This Is The Month This Is

Friday afternoon and a coffee break before 6 o'clock finish and weekend off. A busy month June. The completion of three excellent poetry collections and two novels. The collections are by Christine Bousfield, Margaret Gleave - who has just won Southport Poet of the Year - and Deborah Harvey. Web pages will be up next week.

Christine's has the intriguing title She Looks Out Of My Face and carries endorsement from Rommi Smith, Poet in Residence for Keats' House.It's a collection of personal poems set in Bradford, Yorkshire, focusing on generations of a family from the second world war until now, and exploring the themes of birth, death, grief, joy and repetition.

Margaret's is Weather Eye, with testimonials from RV Bailey, Alison Chisholm and Roger Elkin. It features a broad range of style and subject. It explores a need to account for change in inanimate objects as in Mario, the Venetian glass blower to climate change, and what does a soul weigh – Anatomy lesson. Plenty to think and smile about!

Deborah Harvey's debut is Communion and receives a testimonial from Hugo Williams. Deborah is the winner of the 2010 Wells International Poetry Competition and the 2011 Dor Kemmyn Poetry Competition and the book is an accomplished and thought-provoking exploration of the bonds that link us to each other and our ancestors and landscape.  Inspired by folklore and mythology, and by the hills, shores and stories of her native West Country, and with a cast of characters ranging from Persephone and Samuel Coleridge to a distressed stranger on a Bristol bus.

More on the novels - from Frances Galleymore and Sue Johnson - next time.

Other IDP activities this month have seen the completion of the latest Dawntreader, which will be despatched next week and of course the preparation of Reach Poetry ready for the month's end. We have also appointed a bookkeeper/accountant and Copy Editor to keep things swimming along nicely.

Dawn has promised to take me out for Sunday lunch on behalf of the kids (Father's Day) so looking forward to that. If she keeps calling me 'Dad' through the meal like she's threatening to though, she's in trouble! My fountain pen haul is now up to seven, though some are for repair. Still haven't got my Conway Stewart though. MMmmmm...birthday on the 25th ..... wonder if the hints I've dropped like lead balloons have been heeded. Knowing Dawn, likely to be heeded and ignored - and quite rightly so!

Right, coffee finished, Kit-Kat chomped, 3 hours work with Fleet Foxes in the background before the early clink of Merlot. Cheers, m'dears.

Betjeman's England and other stories

A member of our united family is moving to Pontefract soon and as part of a moving in pressy we're sending a copy of JB's The Licorice Fields Of Pontefract and asked an author to sign and dedicate a book of walks around the region. I'm reuniting with Betjeman after a few years, triggered by the visit to his museum and trip to his grave and old house when down in N Cornwall. I know ebooks have their place and Kindle is really popular, but picking up my old books showed me again just what we are losing. The browning pages, smell and feel of these old friends adds something a piece of plastic never can. And when lifting one collection to read, an old foxed newspaper cutting of his Times Obituary fell out. How would you tuck that into a kindle? JB was so wonderfully eccentric and quintessentially English. It was a beautiful journey with him. I love good enticing titles, and his books, Continual Dew, Old Lights For New Chancels, A Few Late Chrysanthemums et al do it for me.

In contrast, I have also been working on a novella we are shortly to publish by photographer and jazz singer Paula Rae Gibson. A fascinating stream of consciousness about coping with her husband's death and moving on. There was one piece that grabbed me about an exhibition she went to, ostensibly to escape from the rain. On a wall two videos were playing, one showing a woman giving birth, another a woman dying, synchronised so they happened at the same time. Whether this was real or not (must ask) it makes an impact, no mistake.

We've had two sad deaths recently, dear Kate Edwards and Anne Lewis-Smith, both great poets and by happy or unhappy coincidence, we published the last collections of each. Both were so happy with their books, Kate sent a card to us and Anne sent an amazing letter, including snippets fabulous gold purse out of sheep's ear, I go to bed with a smile on my face (and an ability to write nonsense!) This has taken on a poignancy today, with the news of her death. Fortunately she lives on through her words.

And an update on my pens. Remember dawn was fearing it would become a habit and I would soon collect more. Well, to that early Parker 45 and Osmiroid, you can add a Swan Mabie Todd, Parker 61, and an unknown maker from 1930's with beatiful 'cracked ice' design. Still not got hold of an old Conway Stewart though, so my school-day revisit is currently incomplete. Family visit this weekend, so work suspended and social life starting now. A long, but rewarding week. 

Ink Flow

I've started using fountain pens again. I can't and don't write a lot as there are so few places I can't reach by email now and I have joint problems in my hand that makes typing far more sensible. However, despite the risk of the pen flicking unceremoniously from my grip, fountains pens are the way forward (or should that be backward) for me. It still enhances the writing pleasure and I'm learning to wait until ink dries again.

