THE FAERIE TREE: A Book In The Making

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Jane Cable

SAMHAIN: The time of year when the harvest has been completed and the earth has become dormant. The time when the veil which separates the living and the dead is at its most delicate. The time to honour those who have passed.

I feel as though I’m chewing on metal. You see I’ve just bitten the largest bullet an author can bite – I’ve sent my completed manuscript to my publisher. I finished writing and editing it months ago, but it was still really hard to let it go.

So what, you may ask, has that got to do with the pagan festival of Samhain? Well everything and nothing really. The timing of my baby leaving the comfort of my laptop was driven by the necessities of publishing schedules but sometimes, when you look higher, wider, around you – there is an underlying connectivity which at once astounds and makes perfect sense.

The Faerie Tree is not a novel about paganism, but simply a story where one of the major characters has chosen this path to make sense of his world. What it is, is a novel about loss. That sad universal truth of life we all have to battle with from time to time; finding a way to understand and move on, without ever forgetting.

Samhain is a time of remembrance. The pagan equivalent of the Christian All Souls, it is one of a number of major festivals which run in parallel across the boundaries of faith. It is so very human to want to reach out beyond the grave that it makes perfect sense to set aside a time to honour our loved ones on the other side.

Those of you who are familiar with my first novel, The Cheesemaker’s House, will naturally be thinking that The Faerie Tree sounds like another ghost story. It isn’t. Here the characters who have died live only through the memories of those who loved them.

Memory – or memories – are central to the book. So much will become clear as I take you through my journey from the manuscript being sent to my chosen publisher Matador, to the book being available in the shops. But first I think we need to go back in time so I can share the book’s story so far. I think you might be interested; where inspiration comes from is the question I am most often asked in interviews or when talking to groups of readers.

Every author is different, but for me a novel becomes worth writing when two ideas coalesce to make a really gripping story. The first concept was the fairy tree itself. A few years ago a friend took me walking in a beautiful piece of woodland next to the river Hamble, with the express purpose of showing me this tree.

As we approached we began to find tiny teddy bears and plastic toys perched in the bushes, but even their increasing numbers did nothing to prepare me for the tree itself. An oak; not gnarled and twisted, but young, straight and strong – covered with toys, ribbons, beads, strings of shells, and even an old cuckoo clock. But best of all was the box filled with letters from children to the fairies – and the plastic folder on the back of the tree which contained the fairies’ replies.

Never before – or since – have I wanted to hug a tree so much. The feeling was pure instinct – something really basic inside me. As was the covering of the tree with offerings. Pagan? Yes – but in a way few of those who had left their gifts would even recognise as such.

So the fairy tree was the first strand of inspiration, but what of the characters who would discover it for themselves? The previous winter I had visited the beautiful city of Winchester for its Christmas market, and seeing homeless men gather at the Buttercross in the main shopping street, I began to wonder what it would be like to look into the eyes of one of them and realise they were an old flame. And that, dear reader, is where Robin and Izzie’s story starts. The themes of memory and of loss, well, they rather wove themselves, because The Faerie Tree had to be more than just a romance – there had to be mystery, and suspense.

So here I am, with a manuscript winging its way through the ether to my publisher. But the hard work of getting it into readers’ hands isn’t over – it’s only just started. As you will begin to realise when we meet again at Yule.

Jane Cable

Kingham Plough Review

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Jane Cable

Anyone who watched The Great British Menu couldn’t have failed to notice that fish course winner Emily Watkins kept apologising. For everything, really. So when the lights in the restaurant of The Kingham Plough dipped and danced a little it should have been no surprise to see Emily appear and apologise; they were new – the bulbs were too bright – she wanted to get them right.

When you own a pub restaurant, wanting everything to be perfect is no bad thing.

