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The English Governess at the Siamese Court: The True Story Behind 'The King and I' by Anna Harriette Leonowens. 1870/1999. 320 pages.

I have been intending to read this "memoir" for a decade now; I decided to read it this year for the book to movie reading challenge. This memoir and the movie have very little in common, perhaps with two exceptions. First, the English governess (Anna) did want the King to fulfill his promise of a house outside the palace. Second, there is one conversation from the memoir that made it (to a certain degree) into the movie. It comes early in the film.

The king shook hands with us, and immediately proceeded to march up and down in quick step, putting one foot before the other with mathematical precision, as if under drill. "Forewarned, forearmed!" my friend whispered that I should prepare myself for a sharp cross-questioning as to my age, my husband, children, and other strictly personal concerns. Suddenly his Majesty, having cogitated sufficiently in his peculiar manner, with one long final stride halted in front of us, and pointing straight at me with his forefinger, asked, "How old shall you be?"
Scarcely able to repress a smile at a proceeding so absurd, and with my sex's distaste for so serious a question, I demurely replied, "One hundred and fifty years old."
Had I made myself much younger, he might have ridiculed or assailed me; but now he stood surprised and embarrassed for a few moments, then resumed his queer march; and at last, beginning to perceive the jest, coughed, laughed, coughed again, and in a high, sharp key asked, "In what year were you borned?"
Instantly I struck a mental balance, and answered, as gravely as I could, "In 1788."
At this point the expression of his Majesty's face was indescribably comical. Captain B—— slipped behind a pillar to laugh; but the king only coughed, with a significant emphasis that startled me, and addressed a few words to his prostrate courtiers, who smiled at the carpet,—all except the prime minister, who turned to look at me. But his Majesty was not to be baffled so: again he marched with vigor, and then returned to the attack with élan.
"How many years shall you be married?"
"For several years, your Majesty."
He fell into a brown study; then, laughing, rushed at me, and demanded triumphantly:—
"Ha! How many grandchildren shall you now have? Ha, ha! How many? How many? Ha, ha, ha!"
Of course we all laughed with him; but the general hilarity admitted of a variety of constructions.

For those expecting the "memoirs" to be personal (about herself, about her son, about the king, about the king's wives, about the king's children, about the royal court, etc.) you will likely be disappointed. For those expecting the "memoirs" to be entertaining, chances are you'll be disappointed as well. Travel writing does not have to be a bore. A travel writer can attempt to be objective and interesting at the same time.

I definitely preferred the musical, "The King and I" to the memoir. 

Personally, I found the book to lack narrative structure or flow. While a handful of the chapters were mildly entertaining and/or interesting, most were not. One chapter didn't necessarily flow into the next. And the subjects covered were all over the place. The tone of this one was unpleasant as well. At times, the narrator comes across as too condescending, too judgmental. For example:

In common with most of the Asiatic races, they are apt to be indolent, improvident, greedy, intemperate, servile, cruel, vain, inquisitive, superstitious, and cowardly; but individual variations from the more repulsive types are happily not rare. 

or

There were delightful discoveries of beauty in the artless, childish faces that greeted us every morning; and now the only wonder was that I had been so slow to penetrate the secret of their charm. 

No friend of mine knew at that time how hard it was for me to bear up, in the utter loneliness and forlornness of my life, under the load of cares and provocations and fears that gradually accumulated upon me.

But ah! if any germ of love and truth fell from my heart into the heart of even the meanest of those wives and concubines and children of a king, if by any word of mine the least of them was won to look up, out of the depths of their miserable life, to a higher, clearer, brighter light than their Buddha casts upon their path, then indeed I did not labor in vain among them.

There were some portions of text that could prove charming or interesting:

"I have sixty-seven children," said his Majesty, when we had returned to the Audience Hall. "You shall educate them, and as many of my wives, likewise, as may wish to learn English. And I have much correspondence in which you must assist me. And, moreover, I have much difficulty for reading and translating French letters; for French are fond of using gloomily deceiving terms. You must undertake; and you shall make all their murky sentences and gloomily deceiving propositions clear to me. And, furthermore, I have by every mail foreign letters whose writing is not easily read by me. You shall copy on round hand, for my readily perusal thereof." 

