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Four Seasons
by Sam Branton
Four Seasons is an updated edition of my earlier book, Three Seasons - a collection of drawings and paintings produced over the last five years based on the same underlying theme,
presenting animals in improbable pairings or settings which frequently result in a visually
humerous or surreal outcome.
Season one, Deluge, is a collection of tranquil monochrome drawings using red pencil. Most
of these are drawn to a small scale and they are printed in the book at actual size. The drawings
are set in neo-classical landscapes and they never quite tell the entire story, but should instead
be considered as a frame or still image from a bigger story to be imagined or created by the
viewer.
Season two, Holy Ground, is a collection of small oil paintings, building on the theme of animals in neo-classical landscapes and partial story telling but now introducing an extra
element of mystery in some of the paintings by only showing a fragment of an entire painting.
This was influenced by seeing remnants of images found in ancient remains in Greece and
Italy which create a puzzle for historians to reimagine the complete original picture and the
story being depicted.
Season three, Luciferase, builds on the Deluge theme, but now uses black pencil drawings
to present the animals in a night-time setting using curious natural light sources to provide
illumination. The monochrome images and lighting are sometimes used to create the illusion
that the drawings represents a sculpture rather than living animals.
Sesason four, Holy Ground Revisited, a continuation of Holy Ground but includes some
experiments with water and movement along with the signature menagerie of monkeys and
other exotic animals.
The endpapers in this book are taken from my triptych, Roses Within.
Sam Branton
Her childhood destroyed by a brutal father and her mother’s indifference, Fran Tremayne’s only refuge has been her older brother, Cal.
But when Cal embarks on a solo round the world sailing trip, it seems that even he has abandoned her.
Then disaster strikes, a mayday message from Cal and then a long silence can mean only one thing; her brother has gone for good.
Refusing to accept his death, Fran sets out to find him, but is she prepared to face the shattering truth that lies behind her brother’s disappearance?
Cover illustration, ‘Sunlight On The Water’ from an original lino print by Helen Maxfield: www.helenmaxfield.com
A born traveller and adventurer, the author found excitement and solace in wild places from an early age. Having travelled the world using most forms of transport, some practical, others ridiculous, he is always on the lookout for a good story. A tale well told can be an inspiration to all of us. Falling in love with Norfolk, its wide-open skies and the sea, the author has spent almost twenty years of his life in a small village planted in the wheat fields of the Norfolk-Suffolk border.
Are We Nearly There Yet?
Wrestling with Issues in the Life of Faith
by Gareth Evans
Many Christians adhere, without any difficulty, to the faith as they received it. The Bible can be trusted as infallible and as such it is God’s Word which will guide them through life. Their salvation they believe, is assured, because Jesus died on the cross for their sins. By following him, they are assured of eternal life.
Many people have now rejected that viewpoint, and have left the Church, disillusioned with the message that the Church has been preaching. There are many, still in the Church however, who have questions that they need help in answering. These include:
• Why doesn’t God appear to answer my prayers?
• Should gay people be able to get married in Church?
• How do I make sense of other Faiths?
The Church should be the place where they can safely ask their difficult questions, but sadly this is not always the case, and many people wrestle with difficulties which can lead to a loss of their faith.
In this book, Gareth Evans examines some of these issues and whilst he doesn’t seek to provide all the answers, he takes the reader on a journey which he is on himself and may at least help them in realising that they are not on their own.
Gareth Evans spent his entire working life in the Banking Industry. After retiring he then spent a number of years as a Non-Executive Director in Social Housing. A life long Christian he was brought up in the Welsh Non-Conformist tradition and has now been, for a number of years a member of his local Anglican Church, where he is an accredited Lay Reader. This is his first book, seeking to address some of the issues which many people of faith have difficulties with, but which they don’t easily find the answers to.
Yes We Can
With a touch of magic
by Maureen Roberts
The lonely piano’s music floats round the market hall. Will it waken the young girl sleeping under one of the stalls? It does, and Annie and her piano embark on a journey of music and love. Love, for Annie, is in the shape of the piano and in Ezra who is in her class at school. The corona virus has closed the school, much to Ezra’s delight.
Ezra’s birthday present is a bicycle which gets stolen by Nigel and his gang. Ezra’s replacement bike is an abandoned wreck but Annie and her brother Fred help to get it repaired by Bob, the bike man, who Annie works for at the weekend. Although Ezra is persecuted by Nigel and his gang, Ezra always prevails. Does the bike have special powers? Or is it all in Ezra’s imagination?
