I don't want to give too much away, but let's call the book the first ever "Arctic Noir" novel! It's related in some ways to those dark and brutal "Scandinavian Noir" stories that have poured out of Sweden, Denmark and Norway over the past few years -- but this story does not have a dysfunctional detective or a homicidal maniac who leads the police in a complex chase through the murky winter landscapes of the Copenhagen suburbs. In the high Arctic the darkness is the blackness of the long winter night -- and symbolically the blackness imposed on a pristine wilderness and an innocent people by powerful nations intent on out-thinking and dominating other powerful nations. And there is a very dark villain too. The story follows several groups of people whose fortunes are intertwined. The action jumps from one group to another in a manner that is deliberately cinematic. But essentially, the narrative is about a group of young men who arrive in East Greenland on a scientific expedition and who find, even before they arrive in their fieldwork area, that strange things are happening to them and to their environment.
They experience one "Act of God" after another, and soon they are afflicted by deaths and serious injuries. They are not the only ones to suffer -- the small local population of Greenlanders is also caught up in strange events. As the death toll mounts, the explorers are too intelligent and too inquisitive for their own good, and they realise that their misfortunes can be traced back to a strange "mining settlement" in a red mountain called called Himmelbjerg, surrounded by glaciers and snowfields, some fifty miles away from their base camp. Gradually, they uncover a gigantic conspiracy which has its roots in the Cold War, and it becomes clear that they are being targetted by an implacable enemy with limitless resources who will not allow any of them to get out of East Greenland alive. The forces of darkness, by the way, are led by a man called Jim Wagner. And so the scene is set for the Twilight of the Gods.........
Author Brian John and two colleagues near the point of exhaustion, on Roslin Glacier in 1962.
AmeriCymru: So the story is an allegorical one, full of symbols?
Brian: Yes, it is. All good stories are allegorical to a degree, since every author is seeking to demonstrate universal truths through an examination of a unique set of circumstances affecting a specific group of people. The conflict between good and evil is played out in almost every work of fiction -- it's a universal theme. There's another theme too, which has been in my mind ever since I started planning this novel. It's the same theme that Alexander Cordell used in "Rape of the Fair Country" -- the loss of innocence, the violent despoilation of a beautiful wilderness, the loss of humanity, the cynical acceptance of collateral damage in pursuit of power and wealth. Greed and the lust for power lie at the heart of Cordell's story, as they do in mine.
But while he was dealing with mineral exploitation and industrialisation, I'm dealing here with geopolitics and military might. This is a Cold War story, and I have tried to capture the mood of the time. And as some of my readers have already remarked, the events which I've built into the story are not so fantastical that they cannot possibly have occurred in reality. Since I tend be have an optimistic turn of mind, I like to tell stories in which evil and brutality bring their own grotesque rewards, and in which virtue triumphs!
AmeriCymru: 'Acts of God' is very much a change of setting and genre from your 'Angel Mountain' series. What prompted you to explore new avenues?
Brian: I wasn't exactly bored with Martha Morgan and her Angel Mountain adventures, and am as fascinated by her as ever -- but shall we say I was getting rather complacent? After eight novels dealing with the same group of people in early nineteenth-century Wales I began to feel that I was in the comfort zone, and that there was a danger that my writing standards might start to slip. So rather than risking that, I decided to take on something more challenging -- an Arctic Noir story set in the Cold War of 1962. That of course involved huge changes in my storytelling technique, in the style of language used by the characters and in the interpretations of landscapes, political contexts, personal relationships and almost everything else. Also, in the Angel Mountain books I used a particular format -- an introductory chapter describing the discovery of another diary volume, and then a narrative unfolding in a diary format. Using a female voice, too!
This new novel has enabled me to experiment with a quite different narrative form -- third person, a relatively straightforward timeline, and several groups of players as the drama evolves. And for a change the real stars of the story are men! That having been said, there are just two women in this story -- but they are both absolutely critical to the manner in which the central crisis is resolved.
AmeriCymru: Where can readers find 'Acts of God' online? Is there a website?
Brian: The book is already available in both paperback and Ebook for Kindle. There is also a dedicated web site which is getting a wonderful response from readers.
This is the link to my web site, where I have a purchasing facility for both European and American readers:
And here are the other key links:
Acts of God ( Kindle ) Amazon.co.uk
Acts of God ( Paperback ) Amazon.co.uk
Acts of God ( Kindle ) Amazon.com
Acts of God ( Paperback ) Amazon.com
Polar bears such as this one inevitably play a role in a novel set in the Greenland fjords
AmeriCymru: While this story is obviously a full-blown adventure story with a dark conspiracy at its heart, it seems that you are also fascinated by the East Greenland landscape. Are you being paid by the Greenland tourist office?
Brian: If only! Maybe I should send them a bill? Seriously though -- of course I'm fascinated by the East Greenland landscape. It's one of the most exotic locations possible -- by far the most spectacular fjord landscape on earth, richly textured, washed with vibrant colours and ringing with birdsong and the sounds that come from glaciers and rolling and melting icebergs. I still have a large collection of digitised images from my own expedition in 1962, and during my research for this story I have dug up hundreds of amazing photos from more recent travellers into the area. I've put the best of them into a number of albums which anybody can access, including these:
Oxford University East Greenland Expedition 1962 on Pinterest
East Greenland is already becoming an important tourist destination, but access into the fjords is strictly limited to around two months every year, because of the ubiquitous East Greenland pack-ice belt. The Greenlanders are still involved in hunting, and it's important that their way of life should continue without too much interference from anybody else. But the wildlife resources are fantastic, and the tourist authorities are pushing "eco tourism" as hard as they can, with many visitors now coming in by air. That extends the tourist season, and now we are seeing trekking and "adventure holidays" in the area in the spring months as well, when the light is bright, the fjords are still frozen, and the snow is still thick on the ground. But tourism has to be handled carefully -- the area lies outside the East Greenland National Park, and great sensitivity -- and maybe tourist "rationing" -- is needed if this delicate wilderness is not to be damaged by those who seek to protect it.
AmeriCymru: Are you planning any further instalments in the 'Angel Mountain' saga?
Brian: Never say never. My faithful readers, who have bought 75,000 of my books since the series started, keep on hassling me and asking for more! All I can say at the moment is that there are still some long gaps in the story which are waiting to be filled. There are some interesting characters too -- like the wizard Joseph Harries -- who would make interesting central characters for other stories. Then we also have the next generation of the Morgan family, now that Martha is finally in her grave. I'll keep the matter under review!
AmeriCymru: What are you doing for Christmas?
