Today’s Friday Freebie is The String Games by Gail Aldwin
About the author
Settled in Dorset since 2006, Gail
Aldwin has lived in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Spain. Her work
includes a collection of short fiction Paisley Shirt which was
longlisted in the Saboteur Awards 2018. Gail’s poetry pamphlet
adversaries/comrades (which is based on the theme of siblings) was
published by Wordsmith_HQ in March 2019. Gail is currently working on
a second novel called This Much I Know. It uses the voice of
six-year-old Mikey to share his experience of living with his parents
in south London. Leonard is a new arrival to the community with odd
behaviours but Mikey gravitates towards him sensing his isolation.
When vigilantes attack Leonard believing him to be a paedophile,
everything in Mikey’s world changes.
In 2017, Gail was awarded a residency
at Brisons Veor to facilitate a period of time dedicated to new
writing. She received a Mairi Hedderwick bursary to attend a
never-to-be-forgotten writing retreat at Moniack Mhor, Scotland’s
Creative Writing Centre in 2016. Examples of Gail’s poetry and
short fiction can be found online at Words for theWild, Ink, Sweat & Tears, and Cabinet of Heed.
About the book
The String Games, Gail’s debut novel
is published by Victorina Press and was written as part of creative
writing studies with the University of South Wales. Sara Gethin,
author of Not Thomas who endorsed the novel says:
This is a gripping novel, where Gail
Aldwin skilfully explores the dynamics of a splintered family coping
with a truly awful event, and sensitively explores the repercussions
of a burden of guilt unfairly shouldered by a child. Aldwin delves
into the murky world of teenage manipulation, questions what makes a
bad mother and asks whether forgiveness for a horrific act is ever
possible. An insightful, engaging novel, The String Games breaks the
reader’s heart and leaves them turning the pages ever more quickly
to get to the truth of what really happened.
Reviews include
this one from book blogger Being Anne:
It’s ultimately a
story of hope and forgiveness, fresh starts and new beginnings: it’s
quite beautifully written and I enjoyed it very much.
I’m very grateful to my publisher Victorina Press for entering my novel into The People’s Book Prize. The String Games is now on the longlist and depends on public support to get to the next stage. The People’s Book Prize is a national award that finds and promotes new and undiscovered work. One of the the organisation’s aims is to work towards the complete eradication of illiteracy. This is something very important to me as, following years of working with parents and children to build their literacy skills, there is still a need in communities for further input. In this longlisting, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect match: an opportunity to gain a wider readership for The String Games and support a cause close to my heart. The competition is decided by public votes so if you could spare a minute or two to vote for The String Games, this would make me very happy.
To cast a vote for The String Games, go to the webpage.
The Blurb
When four-year-old
Josh is abducted and murdered during a family holiday in France, Nim,
aged ten, becomes an only child. To cope with the tragedy, Nim
reinvents herself but continues to carry a burden of unresolved
grief. As an adult she returns to France determined to find out more
about the circumstances of Josh’s death. How will she deal with
this new information and what are the implications for her future?
You can buy the book here.
To try to win a signed copy, posted to anywhere in the world, simply leave a
comment below by midnight on Wednesday. The
winner will be announced next Friday.
6 comments:
Hi Patsy, I would love to read this. In fact I've been thinking of buying it ever since I saw it featured on twitter. Wishing the best of luck to Gail and here's hoping it is a big success. Carol
It sounds like an intriguing story similar to something I'm reading at the moment:-)
I have just starting reading this book and am enjoying it immensely. I'm captivated by the being. Being a parent myself, I can totally related to what the mother is going through. The writing is exquisite. I will most certainly be recommending The String Games to my friends.
Hi, Gail!
Mac waving, from Tampa, FL USA
Sounds like a good read.
Best of luck with the new book.
Interesting to read about Gail and her new book. I'll let someone else win though as my TBR list is too high right now.
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