the writer is a lonely hunter

writing by Gail Aldwin and other authors

Oct 17

Walks around Gerolimenas

by gailaldwin

We arrived in Gerolimenas five days ago and have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. The small harbour town is found in the south of the Mani peninsular in the Peloponnese, Greece. We were introduced to Gerolimenas by Carol MacGrath who kindly brought us here following our time at the Mani Lit Fest.

We’re staying on the harbour in a first floor room with this view.

We’ve done some lovely walks while we’ve been here including climbing the cliff!

One day we explored Oxia with its tower houses, ruins and church. We ran home the last 2km to keep ahead of the rain.

Another walk along the coast and we found a delightful little bay with further ruined houses including a circular tower.

Yesterday we covered 12km walking on an ancient path from Alika to Kenipolis. Here are some of the lovely places we spotted.

We’re moving on to Gythio tomorrow. Expect more photos!

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Oct 6

Having a blast at the Mani Lit Fest

by gailaldwin

Over the weekend, I was delighted to present a workshop and talk at the Mani Lit Fest in the Peloponnese, Greece. The invitation came as a good excuse to continue our itinerant lifestyle and we’re spending the next month roaming around the country. Stoupa makes a delightful starting point and the Mani Lit Fest was a wonderful event to be involved with. I delivered a Get Creative! workshop where I shared prompts and exercises to generate ideas for short fiction. One of the participants had read This Much Huxley Knows and throughly recommended my novel to the gathered group. The following day, I gave a talk about my experience of being published by small presses. This was well received and an email arrived soon after from a member of the audience who said my input was thought provoking and reassuring.

There was a real buzz around the Lit Fest. The highlights for me included a talk from James Heneage (founder of the Chalke Valley History Festival and Ottakar’s bookshop chain) who shared stories from his new book The Shortest History of Greece. Carol McGrath gave a hilarious presentation on Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England (the name of her forthcoming non-fiction book) and then there was a delicious introduction to the cookbook Salt and Honey from Nicholas Tsakiris and his daughter. (David followed a chilli lentil recipe last night which was very tasty.)

The Lit Fest was held at a local restaurant where the venue created a cocktail in honour of Huxley. A non-alcoholic drink (Huxley is only seven years old) can you guess what it contains?

There was also delicious cake (enough for two) called Ekmek Kataifi. It’s made with a layer of syrupy shredded filo pastry, another of vanilla custard, a layer of whipped cream and topped with pistachios. It goes very well with Greek coffee although I think it’s also good with tea.

If you’d like to enter the Mani Lit Fest Flash Fiction Competition (I’m the judge), send up to 1000 words on the theme of return. The competition is free to enter and is open until 30 November 2021.

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Sep 26

This Much Huxley knows by Gail Aldwin

by gailaldwin

Welcome to Sunday and it’s a wonderful treat to receive an erudite review for This Much Huxley Knows from Katie Campbell, English teacher, reader and book blogger.

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Publisher: Black Rose Writings Publication Date: July 2021

I have not read many books that have a young child as a narrator and so I have to confess that I was a little sceptical when I discovered the entirety of ‘This Much Huxley Knows’ by Gail Aldwin was narrated from the viewpoint of the seven-year-old protagonist himself. This scepticism, however, was very soon alleviated as I became quickly immersed into the life and world of this little boy as he tries to find his place in it.

Aldwin, through the eyes of Huxley, explores contemporary fears and societal concerns ranging from prejudice and bullying through to political differences and the contentious debate of Brexit. Human desire for conformity and expectations around societal etiquette are foregrounded within the novel, which through the eyes of a child expose them for what they are, merely social constructs that we have to live by…

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Sep 17

Newsflash: competition longlist

by gailaldwin

For those of you who aren’t active on social media, I’d like to share the news that my work-in-progess has been longlisted in the Novel London Literary Award. This competition invites international submissions for complete works of fiction, which may be unpublished, self published or newly published. As my manuscript is up against published novels I don’t expect it will get any further in the competition but it’s good to see my details on the publicity poster. Well done to all longlistees.

I’m continuing to work on the manuscript following feedback from beta readers. I’ve also changed the title from Little Swot to Extra Lessons which better reflects the novel. Here’s the draft blurb:

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Sep 12

This Much Huxley Knows #ThisMuchHuxleyKnows – Gail Aldwin @gailaldwin , an #Interview #QandA

by gailaldwin

Here is where I get to answer some pertinent writerly questions. Find out if I have any writing rituals by popping over to The Magic of Wor(l)ds for a read!

