Book Fair Interview with Llandeilo resident writer
Nicola Beechsquirrel
I
create non-fiction books using material from my family history
archives. To written documents by various ancestors, I add historical
background relevant to the subjects contained in each particular
document, researched from sources such as libraries, the Internet, or
my own collection of books. To accompany the text, I use photographs,
postcards and drawings from albums belonging to the relevant
ancestor. My aim is to piece together the story of specific periods
of an ancestor's life, drawing together fragments of memorabilia that
would otherwise remain mere disjointed objects in a box.
Memoirs
of a Twentieth Century Homesteader is the first such book I have
created. Around Lawrence Nowell's own account of his life as a
homesteader farming the western Canadian prairies at the start of the
twentieth century, I have woven a tapestry of historical background
and remembered family anecdotes. This I have embellished with
photographs from his album and line drawings made by his niece, Ivy
Kent. Lawrence Nowell was my maternal grandfather.
This
book has been many years in the planning and making, so it is with a
great sense of achievement that I bring it to Llandeilo Book Fair. A
friend said to me, “ Enjoy the feeling of having completed your
Grandfather's memoirs, - it means his legacy lives on and is
preserved for the future.”
I have
enjoyed visiting some of the previous Book Fairs at Llandeilo, my
local town, and look forward to participating in the next one from
the other side of the table!
I have
lived in rural Wales for many years, since leaving London where I was
brought up. The rugged and beautiful countryside is much more to my
taste than city life. After my children grew up and left home, I
studied at University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter; and
gained a B. A. in archaeology and anthropology. The computer skills I
learned in the process have given me the confidence and ability to
create the books I have been longing to write for years. The next one
is still at the research stage, and concerns a journey to Kashmir
made by my grandmother, Ivy Hindley, and three colleagues from the
Wesleyan Methodist mission in south India where she worked from
1909-1915.
When
not writing, I enjoy reading a variety of authors, including Terry
Pratchett, Lindsey Davies, Carole Matthews and Laurie R. King; and
also various non-fiction subjects that catch my eye. I am also
enjoying the works of some local authors!
Memoirs
of a Twentieth Century Homesteader may be obtained via the
following links:
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