Knox Box of Miscellany

At the beginning of this year, fellow author, Paul Burridge, told me he’d decided to turn his book ‘1624 – The Year Everything Changed. An Alternate Pirate Story’ into an audiobook (You can see ‘1624’ here in Amazon. Paul wrote the book under the name Saul Ben). Not only is Paul an author, but he is also a graphic designer who designed the book covers for The Lady Amelia Saga, and The Heart of Plotlands Saga books.

Accordingly, Paul set up an account on the platform ACX. After auditioning several narrators, he found one he was particularly pleased with and subsequently offered him the job.

That gave me the idea and I wondered if I’d find anyone suitable if I searched for a narrator to read ‘The Duchess of Sydney’ (Find more info about the book here). Like Paul, I also used the platform ACX and after filling in my details, and my requirements, i.e. type of accent, gender of narrator and so on. I submitted an audition script consisting of the first part of the book and a scene where the two main characters, one male and one female make a heart-breaking discovery. Then I pressed ‘Send’ and sat back, not knowing what to expect.

The first audition I received was excellent and I wondered how easy it was going to be to choose someone if they were all of a similar quality. However, although I received one or two auditions per day for the next few days, none of them matched the first one.

In fact, if anything, the quality worsened, and the last one I received was rather strange! I’d requested a female narrator with a British accent. Each person who auditioned wrote a message introducing themselves and saying they’d be happy to record something else if there was anything about their audition I didn’t like. But, the final narrator who submitted an audition had a US accent. She didn’t introduce herself nor message me at all. And when I listened to her audition, she’d only read half the script! I assumed she wasn’t very serious about getting the job and it was at that point I thought I wouldn’t wait any longer. I’d choose from the people who’d already applied. There was no doubt in my mind, it had to be the first narrator who’d auditioned.

That was Abigail Langham and she has turned out to be an excellent choice. Highly efficient, professional and very friendly. She made the process so easy that I’ve decided to ask her to record the second book in the Lady Amelia Saga, ‘The Finding of Eden’. So that will be ready later this year.

Meanwhile, ‘The Duchess of Sydney’ is now available as an audiobook here in Audible and here in Amazon.

I adore audiobooks! I can read while I’m doing something that occupies my hands but doesn’t engage my mind, like ironing. But I know a lot of people prefer to hold the book or eReader in their hands and read themselves rather than to listen. What do you think about audiobooks?

The display of tokens was my favourite exhibit in the Foundling Hospital Museum when I visited the first time just over a year ago. So, when I recently returned, I was keen to spend longer looking at them all again. If you would like to see the photos I’ve added on Flickr, you can see them here.

Since my first visit, I wrote the book, ‘The Wooden Tokens’ and it was published by DC Thomson as a My Weekly Magazine Pocket Novel in May 2023.

Subsequently it has been published as a paperback and kindle which you can see here on Amazon.

You can tell from the title that it features tokens heavily! I was touched by those tiny objects that represented a world of love and pain for the mother.

Tokens were handed in with the child in the early years as a way of identification. They ensured the correct child was handed back, should the mother ever reclaim him or her. A ‘billet’ was filled in with child’s details on admission and the token was wrapped inside it and sealed. Later on, tokens were not required for identification. If you’d like to hear some podcasts about the tokens, you can find them here on the Foundling Hospital Museum website, including one by Janette Bright, the historian who was kind enough to help me with many details when I was writing ‘The Wooden Tokens’.

The podcasts have been recorded by various people talking about the token that has touched them the most. Janette’s choice, Episode 6 Tokens of Mystery and Love, was about the ring with the red, heart-shaped stone photographed above.

I found the ring in the display and was surprised at how small it was. But just imagine the emotions experienced by the mother who handed that tiny ring over with her child. She obviously wasn’t poor, and I wondered what had driven her to give away baby, Harriet – and Janette had wondered the same thing!

During our visit, we were lucky enough to meet one of the guides in the Georg Friedrich Handel room who related interesting snippets about the musician’s life. There is a round table in the middle of the room, which is a circular timeline of Handel’s life, along with concurrent world events. And you can also see Handel’s will.

There’s plenty to see in the museum and if you’re interested in the tokens and the tiny glimpses into a mother’s love, it’s well worth a visit to the Founding Hospital Museum, Brunswick Square.

A Cottage in Plotlands

Have you ever heard of Plotlands?