The Kingham Plough is a part of a Cotswold stone terrace about 15 minutes’ drive from Stow on the Wold and it’s probably only a little fanciful to say that the warmth of the sun on the stone extends inside the building as well. The young staff are friendly and helpful, and while interior designers have clearly been at work the look and feel of a village pub has been retained. The walls are decorated with local art (for sale) and the carefully mismatched furniture oozes rural chic. Not to mention comfort.

We ate in the restaurant although a full range of bar snacks (including deliciously retro pints of prawns and just plain delicious homemade pork pies) are available. Much has been made in other reviews of the sous vide cooking technique Watkins prefers, but to be honest, if we hadn’t been told, we wouldn’t have noticed. And anyway, I’m a great believer in letting the food speak for itself.

My starter was a rabbit sausage, resting on an oblong of pea puree and sharing the plate with a most attractive salad which tasted crisp, fresh and as good as it looked. My husband opted for the sea trout tartare which was served in a tower topped with an egg yolk. Before breaking the yolk he burrowed out a little from the bottom of the stack for me and that was lovely too.

We had wanted a wine which would take us through all three courses and here the young staff did let the Kingham Plough down slightly by recommending a bottle which really wasn’t appropriate, simply because it was popular. So we fell back on our own knowledge (time to fess up that my husband has certificates in this sort of thing and does spend some of his business life in the wine trade) and chose a more than acceptable bottle of Beaune which didn’t break the bank.

Although I am not a vegetarian (clearly, given the way I devoured the rabbit sausage) I decided on a beetroot soufflé with local goat cheese for my main course. I love beetroot and I love goat cheese and I certainly wasn’t disappointed by the soft and fluffy soufflé which perfectly combined them. Meanwhile my better half went for the pork wellington; a tender nugget of meat encased in homemade ‘hodge podge’ aka black pudding and the thinnest of thin sheets of pastry. I am told it was fantastic. But I didn’t get to try.

As ever, we were lured by the cheese; a selection from nine local cheeses – or all of them to share for £19. This really was a no-brainer and they came spread out along a wooden board with generous piles of homemade oatcakes, hazelnut fruit bread, celery and apple jelly. There was a modicum of confusion over which cheese was which – the blushing waitress told us Emily had prepared the board and they were always in the right order – she just wasn’t sure what the order was. But it didn’t matter. They were all quirky and original and it was the highlight of our meal taking our time over them and finishing off the Beaune.

The highlight of the meal; but not the highlight of our stay. We had booked a room for the night (clean, cosy, quiet and comfortable) which meant we were having breakfast. I am not a huge fan of the full English – give me a skinny latte and something chocolaty any day – but this time I was tempted. And besides, I hadn’t got my hands on any of the hodge podge pudding the night before.

As it happened, for me the black pudding was not the star of the show. Mainly because it had a great deal of competition. Homemade baked beans, for a start – made with real tomatoes, wonderfully seasoned. Thick, crispy bacon and mushrooms which tasted as though they had been picked from the fields just hours before. Proper leaf tea. And, best of all, a little skillet of drop scones (scotch pancakes, if you prefer), warm from the grill, just begging to be drizzled with honey.

Whether it was in revenge for the pork wellington, or just pure gluttony, I scoffed the lot.

Find out more about The Kingham Plough at www.thekinghamplough.co.uk

Winteringham Fields Review

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Jane Cable

When you live in the south of England it’s a long way to Winteringham Fields; indeed most of us would struggle to place the chic Lincolnshire village of Winteringham on a map. Think just south of the Humber, right at the end of Ermine Street where the Romans stopped and pondered for a while before crossing that great river. In modern terms, think Sheffield then right a bit.

Don’t let the journey put you off. In fact, their rooms are so gorgeous it would be a shame to miss out on that part of the experience. Or on walking along dykes with the huge Lincolnshire skies above you – perfect country for thinking enormous (if not a little pretentious) thoughts.