The piano teaches Annie to play. She practices and becomes brilliant. The bike has given Ezra confidence to cope with his mum’s illness. Fred shows how, even when you are small, you can have the bravery of a giant.
The first stirrings of teenage love and the hard realities of it, permeate this story of Annie and Ezra..
Maureen Roberts is eighty-two and a widow.
She worked as a primary school teacher and had a gap year when she was fifty.
She fell madly in love when she was fifty-one and subsequently spent time travelling the world with her wonderful, crazy companion, John.
When John died, she started writing books for children, taking in bits from our travels.
She has six grand children who inspired and encouraged her to write her stories.
The Nicotine Delusion
And other medical controversies
by Gabriel Symonds
In his inimitable satirical style, Dr Gabriel Symonds shines a critical light on the shortcomings of the orthodox approach to smoking cessation, especially the recommendation to use e-cigarettes (vaping) which he argues is both misleading and unnecessary. He shows how the concept of ‘smoking-harm reduction’ is not only flawed but counterproductive. The deceitful practices of Big Tobacco, particularly their repulsive use of animal experiments, also come under scrutiny.
Included in this wide-ranging anthology are examinations of the contentious issues of so-called gender dysphoria and transgender treatment, psychiatric research and the use of hallucinogenic drugs in depression, vitamin drips for healthy people, an inquiry into the meaning of consciousness, and an essay on misuse of the English language.
Originally posted on Dr Symonds’s website, these controversial articles will be sure to inform, amuse, and surprise.
Dr Gabriel Symonds is a British doctor living in Tokyo where for many years he ran the Tokyo British Clinic serving the expatriate community. Now semi-retired, he offers his unique method of smoking cessation as well as Jungian-based psychotherapy.
What dark secrets lie in
The House beneath the Black Hill
by Chris Green
For composer Nick Mortimer it is a dream come true when he and his sister Kate inherit a house in the tiny village of Clodock in a remote corner of Herefordshire’s Golden Valley.
But it is a dream that soon turns into a nightmare when they are confronted by a series of mysterious and frightening events.
Their search to find answers unearths a tragic tale of blighted love set against the background of the disturbing political and social divisions of the late 1920s.
After a lifetime supporting other artists, Chris has finally found time to fulfil his own creative ambitions as a writer.
His first novel The Swinging Pendulum of the Tide was published in 2018. It is a story of the loss and rediscovery of love and faith, set against the background of the wilds of Bardsey Island off the North Wales Coast.
In the The House beneath the Black Hill, he combines his fascination in the telling of a good ghost story with his interest in the turbulent politics of the late 1920’s, highlighted by the remarkable electoral victory of journalist and author Frank Owen over his Tory rival in Hereford in the 1929 General Election.
As a former Popular Events Director City of the London Festival, Director of The Poetry Society and Chief Executive of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors (now The Ivors Academy), Chris knows all about the challenges faced by the creative community. He’s well versed in politics too having contested Hereford and South Herefordshire for the Liberal Democrats in the 1979, 1983 and 1987 Parliamentary elections where he came within a whisker of taking the seat.
He is chair of the Learning Skills Research Foundation and of the Francis W Reckitt Arts Trust, a patron and trustee of Hereford’s Courtyard Arts Centre. a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Freeman of the City of London. He was awarded the BASCA Gold Badge of Merit for service to the Music Industry in 2009.
He is married with two grown-up sons and lives with his wife Sheila in the village of Garway on Herefordshire’s Welsh Border.
Blackpool's Holiday Heyday
Images of resort’s golden era
Celebrated and sneered at, praised and patronised in equal measure, Blackpool remains Britain’s biggest, brashest and most vibrant holiday resort, drawing 18 million annual visits – despite the rival attractions of the Mediterranean sun. But many of these are day trips and short breaks rather than the traditional week by the sea.
In this lavishly produced pictorial history of the resort’s golden era, former Blackpool Gazette journalist Barry McLoughlin chronicles the six decades up to the mid-1960s when the town was queen of the seaside holiday and overseas stays were only just starting to take off.
The book includes chapters on the Pleasure Beach, Tower, Golden Mile, three piers, theatres, dancehalls, accommodation, railways, the famous tramway and football.
130 illustrations in colour and black-and-white, ranging from rare postcards to high-quality photojournalism and memorabilia, highlight the people and places that gave Blackpool its unique character.
Although the book presents a nostalgic view of Blackpool’s heyday, it also highlights the contradictions of the resort’s identity as the UK’s tourism capital, contrasting the neon glitz of the Golden Mile with pockets of severe social deprivation today.