I believe there are various Plotlands across the UK but the one I know best was once a thriving community in Dunton, Essex. In fact, I used to live near what had once been Plotlands when I lived in Langdon Hills. It wasn’t until several years after I’d moved to another town, that I realised my house had once been a Plotland-style building.

The previous owners had extended their bungalow by building a first floor as well as converting a room into a garage – we could still see evidence of this because of the wallpaper on the walls! When we lived there, several of the buildings in Emanuel Road were still simple bungalows with the door in the middle and a window on either side. But at the time, I didn’t recognise them as being like Plotland houses.

Later, after I discovered about Plotlands and made the connection, I also realised why we’d found lots of broken china, old bottles and other discarded household items buried at the end of the garden. It was where the house owners’ had discarded their rubbish before there was a refuse collection! Interestingly, we also found an R. White’s lemonade sign – one of those metal ones that used to stand outside shops and spin in their frames when the wind blew. I wonder if a previous owner of our house also had a shop?

The first photo is of our house in 1982 and the second photo is of The Haven, which is in the Essex Wildlife Trust Dunton Plotlands and is now a museum (See the website here). I took the photo of The Haven about fifteen years ago. Now if you visit, the museum is closed, pending repairs. But can you see the similarity between The Haven and our house (if you imagine it without a first floor, porch or garage!)?

So, what were the Plotlands? Here’s a little information on Wikipedia . During the early part of the 20th Century, farmers began to struggle financially because of cheap grain imports and many decided to divide their land into plots and sell them. Typically, people from London bought parcels of land to build weekend homes, and each Friday night, there was an exodus from Fenchurch Street Station as people took the train to Laindon. Then on Sunday evening, the hordes gathered at Laindon Station for the reverse journey.

I love the idea of the different houses that people built to stay in at the weekend – some little more than sheds and some not even as sturdy as that! Apparently, some people put up tents and camped! And I’ve even read of a disused railway carriage being used as a home! There are several excellent websites where you can find out more – here and here.

The following is from the Laindon Community Archive, here:

In 1924, 183 of the Dunton plots were sold at roughly the cost of £6 a plot (several times the average weekly wage at the time).  As three plots combined, The Haven plot measures 60’ by 180’.  Although originally intended as holiday homes and weekend retreats, by the Second World War many families decided to move to their plots permanently (with fathers often commuting to London from Laindon Station).

Although The Haven eventually had mains gas and cold-running water, life for the Plotlanders was hard work.  Most Plotlanders grew their own fruit and veg and kept livestock like chickens, goats and pigs.  Conditions on the hills of the avenues were so muddy in winter time that a special path was built along the front of all the houses, allowing the residents to transport coal and other supplies up and down the hill in two ‘basses’, modified bassinets.  Some of these paths can still be seen today amongst the long grass on the reserve and also outside The Haven.

The Plotlands story finally came to an end in the 1980s, when the remaining houses were compulsorily purchased by Basildon Council.  The Basildon Development Corporation began attempts to compulsorily purchase the land in the 1950s and many of the buildings were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s.  The land was originally intended for housing but in the 1980s Basildon Council had a change of heart (possibly due to the sloping nature of the land) and decided to keep the area as green space.  Although the Plotlands residents were offered accommodation in the new town, many chose not to accept the offer or were disappointed with their new accommodation.  For people used to large gardens, open spaces and a tight-knit community of friendly neighbours, the new flats were a poor substitute. 

I didn’t find out about any of the Plotlands history until about 1990 when I accompanied a school trip to investigate local history. I was fascinated to hear about the community that had once thrived with its idiosyncratic buildings and distinct community. For the first time, I realised the cottage ruins I’d seen in the middle of the woods at the back of the recreation ground in Langdon Hills had once been built on open land and not, as I’d always thought, in the middle of a forest! Why, I’d often wondered, would someone build a cottage in such an overgrown place? Of course, they hadn’t. Over the years, the woods had encroached and overtaken the plot.

The other thing that had often puzzled me were the long, concrete paths in the middle of the same wood. Why would anyone build anything as elaborate in amongst the trees? But as explained in the piece from the Laindon Community Archive, they’d once been laid so people could avoid the mud when their unmade roads turned to quagmires in the rain. In fact, I believe that when conditions demanded it, deliveries to the Plotlanders were made with horse-drawn sleighs as they slipped over the ubiquitous mud more easily than wheeled vehicles.

