Members Publications... 

A selection of members’ recent  publications:    

Lady Rachel Billington - Lies and Loyalties  

Lyn Carnaby - New Ideas for RE  

Myfanwy Cook - Historical Fiction Writing

Diney Costelo - Evil on the Wind                                    
                                     Death’s Dark Vale  

Patricia Fawcett - Rumours and Red Roses

Michael Henderson - Ice in Every Carriage                                    
                                  No Enemy to Conquer  

Brian Hick - A Lark on the South Downs Way  

Helen McCabe - Piper   Mel Menzies              
                          A Painful Postmortem  

Jane Jackson - Bonded Heart  

Fay Sampson - Hard Rock                                    
                         A Malignant House                                    
                         In the Blood  

Jean Saunders  - Days to Remember                                             
                            Successful Novel Plotting                             Chasing Rainbows                                    
                            Distant Horizons  John Stretton - Central Gloucestershire
                           Bristol & South Gloucestershire
                           The Cotswold Line

Eugenie Summerfield - Onwards and Upwards

 Pamela Forrest Taylor - Heavenly Scents

 Various Members - The Waterloo Collection

 
THE BRISTOL & SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE LINE
By
John Stretton

 ‘British Railways Past and Present’ is a nationwide series of books
featuring photographs of railway locations taken several decades
ago and comparing them with the same scene today.

In this volume covering South Gloucestershire are over 260
photographs featuring a wealth of locations on both Ex-Great
Western and LMS Main Lines during the British Railways era and
before contrasted with the scene in recent times. Many erstwhile
routes and locations closed in the ‘Beeching years’ and before are
seen when trains still plied their trade and the wayside station
provided a local service even over short distances.

Size: 238 x 172mm
Extent: 128pp
Illustrations: c175 b&w
ISBN: 978 1 85895 269 7
Format: Paperback
RRP: £17.99

THE COTSWOLD LINE. OXFORD TO WORCESTER
By
JOHN STRETTON



Authorised in 1845 and opened in stages between 1852 and 1853, the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway built the line from Wolvercot Junction, north of Oxford station, to Worcester and Wolverhampton, via Stourbridge and Dudley. Inherited by British Railways in 1948 the line was singled in places in 1971, with a view to cutting costs. The long campaign from the Cotswold Line Promotion Group, local authorities and individuals has borne fruit. This volume looks at these newer works against a backdrop of past operations, including views of the engineering works involved and provides a fascinating exhibition of the evolving history. 




 

NO ENEMY TO CONQUER
By
Michael Henderson


 

Offering dramatic evidence of the transformative power of forgiveness, "No Enemy to Conquer" shares the stories of people of diverse faiths and cultures who, despite all odds, found the courage to reconcile with their enemies. Gathering the voices of Desmond Tutu, Benazir Bhutto, Rajmohan Gandhi, Jonathan Sacks, the Dalai Lama, and others, Henderson's masterful anthology is an inspiring step toward a geopolitics of mercy.
 

Price £16.99

Paperback: 220 pages

Publisher: Baylor University Press (18 Feb 2009) 
Language English 
ISBN-10: 1602581401 
ISBN-13: 978-1602581401 
 

HISTORICAL FICTION WRITING:
A PRACTICAL GUIDE AND TOOL-KIT
By
Myfanwy Cook
 

Historical Fiction Writing – A practical guide and tool-kit has been written in response to all the aspiring writers who have taken part in Myfanwy Cook’s workshops (www.myfanwycook.com) over the past 15 years and asked her to write a tool-kit for them. It has also been inspired by her role as a Features Editor for the Historical Novels Review Magazine. This ‘how to’ book is ‘functional and activity based’, and is illustrated with useful and fascinating contributions from Professor Bernard Knight, and tips from over 50 experts* in the fields of publishing, research and literature.