Brian: Nothing very exotic. I hate the very idea of Christmas in a hotel, or away from home. So it'll be at home, all being well, in the company of my wife, two sons, one daughter-in-law and two teenage grandsons. In our family we are lucky, since my wife Inger is Swedish and since we therefore have to celebrate Christmas twice. Christmas Eve (Julafton) is the important day in Sweden, so of course we have to celebrate that properly with all the correct rituals and food. Then we do it all again on Christmas Day, this time with the full turkey dinner in the evening. By Boxing Day we are all desperately in need of fresh air and exercise -- so whatever the weather, according to tradition, we all go for a long walk either on the cliffs of the north Pembrokeshire coast or else up our local mountain of Carningli. Up there, of course, on the mountain, we can commune with the resident angels.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Brian: Keep up the good work! It's great to see you and so many others participating in a real project designed to keep the Welsh flag flying in North America. Hiraeth is alive and well, and I've always believed that a "sense of belonging" is at least as important as a sense of place to all of us, as human beings, if we are to lead interesting and fulfilling lives. I don't think there is any conflict at all in feeling Welsh as well as being American, or Canadian, or whatever. If I'm asked what I am, I will always answer than I am a Welshman -- but that doesn't stop me from feeling British and European as well. So keep the dragon flying, keep cheering on the Welsh rugby team, and keep on buying Welsh books! Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!
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Mark: I came up with the idea for the anthology more-or-less out of necessity. Given the huge influence of Welsh author Arthur Machen on Lovecraft's work, combined with the fact that there has been an explosion in Cthulhu Mythos-themed books over the last few decades, I felt sure that a book like Cthulhu Cymraeg must already exist; one where Welsh authors returned the compliment paid to Machen by Lovecraft by writing in a Lovecraftian manner. Completing the circle, so to speak.
But after months of searching for this book that gave a uniquely Welsh twist to the Cthulhu Mythos, I gave up, forced to admit that no Welsh publisher had yet been down that road. That was when I approached Steve Upham, who upon hearing of the idea was keen that his Cardiff-based company, Screaming Dreams, should take on the project.
So I suppose you could say I produced the book because I wanted to read it!
AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about your contribution to the collection:- 'Pilgrimage'?
Mark: I took something that many people in south Wales will be familiar with - the hour's rail journey between Cardiff and Swansea - and made it even stranger than it usually is!
The story nearly didn't happen, in fact. I'm always critical of writers who edit an anthology and include one of their own stories. It seems like cheating somehow.
But in this instance I'm merely being hypocritical. As one of the few Welsh authors who had already written a series of Lovecraftian stories, the publisher persuaded me that on this occasion I really needed to put my money where my mouth was.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about the other contributors?
Mark: All the contributors were either born in Wales or have lived here for some time, so hopefully a uniquely Welsh point of view comes through in the writing. It'd be unfair to pick out individual contributors but all of them have a track record of writing tales of the fantastic and macabre; some have even won prestigious awards for their work.
The publisher, Steve Upham, and I agreed that we didn't simply want writers who were 'holidaying in horror' but rather authors who had an already proven commitment to the genre. And I think that shows through in the stories.
And there are more writers in Wales today creating tales of the fantastic than ever before. So there is a solid foundation for a Welsh School Of The Weird - maybe this book is its first manifesto, who knows.
I should also mention that we were very fortunate in that S T Joshi, Lovecraft's biographer and one of the world's foremost Lovecraft experts, agreed to write a foreword to the anthology. It speaks volumes about Machen's influence on Lovecraft in just a few pages. We were very grateful that he was generous enough to do that as he is always incredibly busy.
AmeriCymru: How much does this collection owe to, and celebrate, the legacy of Arthur Machen ?
Mark: Gwilym Games, of the Friends Of Arthur Machen ,often gives talks on the author's influence on Lovecraft. I've heard him say on several occasions "Without Machen there would have been no Lovecraft". I think that sums things up very well. And, by extension, without Machen there would have been no 'Cthulhu Cymraeg'. So you could say that the anthology forms a small part of his legacy.
AmeriCymru: In your opinion, how much of an influence did Machen have on Lovecraft's writing?
Mark: An enormous influence. Without him, Lovecraft's work would have been very different. If he hadn't discovered Machen's tales, the Anglophile New Englander would probably have been far more influenced by Lord Dunsany or Algernon Blackwood and perhaps his writing would have had far less impact than it has had.
In his 1927 essay 'Supernatural Horror In Literature', Lovecraft says about Machen: “Of living creators of cosmic fear raised to its most artistic pitch, few if any can hope to equal the versatile Arthur Machen.” He also praised Machen's story 'The White People' as one of the greatest examples of weird literature ever written.
And of course the influence of Machen's celebrated 1894 novella 'The Great God Pan' can be seen quite clearly in one of Lovecraft's best-known tales, 'The Dunwich Horror', which seems to have been partly written as an homage to the Welsh author.
AmeriCymru: How prominently does Welsh folklore feature in these tales?
Mark: One or two of the stories do touch on elements of Welsh folklore, although that was never really a major intention of the anthology.
But in the introduction I do suggest that Lovecraft's inter-dimensional beings are distorted versions of the Welsh myth of the Tylwyth Teg (or 'Fair Family'). Machen used these supernatural beings, who were said to dwell underground or below water, in his own work (most notably in 'The White People', 'The Novel Of The Black Seal' and 'The Children Of The Pool'), making them even more terrifying than their already unsettling reputation. Perhaps Lovecraft was impressed by these creatures' reputed ability to use water as an occult gateway between their own realm and ours, echoing this in his own creations' thankfully unsuccessful attempts to create their own gateways between the arcane and the mundane.
So it could be that Lovecraft himself was unconsciously influenced by Welsh folklore, transforming it (Oz-like) into something even more fantastical than the original.
Mark: My background is in journalism. I spent a decade-and-a-half working for Welsh newspapers (including the South Wales Echo in Cardiff and the South Wales Evening Post in Swansea) and the BBC before moving to a marketing and PR role in higher education.
I decided at the age of nine that I wanted to be a writer. I finally succeeded in getting into print at the age of 39!
My novella 'The Garden Of Doubt On the Island Of Shadows' was published in 2006. It was largely written as a response to my father's death two years earlier.
By a strange co-incidence it was read by the great American author Ray Bradbury, who was kind enough to comment favourably on it. This meant a lot to me as I am a great admirer of his work, which I discovered in my early teens.
My 2010 book 'Songs From Spider Street' is structured so it can be read as either a portmanteau novel or a short story collection, depending on your mood and how much time you have. It contains a mixture of magic realism, science fiction, existential horror and surrealism.
While the follow-up collection, 2013's 'Brightest Black', has a darker tone overall and is more traditional.
At the moment I'm working on a new collection for an American publisher. But as I'm quite a slow writer I can't say when that'll see the light of day.
My stories also pop up from time-to-time in anthologies and magazines when you least expect them.
AmeriCymru: What have you been reading lately? Any recommendations?
Mark: I've just finished re-reading Juan Rulfo's 'Pedro Paramo'. And I'm also dipping into a beautiful-looking book by Colorado's Centipede Press called 'A Mountain Walked: Great Stories Of The Cthulhu Mythos'. There is some wonderful work in there and, in terms of its size and weight, it reminds me of an old Welsh family Bible.
