I made this short film in lockdown while bored!! Was quite tricky setting up the camera and sound and then doing the lines etc but fun and it kept me entertained for an afternoon.
I recently stayed in a disused church in the south west of England - Church Camping or Champing as it's affectionally known. You can find out more at champing.co.uk but in short it's a way of raising money to fund the maintenance of these buildings.
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It was a fairly cordial event really, a camp bed was provided along with a kettle and some hot drinks and candles. The bed was by a large leaded window and hd a row of candles on the sill. I decided before I got there that I might do some recording while I was there, and what better to record than Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven?
I arrived in the mid afternoon and parked up adjacent to the church. I settled in and took the dog for a walk, and by 7.30pm it was getting dark. By 8pm it was pretty much pitch black in the church. I set up my mic and recorder and recited the poem, and shortly after, the heavens opened - that was probably the best bit, the sound of wind, rain and distant thunder while lurking quietly in an ancient church with just my dog Captain for company!
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| I literally slept on someone's grave... |
Below is a the audio recording and below that is a video I also made while there.
It's here, my latest audiobook, The Encore, by Lauren Holmes. I'm so pumped when a book goes on sale, it feels like I've really achieved something! It's quite an interesting concept for a novel - a distant planet, analogous to Earth, is in dire trouble, the ecology of the planet is collapsing due to an invasive new plant species. They've tried everything they can to stop the total destruction of their world, and are forced to look elsewhere to find the skills and talent needed to find solutions. They need people who can think outside the box and be creative and inventive.
Enter Earth's Connor Kane, not an entirely willing participant in this strange planet's struggle, but he's given no choice but to roll up his sleeves and do what he does best - unlock people's potential!
Have a listen to the first 5 minutes below and checkout the book on Audible.
The new arrival here at Bayberry audiobooks is Captain,a rescue dog all the way from Romania in eastern Europe.
He's a splendid little fellow. We've had him for two months now, and he was a timid and nervous chap at first, hiding upstairs for the first week in our house. It's taken time and persistence but he's now a much more confident, settled dog. he comes downstairs to be with us in the evenings, liking nothing more than to be stroked and fussed.
It seems that there are a lot of stray dogs in parts of Romania. Captain was one of those strays. He must have survived on his wits on the streets of Bucharest, and one gets the impression that he had some pretty bad experiences with people. I imagine stray dogs are considered a pest and treated as such, so it's likely he was subject to some unpleasant experiences.
He's a dinky chap and looks like a cross between a German Sheppard, a Collie and a Wolf. At first I used to joke about it, but as I learned more about the stray and semi-wild dogs in Romania I also found that there's a large population of wolves, and some interbreeding does happen, creating wolfdogs, a recognised subset of dogs. As I read more, I stumbled upon a blog by another owner of a Romanian rescue, who'd has her dog DNA tested and found that it had a 'high' percentage of wolf DNA - high is a relative term, and it seems that it simply indicates the existence of wolf DNA but not necessarily recent - it could be 100's of years since a wolf was involved in the lineage.
That said, my little fella does look very wolf-like, something people comment upon almost daily, and he does have some wolf-like habits too, such as his habitual scent marking with his feet, and the deepgrowl he does if he detects another scent has been deposited there. Personality wise though he's very placid and laid back, but notably he is very pack-oriented, he seems to be very much an alert protector and constantly scanning the environment. Almost as a joke I played the sound of a wolf howling on the hi-fi, and he immediately sat bolt upright, clearly recognising the sound.... so we'll see what the DNA test reveals in a week or two!!
I've just finished recording The Encore, a novel by Lauren Holmes. It's an interesting idea - how would you go about solving a global problem where the eco-system is in meltdown?! In The Encore, set a short time in the future, Connor Kane is a man with a certain talent for finding solutions to difficult problems, and has proven his worth helping to save Earth's population and ecosystems from pollution and environmental damage when all appeared to be lost. His talents and achievements had not gone unnoticed by other intelligent lifeforms elsewhere in the universe - other lifeforms also facing an environmental crisis and needing Connors skills!
The Encore is a thought provoking story looking at some philosophical questions, such as what would it take for societal differences to be put aside, what would have to be at stake for all to forget their own prejudices and baggage and work together toward a common goal? What is the most rewarding thing a person can do? Is altruism the ultimate achievement?
Please enjoy a short sample below and head over to Audible from 15th August 2021 if you feel inclined to acquire the book!
Raghnall's Revenge
The audiobook adaptation of the novel by Shona Redmond is finally complete!
The story continues as the group of friends persevere with their plan to recruit new allies in order to regain what was stolen from them. With the traitor seemingly unmasked houses Olden and Raghnall make it their mission to seek vengeance on all of those who cost so many loved ones their lives. The plot thickens when Finn discovers his uncle is in league with the same men that took his home. New enemies emerge causing the friends to separate from one another, in order to ensure their survival. As the mysteries unravel, the group begin to find out that everything may not always be as it appears. Secrets from the past come back to bite them, sacrifices must be made and lives lost proving even heroes can bleed in order to get to the truth. Can the group beat the odds once again or are they truly cursed and destined only for death?
