Subscriber spotlight
Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
A long march
‘I was born in Battersea, London in 1923,’ writes subscriber Reginald Cambridge.
‘Six years later the family moved to Tooting which provides the title of It’s A Long Way To Tooting Broadway, my first published book of wartime experiences.
‘It was persistent requests from younger family members which decided me, at the age of 92, to publish what was originally written for grandchildren and future generations. It was written purely from memory plus the use of two old wartime pocket diaries, with little research.
‘I have always been into books and there was a period when I wrote numerous short stories, each of which, like a homing pigeon, returned to me and I collected a neat pile of rejection slips.
‘Having published a book and finding it of interest to the general public, I have been inspired to write regularly. I subsequently wrote and designed a book of children’s stories for my great grandchildren aged 4, 5 and 6 which appear to have been well received by the whole family and I am considering converting the stories for publication.
‘I am presently working on a romance novel with a humorous slant.
‘My wife and I lived in Kent, near Canterbury for many \years where I took up golf and indulged in my life-long passion of fly fishing. Ten years ago we moved to be near my son who lives in Scotland.
‘With the passing of my wife, I now occupy a small flat in a retirement home in Inverness. I still continue with my golf and fly fishing. Writing has now brought a new dimension to my life, particularly during the long, dark winter months. I write in longhand. I find it gives me time to think.’
Love and landmarks
‘I was in London’s West End one afternoon with time to kill,’ writes subscriber Alan Flitcroft, ‘and whiled away the hours by walking around the capital. As I walked, jumbled-up memories from my 25 years in London came flooding back, sparked by the places I passed, and the idea for a novel was born.’
‘And now with A Scrapbook for Summer my idea has become reality. A Scrapbook for Summer follows Ben on the Shine Walk, a night-time trek across London in aid of Cancer Research and an event I took part in myself in 2013. Ben is a reluctant participant, standing in for his girlfriend, Summer, who has recently lost her battle with cancer, but his miserable evening turns into a journey of redemption after he meets the seemingly unremarkable Annie.’
‘Encouraged by Annie and prompted by the locations they pass, Ben finds the strength to tell the story of his intense relationship with Summer. But it is only on reaching Tower Bridge that Ben reveals Summer’s deepest secrets – secrets that drove the two of them apart.’
‘I wanted to weave Ben and Summer’s love affair around real-life events that took place in the capital, and so the concept of Ben’s scrapbook emerged, inspired by Summer and featuring tales from London’s rich history.‘