As for recommendations - well, Machen and Lovecraft of course. Any short story by Dino Buzzati. 'Invisible Cities' by Italo Calvino, which is endlessly inventive and great to dip in and out of. Christopher Priest's wonderful novel 'The Glamour'.
I can't choose a single piece by Thomas Ligotti, so I'll just content myself with saying that anything by him is well worth reading (even his shopping list, probably).
AmeriCymru: What's next for Mark Howard Jones?
Mark: Early next year a collection called 'Dreamglass Days' is due out, which collects together all the stories I've had published in the Manchester-based literary magazine Sein und Werden over the last eight years.
And there are plans for a second volume of 'Cthulhu Cymraeg'. The anthology had almost universally good reviews but the one thing people did say was that it simply wasn't long enough. So this time we'll probably be concentrating on publishing longer stories and even novella-length pieces.
AmeriCymru: Where can our readers go to purchase 'Cthulhu Cymraeg' online?
Mark: It's available through Amazon both in the U.S. and the U.K. They can also simply click on the ad in the Welsh-American Bookstore. >
If anyone wants more information about the book they can visit www.screamingdreams.com/cthulhucymraeg.html .
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Mark: Why not read 'Cthulhu Cymraeg' to your loved ones by the fireside on these cold winter nights.
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Welcome to Sker House , a place where fact and fiction collide.
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REVIEW
It's addictive.... a real page turner. It will not scare the pants off you, although there are some eerie passages earlier on, but, it will keep you massively entertained throughout. Think 'ripping yarn' or 'H.P. Lovecraft meets Indiana Jones'.
The Indiana Jones connection is alluded to at one point in the narrative when the guests and staff of Sker House make their final stand against the other worldly horrors which infest the place:-
“This is beginning to turn into an Indiana Jones movie,” said Lucy, who seemed increasingly unimpressed with all the problem-solving.
“In that case, I hope it doesn't turn into the Last Crusade,” said Dale.
“Why? Does the hero die in that one? I haven't seen it,” said Lucy, feigning interest.
“No. It was just s**t.”
No fear of that! The final scenes, set in the catacombs beneath Sker House, combine comedy and drama with perfect pace to provide a satisfying and thrilling denoument to the creepy capers that precede it.
If you like your ghost stories with a generous side of humor then this book is definitely for you. Sker House landlord James Machen (an allusion, no doubt, to Welsh master of horror fiction, Arthur Machen) entertains us frequently with his wry observations. The alcoholic Welsh landlord, down on his luck and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, reveals the sad story of his associaton with Sker in a series of drunken soliloquies. At one point he asks himself:-
"What was it Richard Burton said? Show a Welshman a million exits and he'll always choose the path to self-destruction. Or was it Anthony Hopkins? Maybe they both said it. Whatever. It sounded about right."
All in all I have no hesitation in recommending Sker House to anyone who has a sense of humor and a taste for the supernatural. With summer vacation time looming this book is a perfect accompaniment for long plane or train journeys and ideal for a lazy day at the beach.
INTERVIEW
AmeriCymru: How would you describe your latest novel, 'Sker House'?
In a nutshell, it's a traditional haunted house story with a contemporary twist and a distinctly Welsh flavour. Sker House is an actual location, near Kenfig on the south Wales coast. When I was a kid I used to go on family holidays to Porthcawl and Sker was a regular haunt, excuse the pun. It was in ruins then – the house been refurbished since – and there was just something about the place. There are loads of local legends and ghost stories connected to it. I thought about it a lot over the years, and always toyed with the idea of writing a book about it. When I was living in China a few years ago I had some time on my hands and decided to tackle the project head-on. During the research phase, I found that the truth is even stranger than the fiction. Of all the historical sites in Wales, Sker House is probably the most deserving of having a fictionalized book written about it. It's also one of the lesser-known sites. One of my aims was to share the story of Sker with a wider audience.
AmeriCymru: You have written many horror shorts for magazines, anthologies etc. What attracts you as a writer you to the horror genre?
I don't really know. It probably comes from being a huge Stephen King fan and being addicted to TV shows like Tales From the Crypt and Outer Limits when I was a kid. If I sit down to write, what comes out is naturally dark. Most of it has a little injection of humour, which unfortunately goes over a lot of people's heads. Writing dark fiction is also a bit of a release. My day job is writing about sport and lifestyle for magazines. I love my job, and consider myself lucky to be able to do what I love for a living, but as with most day jobs, it gets a bit monotonous at times. There's a lot of ticking boxes, writing stuffy corporate stuff, and trying to make uninteresting things sound interesting. My style, and what I write about, is largely dictated by the client or the readers. When I write fiction, I don't write for an audience, I write for myself. That's one reason why I turned to indie publishing a couple of years ago. I like the creative freedom. I control everything from the content and the cover design to the pricing, which has been a big sticking point with publishers in the past who always insisted on pricing my books way too high.
That was the first book I ever had published. Having left school with no qualifications, I was working in a packing factory in Rhymney. After my shifts I'd go home, research and write about local myths and legends. Partly because I wanted to identify more with Wales, and partly because I was just interested in the subject matter. When people asked what I did in my spare time I'd tell them, but nobody ever thought it would lead to anything, least of all me. I dreamed about being able to leave that factory. After six or seven years work, I polished the manuscript up and sent it out to about a dozen publishers. Most never replied, and the ones that did turned it down. The very last name on the list was a small Welsh publisher called Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, who liked it and agreed to take it on. It caused quite a stir when it came out, there were newspaper and radio interviews for which I was wholly unprepared, but it won the attention of the Welsh Arts Council who got behind it and I ended up getting a grant to go to university as a mature student. Since then, I've had to pinch myself every day. I am living proof that if you put your heart and soul into something, you can achieve anything.
That was something I started when I was in university, again as a kind of pet project just because I wanted to know more about the club. Their history is fascinating. They are the only club to ever take the FA Cup out of England, and remain the only football club in the world to ever hold the national cups of two different countries at the same time by winning the Welsh cup the same year (1927). There's a great old photo of the then-captain, Fred Keenor, with the FA Cup in one hand a fag in the other. How the game has changed!
It's not always enjoyable, but supporting Cardiff is never boring. The first game I ever saw was a 1-1 draw with Barnet in the old Fourth Division in 1992 (I think), and I went down to Ninian Park quite regularly until I moved away in 2003. I finished the book in 2007, but couldn't find a publisher for it at the time. Then, when the club won promotion to the Premier League in 2012/13, I had another go and lo and behld, there was more interest this time around.
AmeriCymru: What's next for C.M. Saunders. Any new titles in the works?
