Masks of Gold
It has been an exciting, nerve-wracking month as I have put the finishing touches to my second novel, "Masks of Gold". This is the prequel to the "Bell that never Rang". Yes! I wrote them in the wrong order! As the first one emerged out of family tree history during Covid lockdown I can, I believe, be forgiven for the mix up? I have now decided to make it a trilogy and I am pretty certain that the third edition will be the third in the series.
Self publishing is not for the faint hearted but it must be considerably easier than times past, when typewriters, photocopiers and sticky tape were the order of the day. Modern technology, namely Kindle Direct Publishing, allows files to be uploaded into kindle format or print copies. But there is a lot of detail to process first; a lot of typo tracking and layout issues which have to be ground out. And the cover must fit the size of book exactly. I have been supported by a team of helpers and editors who have laboured their way through the work many times but it is surprisingly easy to miss a space here, or make a 'from' into a 'form' -that one seems to be my particular Achilles Heel!
But now it is done! The copy is as good as I can currently make it but I am sure there will be little edits as time drifts along. Please do write in with the details your favourite typos! It was launched at the recent Llangwm Literary Festival, which was great boost but the slow grind of self promotion and marketing is so important and the bit I hate!
Because this is (mostly) a genuine prequel I have had to write it with two audiences in mind, those who have already read "The Bell" and are coming back for more and a first time audience, who may never go on the second volume! The story begins with George Young, who is the father of Alasdair, the dairy farmer at Barrys Bay, and tells his story of settling in New Zealand and accumulating the necessary funds to go farming. He spends a lot of time as a digger, panning for gold, initially near Collingwood and later on the Blue Spur, near Hokitika. Concurrently, the Bowens are working their way towards a farm tenancy at Monkhill, St Ishmaels in Wales. At a time when tenant farming was a struggle to survive.
Both stories are set mainly in the late 1800's but dip back to earlier times. Many of you will already know of the Rebecca Riots in Wales, which saw tenant farmers rise and make a stand against punitive tolls. I have managed to build that fascinating piece of history into the storyline.
And of course I have included everyone's favourite: Marie! This book covers much of Marie's early life! And an interesting bohemian life it proved to be........
Once again I have taken a lot of family history and added in other historical events before fabricating and twisting the storyline. Much of this did happen, some of it could have happened and some of it definitely didn't happen!
There is always something of a hiatus, a numb vacuum after you let a book go to begin its journey. How will it be received? Second albums often have a hard time of it! I have lived with the research, writing and editing of this novel for over twelve months and now I am ready it see it go. I am currently writing up an accurate family history and soon I will begin pulling the research for the third volume of "The Bowen Trilogy" into shape.
I have enjoyed writing this one; I felt a little more in control that when writing 'The Bell.' I hope you enjoy it too - please let me know: feedback, whatever its nature is always welcome! Most of all, if you do buy a copy from Amazon, or download to your Kindle please post a review. Reviews are important on that site, the better the review the more likely you are to get purchased. To find either of the books, just search for their titles on Amazon or Kindle.
As a celebratory present to myself I decided to walk the shoreline from Roose Ferry to the Jolly Sailor pub, further down river. I haven't done this for many years and I wasn't sure I still could! It proved to be a relatively easy stroll of about 4km, with the odd bit of scrambling to keep me on my toes (and to keep my toes dry!) You can only do this walk about an hour each side of a low tide, unless you want to get rather wet. The tide was a really low one - just before 4pm, which was when I set off, it was about 0.6m, having been 7.7metres the night before. I set off from Roose Ferry just before 4pm and there was plenty of beach to walk on; I had to scramble around the rocks past Rudders Boat Yard and managed to graze my leg on a barnacle but otherwise no dramatic falls or concussions to report! Further along I came across the remains of a very old ship: large, timber framed with cast iron attachments. I must research its history, there could be a story here. Many years ago in my teenage days there used to be a reserve fleet of Royal Navy battle ships anchored here but they have long gone now, replaced by a few yacht moorings.
River Cleddau, looking north back towards Roose ferry
Wreckage of old ship on shore at low tide
My reward was an excellent pint (or two) of Guinness at the pub, where they do still pour a good drop! I must set off for a stiffer walking challenge soon!
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