So, when I first decided to write a romance, where else would I set it than Plotlands? That was how ‘A Cottage in Plotlands’ came into being.

What’s it about? Well, here is the blurb:

She yearns for a simple life – a home and someone to love. Can she find the courage to make her dreams come true?

Joanna Marshall dreads a future alone. After eighteen years of sheltered family life, she’s devastated at the loss of both parents – and worse, she’s forced to lodge with spiteful Aunt Ivy. Joanna struggles to decide whether to hold on to the familiar, and stay with her bitter aunt, or to find the country cottage she’s inherited from her mother and face the daunting prospect of a friendless, loveless life.

Tearing herself away from all she’s ever known, she steels herself to start afresh in a place she can’t even find on a map. But without anyone to guide or advise her, Joanna fears her lack of experience will drive her back to her relatives and a life of dependence.

With the help of her new neighbours can she embrace the complications of falling in love with her boss and building a new life?

A Cottage In Plotlands is the heart-warming first standalone book in The Heart of Plotlands historical romance saga series.

If you like sweet romance, family loyalties and deep bonds of friendship, then you’ll love this uplifting and moving story set in the 1930s Plotlands of Dunton, Essex.

Buy A Cottage in Plotlands to experience a little Plotland community spirit today!

You can find it here on Amazon as paperback and Kindle.

And, since I fell in love with Plotlands, there are other books to come, in what I’ve called ‘The Heart of Plotlands Saga’. They’ll be coming over the next few months…

I hope I’ve done the area I love and the people who were once part of that community proud.

Searching for Regency London.

After having completed my third Regency walk in London, based on the book, ‘Walks Through Regency London’ by Louise Allen, I gave myself a pat on the back.

Not only did I not get lost, but I actually did the walk in reverse. I started at Liverpool Street Station and ended up in Fleet Street rather than the other way round, taking the route described in the book. Just in case you have the book, I followed the instructions for Walk 9 – The City from Bridewell to the Bank. I actually walked from Liverpool Street Station to Fleet Street but took in most of the sights described in the book – and a few that weren’t in there. If you haven’t got the book, you can get it here.

As usual, I veered from the route if something took my eye and that happened shortly after I’d left Liverpool Street Station. I made my way to Gresham Street, and as I was walking along, I looked down one of the side, turnings. It was Wood Street, and I saw what looked like a very narrow church in the middle of the road, on a traffic island. So of course, I had to investigate. I found a single tower with no clue as to what it was. Later, I looked it up and found on Wikipedia that it was the remaining church tower of St Albans, a church of mediaeval origin. It was rebuilt in 1634 and destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. After that, it was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren but damaged during the Second World War and only the tower remains. Apparently it’s now a private dwelling. What an amazing place to live!

I carried on to St Martins Le Grand, and from there I could see St Paul’s Cathedral so I made my way towards Paternoster Square. There was an art installation of endangered animal species sitting around a tea table! Although the signs clearly said No Climbing, those two empty stools proved too tempting for many people who wanted their photograph taken while sitting on them.

Carrying on down Newgate Street, I came to the Old Bailey, built on the site of the infamous Newgate Prison that was demolished in 1777. There was a gaol on the site from at least the 12th century.

Not far away in Limeburner Lane another infamous prison, the Fleet Prison had been situated, which also dates back to the 12th century. One of the current buildings apparently follows the counters of the Fleet Prison’s walls but it was very hard to imagine it with so much metal and glass in evidence.

It was only a short walk then to Ludgate Circus and down towards the Thames. At that point, I stopped following the instructions in the book. A few weeks before, I’d been mudlarking on the foreshore beneath the Millennium Bridge and there were a few things I wanted to check out. First, we’d been told to meet at the glass obelisk at the base of the steps leading down to the riverside walk beneath the bridge. I realised later I hadn’t looked at it – other than to use it to confirm we were in the right place for the start of our mudlarking tour. How unobservant is that! This time, I was determined to photograph it and inspect it. The three-side glass and steel sculpture has three different timelines: one shows key events in British history from Roman times. Another shows religious developments in London. The last shows technologies around the world that have contributed to science. (Info from here, if you’d like to know more)

But even more pressing was my wish to find the mosaic mural at Queenhithe. The mudlarking guide had pointed out the foreshore of Queenhithe, the ancient dock, and warned us we weren’t allowed to walk on it. I’d wanted to see the mural for some time but it wasn’t visible from the beach, so I promised myself I’d return one day and walk around the river path.