It examines the dilemmas created by the town’s dual identity over the years. Should it be a genteel middleclass ‘watering place’ or a proletarian playground? Should it be a ‘family resort’ or a party town for nightclubbers? Should the interests of residents or tourism take priority?
It is not intended as a definitive history of Blackpool, more of an impressionistic snapshot – literally – of an extraordinary era.
Reviews of Blackpool..
The Journalist, magazine of the National Union of Journalists (TUC Best Union Journal of the Year)
Life member Barry McLoughlin's book recalls the glory years of working-class tourism.
In this pictorial history, the former Blackpool Gazette chief reporter chronicles the halcyon days of the world's first proletarian playground in the six decades up to the 1960s.
More than 130 illustrations in black-and-white and colour.
Wyndham Ward spent fifty-eight years in aviation: twenty-three years in the RAF and thirty-five years in civil flying. From Boy Mechanic he progressed to fighter pilot on the famous Hawker Hunter, flew low-level high-speed Buccaneers with the RAF, and with the Fleet Air Arm from HMS Ark Royal he was selected for the Red Arrows Aerobatic Team of 1979, a team that was unique in flying the last of the Gnats and the first Hawks.
Smoking Red
by Wyndham Ward
The Red Arrows and more - a life on the wing
A life-long lover of aeroplanes, Wyndham Ward spent fifty-eight years in aviation: twenty-three years in the RAF and thirty-five years in civil flying. From Boy Mechanic he progressed to fighter pilot on the famous Hawker Hunter, flew low-level high-speed Buccaneers with the RAF, and with the Fleet Air Arm from HMS Ark Royal he was selected for the Red Arrows Aerobatic Team of 1979, a team that was unique in flying the last of the Gnats and the first Hawks.
This involved an extended tour of duty with the team displaying the Hawk internationally and mixing with celebrities of many types.
After a wonderful five years with the Red Arrows, Wyndham took to civilian aviation and joined Cathay Pacific, flying the Pacific Rim on B747’s and long range Airbus A340’s out of Hong Kong airport.
An invitation to join Oman Royal Flight followed and as a Royal Flight Captain he flew the Sultan, VVIP’s and Heads of State in his B747 SP’s.
Casting aside the glitz of royalty, he took up an appointment with Airbus Toulouse training pilots and this led to training business-jet pilots with CAE a world-wide Canadian training company and manufacturer of the latest synthetic flight simulators.
Now retired from UK CAA and US FAA qualified posts, he lives in rural Mid-Wales and taken to writing to encourage young men and women to fly whatever their circumstances and to enjoy aviation as much as he has.
When you have produced the final draft of your book, it is always advisable to have the text read and checked by a professional editor or proof reader.
You may have friends that are willing and competent to do this and we can advise you on the type of editing that is required.
We can offer four levels of editing as well as proof-reading.
You choose which, if any, are appropriate in your case: 1. Edit of sample pages and short report (£30)
We will edit a few pages to highlight editorial issues so that you can look for similar problems throughout the book.
This will reduce the amount of further copy-editing required when the book is finished. 2. Broad structural editing and criticism (£5 per thousand words)
A structural review is particularly relevant for works of fiction.
The structural reviewer will address the following main areas and produce a short report for the author ” Read More 3. Copy editing (£10 per thousand words)
A copy-editor takes a close look at your text, line by line, with an eye to grammatical errors, repetition, inconsistency and lack of clarity. The copy editor will make changes to the text, with suggestions for rewriting, grammar, and punctuation. When you receive the edited version, you have the final choice about accepting of rejecting the individual changes. 4. Proof Reading (£8 per thousand words)
Proof reading is a line-by-line check that the book is ready for publication. Proof readers will make small corrections for punctuation, grammar and spelling but they will not make significant changes to the text.
A proof reader will identify any significant issues and add comments to the text so that you can make those corrections yourself. 5. Consistency Scan
If you decide your book doesn’t need a full proof reading, we offer an electronic scan to search for common errors and inconsistencies. This looks at issues such as inconsistent spelling and inconsistencies of hyphenation and capitalisation.
We can also identify inconsistencies in the spelling of proper names. 6. Cover text
The quality of the text on the cover is very important as it indicates the quality of the writing in the book.
The title, sub-title and back-cover blurb are all important elements and we can work with you to make sure that these are correct and effective.
Copy Edit
Copy-editors get the raw material into shape for publication i.e they edit the copy.
When they have finished, the designer can lay out or typeset the book and produce a proof.
It is quite normal for the author to make additional changes after a book has been copy-edited.