I'm not keen on new pens with my memories buried deep in the past. I currently own two, a Parker 45 and an Osmiroid medium from the 1960's. Osmiroid was my first introduction to fountain pens back in the dark ages of my junior school. Miss Body (yes, really) held a writing contest and I won the boys, Penelope Desmier the girls. Strange that, as Penny and I had a bit of a pre-puberty crush which was known to all in that small school. It consisted mainly of passed notes (many intercepted) walks home from school together, even carrying her satchel, and sneak young kisses usually followed by giggles from both sides.  And Miss Body was friends with both of our mums. Mmmm....

My Osmiroid had an oblique nib and I used it to try all manner of think/thin letter formation. My short verses on what we did during summer holidays were like medieval scrolls and manuscripts and just as illegible, which was a tad ironic considering how I got the thing in the first place.

Keeping eyes open, I've now come across the cheaper Platignum pens, much fancied by parents in view of replacement necessity when used as darts, and the venerable Conway Stewart. My Conway Stewart was that multi-coloured marble effect that readers of a certain age may recall. It's my quest to find one in good order and add to my collection of two. Dawn is dreading it as she fears the introduction of a separate table just to house a pen collection, blotting pad, ornate ink-wells and pen trays. It's what I sometimes do when I get into a thing.

Did I ever mention the time when someone bought me a cocktail shaker?...........

Because of Border Collies

Soul Feathers is doing well. It's for a great cause and gave me the opportunity to have free reign on who I contacted, who I selected and where I could go. From earlier days I knew how to contact Bob Dylan and all, believe me, it's NOT from the contacts you pay for on Google searches. Cancer was close to me on a very personal level, but I confess I enjoyed choosing copyright free poets who I love, who had been part of my growing up. Poetry is not A-level. It is something that talks to you, sings to you, says O yes, I want to join  this. In my role as editor I see poetry that is  below a certain standard, but these people are spending time in their lives to write it, and, with my criticism, improve the next submission etc until they have one worthy of publication. Without exception they are over the moon. It's not good by certain standards, but it's good enough to encourage and develop. I've been doing this for 30 years now, because I believe in poetry. I've had seven kinds of shit from people who I reject, aggressive letters from some, but with a thick skin you carry on. 'My friends have told me my poems are great and should be published, but you dare to criticise'. Err, yes, I do, constructively, but I could just as easily reject without comment. I publish now to make a profit. Not from Celeb named crap but from unknowns and those known within poetry who I genuinely believe should be known to a wider audience. Some bomb. Most don't. That's the nature of my business and my livelihood. Dawn and me decide who we should publish, and latterly it is Dawn who chooses poetry, me fiction. But we are proudly Indie, not restricted or supported by Arts grants - and never will be. WE decide, that's important to us. I hold on totally to Reach Poetry, Dawn is the mainstay of The Dawntreader and Sarasvati. My mag has stayed constant for years, Dawn's have seen massive strides, with Sarasvati winning awards and superb commendations. Poetry is alive and well. Wew have the freedom to publish what appeals to us and come up with ideas we believe in. Now, Because of Border Collies. I'm a Cornishman who grew up in the Midlands. In a pretty hard life, my saving grace as a child was my bordcer collie Dylan. I travelled some of the world, hippy-style, and when I came home realised how much I missed my dog. In my moneyed years in Celebrity management I eventually bought a non-working farm with 10 acres. I ended up with 7 border collies, 4 cats, 2 rescue donkeys, chickens, geese, ducks, goats, and a pot-bellied pig gifted from our neighbours Twycross Zoo because it had outgrown the the Children's Quarter. On our land we banned the Leicestershire Hunt (which got me banned from our village pub, in exchange for an optic of whisky) but learned again the absolute beauty of Border Collies. Fantastic fun loving companions on walks, protectors of the pram with Darren and Hannah, and introducing my tiddlers to the beauty of dogs. I just love them. Because of my poor business decisions, this home was repossessed. My marriage didn't survive it, but my collies did. I moved back to Cornwall, and, when time took its toll, I had a youngster, Skip, who was my life until, aged just four, he died from epilepsy, the result of excessive breeding. This was the time I took over the costs and invested in Reach Poetry. The originator, Shelagh Nugent, eventually told me I was too good an owner to leave unknown dogs  suffering, and I agreed. Cornwall word spread, and people arrived with Soxx.. Now, people who know me, know Soxx. They might not, however, know his story. Soxx was born in Helston, very quickly moved to owners in Camborne. His life was chained to a shed. The kids thought it fun to put his meal just out of reach of his chain. Neighbours complained to the RSPCA. When they got there, the meal was within reach. They did a moonlight. 3 months later, the neighbours were sure they'd heard noises in the shed. The RSPCA broke in to find Soxx huddled in a corner. Food was scatterd on the floor, like a chicken, and 3 buckets of water were available. The officer told me that one was half drunk, but had dust on the top, showing that Soxx had decided not to carry on with this life. He was taken to Rosemullion vets, to be put down. The vet hesitated, saying there was nothing wrong with him other than neglect and cruelty. Someone at the vets said she'd take him home. That someone brought him to me. So started my love affair with this wonderful dog, I sorted him through shit times, and he did the same for me. My company is now publishing a book, poems, stories, anecdotes, whatever, to raise funds for the wonderful Border Collie Rescue. It will be published for Xmas. Please help if you can. Spread the word, send something for submission, send me an email to say you'd like a copy. You don't have to have owned a border collie, just be aware of the wonder of the breed. Write about Soxx. Hundreds of you know him. IDP is giving its time again (SF took so much out of me I said I'd never do it again!) so let's make it happen. If there are any celebrity collie owners believe me I'll find them, but the power is with those who just love and hac=ve a talent to share. I'm just askihng you to share it with me. IDP has been recognised as an important force in Indie publishing, which is great, but I just can't tear my heart from causes I believe in. Please show me I'm not wrong.