We found his Majesty in a less genial mood than at my first reception. He approached us coughing loudly and repeatedly, a sufficiently ominous fashion of announcing himself, which greatly discouraged my darling boy, who clung to me anxiously. He was followed by a numerous "tail" of women and children, who formally prostrated themselves around him. Shaking hands with me coldly, but remarking upon the beauty of the child's hair, half buried in the folds of my dress, he turned to the premier's sister, and conversed at some length with her, she apparently acquiescing in all that he had to say. He then approached me, and said, in a loud and domineering tone:—

"It is our pleasure that you shall reside within this palace with our family."

I replied that it would be quite impossible for me to do so; that, being as yet unable to speak the language, and the gates being shut every evening, I should feel like an unhappy prisoner in the palace.

"Where do you go every evening?" he demanded.

"Not anywhere, your Majesty. I am a stranger here."

"Then why you shall object to the gates being shut?"

"I do not clearly know," I replied, with a secret shudder at the idea of sleeping within those walls; "but I am afraid I could not do it. I beg your Majesty will remember that in your gracious letter you promised me 'a residence adjoining the royal palace,' not within it."

He turned and looked at me, his face growing almost purple with rage. "I do not know I have promised. I do not know former condition. I do not know anything but you are our servant; and it is our pleasure that you must live in this palace, and—you shall obey." Those last three words he fairly screamed.

I trembled in every limb, and for some time knew not how to reply. At length I ventured to say, "I am prepared to obey all your Majesty's commands within the obligation of my duty to your family, but beyond that I can promise no obedience."

"You shall live in palace," he roared,—"you _shall _live in palace! I will give woman slaves to wait on you. You shall commence royal school in this pavilion on Thursday next. That is the best day for such undertaking, in the estimation of our astrologers."

With that, he addressed, in a frantic manner, commands, unintelligible to me, to some of the old women about the pavilion. My boy began to cry; tears filled my own eyes; and the premier's sister, so kind but an hour before, cast fierce glances at us both. I turned and led my child toward the oval brass door. We heard voices behind us crying. "Mam! Mam!" I turned again, and saw the king beckoning and calling to me. I bowed to him profoundly, but passed on through the brass door.

 But his Majesty was notably temperate in his diet, and by no means a gastronome. In his long seclusion in a Buddhist cloister he had acquired habits of severe simplicity and frugality, as a preparation for the exercise of those powers of mental concentration for which he was remarkable. At these morning repasts it was his custom to detain me in conversation relating to some topic of interest derived from his studies, or in reading or translating. He was more systematically educated, and a more capacious devourer of books and news, than perhaps any man of equal rank in our day. But much learning had made him morally mad; his extensive reading had engendered in his mind an extreme scepticism concerning all existing religious systems.

 The love of children was the constant and hearty virtue of this forlorn despot. They appealed to him by their beauty and their trustfulness, they refreshed him with the bold innocence of their ways, so frolicsome, graceful, and quaint.

But it was my consolation to know that I could befriend the women and children of the palace, who, when they saw that I was not afraid to oppose the king in his more outrageous caprices of tyranny, imagined me endued with supernatural powers, and secretly came to me with their grievances, in full assurance that sooner or later I would see them redressed. And so, with no intention on my part, and almost without my own consent, I suffered myself to be set up between the oppressor and the oppressed. 

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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As the popularity of creative nonfiction increases, the genre brings up an interesting debate: is every word supposed to be true? If events are recorded in a memoir, were they supposed to happen just that way? If a writer is investigating a true crime, is it okay for her to make up dialogue between the criminals if she gets really close to what was probably said?  Recently, I read the book: You Can't Make This Stuff Up by Lee Gutkind, who is the editor and founder of Creative Nonfiction magazine. The book discusses what creative nonfiction is, provides popular examples done well, and instructs writers how to create a nonfiction piece.

Creative nonfiction is a nonfiction story that is told with fiction elements: dialogue, setting details, scenes, characterization (of real people), and so on.That's where the creative part is supposed to come in--not in the facts but in HOW the facts are revealed.

Part one of Lee's book would be interesting to anyone who loves to read and discuss what they read. The author writes about some of the most infamous cases of writers who claimed to write a true, nonfiction account of their lives; when in all actuality, it was false—sometimes the entire story made up.

