Wednesday 22 November 2017

Introducing JK Samuel - participant of the Llandeilo Christmas Book Fair

J.K. Samuel, a long term resident of Llandeilo, will be part of this year's Christmas Book Fair on Dec 9th with her charming books. Here is an interview with her:


A little about me

I was born in London, England, but since then I’ve moved from place to place more times than I can count, including 17 years living in Israel! Having arrived in South Wales at the end of 2006, and with this being my second Welsh move, I now consider myself very lucky indeed to live in Llandeilo, in this totally stunning part of the Carmarthenshire countryside.

As a child I loved reading stories, and soon began some creative writing of my own. I was talent-spotted by a publisher when I was ten, and at the age of sixteen I won second County prize for a story I wrote, called ‘Bees in the Night’. It was about a mad scientist who lived in a hollowed out mountain where he was breeding a strain of killer bees!

I didn’t do anything more with writing for many years, and then in 1992 I published my first book (a humorous story about three princes) with Albatros Publishing. This was an Australian company that unfortunately went out of business some years later, meaning that this book is no longer available.

The concept behind the Bumble & Grumpkin books 

I wrote the first of these (Bumble, Grumpkin & The Legless Wellie) after buying a couple of glove puppets – a badger, and a rat – in 2006. At first I thought I was going to write short stories about the pair, and then use the puppets to narrate the stories to live audiences. But when I couldn’t get the inspiration for any more short stories, I realised I needed to pray for help! And so it was that one day while visiting the Lliw Reservoir, a light bulb came on in my head. As I was standing by the waterside, in a single instant I was suddenly aware of the almost touchable reality of an alternate present time – invisible to me, yet happening right here, right now, in the very place where I stood…

I had discovered Inter Time!

Then Grumpkin the Super-Rat and Bumble the miniature badger became firm friends, and in due course the pair finally became the first two individuals ever to cross over from Common Time (our own form of present time) into Inter Time. And what happened next? Well, suffice to stay that this adventure turned into quite a saga, at the heart of which story lies the search for a mysterious artefact with supernatural powers. The story proper begins in book two of this series, called Bumble, Grumpkin and the Half-eth of May, which I hope to publish later in 2018.

The Grump-a-log book series

As you may already be aware, Lord Grumpkin of Grumblemore is a Super-Rat whose strengths and abilities far exceed those of mere human beings – or so he would like us to think! Riding high on the bubble of his own inflated pride, time and again he collides head on with the annoying realities of life. And what is his response to this? A never-ending torrent of complaints, of course! Indeed, Grumpkin the Rat has so much to complain about on so many different subjects, that in order to please his countless international fans, in 2016 he started a blog called: www.grump-a-log.net. Note that at this URL you can also listen to audio recordings of Grumpkin’s blog posts, read by myself!

Now these same ‘grumps’ are being compiled into books which contain all the colour illustrations that were used for the original website material. This in turn has led to the launch of the Grump-a-log book series, of which When in doubt, ask a MONKEY is the first. Please note that these books are intended for the enjoyment of adults as well as younger readers.

My favourite character

It’s hard to say which of all the characters in these books is my favourite, as each one has distinct qualities that appeal to me differently according to my mood. But of course I do have a particular soft spot for the roguishly ratty Master Grump himself: namely, Lord Grumpkin of Grumblemore! And in answer to your question – no, I am definitely NOT like Grumpkin! In fact, I don’t actually think I’m like any of the characters, which really shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. After all, I do not create these personalities, I simply travel in my mind to the other world in which they have their own independent existence. There is where I meet them and observe their various activities, after which it is my job to report all that I see and hear back to you.

Were the plots and subplots completely planned from the start?

Of course not! Whilst I naturally had a very general idea of the direction the story was taking, I can’t imagine how boring it would have been to know the whole plot in advance, and then be obliged to write it all up like homework! No, I like to sit down with my iPad, not having a clue what’s going to happen next, and then watch the new scene unfold in my mind’s eye just like the next episode in a TV drama.

My life outside of writing

To relax I take country walks with my dog Amy, or visit places like the Botanic Gardens and Aberglasney. I like watching movies, and as I have opportunity, I also enjoy listening to live music. I don’t have a favourite genre of music, but I find that quite a lot of classical music seems to have the ability to transport me to a higher place and really lift my spirits – which in turn, of course, is very good for my own creativity.

Websites and Social Media

                         1/

The BUMBLE & GRUMPKIN Book Series:
Facebook: @leglesswellie
Sold by Amazon:
Bumble, Grumpkin and The Legless Wellie is out now.
Bumble, Grumpkin and the Half-eth of May is intended for release in 2018.

                        2/

The GRUMP-A-LOG Blogs:

The GRUMP-A-LOG Book Series:
Sold by Amazon:
When in doubt, ask a MONKEY! [Grump-a-log Book 1] is due out in December 2017.


All books published by:
Macintosh HD:Users:johanna:Desktop:Grump-a-log 1&2 Pics:Better Kingventor Logo copy.jpg


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