Tag Archives: Welsh Writing

WELSH WRITING WEDNESDAYS: INTRODUCING JUDITH BARROW

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As a child and into my teens I wrote voraciously. I wrote for competitions, wrote for the school magazine, wrote for the sheer joy of making images through words.

Then I entered the workplace; the Civil Service – where words meant facts, policies, rules – and I met my future husband.

We were young and infatuated with one another – we married – writing flew out of the window; there was no time to live in the imaginary world; we had the real world to explore, to live.

Seven years later, with three children under five, an old cottage half renovated, and my husband’s small business that took up a lot of time, we decided to get off the treadmill. At least for a fortnight.

Pre children, cottage and business, we holidayed abroad. Too expensive, too ambitious with three children we decided to go to Wales. David’s grandfather originated from Four Crosses, near Welshpool; we’d call there on our way to Pembrokeshire. Though, in nineteen seventy-eight, there was no easy route from the North of England to West Wales, it was still easier than going abroad.

And it was to change our lives.

We found a lovely big house that needed TLC – or so husband decided. We could afford it – or so husband thought. And with Pembrokeshire’s wonderful beaches for the children, how could we not put in a bid?

One cold, wet, miserable November, we moved from England to Wales.

Years passed, Husband started a new business, it flourished, the children had many hobbies, in the spirit of giving something back I was on every committee (usually as the secretary). We had two aunts living with us in the flat attached to the house (both of whom eventually developed dementia). We did a stint at B&B.

But I realised I was yearning to write again.

I hadn’t been allowed to stay on for the sixth form in school so, in my forties by now, I took my A level in English Literature, completed various creative writing courses, took a script writing/drama course at Swansea University, and started a BA degree course with the Open University. This took longer than I expected due to contracting breast cancer halfway through the course.

During those years I had short stories and poems published, a play performed at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea and one play filmed.

Eventually I gained a MA degree at what was then, Trinity College, in Carmarthen.

Shortly afterwards I was asked if I would tutor some creative writing classes for Pembrokeshire County Council, under an adult Lifelong Learning Scheme. Something I’m still doing. I will be so glad to get back to the classrooms once we can carry on in ‘real’ life.

I write family sagas which crosses various genres, and, over the last twelve years, I have been published by Honno, the longest-standing independent women’s press in the UK.

I made many friends in the writing world. One of those was Jan Baynham. Although she lives some miles away, we managed to meet up to ‘talk writing’. She is one of the original members of the Cardiff Chapter, now renamed the Cariad Chapter. I became a member of the RNA. Unfortunately, I was unable to go to the meetings as they were held at the same time as I was teaching, Still, I kept in touch with all the news.

The lockdown brought many problems, one of which was keeping in touch online. Eventually I bought a new laptop to replace my ancient PC which enabled me to be on Zoom and join in with RNA and Cariad Chapter meetings, and the courses and workshops.

And who knows, one of these days I’ll be able to attend one of the Romantic Novelists’ Association conferences. Certainly something to look forward to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WELSH WRITING WEDNESDAYS: INSPIRED BY A GHOST – INTRODUCING JILL BARRY

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In 1975, my husband and I bought and renovated a Victorian school. We faced a daunting task, but fast forward a year and we were in, complete with baby son born while we lived in our tiny cottage in a chocolate box Wiltshire village.

Soon we were offering accommodation to tourists from all over. My only creative writing consisted of menu preparation until one morning a guest entered the dining room, looked through the open door into the kitchen/family area and asked who my son’s playmate was. I insisted he was alone, but our guest looked at me strangely, saying, ‘Can you not see the little fair-haired girl beside him?’

I couldn’t, though I didn’t doubt the guest’s conviction. That ‘sighting’ sparked a short story which, with another, was accepted for broadcast by BBC Wiltshire. Years later, I won a local short story competition, but it wasn’t until my son went to Uni that I began taking my writing seriously. Frankly, my first attempt at a novel was so dire that I gave up until the bug bit again after I was widowed and moved back to Wales. I spent weeks settling into my lovely new home at the foot of the Eppynt Hills, exploring woodland tracks and getting to know nearby towns. I was inspired to write, but I needed a job.

Fortunately, my secretarial skills landed me a role as a minute taker. I made new friends and was recommended to join Builth Wells Writers’ Circle. I gained a place at Trinity St David’s to study part-time for a Masters in Creative Writing. Several short stories were published in anthologies and women’s magazines and I won First Prize in The Lady magazine’s annual fiction competition. Another move followed, and soon I was finding kindred spirits within a local writing group called Hookers’ Pen.