Because of its coverage of writing as a whole, not just the aspects particular to historical fiction, it is well worth having a copy to dip into to provide encouragement and inspiration. It does what it says on the cover.
Alex Neville


Historical Fiction Writing: a practical guide and tool-kit by Myfanwy Cook
Paperback: 452 pages
Publisher: ActiveSprite Press (1 Mar 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-0956765406

 

RUMOURS AND RED ROSES
By
Patricia Fawcett


    
 

After meeting in hospital where their babies are undergoing open-heart surgery, Becky and Adele resolve to remain friends whatever happens. The two women are from different backgrounds but they have had to face up to the same anxieties and it brings them together. Following the operation and the different way she and her husband face up to the situation brings Adele's marriage to Rory to crisis point and she turns to Becky. However, as their friendship deepens, Adele discovers something of the past and how the two families have been linked previously. Will their friendship survive or is it too dark a secret to share?

 Hardcover: 224 pages

Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd
Language English
ISBN-10: 0709087373
ISBN-13: 978-0709087373

 

                                     THE WATERLOO COLLECTION   

An excellent anthology of short stories connected with the Battle of Waterloo has just been published. Contributors include Barbara Hooper and several other WCWA members.

Price: £11.99
Available from Amazon or Robert@gacuk.co.uk


Paperback: 208 pages 
Publisher: ActiveSprite Press (20 April 2011) 
ISBN-10: 0956765424 
ISBN-13: 978-0956765420 

 

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

by

Eugenie Summerfield   

"The theme explores the affinity between tragedy and farce, and it is enhanced by an entertaining style. I found it hard to put down." Lord Archer of Sandwell

 "...witty, compelling and very amusing..." David Bell, radio and television producer

 "Onwards and Upwards is a cheesy tale in the most flavoursome sense of the word. The delightful lightness of its crust gives way to a wickedly pungent humour at its core." Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller

Onwards & Upwards is a tragi-comedy about love, loss and renewal. Margot Prettiflower's husband, Marcus has died suddenly under rather strange circumstances involving Charles Hardy, the senior partner of solicitors, Smethers & Lybrand, and an overripe cheese. Margot, the product of a somewhat sheltered 1950s’ upbringing is in shock. Urged on by her old friend, successful romantic fiction writer, Cathy Goodson, she undergoes a makeover. However, her plans do not work out as she hoped and she is plunged into a world of misunderstandings and mistaken identities. Just why is no one willing to admit to having witnessed Marcus's demise. Has there been foul play and just what does the mysterious Arthur Blenkinsop know? Touched by tragedy and comedy will Margot finally be able to move onwards and upwards?  

Paperback: 160 pages

Publisher: Greenman & Greenman (21 Oct 2010)

ISBN-10: 0956553109

ISBN-13: 978-0956553102 PRICE: £8.99      

ICE IN EVERY CARRIAGE

by

Michael Henderson

Ice in Every Carriage is the story of an extraordinary venture in 1952-53 by 200 people who spent eight months in India, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) with four stage plays helping to undergird the democratic framework of the those newly independent countries. It is the eleventh book by Michael Henderson who was one of the stage crew on that historic trip and celebrated his 21st birthday in what was then Calcutta.  

In a foreword Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of the Mahatma, describes the book as ‘A priceless record of a bold, multicultural initiative by civil society at a time when people did not use such phrases, a proof that history is often made by people usually missed out by historians.’  

Publisher: Caux Books (March 2010) More than 100 photos. 231 pages. Hardback: (ISBN 978-2-88037-524-9) £14.50 Paperback: (ISBN 978-2-88037- 523-2) £9.95  

Order from Books, 24 Greencoat Place, London SWIP 1RD or online from Amazon.    

