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:
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