I took a huge leap recently and scaled down my day job to pursue fiction. Not 100% of the time, but now I do about half and half. I thought if I don't do it now, I never will. I have a new novella coming out in the summer called No Man's Land, a horror story set in the trenches of World War I. It's the centeniery of the Battle of the Somme, so I'm planning on giving the proceeds to a veteran's charity. My main project at the moment is an adventure series for young adults about a character called Joshua Wyrdd, who finds a magic amulet in a rock pool in Anglesey which transports him through time. I've always been a history buff. The books are written in such a way that they aren't just adventure stories, but are also at least partially historically accurate, so they can be used as educational tools for kids. The first book is about the Roman invasion of Angelsey and the Final Battle they had there with the Celts and the druids, while the second is about pirates and sea monsters and the third will be about the witch trials.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
The bond Welsh people have, wherever in the world they travel, is something that never ceases to amaze me. If I ever see a Welsh jersey in a random bar in Hong Kong, or anywhere else, I know I'm looking at a friend. We just seem to have an affinity with each other, and that is something to be cherished. I'd also like to thank Americymru, and it's members, for all their support. It truly means everything. Diolch!
Cynan Jones lives near Aberaeron in West Wales. His first book, 'The Long Dry 'was published in June 2006. The novel , which won a Betty Trask Award in 2007 is set on a Mid Wales farm. His second book 'Everything I Found on The beach' is also set in West and North Wales. AmeriCymru spoke to Cynan recently about his novels and his plans for the future.
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C ynan : I find it difficult to be around good things without wanting to try and do something good myself. If I eat amazing food, I want to learn to cook. Reading amazing books probably made me want to write, way back. But in terms of inspiration, I think the question is mostly asked the wrong way round. I didn't get 'inspired to be a writer.' A person is inspired, and they find an outlet for that. Be it chefing, or excellence in sport, or writing. It's driven by a great love of a thing and the consequent desire to want to do it well.
AmeriCymru: Your first book 'After The Factory' is somewhat difficult to find. Care to tell us a little more about it and whether it will become more easily obtainable in the future?
Cynan: 'After the Factory' tells the story of Joseph Napoleon, a factory worker who comes home every night to his basement flat and, while trying to sleep, imagines the characters behind the footsteps that echo across the square outside his room.
It's a short work, but one that readers seem to like very much. It's very different from the two 'Welsh' novels. I'm hoping there will be some news on the 'After the Factory' front soon. I'll keep you posted.
AmeriCymru: In both your subsequent books:- 'Everything I Found on The Beach' and 'The Long Dry' the central characters life and circumstances are revealed through an intimate connection with their surroundings. How important is a sense of 'place' in your writing?
Cynan: A good story should work even when it's lifted out of its setting - I'm talking about the key themes, the big motors of the thing. This is how great 'universal' tales are built, even when they are humble like 'The Old Man and the Sea'. But creating a sense of place is akin to setting the spell, making a world for a reader. It happens that the main characters are very linked to their environments in both these stories so the sense of place is vital. It's the environment I grew up in and am very close to. While I haven't written that intimacy in deliberately, its picked up majorly by readers.
AmeriCymru: You live in West Wales and your books reveal a strong familiarity with the rural lifestyle. What is your background? What did you do before you became a writer?
Cynan: I grew up in West Wales and returned to live here at twenty eight after a stint in Glasgow working as a freelance copywriter. I grew up very close to my grandparents' farm, so spent most of my time there. The farm was small, sixty acres or so. But it had woods, fields and scrubland, and ran right down to a beach. It had an incredible range of places to play. I don't think I ever outgrew that. All I'm doing now really is playing made up games like I did when I was a kid. Just I'm writing things down rather than running round playing them.
Before now I've been a substitute teacher, mentored in a behavioural unit, worked on building sites and as a wine presenter. I've worked in aquariums, and in a kitchen. All sorts. I've done whatever it took to get by without getting tied up in a contract which wouldn't let me drop out to work on a book when I needed to.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little more about The Long Dry . What can readers expect to find? How would you describe the book?
Cynan: The Long Dry is the story of a bad day that gets worse. A calving cow goes missing, and the farmer has to try and find it. He is meanwhile beset by doubts and questions.I wrote it very quickly (in ten days) and immediately knew it was the strongest thing I was capable of at the time. That was back in 2005. It was accepted for publication relatively soon after I wrote it. It went on to win a Society of Authors first novel award, and has been translated into French, Arabic and Italian. It is ostensibly a very simple thing, but people say it's very strong.
AmeriCymru: Everything I Found on The Beach paints a grim picture of life in rural West Wales. How has the area been affected by the current economic hard times?
Cynan: In some ways there hasn't been a major 'boom' here, so we're not as badly affected as those places that grew and swelled with the prior injection of affluence. Statistically, people here earn considerably less than the average wage, and house prices are higher than near anywhere in the UK as compared to earnings, (because of the huge second home market). In terms of jobs, there's not much to do. There's farming, but on small family run farms that are increasingly unfeasible. There's some factory work in relatively small factories. There's a university and hospital in Aberystwyth and lots of seasonal work in tourism related industries. The local authority is a major employer. But the quality of life if good. If you use and appreciate this area, it pays back. You don't need vast amounts to exist. The grim element perhaps comes from the limited choices here.AmeriCymru: How difficult is it for Welsh writers to get published and to succeed these days?
Cynan: It is simply difficult to get published, Welsh or not. (You could even argue it's easier when you're Welsh, particularly writing in Welsh, because of the funding that makes that process possible).
When I decided to write I said to myself: write as strongly as you can, everything else is a side effect. I've stuck by that. However, the key thing now is visibility. Breaking through the London-dominated media wall is difficult, and perhaps they don't take Welsh publishers as seriously as they should. In France and Italy my work had big reviews in major newspapers, with some extraordinary critical acclaim. The next step, as well as continuing to write strongly, is to get that attention on my own turf.
AmeriCymru: What do you read for pleasure? Any recommendations?
Cynan: I read massive amounts. Writers like Steinbeck, McCarthy, Carver and so on are on a different level. Brink, Coetze. Graham Greene, Orwell. The great writers. When you write yourself, the quality of the writing has to be very very high. For something more recent, try 'The Solitude of Thomas Cave' by Georgina Harding.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Cynan Jones? What are you working on currently?
Cynan: There's a new novel on the desk right now. Come the end of January, I'll start work on the final draft. It's called 'Traces of People.'
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Cynan: Keep reading! When you read something you like, tell everyone!
Read our 2011 interview with Gwenno Dafydd HERE
AmeriCymru:- Hi Gwenno and diolch for agreeing to this interview. I have to ask you firstly, how was the St David's Day Parade this year?
Gwenno:- Really good, more organisations coming on board such as Cardiff Cycle Tours all the faithful schools and schoolchildren from previous years and this year some more giants, which I was very proud of as I suggested the idea to the Parade Partnership (NSDDP, Cardiff County Council and Welsh Assembly Government) back in 2008 and 2009 when I was actively involved in the organisation of the parade.