Finally, after wondering if I’d wandered into the back of a hotel, I found it!

Back to the Regency tour. And the next part of the walk, was to yet another prison! This time, the Bridewell. Again, a modern building followed the contours of the original prison walls but there was no evidence of the Bridewell that I could find.

My walk finished in Fleet Street where I was due to meet the Romantic Novelists’ Association London and South East Chapter members for lunch in the Punch Tavern. Since I was early, I decided to go into St. Bride’s Church on Fleet Street, just a short way from the pub – and I was so glad I did. There is a museum in the crypt which was very interesting with artefacts found in the church throughout the ages. There is also a metal coffin that was used to deter body snatchers!
St. Bride’s is well known for its bell tower which inspired Mr Rich, pastry cook of Fleet Street (d. 1811) to design the traditional multi-tiered wedding cakes that are now so recognisable.

As a walk around Regency London, I’m not sure I saw a great deal that was Regency. So much had changed from those time, it was hard to imagine what life might have been like. But for a writer of historical fiction, it’s always useful to know where buildings were in relation to other features of London. And as a bonus, my navigational skills seem to be improving!

If you want to read about my other Regency walks, you can find them here:

Part 1 The Berners Street Hoax here,

Part 2 The Pantheon and the Ancient Order of Druids here 

Part 3 A Touch of Cholera here

Part 4 Wedgwood to the Workhouse

Regency Walk around Mayfair

If you want to see all the photos I took on my walk, they’re here on Flickr

Mudlarking along the Thames

I received a fab gift for Christmas of Lara Maiklem’s ‘Mudlarking’ book and a treasure trove of bits that were found along the Thames, including pottery pieces, pins for holding clothes together and a clay pipe bowl. I’d already become interested in mudlarking and Lara Maiklem’s book, having chosen it as my choice for the book club I belong to in Hawaii (yes, I really do belong to a club in Hawaii!), so I was thrilled with my own Christmas gift of mudlarked bits.

We decided to do a guided family mudlark session and booked with the Thames Explorer Trust. The guided tour we selected was on the north shore near the Millennium Bridge. On Saturday 25th March, nine of my family assembled by the glass obelisk beneath the bridge, wearing boots and gloves, ready to find treasure!

The tour was led by Chris who explained the types of things we were likely to find, and she gave us an idea of the era – anything from Roman, to modern day. She also pointed out where we could go – and not go. Further along was Queenhithe which I was disappointed to discover was out of bounds. I’d heard about the mosaic mural which is made of mudlarked bits found along the shore and I’d wondered where it was. I discovered it wasn’t visible from the shore. To find it, I’d have had to walk further around the riverside path. One day, I’m determined to find it, now I know where it is!

Once Chris had explained we weren’t allowed to dig nor to turn things over – just look at the surface of the beach, she turned us loose. Later, we assembled with our finds and displayed them on the sand. We weren’t allowed to take them; they were left behind for the river to reclaim.

Did I find anything amazing? Well, no, not really. I would have loved to have found an entire clay pipe bowl but it wasn’t to be. I did find one broken bowl, though, with initials on one side which was interesting. They are generally the pipe maker’s initials.

One of the best finds was the bottom of a sugar mould. You could see the hole through which water would have drained, leaving behind the sugar loaf. it wasn’t my find unfortunately, but it was lovely to see.

Would I go mudlarking again? Oh yes, in a heartbeat! I never expected to find anything exciting like a coin, so I was happy to wander and keep my eyes open.

The strangest find? Well, that would have to be the half-buried bicycle! Definitely modern day!

If you’re interesting in reading more about sugar loaves and their manufacture, here’s a site I found

If you want to see the rest of the photos I took, you can find them here on Flickr

Introducing Pocket Novelist, Angela Britnell.

I finally managed to catch up with Pocket Novelist, Angela Britnell and asked her a few questions about herself and her writing.

1. Hi Angela, please can you tell us what made you first decide to write a Pocket Novel?
   I’d often read and enjoyed Pocket Novels from both The People’s Friend and My Weekly so always had it in my mind I’d like to try writing one at some point. In 2013 I was fortunate to have my first attempt – A Sicilian Escape – accepted and published by The People’s Friend. I also like that they don’t hold the rights for long so you can often sell them on to a large print publisher and also self-publish – I’ve had many books go into large print but the self-publishing venture hasn’t happened yet although I’m determined it will one day.
   