 Michael Henderson is the author of eleven books including:

SEE YOU AFTER THE DURATION
FORGIVENESS: BREAKING THE CHAIN OF HATE
THE FORGIVENESS FACTOR
ALL HER PATHS ARE PEACE

HARD ROCK

by

Fay Sampson

 Collan is just about to start work in a tin mine. He is proud about this until he discovers the grim reality. On his first day, a boy is badly injured in a rock fall, caused by the boy's drunken father. Collan befriends the boy's sister and realises the terrible state her family's in. And now Collan has to replace the boy and work with the drunk. Then Collan learns of a man coming to preach at a local meeting place, Gwennap Pit. He hears John Welsey speak of God like he knows him - so different from the God he's heard about in church. And then he meets Welsey himself!  

Paperback: 162 pages Publisher: Scripture Union Publishing (8 May 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1844273725
ISBN-13: 978-1844273720
 

A MALIGNANT HOUSE

Out now in the USA: A Malignant House   (Severn House). Suzie gets the run of the document chest in a stately home, but discovers that violent conflicts are not confined to the 17th century Civil War.  

British Crime Club Pick, Jan 2010, Poisoned Pen Booknews

Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd (1 Dec 2009)
Language
English ISBN-10: 0727868276
ISBN-13: 978-0727868275     

 

IN THE BLOOD

Out now in paperback: In the Blood (Severn House). A family history investigation brings the violence of the past dangerously close to Suzie's teenage son today.

"In the Blood" ticks all the right boxes. It's got historical tragedy, modern day intrigue and a perceptive insight into the dynamics of contemporary family life. All this is cleverly interwoven into a story that's a real page-turner and one that I'll be recommending to my friends."

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Severn House Paperbacks Ltd (1 Jan 2010)
Language English ISBN-10: 1847511414
ISBN-13: 978-1847511416  

Hardcover: 208 pages Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd (May 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0727867768
ISBN-13: 978-0727867766            

 

EVIL ON THE WIND  

By

Diney Costeloe

It is Germany 1937. Fear and betrayal stalk the streets. People disappear. Persecution of the Jews is a national pastime. Her home destroyed, her husband arrested by the SS after an anti-Jewish riot, Ruth Friedman is left to fend for herself and her four children. Homeless, she is forced to live on her wits to protect her family.  

She alone stands as their shield against the Nazis. Where should she go? What must she do? Is Kurt alive? Wherever she turns, Ruth is faced with indifference, hatred, cruelty. Living with the rising tyranny of the Nazis and their determination to make their Reich Jew Free, Ruth and her family run a desperate race to escape the Nazi terror as it marches inexorably to its ‘final solution’ of the Jewish Problem.  

This is compelling and immensely moving historical fiction that takes you into the depths of Nazi Germany and the sheer terror of those times.  

Diney Costeloe has evoked the sheer terror felt by Jews in the late 1930s in Germany. My mother was one of them and got out. So many did not. Read this book and begin to understand the pain and the horror.’ Rabbi Julia Neuberger  

For a review copy or to arrange an interview with the author who lives in Somerset please contact Amolibros on 01823 401527 or e-mail: amolibros@aol.com

Distributed by Gardners Books, 1 Whittle Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 6QH
Tel: +44(0)1323 521555 | Fax: +44(0)1323 521666
Published by Castlehaven Books
ISBN 978-0-9540383-4-2,
Price: £9.99, an original paperback, 234x156mm, 320pp              

 

New Ides for R.E 

By

Lyn Carnaby and Craig Spence

Published by Nelson Thorne's, Delta Place 27 Bath Road, Cheltenham GL53 7TH

Part of a series of two, this photocopiable pack of teaching material offers many practical solutions for all your KS3 teaching needs. Both volumes Include a diverse range of new and proven teaching activities.

Additional Information:  

Wide and extensive range of lesson plans and approaches common to RE topics.

Can easily be integrated within your scheme of work, and be used alongside other teaching material.
Written by practising teachers, with a successful track record in delivering good RE in class. Easily adaptable for mixed ability classrooms.
Lots of hands-on activities, such as things to make, crosswords and games.
Ideal for both specialist and non-specialist teachers.
Some elements can be used in KS4 and in Citizenship schemes of work.