Ben Bore (Rhys) / Rhys Wynne License CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5
Gwenno:- It is an honour bestowed by Cardiff and Co , the organisation for Cardiff which acts as a portal for information regarding investment, tourism, conferences, events, shopping, education, living and working in Cardiff. As Ambassadors we actively promote the city as a great destination for all sorts of events in our professional dealings as well as being invited to networking events to develop business for Cardiff and a celebrity dinner every year. This year our guest of honour was Welsh adventurer Richard Parks and he spoke about his incredible achievement of climbing to the summits of the seven highest mountains of the seven continents, the South Pole, North Pole and Everest in less than seven months.
I was really honoured to have interviewed him last year for the radio programme I co-present every week on Radio Cardiff, ‘Mack and Welshy Woman’ (Councillor Neil McEvoy, Deputy Chair of Cardiff City Council introduces me as ‘Gwenno Dafydd – The Welshiest Woman in Wales’ !!!) and was very lucky to have sat with his production team at the Ambassadors Dinner and met him again at the year’s Ambassadors Ball.
I would also like to take this opportunity to mention how hard Councillor McEvoy (Plaid Cymru) has worked to develop a week long festival to celebrate Saint David’s Day in Cardiff and this is again growing year on year. It has come to fruition as a direct result of the spectacular growth that we had with the NSDDP in both 2008 and 2009 when we had in the region of 8,000 thousand in 2008 and around 10,000 participants in the 2009 Parade.
AmeriCymru:- You also host a regular bi-weekly slot on S4C's 'Wedi Tri' as one of the 'Gossip Girls'. What is your role on the show?
Gwenno:- I don’t actually host the programme I am on the panel. We talk about three different subjects that have turned up during the week and we talk about them on live television through the medium of Welsh. I really love the challenge.
AmeriCymru:- You will be attending NAFOW at Scranton this year along with the Cor Godre'r Garth. How did you become involved with the choir?
Gwenno:- I first started singing with the choir in around 1986 or so and was a faithful member of the choir under the baton of Wil Morus Jones for several years and then left soon after my daughter was born in around 1993. I joined another choir which was more convenient for many years but I never had any fun at all with the new choir and always knew that I really belonged to Cor Godre’r Garth, who were a bunch of really friendly warm and fun people – watch out Scranton we’re a lively bunch!!!
AmeriCymru:- What for you, will be the highlight of the event?
Gwenno:- Don’t know yet – we haven’t been told very much about it – I think it will be obviously the singing and also meeting and making new friends in Scranton. One thing I am really looking forward to on the trip is going back to Don’t Tell Mama’s Piano Bar off Broadway and taking the choir there for a sing song. I was there last March and sang a few songs with their resident pianist, Nate Buccieri www.donttellmamanyc.com won’t know what’s hit them if our choir gets up there and starts to sing!!!
AmeriCymru:- Is this your first visit to the Scranton area?
Gwenno:- Yes. However, when I was in America in 2004 filming I came across an amazing dvd for back problems and having suffered with a very painful choric back condition for many, many years I started working with the person who had developed the dvd. It really transformed my life so much so that I ended up running again, and ended up fulfilling a lifetimes’ dream of winning my Welsh vest for the 400 metres. The person who developed this amazing dvd, James Ciferni lives in the Scranton area and I’m really hoping that I can meet him when we come over so I can shake his hand and thank him properly for all he has done for me. If you are interested in finding out more go to www.backpaineliminator.com
AmeriCymru:- Any final message for our readers and attendees of NAFOW?
Gwenno:- Come along to hear us sing – you will not be disappointed. Eilir Owen Griffiths our conductor is an immensely talented young man who is also the Musical Director of the Llangollen Music Festival and we will be performing some pieces he has composed. We had a concert this last Sunday to raise money for this year’s National Eisteddfod in Barry and we sang his masterpiece ‘Gorffennwyd’ (It is finished) I have to say the hairs stood up on my skin. You are in for a treat Ladies and Gentlemen and I can’t wait to meet you all.
David Lloyd AmeriCymru: Hi David and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. I think it would be fair to say that you are an American writer with an intimate connection to Wales. Care to tell us a little about your Welsh background?
David: My father was born and grew up in Corris, near Machynlleth, and my mother in Pontrhydyfen, near Port Talbot - Welsh speaking, chapel-centered villages in those days, with Corris being all about slate and Pontrhydyfen depending on coal mining. They met in Aberystwyth, where my mother was a university student and my father a visiting minister. After marriage, my father served as minister in Ferndale (where my eldest brother was born) and then at the Heathfield Rd. Welsh Chapel in Liverpool (where my sister was born). When Moriah Presbyterian Church in Utica, New York put out a call for a Welsh-speaking minister, my father wanted to try it out, and brought the family over in 1949, intending to stay only a few years. My other brother and I were born in the US, and the family stayed on. So I grew up in the Welsh American community in Utica, which was very active in those days. At the time he retired, my father was the last minister in the area to preach and hold services in Welsh.
AmeriCymru: You recently won the West Coast Eisteddfod Online Short Story Competition with your story Dreaming of Home . What can you tell us about this story?
David: "Dreaming of Home" is from a story collection titled The Moving of the Water, with all stories set in the Welsh American community of Utica during the 1960s. In this story, an immigrant from Wales named Old Llew (short for Llewelyn but also “lion” in Welsh) returns to his apartment after a day of drinking. He watches a TV news report on fighting in Vietnam, falls asleep, and dreams. And what he dreams about is his own battle experience in WWI. Of course WWI affected Wales terribly, with the loss of young men devastating communities. In his dream, Llew relives a bloody attack in the trenches, is visited by his father (because it’s a dream after all), and asks to be taken away from the trenches, back home. "But you are home," his father tells him. “Dreaming of Home” and other stories in The Moving of the Water explore the ambiguous nature of “home” for someone like Llew. Is home where you came from, or where you currently live? Is your true home the land of your first language and your formative years? Or is your home a product of the defining experiences of your life, such as fighting in a WWI trench or in Vietnam? I don’t want my stories to provide answers - I want to dramatize and get readers thinking about certain questions.
David: “Hiraeth” is a complex word, made more complex by being sometimes used in a sentimental way. I think “hiraeth” is about a profound longing - for the security of the past, for the remembered (and mis-remembered) past, for places that are etched in memory. It’s a longing for “home,” however that home might be conceived. So yes, it’s much more than homesickness - an existential longing that all humans experience.
AmeriCymru: You edited the 2009 Parthian collection Other Land . That collection "examines Wales and being Welsh-American through divergent poetics and perspectives." How would you describe your perspective?
