One of the pleasures of retirement is to take a morning when the rest of the world is busy being busy, and read a book. If in addition the book in question is a delight in itself, the whole day … Continue reading →
“I just that I really like schooners. Continue reading →
Here is one of the illustrations Shirley Mackenzie drew for River of Stones, which will be launched in the next few days. When I looked at her first draft, a host of objections swarmed into my mind. Where were the … Continue reading →
Jessica: I’m not sure I would qualify Awash in Talent as an allegory per se, but I certainly intended the Talents to represent differences in society … that tend to be marginalized Continue reading →
A glimpse into the most populous area of the world at a time when it was largely misunderstood or ignored by Europe and America. Continue reading →
I wrote this piece at the request of Jess Wells, who published it first on Jun 19 2014 on her page at Red Room, http://redroom.com/member/jess-wells Elmore Leonard’s 9th rule of writing is, “Don’t go into great detail describing places and things.” … Continue reading →
I asked Seymour Hamilton, author of The Laughing Princess, how it came about that he met Shirley MacKenzie, who did the lovely new cover and many other drawings for that book. This is how he explains it:
I met Shirley MacKenzie at a reading soiree at a now defunct indie bookseller which had our books on consignment. Shirley had written and illustrated a moving account of her search for her birth mother and father. The emotional impact of Shirley’s story was in her drawings, which are at the intersection between personal and universal. She does not tell her reader what to think or feel: she presents evocative images of loss, longing and fulfillment that haunt me still. Continue reading →
Alaric Bond is author of the Fighting Sails Series. He talks about his work, writing process, research, inspirations, what he’s reading, and we discuss what we both owe to the late Tom Grundner, founder of our publisher Fireship Press.
Alaric Bond was born in Surrey, England, and now lives in Herstmonceux, East Sussex. Bond has been writing professionally for over twenty years with work covering broadcast comedy (commissioned to BBC Light Entertainment for 3 years), periodicals, children’s stories, television and the stage. Continue reading →
An exchange on Facebook in 2013 with Shirley Mackenzie, artist and illustrator.
Shirley Mackenzie
Seymour, may I present you with a challenge? What scene from Treasure Island goes unrecognized as significant to the theme and SHOULD be illustrated? Continue reading →