Topic areas for Volume 1 are:

Ultimate Questions, Authority and Commitment

ISBN 978-0-7487-5447-2 Price £65.00  

Topic areas for Volume 2 are:

Identity, Expression and Experience.

ISBN  978-0-7487-6008-4 Price £65.00   

DAYS TO REMEMBER

by

Rachel Moore (Jean Saunders)

1943. In wartime Cornwall,  Breda Hanney is on the brink of marrying her childhood sweetheart when his family receive the dreaded telegarm telling them he is lost at sea. Devastated, Breda believes her own life has ended too, and the wedding ceremony she has dreamed of for so long turns into a memorial service. The arrival home of his badly wounded cousin Max does nothing to help her and she is far from letting go of her grief until time and circumstance dictate otherwise.

Published by Allison & Busby, June 2009
Price £6-99
ISBN 978-0-7490-4 (paperback)        

 

SUCCESSFUL NOVEL PLOTTING

by

Jean Saunders

Lost the plot? This authoritative book by the acclaimed author of more than 100 novels, will help steer new writers through the minefield of the writing process. Using examples from her own work and that of other top authors, Jean explains how to create memorable characters, generate cliffhangers, and keep up a pace that will hook readers.

Published by Accent Press, March 2009  (Book of the Month)
Price £9-99
ISBN 9781906373627 (paperback)        

 

CHASING RAINBOWS

by

Rowena Summers (Jean Saunders)

In 1920s Bristol, besotted kitchen maid Cherry O'Neil is seduced by the son of her wealthy boss. Horrified to think she is pregnant she is too afraid to tell him. Her brother, a rough, bare-knuckle fighter, finds this a perfect opportunity to blackmail her lover, Captain Lance Melchoir. Demanding money to avoid a family scandal, things spiral out of control, and Cherry finally has to admit that she is harbouring a scandalous secret that threatens all her dreams.

Published by Severn House, UK and USA, April 2009
Price £18-99
ISBN 978-0-7278-6758-2 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-84751-123-2 (trade paperback)            

 

NO ENEMY TO CONQUER

Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World By Michael Henderson Complete with a foreword from the Dalai Lama, No Enemy to Conquer offers dramatic evidence that validates the power of forgiveness and reveals unexpected paths to peace. A stunning array of commentators from around the world, including the late Benazir Bhutto, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Rajmohan Gandhi, provide their own thoughts on forgiveness. The result is a multi-voiced call to value and practice forgiveness in a troubled world. Douglas M. Johnston, President and Founder of the International Centre for Religion and Democracy, writes, "Henderson takes us on a journey that is both moving and inspiring. This book merits the attention of political leaders and policymakers alike."

No Enemy to Conquer: Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World

by Michael Henderson

Baylor University Press

Publication Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN 978-1-60258-140-1 $19.95  Paperback Original Index and bibliography included
234 pages, 6" x 9" "

...a blissful read and a persuasive argument for forgiveness as a practical tool for global survival....Henderson shows the real muscle behind forgiveness, avoiding preciousness and sentimentality. He writes, ‘Forgiveness has an image problem'-with this latest effort, perhaps no more."  -Publishers Weekly      

 

BONDED HEART

By

Jane Jackson

Though born into a once-respectable family, and granddaughter of a clergyman, circumstances have reduced Roz Trevaskis to working at the Three Mackerel in Porthinnis.  In order to pay the fines incurred by her alcoholic mother, Roz has put herself in debt, and reluctantly turned to smuggling.

When her half-brother, Tom, is offered a job as apprentice on the estate of local Justice Branoc Casvellan, Roz realises this is an opportunity to dig her family out of trouble. Then Casvellan's brother catches smallpox and it falls to Roz to nurse him. But how will Branoc - and his family - react when the truth of Roz's past, and her involvement with the local smuggling trade, comes out?