David: I know that my identity has been shaped by the values, accents, stories, and memories of my Welsh parents - their distinct ways of being in the world. My identity has also been shaped by the American values, accents, landscapes around me, not to mention TV, music, films, books, education. I was raised on both “Calon Lân” and “Blue Suede Shoes,” you might say. I am fascinated by the hybrid or blended nature of identity - of the identities of all Americans, even those descended from pilgrims on the Mayflower, even Native Americans. My perspective is that I don’t want to write or read about the trappings of being Welsh - hymn-singing, coal mining, leeks, and so on. I want to write and read about the deeper workings in people’s lives that make them who they are.
David: I wouldn’t use the term “divided” in describing writings by English-language Welsh poets, though I do recognize the strains and tensions they experience, working in a bilingual nation where English has been dominant only for last hundred or so years. I think the best English-language Welsh poets are publishing some of the most original and important verse written anywhere, using English to express their unEnglish identities. I love Robert Minhinnick’s dense, energized language and political commitment. I’m interested in every new book John Barnie publishes, because he’s pushing edges in multiple genres. And then there’s exciting work produced from Welsh-language writers (and musicians and artists) - poet and musician Twm Morys is an example. Iwan Bala’s art has been ground-breaking for Wales - in his drawings he uses Welsh and English words, recognizing the fraught bilingual reality. He’s engaged with “remapping” Wales and Welsh culture through his art.
AmeriCymru: Please tell us a little about your other work. In particular your novels and short stories.
David: I published my first book of fiction, Boys: Stories and a Novella, with Syracuse University Press in 2004. That work (like my new manuscript, The Moving of the Water) is a linked series of stories taking place in my hometown of Utica. Twelve stories collectively titled "On Monday" happen on the same day (a Monday, as you might guess), in February of 1966. Main characters in some stories reappear as minor characters in other stories. As a collection the stories explore ways in which American culture shapes (and mis-shapes) its children. The novella, "Boys Only," features a character named Chris from a Welsh background, and one of my favorite scenes is between him and his Welsh-speaking Taid.
In 2013 I published a novel, Over the Line, again set in upstate New York. This story takes place during a week in the life of Justin, a teenager in a town buckling under the pressures of unemployment, endemic crime, and rising drug use. It’s something of a mystery story, as Justin gets closer and closer to the unknown source of methamphetamine in his community. I’m interested not only in how society affects an individual’s development but also in the concept of heroism - as an ideal, an illusion, and a reality.
The most recent of my three poetry collections is Warriors , published by Salt Publications in the UK but available in the US via Amazon and the Salt web site. I review books occasionally and write literary criticism, such as articles on R. S. Thomas and, recently, Brenda Chamberlain.
AmeriCymru: What's next for David Lloyd? Any new projects in the pipeline?
David: I’m working on two projects: finishing a new poetry collection, tentatively titled The Body’s Compass, and undertaking final edits for my story collection, The Moving of the Water, which I hope soon to send to publishers to consider. I’ve been publishing some of those stories. You can find one titled “Home” in the on-line Welsh journal Lampeter Review and one titled “The Key” in the US journal Stone Canoe .
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
David: The story of Welsh-American life has been well documented by historians - and that excellent work is ongoing. Contemporary poets have been exploring the experience of being Welsh and American - including those in my Other Land anthology, such as Jon Dressel, William Greenway, and Margaret Lloyd. But I would love to see more Welsh American writers drawing on their cultural experience and identity - poems, stories, memoirs, cross-genre works: there’s a rich vein of experience yet to be mined.
RHYS BOWEN ON AMAZON Rhys Bowen is the award winning writer of the Constable Evans mysteries set in the Snowdonia Mountains of Wales. Apart from the Constable Evans series, Rhys has written many other novels and children's books, including many best-selling titles. She has also written some historical sagas and TV tie-ins. She currently resides in California and spends her winters in Arizona. Her latest titles include Dreamwalker (The Red Dragon Academy Book 1) and The Edge of Dreams (available from bookstores and online from March 3rd). AmeriCymru spoke to her about her work and future plans.
Rhys: Thanks for inviting me, Ceri. Dreamwalker is a middle grade children's fantasy novel, set at Red Dragon Academy, a strange boarding school in Wales. The children who have been sent there seem to have strange powers and one hallway leads to another world. If you liked Harry Potter you'll enjoy this. Not the same but the same sort of feel. And plenty of Welsh mythology tied in.
AmeriCymru: When can we expect a sequel?
Rhys: As you know I usually write adult mystery novels. This was my first venture writing with my daughter Clare. We were sitting together lamenting no more Harry Potter when I said "You know. I have an idea..." and we talked it through. Now she is bugging me to get that first sequel written. I have a really full writing background but I'm going to try to make time to plot out a second book next month.
AmeriCymru: Can you tell us a little about your Welsh background? What effect did your many childhood visits to North Wales have on your writing?
Rhys: My grandfather is Welsh. My passionate Welsh aunt Gwladys used to take me to Wales every summer where I stayed with Welsh speaking great aunts. We were near Snowdonia and my aunt was a passionate hiker so I've done every trail up Snowdon. From a small child I have always felt the draw of that majestic scenery--towering mountains, streams rushing down them, the bleeting of sheep. That was why I started the Constable Evans series because I wanted to share that experience with those who didn't know about Wales.
AmeriCymru: What initially attracted you to mystery writing?
Rhys: I've always been a mystery reader. I love the puzzle, the suspense. I had been writing in other genres (YA TV etc and suddenly felt I wanted to write what I enjoyed reading. I wanted to write mysteries with a strong sense of place. And of course the place that came to mind was Wales.
Rhys: As I just said I knew I wanted to write mysteries with a strong sense of place. It was when I was telling a friend about my childhood experiences in Wales that she said "Did you ever put this in a book?" and I thought Aha! So then Constable Evans walked in, almost fully formed and said "Hello, here I am." The funny thing was it was as if I knew him from day one. I didn't have to make anything up.
I've really loved doing those books and would like to write another one, but alas the publisher started taking some of the books out of print. It made no sense to me to go on writing if a new reader couldn't find the whole series (Luckily they are now all on Kindle etc). But I have promised readers that I will write an Evan e-story from time to time so that we can see how he is doing. I'm curious to know, aren't you?
Rhys: Of course the awards are amazing and rather humbling. But I think my proudest achievement is my number of fans to whom my books mean something. I've had letters saying "your book got me through time at the homeless shelter, or through chemo, or through the loss of a dear one." Those really mean something.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about your 2014 novel City of Darkness and Light and the Molly Murphy series of which it is the latest instalment?
Rhys: The Molly Murphy novels are set in early 1900s New York. This book starts with a devastating event when Molly's house is blown up and she is sent for safety to her good friends in France. She arrives to find no trace of them. Alone with a baby in a strange city she has to find out what happened to her friends and how their disappearance is linked to the murder of a well-known Impressionist painter. It was fun to write as I adore Impressionist art!
By the way, the next Molly book is due out on March 3, called The Edge of Dreams .
AmeriCymru: From Her Royal Spyness ( 2007 ) to Queen of Hearts ( 2014 ) your Lady Georgiana ( aka Georgie ) series has proved immensely popular. Care to introduce the character for our readers? Are there any further titles in the pipeline?