You do need to splash the cash but it’s worth it. My canny husband won us the room, breakfast and a very generous glass of champagne and canapés in a Facebook competition after Winteringham’s chef patron, Colin McGurran, reached the final of The Great British Menu. And (whisper it quietly) they have also been known to do Groupons.

But enough of this waffle – on to the main event – the food. Now we like our food and we do sometimes treat ourselves to lunch of dinner at Michelin starred restaurants. But the tasting menu at Winteringham Fields was quite probably the best meal we have ever eaten. Which is why, dear reader, I thought you ought to know about it.

Entitled Menu Surprise, and available in seven or nine courses and with or without a flight of complementary wines, our culinary journey started in the restaurant’s pretty courtyard. Almost before we had finished our canapés a deep red watermelon shot arrived, which rather surprisingly didn’t ruin the remains of our champagne, and set us on our way nicely. Inside the dining room a second amuse bouche awaited us in the form of a luxurious fois gras and cherry cup where the fresh and preserved fruit cut through the richness of the pate to perfection.

The first of two starters was as clean and fresh as it was ingenious. I have seen TV chefs prepare edible facsimile tomatoes, but having watched the process of making something which isn’t actually a tomato resemble one in minute detail, I was always left wondering if they actually tasted of anything. This one certainly did; a gorgeous garlicky gazpacho which packed an enormous punch of flavour, brilliantly accompanied by humble basil and feta and matched with a Spanish sauvignon blanc. Almost impossible to match a tomato with a wine successfully. As an afterthought, perhaps a salty Manzanilla might have stood up better. But that is splitting hairs – especially as the Argentinian chardonnay offered with the pork and smoked salmon ravioli which came next was a match made in heaven.

I freely admit to watching far too much food on TV. And I’m glad I do, because we would never have discovered Colin McGurran otherwise. But I am a little cynical about the worst excesses of praise – how can a plate of food make you want to weep? Get a grip, people. Or try the langoustine terrine at Winteringham Fields. Perfectly cooked fish surrounded by melting leeks. So simple. And quite the best thing I have ever eaten. My husband disagreed. Or at least he did once he’d tasted the Cornish red mullet and mango salsa which followed. Me? I was still savouring my Muscadet (which thankfully accompanied both fish courses) and dreaming of lobsters.

The main course was duck. Exquisitely cooked, in that it was hardly cooked at all. It was accompanied by more melting vegetables from the restaurant’s own polytunnels and more foie gras (not really necessary) as well as an excellent Cotes de Brouilly.

Just as I was running out of superlatives a small white chocolate ball sitting in a bed of desiccated coconut arrived. It was a warm night and we were counselled to eat it quickly by the extremely attentive front of house manager. Having taken a cautious sniff and encouraged by my other half’s look of ecstasy I dived in. I discovered afterwards it was a called a pineapple and basil bomb. Wow. Suited it perfectly.

Sadly it was too hard an act for the dessert to follow. I love apricots and there was nothing wrong with their ‘textures’, or the pistachio ice cream which accompanied them, but in such a brilliant meal it somehow got lost. Perhaps I’m being unfair and the wine was beginning to get to me.

It was the port which threatened to finish me off, but it was worth travelling hundreds of miles to see my husband’s face as the cheese trolley was wheeled in. The young lady who accompanied it was more curator than waitress and offered her wares in sensible selections; blue, hard, soft, goat – and in each category mild, medium and strong. I was past counting, but there had to be about fifty cheeses on show and the ones we tried were different and interesting.

As our peppermint tea was brewing the lovely front of house manager asked if we would like a kitchen tour as Colin was in that night and loved showing people around. Knowing how much I’d had to drink, my husband was extremely dubious, but I don’t think I was too embarrassing; McGurran is a real enthusiast for his food, both the growing of it and the cooking of it. He seemed a reluctant celebrity chef, happier in the kitchen or a polytunnel than in front of a TV camera, and I have to say I liked him all the more for it.