2. Do you usually submit to My Weekly or People’s Friend or do you submit to both?
   I do submit to both publishing imprints but my style seems to suit The People’s Friend better as they’ve now published fifteen of mine compared to three with My Weekly.
   
3. Are all your Pocket Novels set in the same era?
   My pocket novels are all contemporary romances and many of them are the trans-Atlantic romances I’ve largely made my name with.
   
4. Do you have any books published? If so, where are they available?
   I’m lucky enough to have had many other books published over the last sixteen years apart from my pocket novels and you can find them listed on my Amazon Author Central page, here. 
   
5. Which is your favourite of all the Pocket Novels that you’ve had published, and why?
   It’s very hard to choose my favourite pocket novel but I’ll pick my most recent one – a My Weekly release called ‘Escape to Cornwall.’ I grew up in Cornwall and frequently draw from it for my stories but this particular book centres around a fictional group of holiday cottages and is inspired by Nanjeath Cottages where we’ve spent many lovely holidays over the years.
   
6. What are you currently working on?
   I’ve recently submitted a book to my main publisher, Choc Lit, called Summer in Paradise Valley. It’s another trans-Atlantic contemporary romance and is set primarily in Tennessee, where I now live.
   
7. Tell is something surprising or interesting about yourself!
   I met my American husband in Denmark where we were both serving at the same NATO headquarters on the Jutland Peninsula. I was serving in the WRNS at the time and he was in the US Navy. The rest as they say is history and I’d say our whirlwind romance worked because we’ll be celebrating our 40^th Wedding Anniversary at the end of April.
   
   Congratulations to Angela and her husband on their forthcoming 40^th Wedding Anniversary!
   
   If you’d like to read some of the other interviews with Pocket Novelists, you can find them here:
   
   Interview with Jill Barry
   Interview with John Darley
   Interview with Stefania Hartley
   Interview with Carrie Hewlett
   Interview with Sue Cook
   Interview with Alan C Williams
   Interview with Enid Reece

Regency Walk Around Mayfair, London.

On Saturday, 18th February, I went on my second Regency walk around London, based on the routes given in Louise Allen’s book ‘Walks Through Regency London’. On my first Regency walk, I followed the north Soho walk, which you can see here (This is part four of my walk but there are links to the previous three posts).

On my last visit to London, I wanted to finish in Duke Street, just off Oxford Street, so, I decided to walk the North Mayfair route. I usually expect to get lost in London although it’s hard to be lost for long – eventually, I come across something I recognise. This time, things didn’t start well when I accidentally got off off the Underground at Bond Street Station, rather than Marble Arch, but they aren’t far apart and I’d soon walked along Oxford Street and turned into Park Lane.

In fact, Louise Allen’s walk starts at Hyde Park Corner Underground Station, but I’d decided to walk from Marble Arch down Park Lane, until I reached Curzon Street. That was the first part of the walk. Turning into Curzon Street, I saw houses with conical snuffers outside which would have been used to snuff the ‘links’ or torches carried by links boys as they guided people home at night. Also, not mentioned on the Regency tour, I saw Benjamin Disraeli’s house with its commemorative plaque.

I turned into South Audley Street and noted the house where Queen Caroline stayed after her return from Italy in 1820. She often waved to delighted crowds from the balcony, much to the annoyance of her estranged husband, George IV’s. A few doors along was the blue plaque indicating the house where King Charles X, last Bourbon King of France stayed.

Further along South Audley Street was Purdey’s the gunsmiths. The business was founded in 1814 but didn’t move into the corner premises until 1881. Apparently, no Regency gentleman who could afford it would be without guns from either Purdey’s or Manton’s.

Amazingly, I managed to follow the route without getting lost and found myself in Chesterfield Street, where Beau Brummell had once lived. Apparently, in the same house as former British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden.

I finally ended my walk in Grosvenor Square where I found the house, now a hotel, where in 1820, the Cato Street conspirators intended to blow up all the ministers of the Crown while they were dining with Lord Harrowby. They intended to initiate an uprising and to seize the Bank of England and the Tower of London but they were betrayed, found guilty of high treason, and hanged.

Not Regency but interesting anyway, I found the building where Dwight Eisenhower had his headquarters during WWII on one side of the square.

And, somehow, I finished my Regency walk exactly at the place I needed to be!

Did I get lost on the walk? Of course I did! I always get lost in London! But that’s part of the fun!

