OUR READERS 18th Jan 2024

Michael read an extract from ‘For the Want of Silver’, his novel about Viking raiders visiting Britain.
Michael qualified as a teacher but then moved to Sweden where he was involved in teacher training, radio educational programmes, television and text-book development.
Back in Britain, he founded and for many years ran a successful school teaching English to non-native speakers.
Since retiring Michael has pursued his interests in writing and history. Several of his books have focused on Nordic themes. More recently he has been writing historic novels for children.
Find out more about Michael’s books from his website.

Alison read her short story ‘The Gap’. A powerful tale of a mother looking back on the accidental death of her teenage son, some seventeen years earlier.
Alison has written plays, short films and stories. Her radio play, ‘Bravehearted’ was commissioned by Radio 4 and produced by Cherry Blossom Productions. Her play ‘Loyalty Card’ was shortlisted for the Little Pieces of Gold ‘Festopia’, and ‘Dolly Would’ was performed at the Showface Festival in 2020.
Her films ‘Crash’ and ‘The Gap’ are featured on Tearaway films’ YouTube channel.
Find out more about Alison from Stage 32, and IMDb.

Peter read his short story ‘There’s no Fool Like an Old Fool’ which won second place at the Warminster Winter Competition 2023.
Peter has been writing since 1990 when he produced a series of non-fiction booklets chronicling historic battles from the ancients to the Renaissance. The aim was to enable reenactments.
More recently he has been writing fiction in a wide range of style and genres. These have included a Shakesperian-type play written in rhyming couplets, a couple of dystopian science-fiction novels and a wide range of short stories.
Peter is a keen member of the Warminster Writers Circle, finding their writing exercises and competitions hugely inspiring.

Nicky read an extract from her novel ‘The Untangling of Jessica Arnold’ about the effect of her brother’s death on a woman’s life.
Nicky has enjoyed writing for as long as she can remember, having articles published in national magazines while still a teenager.
She worked extensively as a journalist and has written in a wide variety of formats and genres, including screen writing, flash-fiction and poetry.
Nicky has undertaken a wide variety of writing courses, including two of Faber’s, which resulted in her first novel. She is currently doing an MA in creative writing and hopes to have completed her second novel by the end of the course.

Colwell read an extract from his most recent thriller ‘Under Pressure’.
Colwell has an eclectic career both in the UK and Africa where he worked as a prospector, surveyor, accountant and hotelier. More recently he worked in the UK as a race mechanic and for the Ministry of Defence.
He has written four thrillers, four books of poetry, a history reference work listing all the sources mentioning Britain from ancient times to 650 AD, and an unclassifiable book ‘In Sanity’.
Find out more about Colwell and his books on his website.

Our thanks to John Bruce for all the photographs on this page. For more about his work as a website designer and builder see this website.