Three debut novels inspired by Bridport and West Dorset are being launched this month with a signing at Waterstones on Saturday.
The novels by musicians Mitch Norman and Sean Geraghty and former Bridport News editor Margery Hookings had all been languishing in drawers before being published by the newly-formed Bridport Press.
Margery, who writes under the pen name, Maddie Grigg, said: “I published a novella, A Year in Lush Places, earlier this year which was based on my blog, The World from My Window. The book, which takes a humorous and affectionate look at life in a West Dorset village, has been doing really well. I knew that Mitch and Sean, who I’ve known for many years, had once written novels about Bridport and the surrounding area and had never done anything with them.
“I’d also written a novel over twenty years ago, a Tom Sharpe-style farce based on my days as a young newspaper reporter in Bridport, and I just thought, why not brush them up and get them all into print?
“People are so interested in anything to do with Bridport. I thought it was the right time to reveal a side of the area which might not be appreciated by those who’ve moved here recently.”
The three books could not be more different.
Mitch Norman’s Well, Fare Thee Well is a funny and poignant, bitter-sweet coming-of-age story, featuring scooters, Tamla Motown and girls; The Borassic Coast by S C Geraghty is a dark tale revealing the underbelly of The Jurassic Coast through linked characters and stories and A Town Like This is a farcical romp by Maddie Grigg, featuring a cavernous outfitters with hidden attics and a local newspaper reporter out to make a name for himself.
Mitch always fancied himself as being a bit of an author, and wanted to write about his youthful escapades living in a small town. An avid reader of John Steinbeck, Laurie Lee, Ray Bradbury and J D Salinger, among others, Well, Fare Thee Well is his first attempt, written over twenty years ago.
The manuscript, typed out on an old Smith-Corona typewriter, was left in a drawer in his garage and only saw the light of day when he was invited by Margery to retrieve it and get it published. The book has been likened to a West Country Cannery Row.
Sean, who fronts the band The Sidekicks, said: “I’m delighted to have completed this project, after a helpful nudge from my writing buddies. The local theme seems to have created a healthy diversity in approaches that will hopefully reach readers further afield.”
Said Margery: ‘I set up The Bridport Press as a sort of umbrella under which to publish the three titles. There has been a lot of interest in it and I’m now looking at working on some children’s fiction by local writers which has come my way.’
The three writers will be signing copies of their books this Saturday, 23 November, at Waterstones, Bridport, between 10am and noon.
An event to launch all three books is being held the following week at the Lyric Theatre, Bridport.
All the books can be ordered from local bookshops or via www.feedaread.com
About the writers
Margery Hookings is a former editor of the Bridport and Lyme Regis News an, studied creative writing as part of an Open University honours degree. Her work was featured in the Dorset Voices anthology and she was the winner of the Marshwood Vale Magazine’s People and Land writing competition in 2011. Her blog, The World from My Window, was selected by Google’s Blogger team in 2010 as a worldwide blog of note and was chosen by Saga magazine as one of its 50 best blogs by people over 50.
Mitch Norman is a popular musician and song writer in West Dorset. A DJ and an enthusiastic record collector of soul music, Mitch has also made several recordings of acoustic music, played guitar in local groups and now performs as a solo artist. He is a painter in a naive style and exhibits his work. Well, Fare Thee Well is his first book. Written some years ago, it was left in a drawer in his garage until recently rediscovered.
Sean Geraghty was born in London and spent most of early childhood there and in Bedfordshire. He moved to West Dorset at the age of 11 in the 1970s. He went to Woodroffe School Lyme Regis, Monkton Wyld School and Weymouth College. In 2000, he gained a BA in scriptwriting from Bournemouth University Media School. Sean has worked as a musician and actor, including in the West End and national tours, and he has worked in numerous other roles in film production, from running to acting. Sean has written for TV and developed many projects, large and small scale, for film and stage. He has fronted the band The Sidekicks since 2001 and writes and records music occasionally as well as working on writing projects, doing the day-job and enjoying family life. Sean has three children and four grandchildren in the south west.
For more information, please visit the website www.bridportpress.com or email [email protected] or telephone 01308 867638.