Hardcover:  220 pages
Publisher:  Severn House Publishers Ltd (Jan 2009)
Language:  English
ISBN - 13:  9780727867483
Price:  £18.99

Historical Novels Review on The Chain Garden:   "Jane Jackson's novel is satisfying on many levels, well-written and pleasurable to read."

A Lark on the South Downs Way

by

Brian Hick

If winter's here, the spring cannot be far behind, and what better way to prepare than with Brian Hick's new sonnet cycle A Lark on the South Downs Way. Written last April while walking with friends the 100 miles from Winchester to Eastbourne it encapsulates the delights and terrors of long-distance walking, and reflects on the spiritual impact of spending days rather than minutes in the open air.

Also included are poems for Lies from my childhood which reflect on our often confused relationship with family photos, and more recent verse, illustrated throughout in colour. As well as writing verse for many years Dr Hick worked in theatre, opera and education. He is currently Editor Emeritus of The Organ having been Editor for 15 years, and written regularly for Musical Opinion.

The collection of poems and photographs is available now on line at www.larksdw.co.uk at a discount price of £7.99 until 14 February 2009.

Published by Musical Opinion Ltd
ISBN 0-9544074-2-3

 

A MODERN GOTHIC CHILLER PIPER

By Helen McCabe

Legend has it that in medieval times the children of Hamelin were led East into Transylvania... In bleak post Ceausescu Romania, Dr Sasha Marcu, a psychiatric researcher absorbed with the high incidence of mental illness among the women of a remote Carpathian village, uncovers a horrific history of ritual child murder. After the latest incident police inspector Valentin almost succeeds in cornering the prime suspect who appears to elude justice by dying in a plane crash.

Local cop Dave Durrant and his music teacher wife Diane seem to lead an idyllic life with their four children in the small lakeside town of Sunny Mead, New Hampshire. All that mars their contentment is the disability and muteness of their 13-year-old son, Pip. When Diane engages new arrival Diep Koppelberg as a therapist for her son, Diep's charm and exceptional musical talent captivate all who meet him, and Diane , her teenage daughter and the two youngest Durrant children are gradually drawn to him to the point of infatuation. Only Pip sees Diep differently and senses the danger to his unsuspecting family...

Title: PIPER
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Myrmidon Books Ltd (7 Oct 2008)
ISBN-10: 1905802250
ISBN-13: 978-1905802258
Price £7.99

New Novel by Westcountry Writers’ President, Lady Rachel Billington

Lies and Loyalties (Hardcover)

By

Rachel Billington

‘Rachel Billington has created an utterly gripping page-turner.’ Spectator Lies and Loyalties, was published on 3 April, 2008. It is about a family of four brothers and one sister, an MP, a QC, a Catholic priest, a brother who suffers from mental problems and his wife who at the beginning of the novel is resident in Her Majesty’s Prison Holloway.

It is well known that in England today the division between the rich and successful and the poor and failing is getting wider and wider. Lies and Loyalties is my attempt to reflect the society I see around me in contemporary London. The novel is cast in the form of a thriller with murder at the beginning and end of the book. Throughout it, I’m trying to paint a picture of the different worlds that exist side by side in the city. It’s a fast moving story and I hope that readers will be entertained as well as being shocked and moved.

Rachel Billington
Publisher: Orion
ISBN-10: 0752868543
ISBN-13: 978-0752868547
Website: www.rachelbillington.com

 

Central Gloucestershire (British Railways Past & Present)

By

John Stretton

British Railways Past and Present is a nationwide series of books featuring photographs of railway locations taken several decades ago, and comparing them with the same scene today. Such is the current pace of change on our railway system that even a few years can reduce a busy and vibrant railway scene to a wasteland or housing estate – or conversely can bring electrification and up-to-the minute technology to a run-down and outdated route. Whatever the change, the comparison of past and present will intrigue not only the railway enthusiast but also anyone interested in our recent history.

This volume is published at the same time as a sister publication, by the same author, titled British Railways Past and Present: North Gloucestershire.

