Book Cover for the Two Lands
This is my first published book and I am 62. I have always enjoyed writing - particularly poetry, I have been writing poetry since about 7 years old. I won the Bexley Adult Poetry Prize in the late 70's. (£100 prize). For some reason I had to wait until I was 60 to get sufficient impetus to write a book.
I started writing ‘The Two Lands’ on 1 March 2005 sitting in a shopping centre minding one of my painting exhibitions. Most of the book was written in 12 to 16 weeks of my exhibitions during 2005 and 2006. I am a full-time professional watercolour artist, which enabled me to paint the illustration for the cover of my book.
Writing a book was something I had always meant to do and after reading Philip Pulman's "The Dark Secrets". I felt that this was something I could do and in some way that was the type of book I would like to write.
It all started with a pretty brief idea and then the rest developed. When writing I'm on a mystery tour and things happen that I could never have worked out beforehand. The ideas have to keep coming - like approaching a T Junction then looking for an idea as to whether to turn right or left. The book keeps unravelling. However I feel it is necessary to have an underlying message in writing. That is the main reason for the book and the message can often have more impact when cloaked in fantasy. I think an effective story must have some sort of underlying message.
I love Tolkiens’ works and C S Lewis. I am also impressed with Philip Pulman's writing style. Perhaps my all-time favourite is Vera Brittain's "Testament of Youth." (a completely different genre but haunting and so full of poetry and poetic phrasing.)
It's a great feeling to see the final results of all that scribbling from long-hand to a nicely bound book. Some friends and family have read the book - some liked it and others felt it wasn't their thing. Possibly it is a book difficult to put into a slot. Is it for children or adults? I would prefer it as an adult story. I would like to have a critique sometime as it is my first book. This is how I like writing and that is my style.
I am currently writing a sequel to this book and am on page 106. I want to keep writing and never stop.
About the Two Lands:
This is a complete two-part story of sixteen year-old Peter who enters a strange medieval world of magic and sorcery. Peter is straight away sucked into a fast-moving adventure to free the Land from increasing evil and darkness. Book One is complete in itself, but Book Two continues the story, when Peter is aware of a new deception and is caught up in a quest to find the Golden City, the route to which has been hitherto unachievable. He approaches the varied problems, not by overcoming them through force, but by reflective wisdom and the principle of non-violence which he learns with increasing depth from the great personages he meets in the Land.
Diverse virtues of loyalty, treachery, faithfulness and egoism are experienced in the twists and turns of the story by Peter and his travel companions.
The Two Lands can be obtained at the following address: http://www.pneumasprings.co.uk/
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
