Rosemary (left) and Diane (right)
Diane Gillard
I live in Newport but came originally from Pontllanfraith in the Sirhowy valley.
A work colleague invited me to join the WVW Chepstow just over a year ago following the collapse of a UWCC creative writing class I was attending and sorely missed the energy, diversity and dynamics of group activity.
I have been nursing for over forty years – 25 of them in Occupational Health .Like many others I dislike report writing, corporate speak and jargon rife in organisations especially Civil Service (present workplace). Seeking relief from this suffocating and creative stifling environ I pursue many outside interests. Writing is one. Writing under the ‘handle’ of Sister Feelgood I have become a regular contributor to Blues Matters a specialist music magazine dedicated primarily to British and US Blues/Rock /R&B but also acknowledging the wider scope of this and allied musical genres and world wide appeal of the Blues in particular.
My forte, I would like to believe is that of descriptive narrative and enjoy writing short stories – usually with a humorous twist. (Spare a thought for my editor here!) I have been trying, with embarrassing results, at writing prose and poetry inspired by experiences and from photographs taken at gigs, festivals, when out on quiet walks along a coastal path or island or participating in collective activities such as dry stone walling and hedging with Gwent Wildlife Trust.
Rosemary Parkhouse
Although I have written a few poems, I’ve tended to concentrate mostly on stories about the small dramas that can happen in modern life, with an emphasis on seeing the funny side. Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about our responsibilities as human beings both to future generations and to all the other life which shares our world. There are both very positive and very grim developments : still, I’m inclined to be optimistic. The best way to get any important point across to me is through humour, so I’m currently working on developing my writing to highlight some of today’s big issues with a twist of irony to aid digestion.
Susan Peterken
Susan and her cat
I decided, almost on impulse, to join a creative writing class in 1995. I remembered getting excited about writing essays for English O-level more than thirty years before, and fancied writing short stories.To my surprise, I discovered I enjoyed writing poems as well. My stories tend to be enigmatic or mysterious – I like to leave the reader wondering whether a particular event actually took place or was only in the mind or dreams of the main character. Poems evolve on any subject from nature to personal experiences and relationships
I have been a painter for very much longer than I have been writing and am amazed at how similar the creative processes of the two can be. A feeling of calm certainty very occasionally washes over me when writing or painting are flowing particularly well, as if someone else is taking over the creation. These rare moments are what keep me painting and writing.
Recently I have branched out into non-fiction and spent over a year writing “Landscapes of the Wye Tour”, published by Logaston Press in April 2008. It covers the history of the Wye Tour and the Picturesque, illustrated with quotes from the 18th and 19th century tourists and modern pictures contrasted with old paintings and prints.
Zina Pearce-Tomenius
Zina without her specs
I am primarily a children’s writer, focusing on fantasy inspired by regional folklore. My first book, Baggledorf and the Itching Powder Plot, is about a Swedish troll’s adventures deep in the pine forests of Southern Scåna where I spent much of her childhood. Baggledorf has been made into an audio recording, and is available online at www.audible.com. My latest work for children is set in the Wye valley, and follows the adventures of Teg, a rather cool Welsh fairy, who saves the local habitat from ecological ruin.
Having spent several years living overseas, my experiences not only influence characters and storylines, but language too. I am currently seeking publication for a bi-lingual book series for primary school children, entitled Gargoyles on Tour. The series is co-authored with a modern languages teacher and follows a bunch of Notre Dame gargoyles on their tour of France. The books teach children basic French language and cultural background through a set of illustrated, humorous, short adventures.
I have recently experimented with adult fiction, writing short stories inspired by everyday working and home life, in particular my career in IT and being a mum. The Birds and the Bees and Homemaker can be found in our latest anthology Borderline 6.
Audrey Tullet
I write mostly short stories – and some poetry. My stories are usually of the light, humorous ‘tongue in cheek’ variety, and often about relationships between men and women. The other side of my writing is poetry, which is normally short, cathartic and sad, and comes from my soul. I have been working – intermittently – for some years now on a novel, set in Bombay and Bristol, and based on the life of a 1950s immigrant from India to the UK. My ambition is to finish this novel and have it published.
Rachel Prosser
Rachel and a glass
Always a daydreamer – A lot of inspiration for my short stories and poetry is drawn from the natural world, and the supernatural! Currently working on a novel about global warming.
Roy Holliss
Chairman Roy
Older than I feel. Got tired of writing technical and managerial reports with forbidden expression and imagination. Nearly too late I found I wasn’t superman, so I stopped. With Sandra, who is all craft and emotion, we found a creative writing class in Chepstow, guided and inflamed by a Donegal Irishman. Danny taught that less was more, showing was better than telling (So should we be storyshowers?), adverbs were poison and not to waste a word.
I try my best to follow his proseful path, writing short smiley stories at 90 degrees from the norm. Heartily horizontal rather than perfectly perpendicular!
Sandra Holliss
Child at heart, bursting with ideas. Lack of money and no creative inheritance slowed my childhood down. Work pushed imagination to the sidelines. As I grew older, it developed, especially in sewing and floristry. Roy and I needed to expand together, so we hit Creative Writers in Chepstow, where I feared dyslexia might paralyse expression. I need not have done so.
Childhood and youthful dreams in and around my native Pontypool and stories for children of all ages are where I travel best. Sometimes I hide and call myself Alexandra Galvin.
