Editor’s Letter
What a month this has been!
Two weeks ago, Lesley completed her last creative writing class of the Autumn term for her adult education students.
During her final session one of our authors, Dr Maggie Weir-Wilson, spoke wistfully about wanting to see her book in Waterstones and other high street booksellers.
It seemed limiting that self-published books can’t automatically be sold on the high street. So the following day Mathew and Lesley put their heads together.
They felt they weren’t only limiting themselves but also the authors they had pledged to support.
After much investigation it seemed sensible to develop Author’s Pen into a publishers as well, making Author’s Pen genuinely a complete author service.
Author’s Pen will publish through Ingram Spark, a company with a UK base in Milton Keynes, who seem to offer a very competitive and wide – reaching service.
We’re very excited about the opportunities this offers our authors. We’re also pleased to announce that Dr Maggie Weir-Wilson’s book about the history and development of St Leonard’s Forest will be our first published title.
You can read more about our publishing services elsewhere on the Author’s Pen website.
Happy writing,
Lesley and Mathew
Contents
Author’s Showcase: Dr Maggie Weir-Wilson
Author’s Showcase: Dr Maggie Weir-Wilson
It is clear from reading St Leonard’s Forest: A Landscape History, that Maggie has a deep interest in and love of the Sussex landscape, particularly forests.
When she came to live in Horsham in 2000, Maggie was keen to know more about this lovely forest on her doorstep. So she began taking evening classes at the University of Sussex for a BA in Landscape Studies.
When she retired from her work as a Probation Officer and Practice Teacher, she continued studying for a part-time doctorate and produced her thesis in 2014.
Maggie discovered that hers was the first in depth study of St Leonard’s Forest. And so felt her research, together with the information she had unearthed, should be more widely available.
She also wanted to show off her new retirement interests: writing poetry and botanical painting.
Secret Horsham
In the meantime, she was approached by Amberley Publications to write a book in their series on secret towns, so Secret Horsham was published in 2019 and is available locally and online.
Maggie then found Author’s Pen through her attendance at Lesley’s creative writing evening class at Collyer’s, Horsham.
With their help and support her forest book St Leonard’s Forest: A Landscape History will be published on 14th December 2020. The e-book will be published on 11th January 2021.
Maggie hopes it will be of interest to all those who look at the forest and wonder who owned it Was it a royal forest? Who lived around and about, and how did they make their living?
It will certainly be of interest to family historians particularly in the villages of Colgate and Lower Beeding.
To find out more about Maggie and her writing, visit her website: www.maggieweirwilson.co.uk
To speak to Author’s Pen about visits and talks by Maggie, please contact: info@authorspen.co.uk
St Leonard’s Forest, A Landscape History
(Paperback) ISBN: 9781838343606 – publishes 11.12.20, available to purchase: 9.01.21
(ebook) ISBN: 9781838343613 – publishes 11.01.21
Writing Prompts
Once again we have gathered some short writing prompts which should hopefully inspire your creative writing:
- Gripped by an unrelenting desire to giggle …
- I turned, almost into his arms …
- The postcard dropped from my fingertips …
Recommended Reads
Christmas at the Beach Hut, by Veronica Henry 
I thoroughly enjoyed this warm-hearted and well-told Christmas tale; the entire story was built around believable settings, characters and storylines.
It built empathy from the first page and was an absolute page-turner.
Veronica’s warm and witty style showed an understanding of family conflict and different perspectives, which developed her characters into fully rounded and believable individuals.
Twists and storylines were all developed. I was hooked and I couldn’t wait to read on. Just brilliant.
Island Song, by Madeleine Bunting
Not much is known about Guernsey’s occupation by Nazi Germany in 1940; this book uncovers the truths of how compromised this left many of the locals alongside their feelings of fear and abandonment by allied forces.
Following Helene’s daughter, Roz, as she tries to uncover her mother’s hidden past and her father’s identity.
It is a great read for exploring Guernsey’s occupation and the way families turned on each other and on their neighbours.
It uncovers the horror too of people sent from Guernsey to the death camps.
Incredibly well-researched.
The Quickening, by Rhiannon Ward
The Quickening is a pacy gothic drama set in the early part of the 20th century.
The story centres around Louisa Drew, a widow trying to put her life back together after her beloved husband was killed in the First World War. Sadly their twin boys also died in the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918.
Now seven years later, she’s heavily pregnant and desperate to escape the husband who seized the opportunity to marry her on the rebound.
Against the wishes of her new husband, Louisa is working as a photographer and has gained some notoriety in the craft.
While her husband is away she receives a commission to photograph the contents of a mansion house, Clewer House, in Sussex. The family have specifically asked for her services.
Spooky shadow
The atmosphere and sense that all is not well is developed from the outset when Louisa arrives at the house. Part of it is in shadow which is inexplicable given the time of day.
Louisa then learns that the current owners hosted an infamous seance in the latter part of the 19th century. She realises that the family has never fully recovered from the outcome of that evening.
While Louisa is photographing the strange contents of the house, she discovers the family want to recreate that famous night. She then realises she and her unborn baby are in danger.
But is it from the house, or from a member of the family?