Because of Border Collies – Ronnie Goodyer

Because of border collies

I have had friends in the darkest hours

companions who became outdoor shadows

and learned the meaning of unconditional love

Because of border collies

I have been taught how to approach the day

how to see places and objects with refreshingly  new eyes

and to appreciate the possibilities of the mundane

Because of border collies

I have been denied access to pubs

had to apologise to picnickers for missing sandwiches

and to Sunday walkers for water-sprayed clothes

Because of border collies

I have possessed hard-working vacuum cleaners

had black hair hiding in carpets and clothes

and mini-collie clumps under sofas and beds

Because of border collies

I have had the pain of ending life

watch ageing take over willing but incapable bodies

and cried so long and so hard in emptiness

Because of border collies

I have had a life that is full and beautiful

that has made me a person who knows how to love

and to be loved in an uncomplicated world

So here I am, just recovering from an illness which really laid me low. My diabetes went awry for no apparent reason then norvovirus struck following hospital visits. Not recommended. A fortnight or so later and am on the mend, but still no appetite and haven't touched wine for far too long. Enough whingeing you cry, and quite rightly so. The year to date has been fruitful for Indigo Dreams, with many book releases including, of course, the wonderful Soul Feathers for Macmillan Cancer Support. This project took many months and a lot of evenings, as it had to be produced alongside books we hopefully make a profit from. Our SF profit was knocked off the retail price to make it keen, and it seems to have worked. With the discount structure in the book trade, the title is reduced by retail margin, distributor margin and production costs, profit going to the charity. It has been a roller-coaster of a ride, dealing with so many poets and checking every poem in the book. I enjoyed adding some of my own quirky choices like Madison Cawein, Tolstoy, Osip Mandelstam, and the remarkable Harry 'Breaker' Morant, executed by the British. Worth your while looking his story up on Google, quite a life. Added two of Bob Dylan's favourites too, Verlaine and Rimbaud.  Interesting too to be in touch with management of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell (she gave approval but too late, I would have published 'Amelia') and I gather they were approached to give consent. The lovely Sharon Olds definitely was and responded within a day. The hassle of distribution took a bit of the shine off though, with Central appearing to take quite a long time to get them to Watewrstone's, and then Waterstone's much criticised hub taking a while to get them to their stores. I got all the books to the distributors on the 25th January! Hard to swallow when you've spent so much time, energy and money on the project. We did of course pay for over a 1000 books up front! Great collections from Roger Elkin, Lynn Woollacott, ex-Dr Hook singer Dennis Locorriere (try to catch his UK tour), Stephen Beattie and Joan Sheridan Smith. We were devastated to hear of the sudden death of Kate Edwards. We'd just completed her book The Poetry Morning and are so glad she got to see it - and love it - before she died. Sadly, she never got to see her lovely poem in SF, I know she was very proud of it. Fiction is very much a part of 2011/12, with novels from Roselle Angwin, James Lawless, Deborah Harvey, Frances Galleymore and Sorrel Pitts in the pipeline. Charile Hill's novel, The Space Between Things continues to sell well and received good reviews in the nationals.