One final word. I’ve spouted on a great deal about the food, but in many ways it was the atmosphere and style of service which made our stay. When we watched the promotional video on their website we did wonder if Winteringham Fields was really for us; perhaps we’re not young enough or glamorous enough, perhaps we don’t drive the right car. But we needn’t have worried because we were welcomed with informality and genuine warmth. And when I told Mr McGurran I’d feared we’d have to park our Peugeot 308 around the corner, his laugh said it all.

Perfect Holiday Reading: The Books To Read This Summer

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Frostie

Stop! Do not buy any books, nor put any in your suitcase until you have read our essential guide of the best books to read this summer. This is our second instalment of great reads. We hope you enjoy some of the books below and feel free to add you own in the comments section or by emailing frostmagazine@gmail.com

Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton

Former United States Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, First Lady of the United States and possible future President. What a life, what a woman. We loved her previous book, Living History, and this one is equally good. Brilliant stuff that will also give your brain a workout.

Maeve’s Afternoon Delight by Margaret Graham

Margaret Graham is one of Frost’s favourite authors and this book is yet another winner. Less historical than the previous books of hers we have reviewed, this has a modern setting. It is a brilliant First Wives style book with a rather loveable heroine in Maeve. A character it is impossible not to love and get excited about. After her husband leaves her for her best friend Maeve starts to make changes in her life. She finds solace in her allotment and the friends she gains. Perfect summer reading. This book would make a great film.

The Cheesemakers House by Jane Cable
We have already reviewed this book before but wanted to include it on this list due to its great story and pace. Very readable and perfect for the beach.

Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost by AC Hatter

Well-written with great characters. Perfect for adults too. Great summer reading

Callum Fox’s summer holiday in Cornwall isn’t working out quite as he’d expected. His Grandad’s turned out to be a miserable old git and Sophie, the girl he met on the train to Penzance, seems to view him as more of a liability than anything else. However, his time in Mousehole starts to get a whole lot more interesting when he meets Jim, the ghost of a World War II evacuee. Seventy years separate Callum and Jim, but as their stories unfold Callum realises they have more in common than anyone could have imagined, and that some secrets last a lifetime… Callum is a fabulous, funny and feisty character who takes us on a roller-coaster of a ride around Cornwall.

Touched by Joanna Briscoe
This is a gripping, creepy, novel that never lets you go until the end. Highly enjoyable stuff. You won’t even notice the world going by. Perfect to read in a single sitting

Rowena Crale and her family have moved from London. They now live in a small English village in a cottage which seems to be resisting all attempts at renovation. Walls ooze damp, stains come through layers of wallpaper, celings sag. And strange noises – voices – emanate from empty rooms. As Rowena struggles with the upheaval of builders while trying to be a dutiful wife and a good mother to her young children, her life starts to disintegrate. And then, one by one, her daughters go missing …

Theatres of War by RJJ Hall

Perfect for those who love history and war novels. A very good book.
Winner of The People’s Book Prize (Fiction) 2013/14

On the landing beaches at Salerno in September 1943, two soldiers face the German bombardment together but they come from different worlds: Frank grew up in the backstreets of London but he’s clever and is now an officer; Edmund is a cricketer from a landed family.

Vermillion had fallen for Edmund in Cairo where she monitored German communications. Desperate to see him again, she gets transferred to war-torn Naples. But when Frank discovers an abandoned theatre and stages a revue, she can’t stay away. It proves such a success that Frank is ordered to stay in Naples and put on more shows. Vermillion joins him and her life becomes enmeshed with both men.

While Edmund fights in the bitter winter battles near Monte Cassino, Frank dreams of staging an opera. Vermillion still loves Edmund, but she doesn’t want him running her life. And working with Frank, she experiences the independence she’s longed for.

Vermillion feels fulfilled, but a time is soon coming when she’ll have to choose…

Theatres of War is a love story about sacrifice and duty, and a war story about self-discovery and love. Seen through the eyes of combatants and civilians, it evokes the convulsions of the ‘forgotten’ Italian campaign of World War II.