Rhys: Lady Georgie is 35th in line to the throne in the 1930s. Although she has royal connections her branch of the family is destitute and she is trying to make her own way in the world at a difficult time. The Molly books are suspenseful and serious. The Royal Spyness are pure fun. I poke fun at the British class system, at my clumsy heroine, her awful maid. Think Bertie Wooster meets Bridget Jones with the occasional body!
And yes, there are more titles ahead. The next one is called Malice at the Palace and is about the (real) wedding of the Duke of Kent to Princess Marina... so tied in to some real history and set at Kensington Palace.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Rhys Bowen?
Rhys: More Molly and Lady Georgie books, the next Red Dragon Academy and hopefully enough time in between to travel, enjoy the best fish and chips in Wales in Usk and Cornish pasties in Falmouth!
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Rhys: Cymru am byth!
AmeriCymru: Hi Tony and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. What inspires your artwork?
Tony: Since my early childhood in north Wales I spent time drawing, especially faces and animals. My late mother used to say I took after my grandfather who spent his last remaining years painting schooners and putting models of these early sailing ships into bottles. He spent his working life on these ships transporting coal from the north Wales coast (Mostyn) to Ireland.
After leaving school I attended the local college to study Art and Design and from there I furthered my studies in London. I then worked in visual communication and after working in London (there was very little opportunity in this field of work in north Wales at that time) and Ireland and for a brief period in the US (Seattle) I thankfully returned home permanently to Wales in 1989. But after being layed off work twice and unable to find suitable employment back in Wales I decided to work on my own projects. And the first project had to be about Cymru. I had bought an old print of a map of north Wales (John Speed) while I was studying in London in the early 70’s, this being something I could not resist. I have treasured this map and two years ago I carefully took it out of the frame and got it professionally scanned. This was the start of my Welsh theme, which has been a labor of love.
AmeriCymru: What is your process? How do you create these wonderful images?
Tony: All of my work is a combination of design, photography and illustration. I do the research and collect old photographs as well as taking my own photographs. I design the layout and then put everything together on the AppleMac computer.
AmeriCymru: Care to comment on the Owain Glyndwr image (reproduced above)?
Tony: The Owain Glyndwr/ Llywelyn ab Iorwerth ( Llywelyn the Great ) image is to me the most important image I have ever created. I wanted to create an iconic image that communicates a fact, a very important fact. Cut out all the bullshit. A fact that every true Welshman and women should never forget.
AmeriCymru: Where can our readers go to purchase prints? Do you supply them framed or unframed?
Tony: All my work is on the etsy site. www.etsy.com/shop/ddraigdragon
I supply them mostly unframed. (due to postage cost) I have geared a number of my artworks including the Welsh theme to accommodate the IKEA frame Virserum ( dark brown) . Overall frame size is 23 x 19 inches
(48 x 58 cm) Each individually designed limited edition print is signed and numbered.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Tony Roberts?
Tony: ddraigdragon is based in Wales and my aim/vision is to produce unique quality gifts from Wales. Categories include: Maps, Music, Illustration, Sport, and Inspirational sayings (one being) Many people will walk in and out of your life but only a true friend will leave footprints in your heart. Eleanor Roosevelt. I have also begun researching images for a general map of Ireland and Scotland.
I am listing new products on etsy.com on a daily basis.
Commissioned work is also undertaken, please email for further information.
AmeriCymru spoke to New Welsh Review/Reader editor, Gwen Davies about the re branding and the magazines future direction.
Gwen: New Welsh Review , is a literary and cultural magazine working across Wales with eleven publication dates in different formats including print, app, epub and online, through the media of text, photography, video, audio, graphic poetry and animation. This national magazine with international readership and horizons has contributors including Terry Eagleton, Michael Longley, Patricia Duncker, Stevie Smith, Jem Poster, Richard Gwyn, Rory MacLean and Tessa Hadley. Our USPs are that we publish newcomers alongside established writers, are highly professional, develop the work of students and emerging writers, and that we pay contributors. We rebranded in May 2015 to publish creative work and literary essays in the New Welsh Reader (print, app and epub formats), and to publish reviews and comment in the New Welsh Review (online only).
AmeriCymru: Where can American readers go to read more or subscribe?
https://www.newwelshreview.com/
https://www.newwelshreview.com/newsub.php
AmeriCymru: With regard to the recent name change / re branding...what is new in Welsh Reader? Has there been a change of focus?
Gwen: The emphasis, noted above, of creative work in New Welsh Reader, has been appreciated by readers who perhaps aren't so interested in reviews or like to get their reviews more quickly online. Our readers tell us that highlighting our creative work – poetry, creative nonfiction, short stories, novel previews, illustration, photography, graphic books and longer literary essays – in this way gives this type of work more status and room for contemplation, which print, in particular, favours. Publishing eight online supplements of reviews and comment allows us to respond more quickly to new books and topical issues without worrying about the production process. These supplements are published under the old umbrella, New Welsh Review. This move, of course, also saves money in a climate of public funding cuts.
AmeriCymru: What, for you are the highlights of the latest edition of New Welsh Reader?
Gwen: As it happens, am American contributor, Peter E Murphy www.murphywriting.com , whose essay is a fictionalised family memoir about his family's connections to Wales. His father and grandfather, longshoremen Eddie and Teddy Murphy, were billeted together in Newport and Belgium during the Normandy landings. Teddy was a nasty piece of work and Eddie was a tall-tale-teller of the first order. Other highlights in our autumn edition are former British serving officer Daniel Jones' story about an Afghanistan posting, and newcomer Crystal Jeans' dirty urban story about how a mother's sexual fantasy of Bukowski propels her to seduce the local alcoholic tramp: 'I lean over to my knicker drawer and pull out a condom. Bukowski wouldn't use a condom. Or he would, but right at the end he'd yank it off, sink his d*** back in and say, "You can have my seed and like it, you w****.' But you can take something too far.'
AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about the New Welsh Writing Awards program. Are there any upcoming publication plans? What will be the theme for next year?
Gwen: To elaborate on the rebranding you mentioned above. We rebranded around the term 'New Welsh' since that encapsulates all our work, and we have further sub-brands of the New Welsh Writing Awards which this year ran under the banner of writing for nature and the environment and was sponsored by WWF Cymru with further support from CADCentre (a software company working with early school leavers) and writing centres Ty Newydd and Gladstone's Library in north Wales.