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Sep 2

Acts of kindness on Twitter

by gailaldwin

If you’re active on Twitter, you’ve probably seen tweets about This Much Huxley Knows bounding around your screen. I’ve been fortunate to have the support of many book bloggers who generously tweet about my recently published novel. And there are others on Twitter who retweet about reviews and posts and yet more who share details. Whenever this happens, I like to find out more about the kind person who is helping to spread the word about Huxley. Often I follow them and sometimes I make contact. This is what happened when I came across a tweet from author Stevie Turner. She has such a interesting website with information about her books, her awards and certificates and much more. There are also pages offering support to other authors including interviews. When I read some of the fascinating conversations with a whole range of creative people, I wanted to be amongst their ranks. And following my moto, there’s no harm in asking, I sent an email request. Stevie was very gracious in her reply. She thought up a list of twenty questions which I answered and Q&A now appears on her website. It’s such a boon to have the support of another writer.

Now that the interview is live, can I encourage you to pop over for a read? And while you’re there, do have a look around Stevie’s website to find out more about this generous, multi-genre author and blogger. Here’s the link.

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Aug 30

The interview where I spill all my writerly secrets

by gailaldwin

Fellow Black Rose Writer, Karen E Osborne interviewed me about my reading and writing habits. (Jim Bates, you might want watch as I recommend your short story collection Resilience.) Click on the arrow to hear our conversation.

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Aug 17

This Much Huxley Knows by Gail Aldwin

by gailaldwin

I’m getting the hang of this WordPress reblogging feature. Here you can read a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review of This Much Huxley Knows from the lovely Sue Bavey, on behalf of Rosie Amber’s review team. If you haven’t already done so, do get yourself a copy of this contemporary novel and join the fun. mybook.to/ThisMuchHuxleyKnows

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Book Description

I’m seven years old and I’ve never had a best mate. Trouble is, no one gets my jokes. AndBreaks-it isn’t helping. Ha! You get it, don’t you? Brexit means everyone’s falling out and breaking up.

Huxley is growing up in the suburbs of London at a time of community tensions. To make matters worse, a gang of youths is targeting isolated residents. When Leonard, an elderly newcomer chats with Huxley, his parents are suspicious. But Huxley is lonely and thinks Leonard is too. Can they become friends?

Funny and compassionate,this contemporary novel for adultsexplores issues of belonging, friendship and what it means to trust.

‘Read this and feel young again’ ­– Joe Siple, author ofThe Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride

‘Moving and ultimately upbeat’–Christopher Wakling, author ofWhat I Did

‘A joyous novel with the wonderfully exuberant character of Huxley’ –

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Aug 16

Two months in Cambridge

by gailaldwin

We’ve had a wonderful time staying with an old friend in central Cambridge. Although we’re here for another fortnight, I wanted to share are the highlights so far:

Cambridge Shakespeare Festival

Open air theatre is a particular delight and when plays are staged in Cambridge college gardens, there can be few better venues. Over a six week period we’ve seen plays that I know and love including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, A Comedy of Errors and two plays which were new to me, Richard III and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Richard III wins the prize for the most gruesome and A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a sheer joy.

  • Downing College Garden
  • Trinity College Garden
  • St John’s College Garden
  • The cast of Macbeth
  • The cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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Aug 14

This Much Huxley Knows by Gail Aldwin / #SpotlightPost @gailaldwin

by gailaldwin

Thank you, Els, for spreading the word. If you’d like to get your hands on a copy of this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rated contemporary novel, click here: http://mybook.to/ThisMuchHuxleyKnows

els's avatarB for Bookreview

 

A story of innocence, misunderstandings and acceptance.

I’m seven years old and I’ve never had a best mate. Trouble is, no one gets my jokes. And Breaks-it isn’t helping. Ha! You get it, don’t you? Brexit means everyone’s falling out and breaking up.

Huxley is growing up in the suburbs of London at a time of community tensions. To make matters worse, a gang of youths is targeting isolated residents. When Leonard, an elderly newcomer chats with Huxley, his parents are suspicious. But Huxley is lonely and thinks Leonard is too. Can they become friends?

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Spotlight Post

Thank you, Gail Aldwin

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About the author

Novelist, poet and scriptwriter, Gail Aldwin’s debut coming-of-age novel The String Games was a finalist in The People’s Book Prize and the DLF Writing Prize 2020. Following a stint as a university lecturer, Gail’s children’s picture book Pandemonium was published. Gail loves to…

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