The account most people know about is James Frey and his book, A Million Little Pieces, since Oprah chose it as one of her book club selections. Because of her recommendation, two million copies of his book sold, and Frey became a household name. Then it was discovered that most of his story was completely untrue. He did more than make up some dialogue or create a composite character for simplicity sake--Frey lied.

This is one of the extreme examples that Gutkind discusses in his book during the ethics section; but there are actually more writers (more than I realized!) that fudge the truth just a bit. But still, they claim that they write creative nonfiction. For example, David Sedaris admits that because he writes humor based on his life, that sometimes he must exaggerate or make up dialogue to get a laugh. Some of the funny lines in Naked? Completely fabricated!

John Berendt made up dialogue and rearranged the story chronology in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil!  Several people from Frank McCourt's home town claim that he didn't exactly tell the whole truth in Angela's Ashes, and they state they've found over 100 discrepancies.

A good example of the genre

On his blog and in his book, Gutkind writes that he can accept some "exaggerating an event or situation, or compressing time periods, or creating composite characters" and that it "may possibly help a nonfiction writer make his or her point more effectively—although I believe this is only rarely truly necessary."

It’s a crucial decision for writers to make if they are going to tackle the genre: are they going to tell the truth without embellishments?

Personally, I was disappointed when reading this section of Lee's book--so many writers don't stick to the 100 percent truth. But then I thought maybe it's really difficult to do this--I don't write much in this genre, so maybe I don't know. I have written some essays, and I have included dialogue, and I think I have the dialogue right; but it's as I remember it--so who knows for sure?

How do you feel about this issue? How much of a creative nonfiction piece is it okay to "make up"? If you write memoir or creative nonfiction, do you create dialogue or make up characters, etc, to smooth transitions? As a reader, how do you trust the writer?

I started thinking that perhaps books should say on the cover: Based On a True Story--just like many movies do. . .

Margo L. Dill edits, blogs, writes, and teaches for WOW! Women On Writing. To view her upcoming classes in spring and summer (writing for children/teens, writing short fiction, writing a children's/YA novel), please visit the WOW! classroom: http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html

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I spend this spring break week reading the memoir work of my Penn students.

It seems unkind, in fact, to assign a grade to work that barrels forth from open hearts.

It seems right to read slowly, to make notes, to think hard.

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She stakes her claim on her story boldly and with confidence. Quickly, it becomes apparent to me that the writer is speaking in a different language. I stop her mid-sentence and ask her what happens at the climax of her story. She pauses and then continues. Still, in the foreign language. I stop her again.

"Rather than tell me about the special features and functions of the outer-space suits they're wearing and all the other technical details about the exotic world you've created for your story, tell me what the protagonist does at the climax."

She takes a stab at answering my question. Before she can leap back to her place of confidence and try to wow me with the authentic details of her story, I ask her what happens to the protagonist at the crisis of her story.

Again, another good attempt at an answer.

Not giving her a chance to say anything further, I ask her what affect the crisis has on the protagonist or, in other words, what does she learn at the crisis that helps her prevail at the climax?

The longer I probe and the deeper we dig, slowly the through-line or the primary plot that drives the external action of the story emerges. Unencumbered by the techie jargon and heavy details, the writer is free to roam the galaxy she's created in search of the dramatic action, character emotional development and thematic significance of her tale.

Yes, the authentic details she's dreamed up make her story unique and the establishment of all the inner workings of the story world is important.

Stepping back and evaluating the story at the overall plot and Universal Story level is essential.

Today, I write.

Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot allows for a more loving relationship with your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing.

To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms used here and in the PW Book of Prompts:
1) Watch the plot playlists on the Plot Whisperer Youtube channel.
2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3) Fill out the exercises in The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
4) Visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

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David Ritz has had a successful ghostwriting career, collaborating with everyone from Ray Charles to Joe Perry, and written quite a few novels too. In the latest installment of Mediabistro’s Hey, How’d You Do That? series, the prolific writer tells how he landed some of his biggest clients, and how gives tips for aspiring ghostwriters.