Letters From Skye by Jessica Brockmole
This is a stunningly wonderful love story, told in a series of letters. Endlessly romantic and the letter format makes the characters feel very real. Wonderful stuff.

Elspeth is fond of saying to her daughter that ‘the first volume of my life is out of print’. But when a bomb hits an Edinburgh street and Margaret finds her mother crouched in the ruins of her bedroom pulling armfuls of yellowed letters onto her lap, the past Elspeth has kept so carefully locked away is out in the open. The next day, Elspeth disappears.

Left alone with the letters, Margaret discovers a mother she never knew existed: a poet living on the Isle of Skye who in 1912 answered a fan letter from an impetuous young man in Illinois.

Without having to worry about appearances or expectations, Elspeth and Davey confess their dreams and their worries, things they’ve never told another soul. Even without meeting, they know one another.

Played out across oceans, in peacetime and wartime but most of all through paper and ink, Letters from Skye is about the transformative power of a letter – the letter that shouldn’t have been sent, the letter that is never sent and the letter the reader will keep for ever.

The Fever by Megan Abbott
This is Megan Abbott’s seventh novel and is her best yet. That is saying something! A brilliant, gripping crime novel. Even the author of Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn likes it. High praise indeed.

The Nash family is close-knit. Tom is a popular teacher, father of two teens: Eli, a hockey star and girl magnet, and his sister Deenie, a diligent student. Their seeming stability, however, is thrown into chaos when Deenie’s best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class. Rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through the family, school and community.

As hysteria and contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unravel friendships, families and the town’s fragile idea of security.

A chilling story about guilt, family secrets and the lethal power of desire.

The Stealth Virus by Professor Paul Griffiths
Brilliant, fascinating and food for the brain.

Paul Griffiths, Professor of Virology at the Royal Free Hospital and University College London studied medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London and has spent his professional life in medical virology. He has an international reputation, unrivalled expertise and insight into the effect that viruses can have on patients and their families. Professor Griffiths uses this experience and stories of real patients to demonstrate how cytomegalovirus has avoided detection and treatment for so long. He introduces you to CMV, an intelligent virus which evolved millions of years ago intending to infect everyone on the planet during childhood, spreading silently throughout the world whilst remaining unrecognised. Professor Griffiths explains how modern living has jolted this stealth virus out of its complacency, rapidly altering the conditions it needs to survive.

Over a period of 100 years (a blink of the eye in evolutionary time) humans have changed their world to become cleaner, longer living life forms which avoid childhood infections, have babies later in life, swap organs during transplantation and even suppress their immune systems with drugs or HIV. Professor Griffiths describes how and why this virus has come out of obscurity to become a top target for elimination. Although you may never have heard its name, there is a good chance that you, your family and your friends have encountered it. After you have heard The Stealth Virus tell its own story, its victims are given a voice too. This book describes how CMV is being confronted and introduces the researchers who will defend us against its insidious and sometimes devastating consequences. This book brings medical virology to life. It is dedicated to those who have encountered The Stealth Virus and to those who have declared war upon it.

The Poet’s Daughters: Dora Wordsworth and Sara Coleridge by Katie Waldegrave
Well researched and fascinating. Waldegrave brings the lives of these two women to life vividly, telling a story that has never truly been heard before. Brilliant stuff.

‘You are the best poetry he ever produced: a bright spark out of two flints.’

Dora Wordsworth and Sara Coleridge, were life-long friends. They were also the daughters of best friends: William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the two poetic geniuses who shaped the Romantic Age.

Living in the shadow of their fathers’ extraordinary fame brought Sara and Dora great privilege, but at a terrible cost. In different ways, each father almost destroyed his daughter. Growing up in the shadow of genius, each girl made it her life’s ambition to dedicate herself to her father’s writing and reputation. Anorexia, drug addiction and depression were part of the legacy of fame, but so too were great friendship and love.