Over the next few years, I took a script-writing course and saw one of my short plays performed at Swansea’s Dylan Thomas Centre. After gaining my degree, I ran one off writers’ workshops plus sessions for the Local Authority, and became Creative Writing tutor at an online high school. By then, I was well-published as Toni Sands, writing erotic romance for Accent’s Xcite imprint. I took two writing courses at Ty Newydd, working with mentors, Peter Guttridge, Rosanna Ley, Lynn Truss and Kate McCall, BBC Radio Producer. Rosanna mentioned the Romantic Novelists’ Association and soon I was in touch with Liz Fielding, who ran the Carmarthenshire Chapter.

Joining the RNA offered the perfect excuse to travel to London for whatever event was happening at the New Cavendish Club, as I could combine visits with seeing my son. Amazingly, although I’ve attended HNS and Winchester Writers’ conferences, I have attended only one RNA conference – the last one taking place at Caerleon. Little did I know that four years later, I would be living in nearby Newport. After Liz moved to Wiltshire, I looked after the Carmarthenshire Chapter until we joined up with a small group of writers, including RNA members, who met in Cardiff.

I truly believe, while the courses and workshops we attend help wonderfully, it’s the camaraderie so many Romantic novelists enjoy that’s invaluable. There’s always someone to gain advice from, to offer help to in return – and most importantly, someone with whom to exchange commiserations and congratulations.

Jill Barry pocket novels are available as Linford Romances in the public library system and the more recent ones are on sale via The Reading House: https://thereadinghouse.co.uk/

You can check out my other books and blog posts by visiting www.jillbarry.com

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCING WELSH WRITING WEDNESDAYS

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Although it isn’t often mentioned in Frost, I am very proud of my Welsh heritage. I was born in Cardiff and my father was an Anglo-Welsh poet and literary critic, so it is inevitable I have an affinity with other writers with connections to the principality. So much so, I am a member of the Cariad chapter of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and it is to these wonderful women I looked first when I was considering Welsh Writing Wednesdays.

The idea is simple; on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month one of us will bring you an article about writing in Wales. And replacing the ever-popular Sister Scribes’ Reading Round Up on the last Monday will be Cariads’ Choice.

So here are some of the wonderful authors you will be meeting through Frost this year.

Judith Barrow

Originally from Saddleworth, a group of villages on the edge of the Pennines, Judith has lived in Pembrokeshire, Wales, for over forty years.

She has an MA in Creative Writing with the University of Wales Trinity St David’s College, Carmarthen, BA (Hons) in Literature with the Open University, and a Diploma in Drama from Swansea University. She is a Creative Writing tutor for Pembrokeshire County Council and holds private one to one workshops on all genres.

Jill Barry

Jill began her writing career with short stories for magazines and anthologies, winning prizes and being both long-listed and short-listed. She is a multi-published romantic novelist who also writes Pocket Novels for D C Thomson and who draws on her varied career and her travels for inspiration. She has also written one psychological suspense novel which is published by Headline Accent. A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors, Jill enjoys mentoring new writers and is convinced she will never stop learning.

Jan Baynham

Originally from mid-Wales, Jan lives in Cardiff. As well as short stories and flash fiction, she writes full-length novels that deal with family secrets and explore the bond between mothers and daughters. Her debut novel, Her Mother’s Secret, was published by Ruby Fiction in April 2020. This was followed by Her Sister’s Secret in September 2020 and book three will be out next July.

A member of the Romantic Novelists Association, she values the friendship and support from other members and regularly attends conferences, workshops, talks and get-togethers. She is co-organiser of Cariad, her local RNA Chapter.

Jessie Cahalin

Jessie is a Yorkshire author living in Wales. Wales and words have a special place in her heart, and she wants everyone to meet the characters who’ve been hassling her for years. Penning women’s fiction is Jessie’s dream job, but she also writes travel articles and features for her blog and magazines.

You Can’t Go It Alone, her debut novel, was a bestseller in the UK and Canada. For Jessie, a good natter with other authors and readers is a special treat as she usually lives in her tiny writing room with Paddington Bear and a collection of handbags.

Alexandra Walsh

Alexandra is the author of The Catherine Howard Conspiracy, The Elizabeth Tudor Conspiracy and The Arbella Stuart Conspiracy, known collectively as The Marquess House Trilogy. A series of a dual timeline Tudor conspiracy thrillers, published by Sapere Books, the novels explore a secret hidden within history and the potential havoc its revelation could wreak. Her new book with Sapere, The Windchime, is due out in 2021. Another dual timeline story, set in present day and late Victorian times, it explores mental health issues, grief and rebuilding lives after the worst has happened.

Evonne Wareham

Evonne is an award winning Welsh author of romantic suspense – more crime and dead bodies than your average romance. She likes to set her book in her native Wales, or for a touch of glamorous escapism, in favourite holiday destinations in Europe. She is a Doctor of Philosophy and an historian, and a member of both the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Crime Writers’ Association.