“When I first met Ray Charles, I didn’t know about ghostwriting; I was just going to do a biography of him,” Ritz recalled. “And then his agent asked me, ‘Which book would you be more interested in reading: a book about Ray Charles written by an egghead or a book written in his own voice?’ I told him that I would much rather read the book written in his own voice, and he told me, ‘You should write the book you would want to read, not the one you believe you should write.’ And that was a big turning point for me.”

For more, read Hey, How’d Do You Build a Successful Ghostwriting Career, David Ritz? [subscription required]

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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She's crafted a terrific beginning.

The first quarter of her story introduces all the major characters within high-action scenes filled with noise and chaos and humanity, and all thematically linked and masterful.

The exotic world of the middle provides fascination physically by the look and feel and taste of the settings, emotionally by the needs of the characters and spiritually by the disintegration of their tightly held bands of control.

However...

In the beginning of the middle, the undercurrent of the drastic changes needed by the characters to survive remains present and the exotic world is, as I mentioned above, fascinating. Thus, flattening out the external dramatic action for a bit of a romp often works. And, it does here, too, until... the good times go on for too long.

The antagonists and consequences fade to the background and the energy of the story flags.

In those few too-long beats, the reader and audience's attention flicker. The outside world penetrates. The dream fades. She puts down the book and leaves her seat to check her messages.

Coming Soon! 
The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts. Available for pre-order now. Ships 12/12.


More Plot Tips: 

2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master

3) Watch the Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. Scroll down on the left of this post for a directory of all the steps to the series. 27-step tutorial on Youtube

4) Watch the Monday Morning Plot Book Group Series on YouTube. Scroll down on the right of this post for a directory the book examples and plot elements discussed.

For additional tips and information about the Universal Story and plotting a novel, memoir or screenplay, visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

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Hi Everyone!

Lists can be extremely useful, especially when they are constantly being updated!

Here are two such.

The first, compiled by the enterprising and enthusiastic Brain Grove, is a list of US publishers who are currently accepting submissions for children’s books – http://j.mp/SVbnCk  – he also, very helpfully, adds links toeach entry to take you straight to the site.  I also recommend his ebook on  query /submission letter writing.

The second,  a veritable database, is continuously being updated by the very proactive authors, Delin Colon and Lisa Kalner Williams – http://bit.ly/writerinterviewopps …

If you haven’t joined www.jacketflap.com, I highly recommend it – an excellent networking site for all things related to children’s literature and books.

Get busy and good luck!

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The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. Maria Augusta Trapp. 1949/2001. HarperCollins. 320 pages.

Somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up from the workbooks of my fifth graders, which I was just correcting, into the lined, old face of a little lay sister, every wrinkle radiating kindness. "Reverend Mother Abbess expects you in her private parlor," she whispered. Before I could close my mouth, which had opened in astonishment, the door shut behind the small figure. Lay sisters were not supposed to converse with candidates for the novitiate.

This is the true story that "inspired" my favorite musical The Sound of Music. For the most part, the book is fascinating--especially the first half of the book. Readers meet the young woman sent to be governess to a retired sea captain with many children. In the book, she's to be governess only to one of his daughters, the rest either have nursemaids, attend schools, or have their own tutors. There are definitely some big differences between the book and the movie--between truth and fiction. (For example, the names of the children are different, as is the chronology of the story. The couple married years before Hitler came to power; they married in 1927!) They began singing together as a family out of love for music, yes, but also out of financial necessity.

The book chronicles:

Maria's first eight or nine months as a governess, particular attention is paid to their first Christmas
Maria's new role as wife and mother
Austria's changing economy and politics in the 1930s
The family's flight from Austria and immigration to the United States
The family's first experiences in America as they go on tour and learn English
The family's (forced) return to Europe--fortunately, only for a few months.
The family's return to the United States, their continuing tours
The family's settling down in America (a bit more about their tours, building of their house, building of their music camp)
The private life of the family (recollections of holidays, feast days, birthdays, Christmases, vacations, etc.)

The book is great on capturing the family's dependence on God, their reliance on God to deliver them and provide for them no matter the circumstance. The book is also great at capturing a specific time, place, and culture. For anyone curious about what it was like to be living in Austria in the 1920s and 1930s, this is a must read. For those interested in the immigrant experience during this time period, it is just a fascinating account! To see American culture--and language--from this outside perspective. The book was published in 1949, but it was up to date--so readers do get perspective on World War II from their perspective, also what the family tried to do to help Austria after the war was over.

