Hello from the windswept North East coast

Good to see you again from Bath

From a Sandy Recluse...

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Hello,
I'm Jane and I'm just starting out on my authorship journey. I'm possibly Britain's only lawyer/makeup artist, but that aside, historical non-fiction and travel is my thing, with a north-east bias. It's not at all grim up north, trust me! My first book, The Horsekeeper's Daughter, is out in December 2017. I can safely say it's been a very steep learning curve.

You can read my (very light-hearted!) travel/history blog at www.justcuriousjane.com and I'd love your feedback.
I have 2 other books in the pipeline at the moment, both of which are very much still in the ideas stage. I need to get myself an agent but have done NOTHING about it so far. I'd love to be able to write fiction but lack the patience. I look forward to sharing experiences and to debate with fellow Litopians!

The Horsekeeper' Daughter - here's the publishing blurb:

"Covering the years 1880-1942 and chronicling poverty, exploitation, destitution, adventure, love, tragedy and an incredible coincidence, The Horsekeeper’s Daughter tells the true story of the County Durham mining village of Seaham, its people, and one remarkable woman.

Twenty two year old Sarah Marshall left the Durham pit villages in 1886 and travelled alone to start a new life on the far side of the world. Spanning ten thousand miles, the narrative weaves between County Durham and Queensland, and explores the lives of ordinary folk, in Seaham and Australia, who faced extraordinary circumstances.

The book unravels the social, political and economic factors which resulted in thousands of British women like Sarah leaving their homes and families behind for the new state of Queensland, through the government-sponsored Single Female Migrant Programme. The prejudices, hardships and challenges these young women encountered on arrival in Australia are revealed. The experiences of Sarah and her family are paralleled with those of the loved ones she left behind in Seaham, as they faced their own struggles through times of political upheaval and financial deprivation.

Drawing upon family links, original letters and photographs, which Jane inherited from Sarah’s niece, The Horsekeeper’s Daughter offers a unique perspective on the forgotten story of a working class girl, and the experiences of the hundreds of single women like her, who left North East England and sailed to Australia to forge new lives in the late 19th Century.

JANE GULLIFORD LOWES grew up in Seaham, County Durham and has a passion for the people, places and history of North East England"
 
Hello :) Congratulations on the book, I shall keep an eye out on that. Lawyer/makeup artist....a rare combination indeed :) I know Seaham...I grew up in Durham City.
 
Welcome to the Colony, Jane. Nice blog—on which you declare you have 'no clue' what you're doing—nor do any of us, we're all muddling through!

One of my favourite crime films, Get Carter, was filmed near to where you live—at Blackhall Beach.
 
Welcome from Sunderland Jane! It is indeed not grim up North - in fact from Northumberland down to Cleveland on the East coast and across to Carlisle and the Lake District/Cumbria is filled with breath-taking gems of many kinds!

My thing is crime fiction, social realism and short works such as blank verse and flash fiction. In fact, as a jobbing writer I would expect to be able to handle any form of writing within reason. I am about to be published in a local E-zine and have prose linked to an artwork currently under submission with Foundation Press.

Your platform, blurb etc. all look very professional. Is The Horsekeeper's Daughter factual or fiction?
 
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Good to see you again from Bath

From a Sandy Recluse...

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