Working through the material, the copy-editor may identify errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, style and usage, but also very long sentences and overuse of italic, bold, capitals and exclamation marks.
They should correct or query doubtful facts, weak arguments, plot holes and gaps in numbering.
In fiction, they should also check that characters haven’t changed their name or hair colour, look for sudden changes from first to third person among other things.
The Copy-editor is not a proof reader and should not be expected to find all of the errors in the text particularly if the text is badly written to start with.
This is the job of the proof reader.
The final proof should be checked by a proof reader or an experienced reader friend before going to print.
It is almost inevitable (and acceptable) to miss a few errors which can be corrected in a later edition.
Proof Reading
Proof reading is a line-by-line check that the book is ready for publication.
Proof readers will make small corrections for punctuation, grammar and spelling but they will not make significant changes to the text.
A proof reader will identify any significant issues and add comments to the text so that you can make those corrections yourself.
If you have decided to complete this stage of the process yourself, we will send a detailed check-list to help you.
We ask you to try and ensure that the book is completely ready before we start the layout.
Once the layout has started, we expect that you might want to to make a small number of amendments but
if there are a significant number, we may need to charge for the extra time it takes to change the layout
so best to discuss this with us first.
Structural Review
In fiction, the main areas that a structural editor will address are:
Plot: Does the plot make sense? Is it believable? Is it satisfying or does it leave the reader frustrated? Themes: Are the themes effectively handled? Are there so many that the book lacks focus? Do they interfere with the plot or complement it?
Characterisation: Are your characters well developed and believable? Are they cast in a role that fits their personality? Do they sometimes behave out of character? Point of view/voice: Is the voice consistent or is it sometimes confused? Is the voice authentic? Are you using too many or too few POVs? Pace: Does the plot move forward at an appropriate pace? Should you cut that preface? Should the action happen sooner or should the tension build more slowly? Dialogue: Do your characters sound real when they speak? Is your dialogue cluttered with adverbs and beats? Do you use clunky dialogue to move the plot forward? Flow: Is the narrative interrupted by dead-ends and tangents? Is there so much back story that the main plot is dwarfed? Are there missing plot points that would give the narrative greater integrity?
In non-fiction, the principle is the same, but the specific issues are slightly different:
Thesis: Is your thesis relevant? Is it clearly defined or is it lost among marginal issues? Exposition: Are your arguments clear and cogent? Are they well researched and properly supported? Do they have a clear relationship with your thesis? Content: Are all the necessary topics sufficiently dealt with? Are the chapters weighted correctly? Is there superfluous content? Organisation: Is the information organised logically? Are tables and illustrations used appropriately? How many levels of subheads do you need and how should they be arranged? Tone: Is the tone appropriate for the audience? Do you need to eliminate jargon? Is the text accessible? Pace: Are there passages that are bogged down in detail? Do you spend too long on detail irrelevant to the main thesis? Are there areas that need further exposition lest they be skipped over?
Cover Text
The quality of the text on the cover is very important as it indicates the quality of the writing in the book.
The title, sub-title and back-cover blurb are all important elements and we work with you to make sure that these are as effective as possible.
Consistency check
If you decide your book doesn’t need a full proof reading, we can run an electronic scan to search for common errors and inconsistencies.
This looks at issues such as inconsistent spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation.
It also checks for consistent formatting of numbers and dates as well as undefined abbreviations.
Subsequent Script Edit
It is very normal and generally beneficial for the script-editing process to go through at least a couple of cycles
i.e. the rewritten draft to be worked through once again by an experienced script practitioner – though this would be entirely at the discretion and behest of the writer.
Full Script Edit
The script that you deliver to us will probably constitute what the industry would classify as the ‘Initial Rough Draft’, i.e. a full screenplay written without any other professional input or advice, and probably without a great deal of rewriting. We work through your draft, line by line, scene by scene, and come back to you with a comprehensive set of notes from which you can then work towards the official ‘1st Draft’. Some of our notes will be broad and general, dealing with such areas as the overall shape and structure, pacing, plot and character development; others will be far more specific, with corrections, clarifications and suggested cuts etc. It is of course entirely up to you whether or not to take these suggestions on board, and to what extent.
Ongoing Support
We aim to make your self-publishing venture an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Publishing is a complex business and we treat every book as a separate project.
We explain all of the stages at the outset and we manage the project schedule for you. This will include all of the expert services you have requested for editorial, design, printing, distribution and collection of royalties, keeping in close contact with you throughout the process.
You will be allocated a project-sheet on the YouCaxton website so that you can monitor progress and ensure that all stages are properly completed.
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go to My project on the menu and enter…
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