Hello
…welcome to my blog about writing, living fully and making a difference in the world.
My debut book The Grace of a Nightingale is available to buy worldwide in Hardback, Paperback and Kindle.
Lesley Young – Selected Poems #2
Existential Crisis They said it would be useful, help me to ‘move on’, after all this time. And I did want to tell my story, I wanted to understand. The woman who welcomed me had a pale face and a thin, watery smile. She looked sort of competent, I thought. She ushered me in and
Read more
A Nightingale Sings Outside Our Window
My favourite radio station is BBC Radio 6 specialising in alternative music. A Nightingale Sings Outside Our Window by Erland Cooper is a special piece of music created for BBC 6 Music during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this awful time, we can also be inspired by acts of kindness, devotion and selflessness, creating artistic beauty.
Read more
The tao of the ‘Nightingale’
The nightingale has totemic significance for me. Not only am I drawn to the symbolism of this bird of love and loss, it is also the name of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. In 1859 Florence Nightingale wrote Notes on Nursing, a book that is still considered a classic. In 1860 she opened
Read more
Writing my story – knowing myself
From the distant ruins of my past there are both unwelcome and inspirational memories which have been revisited in order to write these memoirs. When recounting these events, I tried to avoid embellishing the rhythm and detail of the stories in my favour. Moreover, I did not want to manipulate the reader by presenting my
Read more
Jon Fazal: Singer Songwriter
As an eclectic music lover here are some of my favourite songs by indie artist Jon Fazal Belly of the Beast https://bit.ly/3dX8Vwn I Will (The Beatles Cover) https://bit.ly/2ZnjVzt Camelot https://bit.ly/3bGfWAq May You Never (John Martyn Cover) https://bit.ly/2WBzYru Jon Fazal is a British indie-folk songwriter based in Devon. With tales of escape and longing, his music
Read more
Arrow Gate Publishing: why we acquired this wonderful book
When we received The Grace of A Nightingale by Mary Anne Willow, her flawless writing impressed us, and we enjoyed reading through her submission. The author uses free-flowing prose, and it was easy to get absorbed into the story. As an independent publisher, we have come across quite a lot of great manuscripts, but Mary
Read more
Stay in touch
I send thoughtful emails and updates