A REAL PAGE-TURNER: AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR ROBERT FEAR

This year saw the launch of the UK’s latest literary prize – the Page Turner Awards. Created with the goal of “changing writing careers”, the eBook Award sought out the very best work by national and international self-published authors, and the Writing Award searched for unpublished writers actively looking for a literary agent or publisher. Entrants from both awards were picked over by a prestigious judging panel comprised of bestselling authors and publishing industry veterans.

Among the winners in this year’s inaugural Awards is Eastbourne-based travel writer Robert Fear, who received a special commendation from the judging panel for his captivating memoir, Summer of ‘77: Beaches, bars and boogie nights in Ibiza.

We spoke to Robert, who was the top scoring UK author in the eBook Non-Fiction Award category, about his achievement and his writing.

Check out the full interview on Reader's Digest (Online) by clicking here.

Our final contribution in the 2020 Authors Showcase is from Vernon Lacey, well known-author of South to Barcelona: A New Life in Spain, which is a highly recommended memoir.

​You can read and enjoy Vernon's story Espressivo by clicking here.

Thank you very much to everyone who has contributed to this year's showcase. If you missed any of the 55 inspirational true stories, you can catch up with them here.

Vernon Lacey

Vernon grew up in Cheshire, England and studied Applied Linguistics and Literature at Liverpool University. He qualified as a teacher and worked in schools in Liverpool and London before setting off for Barcelona to learn Spanish and teach internationally. He now lives in Munich where he has taught English and Philosophy. He is currently taking paternity leave and studying classical guitar with the German virtuoso Johannes Kreusch, fulfilling a long-standing musical dream. He is married to a German native and they have three children, two girls and a boy. 
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Our second last-minute contribution in this year's Authors Showcase is a very inspirational piece from another welcome newcomer to the blog, Carolyn Muir Helfenstein.

This is her introduction to the story:

This story takes me back to farm days in the ‘70s every time I read it. Our children did not sense how tough life was because our little family was filled with love. I’ve written several stories already about our life on that farm and one day of course I suppose I will turn it into a small book but for now, this is one that I have told our grandchildren as a bedtime story many times. Recently I found the picture of Bruce with a ladder! 

You can read Carolyn's story Family Love by clicking here.

AUTHOR’S BIO

NAME:
Carolyn (Muir) Helfenstein
St. John’s, Newfoundland 1937 Scottish Descent
 
MARRIED:
61 years. Children: Twins: one son, one daughter; and - one more son
and 7 grandchildren.
 
EDUCATION:
1955: Toronto Teachers’ College: highest academic standing-600 students.
1980: On-line lessons: Lawrence Hill (later author of Book of Negroes).
An eight-week French immersion program through Western Ontario University held in Quebec. Total immersion in French  for 8 weeks.
2010-13: University of Waterloo. I graduated with a “Bachelor of Independent Studies.”
 
CAREERS:
1955-59;
Teaching in a one room rural school, 5 grades: I was  17 the first year.
Also four years teaching in larger schools, including teaching one year helping “forgotten” children (a story in itself).
Most recently in my seventies I turned to serious writing.
 1986-1998:
After dairy farming, we had turned to a new career, the opportunity to buy the local community newspaper: I had been their freelance writer.
I received several top awards Ontario-wide over the 10 years owning the paper.
Like many small Canadian newspapers, we were forced to close our paper due to lack of advertising. Our town lost most of its stores.
 
TWO BOOKS PUBLISHED:
 
WHY NOT?
It was published in 2018. Even today readers enjoy reading Why Not? Some call it a love story.
 
ROCK SOLID
This saga came out my trying to find my Newfoundland identity that I lost when we left Newfoundland—I was 6-7 at the time and my dad died age 46 two years later. We were living so far away from Newfoundland near Toronto. I needed to find out what was a Newfoundlander? And how do I regain a sense of being a Newfoundlander? I was a lonely child, I think.

Writing Rock Solid in my seventies and researching through U. of Waterloo I received a degree, my saga continued to grow in degrees and has now been published. I am exploring having it published in England and as well if possible as a TV series. With writing Newfoundland characters into my saga, along with actual historical events, Rock Solid becomes a unique book, a one of a kind. 

You can find out more on Carolyn's website, hosted by her writing club in Canada:
https://spiritofthehills.org/project/carolyn-muir-helfenstein/
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At 11:00 pm UK time last night, I thought that I had received all the contributions for the 2020 Authors Showcase. However, I was to be pleasantly surprised. Within the next hour, and before the midnight closing deadline, I received another three entries.  These will all be featured on the blog today.

​The first inspirational story is from ​Liliana Amador-Marty and is entitled In Caring for my Ficus. You can read it by following the link here.

Liliana Amador-Marty is a Colombian-American author. She has been writing since the age of ten honing her writing skills at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Liliana continued post-graduate work in Memoir Writing at The New School in New York City. Currently living in London, United Kingdom, Liliana writes personal narratives, travel stories and poetry, meeting weekly with an international collective of women writers, Primrose Pens where she develops her narratives. She is currently working on a Memoir. Her travel story, Blood Memory was featured in Fred's Blog, 2019 Authors Showcase, fd81.net and was selected for an anthology, 40 Memorable Life Experiences in 2020 Edited by Robert Fear. Liliana's personal narrative, Gypsy Curse is published in ​thecreativessoulcollection.com. Her latest story, Return Trip about her visit to Havana, Cuba will be featured in a new Blog set to launch at the end of October 2020.
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