And I Climbed and I Climbed

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of visiting the Waterstones at the Galleries, Bristol for the launch of a very special book. It was a lovely occasion and it was a joy to catch up with some of the brilliant people who attended.

‘And I Climbed and I Climbed’ is a remarkable collection of poems, focusing on Cosmo, a young boy whose life changed forever when he fell out of a tree in his garden. Having a great deal to come to terms with, these poems explore his experiences. Poet, Simon Lightbrown, has drawn on personal experience to write these poems as, like Cosmo, he became paralysed after an accident.

Deeply poignant and captivating, these poems are really special. Raw emotion, courage, determination and resilience mix with fear, anger, curiosity and pain in the poems which invoke empathy, compassion and understanding. Although each works in its own right, the poems read almost as a verse novel, allowing the reader to accompany Cosmo through his experiences.

Cosmo is a very engaging character, full of spark and curiosity. Mingled with his words are poems from his family and the tree he fell from, offering different perspectives and thoughts. As he considers how his life has changed, Cosmo’s feelings fluctuate, running through a whole gamut of emotions, including moments of humour. The poems are all the more powerful and poignant as they are an authentic voice. Although Stephen Lightbrown was older when he had his accident than Cosmo is in the story, he draws on his personal experiences to create the poems, making this a unique and essential collection.

Listening to Stephen read his poems was wonderful! There are certain poems which had me in tears when I read them- and it was a real struggle not to sob hearing him read them in person. Shauna Darling Robertson read a couple of the poems written as Cosmo’s mother- she did really well not to cry too!

This is a fantastic collection- essential reading.

And I Climbed and I Climbed

Stephen Lightbrown, illustrated by Shih-Yu Lin

Troika Books ISBN: 978-1912745296

Fireblood Launch in Bath

It was a very wet and windy evening as I set off for Waterstones in Bath to celebrate the launch event for ‘Fireblood’, a fantastic new story by Sam Stewart. The warmth of welcome more than made up for the awful weather and soon a large crowd had gathered, all keen to hear from Sam and find out more about her book!

Penny and Karen from Firefly Press made sure the evening flowed smoothly and their enthusiasm for, and belief in, ‘Fireblood’ was infectious. Firefly was founded in 2013 (how can it have been that long?!) and have gone from strength to strength, winning award after award, and publishing a wonderful catalogue of books- such as ‘Fireblood’. Once Penny had made her introduction, Sam and Karen settled down for a brief chat about the book with before Sam gave a reading. And what a reading!

There’s something very special about hearing an author read their own work and Sam is one of those who performs as much as reads, keeping the audience hanging on her every word! No wonder there was such a long signing queue!

‘Fireblood’ is a great read- my review will follow soon- and it was a lovely event with a very warm, friendly, book-ish crowd. Many thanks to Sam and the Firefly Press team for inviting me!

Fireblood Sam Stewart

Firefly Press ISBN: 9781915444196

Winter’s Keep Launch

Last night, I went to Waterstones in Bath to join the celebrations for the launch of ‘Winter’s Keep’, the final instalment of the Weather Weavers trilogy. It was a lovely occasion, full of familiar, friendly faces- and lots of book-ish chatter!

Erin from Waterstones gave a lovely introduction and then Tamsin read a section from ‘Winter’s Keep’ to a captivated audience. There is something very magical about listening to an author sharing their work and Tamsin read beautifully, offering a tantalising glimpse into the pages of the final book of her series.

Tamsin was kept very busy signing books until the evening came to an end. These wonderfully magical adventures, intertwined with myths and legends, are a fabulous read- highly recommended- and ‘Winter’s Keep’ brings them to a very satisfying and compelling conclusion. Congratulations to Tamsin on an excellent book and a lovely launch event!

Winter’s Keep Tamsin Mori

UCLan Publishing ISBN: 978-1915235053

Published 3rd March 2023

You can read my review of The Weather Weaver here.