And there has been restructuring at Indigo Dreams. We have formed a company limited by guarantee, with all (or any) profits retained in the company to go towards publishing more titles. Indigo Dreams Publishing Ltd is now the only organisation we have. Indigo Dreams Press is no more. We have arranged for chqs to be paid to the initials 'IDP' - that took weeks to resolve - so not too many 'Press' chqs to return.

So, been quite a hectic year and with a full list, it is going to stay that way. We're taking a break in a remote cottage in N Cornwall, near Crackington Haven, in March and then beloved Dartmoor for a few weeks in September. Really feel as if I need it, but I reckon that's the illness, not the work. You can't get tired from doing what you love.

The Holly and the Feathers

Well, my trips to see my kids was rudely interrupted by the weather, so I've postponed their Christmas until January. Their presents are there though, so they'll be cool with that! We are fortunate to have a lovely walk through fields just opposite where we live, so no car required to exercise the play-machine that is Soxx. I've had Border Collies all of my life and know their many ways, but am yet to really tire one out. Soxx tends to have snow madness. When all around is quiet he runs in circles, digs into the snow to create his own snow shower and then comes back to us with tongue decidedly to one side to ask 'OK, that's done, what's next?' No squirrels for him to chase now, so the only targets are rooks on the hoar-frost wires. They don't move, just look down in disdain.

The weather also created the opportunity to put in more work days than intended prior to Christmas, I was able to complete Reach Poetry for January and get that to the printers. It'll be back with us around 6th January, so not too much of a delay getting it out to our supporters. RP is about the only thing in Indigo Dreams that I handle single-handedly, so I take all the praise and flames. We have a landmark 150th issue coming up in March, not bad for a monthly print magazine. We have an incredibly loyal following and a surprising number of followers who never send poetry or letters, but are just content to read for their own pleasure. We're pleased with that.

We have also managed to reach proofing stage with our anthology SOUL FEATHERS, for Macmillan Cancer Support. It settled out at 280 pages and took some putting together, I can tell you! The project has received wonderful support from the general public and poets of all status. It is, in my honest opinion, one of the finest poetry anthologies I have ever read, and remarkable value at £11.00. We'd like to thank each and every one who supported us with their poetry and all of those who will undoubtedly purchase a copy to support the cause.

The next stage will be enabling the website, both ours and Macmillan's, to accept pre-orders, notifying final details to the many retail sources, publicity, and publicity flyers/posters to those who wish to receive them and distribute where they live.

So that's me for this year. The year that saw Indigo Dreams increase its publications threefold and successfully introduce fiction to its titles. More of the same next year and, meanwhile, time to relax among the holly and ivy strewn house, indulge our favoured red wine and get into a few books we can actually read without editing. Until Soxx decides it's playtime again of course.......See you in 2011

Hope is the thing with feathers....

A really busy time of year for us with 2 magazines and several books to be published in time for Christmas. 4 people typesetting and another 2 of us involved in cover design and illustration formatting. One of those I'm working on at the moment is a book of poems and cartoons from Dennis Locorriere. Those of us with longish memories will recall the hits of Dr Hook, such as Sylvia's Mother, A Little Bit More, Sharing the Night Together and many others. Well Dennis was the lead singer and co-lyricist - the 'voice' of Dr Hook. We've been in touch for a while about releasing his work which has been accumulated over many years. We're progressing nicely with this and will be publishing his book, Whatever's Burning Now in February next year. This will also coincide with the release of the anthology for Macmillan Cancer Support - Soul Feathers. Without doubt this is occupying most of my personal time at the moment, with the enormous task of turning the submitted material into a book. Reducing submitted material by 75% or so is a long and not terribly pleasant experience, with so many left disappointed at the end of the process. By the very nature of the book there were so many heartfelt poems and this was the place to release them. However, the general theme of the anthology is hope, though many other themes are included too. We just did not feel that Soul Feathers was the place to include very sad personal experiences and that in the main the readers would prefer the vast majority of the poems to be more uplifting. The final product is a mix of work from the inexperienced to the highly successful. Cancer doesn't care who it affects, so the content should be a broad sweep. I must say that I have found my previous experience with celebrity management and publishing really useful on this one. We have approval from such wonderful people and their management have generally been nothing but co-operative. Two that immediately spring to mind were Maya Angelou and Leonard Cohen, who were a pleasure to deal with. There is a page on our website dedicated to this book and it's where all further news items will be posted. I believe there will be a few twists and turns still to come, a few pleasant surprises. You can register with Annie, my co-editor, your interest in the anthology from the web page. http://www.indigodreams.co.uk/ will take you there. And please don't forget the wonderful Winter anthology Visible Breath is now out and available for purchase. Early comments have been really favourable, so we're chuffed with that.