If you’d like to get a copy of Louise Allen’s book, you can find it here on Amazon.

If you’d like to see the rest of the photos I took while I was out, they’re here on Flickr

Post Box Toppers!

I saw my first Post Box Topper last year, although I’d heard of them before. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, they’re like knitted or crocheted hats for post boxes. And you don’t just find them on the round pillar boxes that are familiar in most streets. The first one I saw was on what I think is called a lamp post box. As you can see, it’s a rainbow.

The next one I saw was a recognisable pillar box which had a Christmas topper on it.

And I was very surprised a few weeks later to see that same post box with a new topper featuring the artist Bob Ross.

The first thing I always wonder is who has designed and made such a delightful piece of art? One person? A group of people? Did they fix it in place in secret during the night? Or during the day? The Bob Ross topper had a note on the back which said: “Made with love for the people of Brentwood, our amazing key workers, NHS and posties. I hope this made you smile. If you wish, please upload photos and selfies to Facebook pages – Random Acts of Crochet Kindness and Post Box Toppers and Yarn Bombing.”

I’ve been so inspired by the idea of people planning, making and installing Post Box Toppers that I decided to write a short story which I called ‘The Post Box Topper Outrage’. If you want to read it, you can see it here on the CafeLit e-Zine site and as I often find, one story leads to another. I’ve submitted another story which follows on from ‘The Post Box Topper Outrage’ and I think I might have to carry on so we can find out the identity of the mysterious and grumpy A. Godbin who is so opposed to the Creaping Bottom Post Box Toppers Society’s creations!

But, back to the real world – I shall definitely be taking a detour the next time I go out to see if there is a new Post Box Topper replacing Bob Ross. I really hope there is…

Have you seen any toppers where you live? Let me know where…

If you’d like to read more stories written in a similar style to ‘The Post Box Topper Outrage’, you can find out more on this page about ‘The Basilwade Chronicles’, ‘The Macaroon Chronicles’ and ‘The Crispin Chronicles’

I’m so pleased to welcome Pocket Novelist, Jill Barry, to my blog this week. I’ve met Jill many times on Zoom sessions, but never in person. Hopefully, from her comment below, we might be able to meet this summer. I certainly hope so!

Having a special interest in Australian history, I was fascinated to learn who was the inspiration for Jill’s favourite Pocket Novel. Find out below…

So, let’s get started!

1. What made you first decide to write a Pocket Novel, Jill?

I enrolled in author Sally Quilford’s online workshop for would-be pocket novelists. I’d read a few Pocket Novels and having written a lot of erotic romance, decided on a change of direction. I had the makings of a story based on my family’s garage business during WW2 when my father was in the Army, training recruits as motor mechanics, which left my mother and big sister (huge age gap between us!) to run the business. The Pocket Novel I wrote was published in June 2013 and I currently have 16 publications with The People’s Friend and 3 with My Weekly, with a fourth to be published this summer.

2. Do you usually submit to My Weekly or People’s Friend or do you submit to both? 

I began by submitting to The People’s Friend and enjoyed several successes before trying with My Weekly. Whoops! I didn’t make the grade, but I love a challenge and gained my first My Weekly success in 2019.

3. Are all your Pocket Novels set in the same era?

I enjoy writing both historical and contemporary romantic novels. I don’t have a particular favourite historical era but enjoy writing in the ‘Roaring Twenties’ as well as the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

4. Do you have any books published? If so, where are they available?

I used the pseudonym Toni Sands and was published by Black Lace and Xcite. These are still available from Amazon, I believe. Orchid Pink, my only full-length erotic romance topped various charts for a while, which was lovely. I adopted my Jill Barry pseudonym for my Pocket Novel publications and for my mainstream novels, which are also available from Amazon. Details of these can be found via my Amazon Author Page.

5. Which is your favourite of all the Pocket Novels that you’ve had published, and why?

Such a difficult question! I think it has to be The Captain’s Bride, which is very loosely based on the life of Mary Reibey, an ancestor of my Australian daughter-in-law. Mary had a fascinating life, re-inventing herself after being deported to Australia on a trumped-up charge! There’s a portrait of Mary on the Australian 20 dollar note. For my Pocket Novel, I brought her story forward in time, so I could moderate some of her experiences, including life on the convict ship.