Drawing on a host of new sources, Katie Waldegrave tells the never-before-told story of how two young women, born into greatness, shaped their own legacies.

My Gentle Barn: The incredible true story of a place where animals heal and children learn to hope by Ellie Laks
This is an amazing story about healing, hope, love and forgiveness. It is also a powerful story about how well animals can heal things. Highly recommended.

Founder Ellie Laks started The Gentle Barn after adopting a sick goat from a run-down petting zoo in 1999. Some two hundred animals later (including chickens, horses, pigs, cows, rabbits, emus, and more), The Gentle Barn has become an extraordinary nonprofit that brings together a volunteer staff of community members and at-risk teens to rehabilitate abandoned and/or abused animals. As Ellie teaches the volunteers to care for the animals, they learn a new language of healing that works wonders on the humans as well.

My Gentle Barn weaves together the story of how the Barn came to be what it is today with Ellie’s own journey. Filled with heartwarming animal stories and inspiring recoveries, My Gentle Barn is a feel-good account that will delight animal lovers and memoir readers alike.

Many celebrities including Pamela Anderson, Justin Bieber and Ellen De Generes support The Gentle Barn.

Dear Infidel by Tamim Sadikali
An interesting book on identity. This first book from Tamim Sadkali shows promise.

Two families reunite for a feast on Eid ul-Fitr, the day Muslims celebrate the end of the month of fasting. And boys who grew up together will meet again, as men. As the big day approaches two of the men go to the mosque, one leaves his girlfriend and another watches porn. Nevertheless, they arrive intent on embracing the day. Old enmities are put aside, as they take tentative steps towards each other.

This is a story about love, hate, longing and sexual dysfunction, all sifted through the war on terror. And how we drift from one another, leaving every man stranded across a wasteland of atrophied connections. And so we witness the realities of a post-9/11 world filter down, touch individual lives, combine with some internal tension, and finally spill over.

Rocking Your Role – The ‘How To’ guide to success for Female Breadwinners by Jenny Garrett
A brilliant and informative book for female breadwinners.

This book goes beneath the surface of what it means to be the Female Breadwinner and drags women kicking and screaming out of the closet. Why? Because, being the Female Breadwinner can fundamentally challenge women’s identity. It is the trigger, catalyst and cause for many complex issues that women have to manage. For a successful family life and career, women must address and examine these internal challenges for their physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Find out: where your guilt button is and who is pressing it, what you love about being breadwinner that you were afraid to admit, how you tackle the thorny subject of money, how to cure yourself of Superwoman Syndrome.

French Values by Gavin Morse
An interesting book on culture, identity and the differences between Britain and France.

Gavin Morse is a British national, living and working in Strasbourg, France. French Values is an account of things that may or may not have happened to him while living in the European capital. This is his first novel. It originally started as observations of the pleasures of living and working in a Gallic society. Enjoying writing, Gavin decided to create a novel. In his first piece, he illustrates his cultural views and compares the Ros’ Beefs to the Frogs. Through this fiction, he shares the best and the worst from both sides of the channel.

As They Slept (The comical tales of a London commuter) by Andy Leeks
A brilliant idea that is well executed. A very enjoyable read.

The autobiographical tale of a stubborn, thirty something commuter, who wasn’t prepared to lose a petty argument on Facebook.
Infuriated by the snoozing passengers surrounding him, Andy posted a status declaring that sleeping on trains is a complete waste of time. His friends disagreed. In a bid to prove them wrong, Andy set out to write a book from start to finish on the daily commute. “As They Slept” is a collection of comical tales of travel and trepidation, guaranteed to make you laugh. In his well received first book, Andy sets out to explain how to eradicate lost property, why women can’t use their pockets, and exactly when it’s ok to lie.