The Awards' USP is that it celebrates essays or books of at least 10,000 words and part of the prize is publication in Kindle ebook form. Our fourth brand is New Welsh Rarebyte which is our new ebook imprint and publishes the winner of our writing award, this year (publishing on 15 October) 26-year old Eluned Gramich's Woman Who Brings the Rain , A Memoir of Hokkaido, Japan. It's available for pre-order internationally here as a Kindle ebook via Amazon. We are currently seeking sponsors to run next year's Awards, either from commerce or from education as we are looking into the possibility of combining work on the Awards with a university placement programme that would give experience to students, either with a literature background or in business or marketing, to work on a large event such as running a prize and ceremony. We hope that we will get enough funding next year to run an extra category, so that would be nature and the environment as before plus memoir. The prize should interest expats with a Welsh connection as our Terms & Conditions welcome international entries by people who were born in Wales or educated here.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Gwen: The publishing climate for journalism is very hard as we are hit five times over by the change in reading patterns caused by the internet, ie people accessing free stuff; writers having become willing to publish their work for free, thus undermining their own value and that of curated publications who see payment as part of the professional service they offer; the democratisation of the internet which, despite its many positive points does undermine the old hierarchy of choice and curation which publishers offer; the feedback and sense of community offered to writers by social media which used to be provided by magazines and authors' societies, and, finally, the current British austerity climate which has led to public funding cuts in the arts as elsewhere. We really do feel, in respect of our current mix of subscriber-exclusive and free-to-view content, that we are sucking it and seeing. We don't know how things will develop, how much will people pay to read in future in a world in which originally only very few of the big newspapers opted for the paywall model.
At New Welsh Review, however, we have been working creatively to track down alternative funding sources. Mainly this has been with the institution in which we are physically housed, our host and sponsor Aberystwyth University, to create a student work placement scheme producing a multimedia programme that provides us with audio and visual features, clips, reviews, interviews and creative showcases that exercise the students' skills in research, presentation, camerawork, editing, performed reading, animation, graphics, getting on with authors and working as a team as well as being responsive to an editor's demands and real-time deadlines. This relationship gives us a home and allows us to pay and develop the skills of a greater range of contributor. For the university, it ticks their employability boxes. To AmeriCymru I would humbly ask: does anyone want to sponsor an exciting Awards scheme and/or work with us to replicate our student placement model over the pond? Last year, during the Dylan Thomas centenary, many Americans learned of or visited the many beautiful west Wales locations associated with the poet. In Aberystwyth we are just down the coast from Laugharne and New Quay. If you would like to sponsor or develop any of the ideas outlined above to further strengthen the links of Wales and the US, and to put our mutual traditions of great writing on both our maps, contact me at editor[at]newwelshreview.com.
AmeriCymru: How did this idea for the Swansea map come about?
Rose: I’ve been involved in some international art collaborations with fellow artists Melanie Ezra and Alban Low; Melanie lives here in Swansea and Alban is from London. Alban approached Melanie and me to get involved with his idea to publish a group of 10 artist maps. We jumped at the chance because it’s so different to the normal tourist maps that get produced; this is about our feelings about Swansea, what we like about the place as citizens and artists. It’s a chance to do something different and focus on the things we think are important about the city.
AmeriCymru: How did you and Melanie go about compiling it?
Rose: First of all we met up to discuss the little idiosyncrasies that interested us around the city centre. Swansea is full of art, culture and history and we wanted to put in the things that fascinate us. We ended up with a huge list, far too many for the format. The next stage was to go through our existing artwork to see if we had images that would correspond in some way to the places we had chosen. Because of the timescale, we couldn’t realistically do new work and it’s an interesting process to use existing work for a different purpose.
Then we narrowed it down to 18 locations that can be walked easily across the city centre, taking in quirky and historical places as well as the seafront. Melanie took the lead on the layout of the visuals, while I researched facts about the places we chose to put on the map. We’re fine artists, not graphic designers so we decided not to get too bogged down with computer graphics packages and instead laid out the pictures and text onto a sketchbook around Melanie’s hand-drawn map, a bit like we’d work into our own sketchbooks or work boards anyway.
Once the map section was finalised, we put together the rest – the front cover, a biographical section on each of us and a final page giving a list of weblinks to many of the interesting sites we’d had to leave off.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about the reaction to the map?
Rose: The map was launched at an exhibition in London at Sunbury-on-Thames in 2015. There were loads of people there and a lot of maps sold. All the maps, a set of 10, were very well received. Since then, there have been a lot of Internet sales of the Swansea map, not just local but also from Australia and the USA where they’re a hit with ex-pats. The map seems very popular for birthday presents and wedding gifts and some parents have bought them for youngsters about to move to Swansea. It’s ridiculously cheap so it’s a quirky and affordable present to give and people seem to like our different insight.
Locally, there’s been a lot of interest because we’re showing people a new way to look at their city. Many locals didn’t realise what’s around them, you take what’s around you for granted and sometimes you need to see things through new eyes.
AmeriCymru: What is your favourite part of Swansea?
Rose: Oh that’s a hard one. The map takes in Dragons, Doctor Who and the Da Vinci Code; street art, sand and Granny’s Custard; galleries, museums and allotments. And a castle! Swansea’s a great place but if I had to choose one part it would be the beach. I walk along it most days and even though it rains a lot, the climate is reasonably mild and the beach is fringed with palm trees! There are the remains of an ancient petrified forest when the tide is out with clay deposits that were originally used for the earliest Swansea potteries; it’s a fine, orange terracotta when it’s fired but black and sticky in its natural form. The clay dissolves into a sludge that we locals call ‘Granny’s Custard’, it squidges between your toes!
AmeriCymru: Where can our readers go to purchase a copy of ’Swansea: On The Map: An Artist’s Walk’?
Rose: It’s available directly from the publishers, Sampson Low Ltd…….
http://www.sampsonlow.com/
…. and from Amazon, here’s the link -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swansea-Artists-Walk-Melanie-Ezra/dp/1910578061/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429604582&sr=1-2
And here are the technical details:
Published April 2015
ISBN 978-1-910578-06-3
A3 fold out map
Author – Melanie Ezra and Rose Davies
Editor – Alban Low, Melanie Ezra and Rose Davies
SLB0014
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Rose: It’s great that so many people in the USA are interested in Wales and I hope this map motivates people to find out more about the area around Swansea. Melanie and I both publish daily blogs that feature life in Swansea as well as art and culture, so please feel free to drop by and visit us in the blogsphere. We’re also on Facebook and Twitter.
Rose Davies (Rosie Scribblah) is an artist and printmaker, scribbler and ageing headbanger. She works directly from life, carrying a sketchbook at all times looking for any opportunity to have a scribble. She works from her studio in Wales, UK where she lives with her husband and cats, who often feature in her drawings and blogs.
Blog: https://scribblah.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosie-Scribblah-Printmaker-and-Scribbler/149442308432211?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Twitter: @RosieScribblah
Melanie Ezra is a UK-based fine artist who works using her own original photographs to create beautiful and intricate collages. She often works in series, providing visual responses to external stimuli such as literature, science, and music. She considers herself a specialist in the deconstruction of time and the extension of the moment.
Blog: http://melanieezra.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanie.ezra?fref=ts
Twitter: @melanieezra