Find it on Amazon and Audible here.
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Here's another excerpt from the book transcribed from the diary of a POW in WW2. British Army Royal Engineers Sapper Bill Warren was prisoner for four years, in Germany, working on oil refineries near Berlin producing fuel and lubricants for Germany's war machine.
About ½ an hour later we met him again, & he invited us up to his home, telling us that his wife spoke a little English, and would be most pleased to cook for us any food we were unable to cook at the farm. We spent a very pleasant hour there – the first time we had enjoyed the comforts of a free man for well over 4 years – sitting on a sofa, or at a table which had been properly laid, all of which was luxury to us. Before we left Frau Kromer, for that was their name, invited us again, with any friends we wished to bring for 3 ‘o’ clock, when she would have some suet dumplings and meat & gravy cooked for us. To anyone who understands the food situation in Germany, this was tremendously generous of her as only the most fortunately placed (or racketeering!) families have anywhere near enough food for their own requirements. On arriving back in the farm it seemed as though our dreams of 3 ‘o’ clock were completely shattered. The Hauptramm had been up and announced that some English had been seen in the village, & if any more went out they would be shot on sight. However, the thought of the blog at Frau Kromer’s was too much for us & away we went at 2:45, the 3 of us & Ray.
What do you do before settling down to read or work on a book?
I tend to walk my dogs....and cat! Our feline, Rosie, follows us on our twice daily outings, much to everyone's amusement. Here she is below following us along the canal and into the fields....
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I asked Jim Ellis to tell me a bit about some of his novels. Please read on and click the title to find each one on Amazon.
The Music Room
A unique tale of war and desire about the life of Tim Ronsard, a young Scot: he runs from Clydeside shipbuilding and engineering and volunteers for the French Foreign Legion. Tim Ronsard means to travel as far as the Legion can take him soldiering in Algeria and elsewhere in Africa. But he discovers he can’t break the bonds that tie him to Cliesh, the older woman who taught him about music and love.
One Summer
In this compelling story of class and religious conflict, Nathan Forrest, a Catholic, a welder and illegitimate son, is reared by his grandmother, a pawnbroker. A gifted jazz trumpeter, Nathan pursues Dorothy Jones, a Protestant girl from a middle-class family. Against a background of decaying Westburn’s doomed (Scottish) shipyards and bitter Protestant-Catholic antagonisms, the young lovers seek to escape the constraints of prejudice and hate.
The Last Hundred
Set in the nineteen twenties in Mexico and the American Southwest. The story of Jock MacNeil’s transformative journey from Apprentice Blacksmith, Ships Boy on a merchant schooner, Jane Brown. Volunteering for the Confederate as Loblolly Boy, aboard CSS Alabama. Stranded in Galveston, he saves the life of a Cherokee soldier and, with him, journeys to Oklahoma to enlist in the Cherokee Mounted Rifles, Confederate Army. Jock MacNeil is a made Chiricahua Apache warrior and husband in a gripping story of adventure, heartbreak and redemption.
Westburn Blues
Westburn Blues is the story of the Rinaldis from Liguria and their migration to Scotland in the 1890s. It follows The Music Room and One Summer, the final part of the Westburn Trilogy. The novel is centred on Dante Rinaldi, born to Italian immigrants to the West of Scotland. In 1939, staying with his grandfather, Dante is left in Italy when war breaks out. He grows roots in his family’s rural homeland and, as a young adult, identifies with a band of mountain partisans fighting the fascists. He finds love with Chiarina in the partisan band. Their passion is delayed when Dante is repatriated at the end of the war. The Rinaldis’ struggles in post-war Scotland influence the life of Chris McCoull, a neglected adolescent who finds his calling and romance while working for a Greek-owned shipping line. Carefully researched, this authentic rendering of the Scots-Italian experience showcases Ellis’ fine eye for historical detail and deft drawing of characters – from sympathetic to genuinely evil.
Only The Leaves Whispering, a prequel to The Last Hundred
At the beginning of his sea-going life as a ship’s boy on the merchant schooner, Jane Brown, he is befriended by retired Royal Navy Surgeon James Gunn. Volunteering for the Confederate Navy, Jock bonds with Assistant Surgeon David Llewellyn, CSS Alabama building in Birkenhead. Living among the seamen, Jock learns to deal with responsibility - and how to defend himself.
But can Jock survive the cruise of Alabama and fighting for the South, soldiering in the Cherokee Mounted Rifles?
JIM ELLIS
Jim Ellis writes compelling historical novels about lost love, conflicts and characters at odds with their lives in Scotland, who search for enlightenment in dangerous and forbidding places.
A sixth novel, The Near East, is underway. The action takes place in the borderlands of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. A band of soldiers of fortune, led by a Scot, are hired to raise a force of raiders to protect the Yezidis from ISIS.
Jim is from the West of Scotland. He has been a sea-going engineer and a tool setter in a canning factory. For many years he worked in computer manufacturing and spent a decade as a university lecturer. Ellis has a life long passion for history, and it surfaces in his novels.
“I like to write. When I’m not writing I’m reading. I listen to Jazz and enjoy travelling the world with my wife.”