6. What are you currently working on?

I’m between books just now, but will be planning a sequel to my WW2 romance, set in Barry, Wales and Bari, Italy. This novel is due for publication by Romaunce Books in June 2023.

7. What are your hopes for 2023?

I’m looking forward to four new publications, so hope all of these will entertain my readers, because that’s what my aim is. There will be a self-published novel, a full-length novel, a Pocket Novel for My Weekly and a Linford Romance. I also hope to visit Ireland for the first time, to see my Australian family this summer and to meet more of my fellow Pocket Novel authors and RNA members in real life for the first time.

8. Tell is something surprising or interesting about yourself!

I’ve worked as a Butlin Redcoat/Secretary to the Entertainments Manager, Airline Receptionist, Hotel Receptionist and Air Hostess as we were then called. During the seventies, with my husband, I ran a guest house in a converted old school. Moving back to Wales after I was widowed, I worked for Powys Social Services: Child Protection, as an Administrator/ Minute Taker. So, some of my former experiences have been used in my books.  I also have an odd habit of meeting various celebrities over the years, including George Baker (of Inspector Wexford fame), Michael Portillo, in whose path I landed when jumping off a train at Swansea, and Geronimo Rauch who came into the London café where I was having dinner. My partner’s son, Chris Holland, was sharing the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables at that time with Geronimo, so we had a little chat. You can hear them both via this link on YouTube – Chris is on the left and Geronimo on the right.

Many thanks to Dawn for inviting me to answer her excellent questions.

Best wishes, Jill Barry

You can find out more about Jill here on her website.

You can also find Jill on Twitter here

And on Facebook here  

If you’d like to catch up with previous interviews, you can find them here:

Interview with John Darley

Interview with Stefania Hartley

Interview with Carrie Hewlett

Interview with Sue Cook

Interview with Alan C Williams

Interview with Enid Reece

Introducing Pocket Novelist, John Darley

Carrying on with my interviews of pocket novelists, I’m interviewing John Darley today. I’ve never met John, but have seen various of his pocket novels on the shelf in supermarkets and stationers and I thought it would be interesting to find out more about him. He also has a keen eye for a sunset and if you follow him on Twitter, @JohnDarley11, you’ll see what I mean!

So, let’s get on with meeting John and finding out more about him:

1: What first made you decide to write a pocket novel?

I have always been a writer but for the most part, it was poetry. Several years ago, I challenged myself to write a short story for a woman’s magazine. I chose Woman’s Weekly and was about to give up on the idea when they accepted one, then two of my stories. Then, whilst in a charity shop, I came across a People’s Friend pocket novel which I purchased and read. I then read a lot more, finally deciding that this was the genre I would really like to write for. It turned out to be the right choice as I now have had seven pocket novels published by them.

2: Do you usually submit to My Weekly or People’s Friend or do you submit to both?

To date, I only submit to the People’s Friend. I find their style and wide choice of plot suit me best.

3: Are all your pocket novels set in the same era?

No, my only self-imposed stipulation is that they are all set in the 20^th century. I have a particular, personal preference for the late 40s and early 50s but I have also chosen the 60s, 90s and the present day as the setting for my novels.

4: Do you have any books published? If so, where are they available?

The beauty of a PF pocket novel is, that once its fortnight’s publication is up, it’s yours to submit again elsewhere. As a result, Ulverscroft, in their Linford Romance series, has published four of mine with another one coming out later this year.

5: Which is your favourite of all the Pocket Novels that you’ve had published, and why?

This may seem odd but my first novel, Loving Lady Sarah, is my favourite, partly because that’s what set me off on this path and partly because the story idea had been in my head for years, with people and places in it that were, in various ways, connected to me.

6: What are you currently working on?

Pocket Novel number 9. This one’s set in the 90s. I’ve just sent off the first three chapters plus the (dreaded) synopsis.

7: What are your hopes for 2023?

Well, apart from the rain stopping, it’s more of the same. I love writing – I love words – and it’s so good to be in charge of them!

8: Tell us something surprising or interesting about yourself!

 Alongside writing, I was a graphic designer, a pebble painter, and a miniature artist where my work has appeared in the Royal Miniature Society exhibitions in the Mall, London. I also painted pictures onto lace-making bobbins – in total 1600. 

If you’d like to read some of the previous pocket novelist interviews, you can find them here:

Interview with Stefania Hartley

Interview with Carrie Hewlett

Interview with Sue Cook

Interview with Alan C Williams

Interview with Enid Reece