And if you are an actor, or want to be, then check out our editor, Catherine Balavage’s, new book How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur. Here is a a five-star review it got on Amazon

“This really is an excellent guide book into the terribly difficult, but potentially rewarding life of an actor. Balavage tackles the often ignored questions that surround the inexperienced and/or young person who wonders what the best road to take is? She starts with the basics that encompass questions about whether to train at drama school (and thereby find the money to do so), or go another route by getting involved with fringe theatre and/or film school films. Throughout she weighs up the pros and cons in a highly informative and intelligent manner that are also highly credible as she is writing from first-hand experience. Her own entrepreneurship into film-making is included and offers fantastic tips and empowerment, to what is often a dis-empowering profession. She also demystifies the perceived ‘glamour’ of working as an actor and says it how it is. A good wake-up call for those out there that crave instant fame!

Her approach is wholly professional and fundamentally knowledgeable: she interviews working actors, alongside well-known casting directors who give an insider-view into what is required to get ‘ a foot in the door’. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in becoming an actor.”

What would you add?

Words For The Wounded Writing Prize

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

Frost Magazine has came across a very worthy charity thanks to Jane Cable: Words For The Wounded was launched by Margaret Graham, an author at Random House.

Margaret said; “I launched the charity Words for the Wounded last year and we raise money via writing competitions and donations to help in the recovery of our wounded service personnel. This year we are supporting the Creative Arts Unit at Tedworth House Recovery Centre. Every penny from the entry fees and donations goes to the wounded. We raise money for the prizes in other ways. My son and son-in-law have been noble and done various Ironman marathons and Triathlons for us but this year my colleague and old school friend, Jan Speedie, and I are giving them a break and doing a tandem sky dive. Yes, I know. My grandchildren say the same, ‘You’re mad.’ But needs must. My agent despairs of the lengths to which I will go to be strapped to a handsome young man.

Words for the Wounded has a 1st prize of £250, 2nd £100 and 3rd £50, and publication in Writers’ Forum magazine. Entry fee is £4.50. We ask for poetry, non-fiction or fiction up to a maximum of 400 words on the subject of The Journey. It can be physical, emotional or both. The closing date is 11 March.”

Margaret also has a W4W blog which includes writing tips www.wordsforthewounded.blogspot.co.uk.

Margaret went on to say that “the majority of those injured are under 25. These are life changing injuries and they will need help to recover their self-confidence and independence to get the best from their long lives.”

I am sure you will agree this is a great charity and an equally great competition. Enter now and spread the word.

The Cheesemaker’s House Book Review

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

The Cheesemaker’s House arrived in our postbox with a lovely personal note from the author, Jane Cable. Touched by the effort and about to go on a five-and-a-half hour train journey I decided to take it with me. I read the book in under four hours. In part because the chapters leave no wastage or flowery writing; they are short and snappy. The book is easy to read, but it is also gripping, you desperately want to know what is going to happen and the characters draw you in.

For something with a paranormal bent it is also strangely believable if you let your imagination go. The character of Alice is a great one. She is a survivor and has been through a lot. Her husband left her for his secretary who he had impregnated, but she remains a good, giving person. Owen is more complicated. Mostly likeable but also infuriating. The actions of the countryside are perfectly encapsulated; how everyone knows everyone elses business, the random noises, the community spirit.

The Cheesemaker’s House is Jane’s first published novel and I wonder how many more she has written as she is a skilled writer with a strong voice. The author really has a talent for writing, this book won the suspense & crime category of the Alan Titchmarsh Show People’s Novelist competition in 2011, and I had seen it on a few ‘must read’ lists before I received it. I really enjoyed this book and I hope for more novels from this talented writer.

The Cheesemaker’s House by Jane Cable can be bought here.

Frost Magazine

Books and Lifestyle

Tag Archives: Jane Cable

THE FAERIE TREE: A Book In The Making

Kingham Plough Review

Winteringham Fields Review

Words For The Wounded Writing Prize

The Cheesemaker’s House Book Review