I really LOVED this one!!!

Favorite quotes:

One of the greatest things in human life is the ability to make plans. Even if they never come true--the joy of anticipation is irrevocably yours. That way one can live many more than just one life. (214)

One night I tenderly consulted by private calendar, "time eaters" we had called them at school, and it showed only thirteen more days in exile. The next morning I started spring cleaning. Under my direction the maids were taking down the curtains and proceeding to brush the walls, when I saw the three youngest children knock on the door of the study. It didn't take long and out they came again. Running over to me as I stood on a ladder washing a big crystal chandelier, they yelled from afar: "Father says he doesn't know whether you like him at all!" "Why, of course, I like him," I answered, somewhat absentmindedly, because I had never washed a chandelier before. I noticed only vaguely that the children disappeared behind the study door again. That same night I was arranging flowers in several big, beautiful oriental vases. This was the last touch, and then the spring cleaning was over, and it had been really successful. When I had arrived at the last vase, the Captain came in. Stepping over to me, he stood and silently watched what I was doing with the peonies. Suddenly he said, "That was really awfully nice of you." An altogether new tone in his voice, like the deep, rich quality of a low bell, made me look up, and I met his eyes, looking at me with such warmth that I lowered mine immediately again, bewildered. Automatically I asked what was so nice of me, as I only remembered that awful letter. "Why," he said, astonished, "didn't you send word to me through the children that you accepted the offer, I mean, that you want to marry me?" Scissors and peonies fell to the floor. "That I want to--marry you?" "Well, yes. The children came to me this morning and said they had had a council among themselves, and the only way to keep you with us would be that I marry you. I said to them that I would love to, but I didn't think you liked me. They ran over to you and came back in a flash, crying that you had said, 'yes I do.' Aren't we engaged now?" Now I was out of gear. I absolutely did not know what to say or what to do; not at all. The air was full of an expectant silence, and all I knew was that in a few days I would be received into my convent, and there stood a real, live man who wanted to marry me. (57-58)

Read The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

• If you enjoy biography and memoirs
• If you love The Sound of Music
• If you want to learn more about Austria/Europe in the 1920s, 1930s

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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It seems like lately I’ve had a lot of books and posts on my theme of “helping women (and children) around the world” instead of kids’ books. This is another great book today, part of a WOW! Women On Writing blog tour, that empowers women and inspires us to figure out what is important in our lives. Destiny Allison wrote an amazing guest post to go along with her book (see below) about how hard it is to be a SAHM and WAHM too! (Now that school is back in session, I do plan to blog a bit more on the children’s/YA book scene AND also I plan to add one more post a week that focuses on things to do with my book coming out, but more on that later. . .) I have either an e-copy or print copy to give away of this really cool book with a title I LOVE–Shaping Destiny. If you are interested in winning this memoir, please leave a comment (or question for Destiny) below by Sunday night 8/26 at 8:00 pm CST. I have a synopsis and guest post by Destiny below, so don’t miss those!

I also have the winners of my giveaway of Hollywood and Catholic Women from last week. The winners are Cathy Hall, Marybeth, and Becky Povich. I’ll be emailing each of you about this prize! Congratulations and thanks for stopping by and commenting on my interview with Kathryn. She has written a fascinating book. Now on to. . . Shaping Destiny!

Synopsis of Shaping Destiny:

Shaping Destiny is the inspiring story of Allison’s life from the creation of her first sculpture to her acceptance into a prominent Santa Fe art gallery. The book, which recounts her journey from traditional female roles to self-actualization and independence, is told with three voices: the emotional, the intellectual and the instructional. Though she had no formal training, Allison moved quickly from small, Plasticine clay sculptures to an apprenticeship at a foundry to teaching in a small museum. Along the way, the author wrestled with shedding and then reclaiming family. To add to the extended metaphor binding her story to the theory and language of sculpture, Allison infuses an ample dose of popular philosophy in lessons culled from childhood days spent with her father. The 22 lessons at the beginning of each chapter intend to guide readers’ passage through the complexities of clay and life; each lesson works with the idea that art is a process, as is life.

