Leaf by Leaf Press

I am not driving to and from Northumbria (when I am a passenger the time is reserved form reading; unless it is dark in which case I am assisting driving); I am not in the garden due to a cold, bitterly cold wind; nor am I writing up minutes or writing letters but still I am not writing stories.

I did write in my journal and I have been reading a gripping fantasy by Tanya Huff and I perused the papers and I cooked lunch for our visitors.  And now it is essential that I watch the rugby.  Thus it is that another day whizzes past and I have not transformed my notes and journal jottings into a cultivated, polished piece of prose or poetry.

Tomorrow …..

New copies of my Robin book have arrived at last!

Available at Whittington Castle shop.
Visited the little shop today and met the treasurer helping behind the counter. He told me that Whittington Castle is the only castle in England owned by a village.
 

Thank you, John.  Fingers crossed it will all make sense in a while.

We’ve obviously bored poor Dennis to sleep. Never mind, Dennis. That’s what IT stuff does for me too.

Trixie

Progress has been made.  I have hurdled family matters, indolence, house, garden, travel and the dog and Iave put together a collection of short stories that I am pleased with.  Now I just have to negotiate the input from the publishing team.  I am waiting thus there is a lull and I have escaped from my desk.

It is four layers weather as the wind is blowing cold from the snowy Welsh hills.  On the top lake I see a kingfisher and a heron.  The dog chases a grey squirrel. Grazing on the grass beside the bottom lake are fifteen Canada geese; that pair were very successful.

Home for porridge and toast and my addiction, strong coffee.

I have made some big decisions about my work. I have imposed some order on my short stories, rewritten Chloe’s Story and I have begun to actually, sequentially and properly write a fantasy novel for which I have been creating card systems of characters and plots, maps and extracts for … quite a while. It is fun and absorbing to watch the novel begin to take real shape so you would think that I could maintain a degree of regular attention.

But, well, it is SUMMER. The raspberries and black currants require picking. Also, there is Wimbledon. There is something magnetic about this gladiatorial contest. It is waged with graphite/carbon fibre rackets, strung with multifilament polyester and cow gut strings, by competitors who use them to propel balls of pressurised air in a hollow rubber core with a yellow wool nap at speeds often exceeding 100mph passed each other. They are athletic, have stamina and at times they are balletic. The psychological part of the game is as interesting.

Suddenly whole hours are gone and I am not where I thought I would be in my book.

Wendy

I have competed the rewrite of the YA novel. It is now being ‘re-examined’ and I am nervous. if it hasn’t significantly overcome the first editorial list of shortcomings I am tempted to put it back in the drawer. In some ways it is a relief to be able to leave it aside for a while as writing a piece of work longer than a short story takes me well out of my comfort zone. I have a couple of short stories that I want to knock into shape.
So I look out of the window.
For several minutes, well almost half-an-hour, I watch an enterprising squirrel gain access to the ripe strawberries in their netted bed. The cunning little animal has twigged that Dave and the dogs are off the property; maybe it actually watched them walk down the hill. It climbs on to the top of one of the four short posts that support the green mesh and it launches itself into the middle of the netting. Its weight makes the net sag so it is in contact with the strawberry plants. For a minute or so the squirrel eats. It then scurries to the edge of the netting, with a wide stance and lifting its paws high, and back onto the post where upon it throws itself onto the netting so that it can access another strawberry. And so it goes on. I am so impressed I almost forget to laugh.
The dogs rush back into the yard, the squirrel dashes into the damson tree and I am detached from my work. I have lost contact with my story about reckless Gemma so I leave my desk to welcome Dave home and to tell him about the flaw in his strawberry defences.

Wendy

Last week I went to give a talk to the Gobowen Mothers’ Union about the launch of my book –  It’s Not a Boy!

The meeting was well attended and we shared memories of our childhood and mused at how different life is today for children growing up. The greatest difference seems to be the freedom we had – we could go out for the day with only a brief warning of ‘be back for dinner time.’ We had no phones and no back-up if things went wrong but somehow, we were always fine.

The highlight of the afternoon was a cup of tea followed by sandwiches, chocolate cake and a chat. Surprisingly I found out that one woman (she is 90) used to live opposite to where I now live and her Aunt Maud lived in our house.

We couldn’t stop talking and I am hoping she will visit me and tell me what life was like for her when she lived in our little hamlet all those years ago.

Vicky Turrell

A few years ago I led a Creative Writing Group for Age UK (It was then ‘Help the Aged’) in Shrewsbury. The talented members of that group became good friends and we published two anthologies of our work. Unfortunately we lost some members of the group to fatal illness and they were much missed. Now I have been invited to join two of Age UK’s reading groups in Shrewsbury to talk about my writing life and especially about my latest publication, which is a crime novel called ‘A Perfect Alibi’. Naturally I hope some of my listeners will want to buy the book.

The story begins at the funeral of Richard Downes, a mid-list crime writer, where a shocking discovery is made. The book is soon to be reviewed in the Oswestry and Borders Advertiser and is available for sale at the wonderful Booka bookshop in Oswestry or from the publishers at £6.50.

Ron Turner

Leaf by Leaf

Welcome to the Leaf by Leaf Press blog.

So who, what, when and why is Leaf by Leaf Press?

Who?
The founding members of Leaf by Leaf are Ron, Vicky, Wendy, Gwen, Kirstie and John (me). All long time members of the Oswestry Writing Group. (The OWG is open to all and meets every other Tuesday in the Griffin, Oswestry).

What?
We proudly claim to be a publishing cooperative. We’re all writers and working together we believe we’ve enough resources and skills to bring quality literature to the world.

When?
The initial call for interest went out to the writing group regulars early Summer 2016 and our first meeting took place at Ron’s house in June.

& Why?
Several members had discussed getting their work published and the difficulty in getting noticed by a traditional publisher. The writing group arranges occasional talks with local authors, two of which, David Armstrong and John Lynch were instrumental in our decision to give Leaf by Leaf a go. David had recently been on national radio describing some of the difficulties of being a mid-list writer and John, already successfully published as part of a cooperative, gave us advice on how to start and plenty of tips he had picked up along the way.

At the next meeting Ron asked ‘Well? When are we starting?’ So we did.

At our first meeting the six of us discussed crazily ambitious plans, each idea built on top of the other, and each greeted with the hothouse enthusiasm only a first meeting can sustain. Needless to say within hours doubts had started to creep in, it was all too much. So we had another meeting which took a more level headed approach to the affair and we all felt better about it and the cooperative was formed.

Nine months later and we are about to publish our first book. Ron’s debut crime thriller ‘A Perfect Alibi’. More about that very soon.