CONGRATULATIONS!

A new SCRIPTORA publication available soon
Report by Sylvia Kent

Both East and West Sussex enjoy a remarkable literary past. Their list of legendary writers and poets includes Hilaire Belloc, William Blake, HG Wells, Lord Tennyson and a host of other illustrious characters who once lived and worked in this area.
In modern times, numerous members of the prestigious Society of Women Writers & Journalists have excelled themselves in publishing their best-selling books across all genres. The latest collection of poetry has emanated from Hove resident, 98-year-old poet, Finola Holiday, whose work spans a lifetime of award-winning publication.
 
Finola has long enjoyed success in regional and international poetry competitions. She won the ‘Sussex Poet of the Year’ prize and the ‘Edna Bourne-Jones Cup – an award of the Downland Poets Eastbourne – as well as the ‘Slipstream’ and ‘Ver Poets’ competitions and on three occasions, the prestigious SWWJ Lady Elizabeth Longford.

A ‘Nest of Tigers’ is the title of Finola’s latest collection of poetry, crafted over years spent in remote places in different continents.   Some of her poetry belongs to the landscape of art and others to the tangible world of tide and change, while others exist only as images reflected in a darker glass. Finola’s latest eclectic work has brought reviews from respected leading poets:
 
Susan Skinner: Finola Holiday presents the people or the objects in her poems with an eye for enchantment and an ear for rhythm that combine to give her poems an appealing vision.” 
 
Stella Davis: They are stand-alone good, and clearly the work of a poet who knows what she is doing!   A good strong voice with things to say and a confident sense of form in which to express them.

Publisher: SWWJ/Scriptora
Available soon on Amazon
Price: £7.00 
ISBN: 978-0-9500591-9-8

Kay Seeley has just released the Kindle edition of her latest book A Troubled Heart (The Fitzroy Hotel Series) available from Amazon. The book is set in Edwardian London and is a compelling family saga that you won’t want to put down. The book is available to read free on kindleunlimited, or can be purchased for £2.99.

Elaine Everest recently announced the publication of the hardback version of The Woolworths Girl’s Promise. Elaine says: ‘I’m so excited to see this lovely book in print as it follows the much-loved Betty Billington’s early life from 1916. My publisher, Pan Macmillan, have excelled themselves with the super cover design – isn’t it fabulous?’
Read more about this and Elaine’s other books at: https://www.elaineeverest.com

A review of Elaine’s book will appear in the April/May issue of the Journal, and can be seen below under our new Book Review section.

David Matthews’ book The Oxford Trinity, published by SCRIPTORA, is now available from Blackwells Bookshop in Oxford, while his latest crime thriller Death on the Path, published by The Book Guild, is reviewed in the current issue of the Journal, and below under our new Book Review section

Margaret Mounsdon writes: ‘My People’s Friend Pocket Novel #987 entitled The Dolphin Summer was published on 15 March.’
 
When Sarita Turin finds a faded photo amongst her mother’s effects she sets out on a quest to find her English grandmother, with startling consequences. St Agatha by the Sea is a very different place from Butterfly Creek and she isn’t sure she can trust Ivan Jarrold to help her discover what happened all those years ago.
 
Margaret was also interviewed by journalist Melanie Whitehouse at The Book Lovers Supper Club in Hassocks on 15 March. ‘We talked about short stories and Pocket Novels and my experiences of being published in both formats,’ says Margaret.