The Unique Challenge of Being a Woman Artist
Guest Post By Destiny Allison

It was late. The children had long been asleep. My husband was working an overnight shift and I had the house to myself. The dishes were done and put away. Sundry toys, bottles, blocks and bears were back in their appropriate places. For a moment, chaos was tame.

Ahhh, silence, that vast, sweet quiet! It was soft as the skin of my infant, tender as my toddler’s kiss, and limitless as the dark sky sparkling with distant stars outside my window.

As I settled in front of the sculpture I had waited all day to contemplate, I heard only the sound of my own breath. It was rhythmic, a peaceful rise and fall as calming as a sea breaking on distant shores. Finally I was alone–able to engage in my passion and give voice to that part of myself rendered small in daylight hours. Tonight, for a little while, I would speak.

I looked at the tiny face of the clay woman in front of me. With the tip of my finger, I stroked her tangled hair and traced her round belly, full breasts, and the lines of her arms. There, that was it! That was what had been bothering me all day! The proportions were wrong. Her arms were too long for her body. Ape-like and heavy, they robbed this woman of her grace. I grabbed my knife and savagely cut through skin, sinew, and bones. This was a flaw I could fix. This I could render right. This small woman would be the woman I was not–forever still, forever wise, forever. . .

Before I could finish the thought, a piercing wale of unspeakable agony shattered the quiet of my mind. My baby was awake. I sighed and put down my knife. I turned off the light above my table and wearily climbed the stairs, unfastening my bra as I went. My baby was hungry. He was wet. He needed something only I could give him–the sustenance of a mother’s love, the sustenance of my body, mind and soul.

Fast forward twenty years and not much has changed. Today, though I make my living from my art, there are always interruptions. My husband calls me to share some news. My sons, now grown, still need me. Someone has lost something and has to find it RIGHT NOW. Someone wants to know if we are cooking dinner tonight or if he should fend for himself. There are dishes to be done, dogs to feed and walk, beds to be made, and floors to be swept. Because I don’t go to an office or have a “real” job, because I love what I do, it is hard for my family to know that I am not always available to them.

I am better now at shushing them–a low growl in my throat, as I start to respond, gives them the distinct impression that their interruption is not welcome. They are a little more careful about what they ask and when. Still, they are my family. I am mother and wife. I love them. So I do like women the world over. I turn off my machines and give them a minute or an hour. Like a soldier learns to sleep whenever he can, I have learned to work when I can. And work I do because over the years, that small voice of a woman rendered quiet in daylight hours has grown strong, incessant, and exacting. She will be heard. She will shout out to the world. Nothing will stop her.

*******************************************************************************************

Isn’t Destiny great? What terrific writing! If you want to read more, please leave a comment for your chance to win or visit her book page on Amazon by clicking below. If you enter the contest, please leave your comment by 8/26!

The WOW! advanced writing a middle-grade novel online class I teach starts on 8/23. It’s for anyone who has at least three chapters of a middle-grade novel started (or an entire draft is good, too). For more information, please see the syllabus on the WOW! classroom page or email me at margo (at) wow-womenonwriting.com. Thanks!

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Andrea has gotten it spectacularly right! The CEO of Tell Me a Story launched 10 new titles on 30th June, this year. I was privileged to be guest speaker at an event that had even seasoned politicians, Ian Rickuss, MP Lockyer, and Steve Jones, Mayor, Lockyer Valley Regional Council,  commenting on attendance numbers!

Assembled authors, illustrators and guest panelists with Andrea Kwast

Muza Ulasowski [Panelist] and Guest Speaker, J.R.Poulter

The audience was rapt. I have seldom been at a publishing event where everyone’s eyes shone! Andrea has the  devoted support of her very wide community of readers and growing. She also has the  good fortune to have a very devoted group of assistants in administrator, Rel, and local photographer and budding author herself, Jenni Smith.

Research and innovation, preparedness to think out of the box, are hallmarks of Andrea and her team. She believes stories are lurking everywhere and it just takes the right determination, editing and dedication to bring them out. That she is succeeding over and above expetaction is more than demonstrated by the sellout and reprint, within the first few weeks since the launch, of no fewer than 3 titles!

Hearty Congratulations Andrea and Team and to all her authors – keep writing!

Click to view slideshow.
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