Paperback: 128 pages

Publisher: Past & Present Publishing Ltd (24 May 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1858952352
ISBN-13: 978-1858952352
Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 16.8 x 1 cm Available via Amazon.co.uk

A Painful Postmortem

By

Mel Menzies

TRAGIC AND TENDER, A CONTEMPORARY STORY OF LOVE STRETCHED TO ITS LIMITS.

Your daughter is found dead, her baby asleep upstairs.

Worse, the Pathology Report declares her ‘a known drug addict’. You’re determined to prove otherwise.

The only person who can help is her father.

A bitter divorce means there’s no love lost between you.

How do you cope with the blame and recrimination? Yours? And his!

This is the scenario facing Claire, mother of the dead girl, Katya. Two people are arrested. Why does the Coroner instruct them at the Inquest, to say nothing that might incriminate them? What does Katya’s doctor know that he’s not telling? And how did the Pathologist arrive at his conclusions? As Claire, Mark, and Katya’s sister, Rosie, discover, through a painful post mortem on their own lives, there are flaws on all sides. And the peace each craves comes at a high cost.

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Booklocker.com (11 April 2008)
Distributor: Cumcaritas Books
ISBN-10: 1601454813
ISBN-13: 978-1601454-812    
 

New Second World War Novel Published.

DEATH’S DARK VALE

by

DINEY COSTELOE

WCWA member, Diney Costeloe, author of Dartmouth Circle and The Ashgrove, has just had her latest novel published. It is a gripping tale set in occupied France during the Second World War.

When Adelaide Anson-Gravetty discovers she is not who she thought she was, her search for her true family leads her to the convent of Our Lady of Mercy in St Croix. The defeat of France brings German occupation to the village, where the nuns are caught up in a war that threatens both their beliefs and their lives. Involved with the resistance and British agents, Adelaide and the sisters truly walk in the valley of the shadow of death as they try to protect the innocent from the evil menace of the Nazi war machine. When Jews and their children seek a hiding place, where better than a convent of devout Catholic nuns, and that quiet devout community is to have its peace shattered for ever.

DEATH’S DARK VALE is published by Castlehaven Books.
ISBN 978-0-9540383-2-8
Price £9.99.
Distributed by Gardners Books, Tel: 01323 521555 

DEATH'S DARK VALE is now available in a large print edition. An audio version will be available soon.

 

HEAVENLY SCENTS
A Millennium of Fragrance By Pamela Forrest Taylor

Heavenly Scents is a celebration of perfume throughout the ages. It traces a fascinating path from ancient Egyptian history to the present day. Each century reveals new techniques and materials employed by craftsmen and blenders of perfumes.

The author has aimed this book at the general reader and collectors rather than the expert connoisseur and describes the favourite perfumes of people living in past eras. The author has a special interest in Rimmel scents and memorabilia. She also collects 19th and early 20th century bottles, especially those from the Guerlain factory, founded in 1828.

ISBN – 0953891305
Paperback (pp. 93, including colour plates) available from Pamela Taylor, 40 Oakleigh Close, Backwell, North Somerset BS48 3JU    

DISTANT HORIZONS
A new novel by Jean Saunders writing as Rowena Summers

It is the early days of the phoney war and Alice Chase is awaiting the impending birth of a fifth child. With the arrival of two young evacuees in her sister-in-law's household it seems that the war is finally changing their peaceful lives in the Somerset village of Bramwell. Alice's eldest daughter Rose is head over heels in love and about to join up as a nursing assistant, following her doctor sweetheart. But as the war clouds gather ever more ominously over Europe, new friends and a new man enter Rose's life, making her uncertain which way her life should go.

•         Hardcover: 220 pages
•         Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd (Mar 2008)
•         Language English •         ISBN-10: 0727866206
•         ISBN-13: 978-0727866202
•         Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 14 x 2.3 cm      

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Severn House Paperbacks Ltd (1 Jan 2010)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1847511414
ISBN-13: 978-1847511416