Tan Twan Eng: What Malaysia means to me

July 28, 2015NewsKate Nash

Tan Twan Eng, author of The Gift of Rain and The Garden of Evening Mists, appears in the Malaysian edition of Elle magazine (August 2015).

Five acclaimed writers share with Elle readers just exactly what Malaysia means to them. For Twan, it was the small things in life that he remembers with clarity. The kindness of his mother, and the gratefulness of those less fortunate than himself, come across in this short piece of reminiscence.

‘… perhaps, every day all over KL, all over our country, people are doing such similar acts of unsolicited kindnesses, these small things, for complete strangers.’

If you’d like to read the full piece from Elle then please click here.

How history informs fiction

July 12, 2015NewsKate Nash

The Japanese character in this picture is typical of many Japanese in Malaya before the surprise Japanese invasion like the characters Aritomo and Endo in Tan Twan Eng’s books The Garden of Evening Mists and The Gift of Rain – performing all manner of seemingly innocuous roles while secretly spying for their country.

This was one of the factors leading to the rapid sweep of Japanese forces down through the jungles and plantations of the peninsula and the swift capture of Singapore.

The Malaya campaign and its ferocity is captured in the forthcoming illustrated autobiography from Myrmidon: And the Dawn Came Up Like Thunder, a republished work by war artist and prisoner of war, the late Leo Rawlings. This revised edition contains over 160 illustrations, many of which are published in full colour for the first time.

For more information about this book please click here. Or to pre-order your copy, please click here.

Deaf, peevish old beast – Laura Purcell discusses her latest heroine

July 4, 2015NewsKate Nash

Ahead of the release of Laura’s forthcoming novel, Mistress of the Court, she gives an insight into the life of her book’s heroine, Henrietta Howard, and the affliction that haunted her life.

Laura discusses Henrietta’s deafness and how it was perceived by those in her court, and by those closest to her.

To read Laura’s full blog post please click here: http://laurapurcell.com/. You’ll also find an extra treat towards the end of Laura’s blog as she includes an extra snippet that she wrote to help her explore the life of her character in more depth.

Mistress of the Court will be published on August 4th 2015 and can be pre-ordered here.

Fancy a free copy? We’re giving away 20 copies of this extraordinary book via Goodreads. Please click here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/144353-mistress-of-the-court to enter the giveaway competition.

Gov. LePage takes centre state in ‘craziest politicans’ book

July 4, 2015NewsKate Nash

Ann Wood, Staff Editor at the Sun Journal, chats to our very own Brian O’Connell about his recent book, The Fat Boy with the Bomb and 299 more of the World’s Craziest Politicians.

Brian discusses how he chose his top 300 from an incredibly large list, how he originally wanted the book to be about American politicians only, and which American politician he believes is the craziest of them all.

To read the full article please click here: http://www.sunjournal.com/news/local/2015/07/02/gov-lepage-takes-center-state-craziest-politicans-book/1734637

The Fat Boy with the Bomb and 299 of the World’s Craziest Politicians can be purchased at: www.amazon.com/Fat-Bomb-Worlds-Craziest-Politicians/dp/1910183091/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1435580572&sr=1-1&keywords=the+fat+boy+with+the+bomb.

Jeanne Gask is guest of honour in Calais

June 12, 2015NewsKate Nash

Jeanne Gask, author of the heartwarming memoir Nell and the Girls, paid a visit to Calais by invitation from the Calais Tourism Office. Jeanne travelled by Eurostar with her daughter and journalist, Marina Gask.

Whilst visiting Calais Jeanne attended a book signing at a local book shop called Librarie du Port – where the book is now in stock – and also attended a press conference. Jeanne was overwhelmed by the welcome and interest shown by the locals and the French press. It soon became apparent that Jeanne’s recounting of her experience of WWII in occupied France was not particularly well known in Calais.

The French press were very interested in hearing Jeanne’s experiences about the rounding up in 1940 of British nationals who were then taken to the Polish border, an account that was unfamiliar to them.

Jeanne’s father, Tom Sarginson was interred along with P G Wodehouse and you can read more about Tom in this wonderful account of his life: http://www.holywellhousepublishing.co.uk/Tom_Sarginson.html

If you haven’t yet purchased your copy of Nell and the Girls then please click here for purchasing options and more information about the book and the author.