Three debut novels inspired by Bridport and West Dorset are being launched this month with a signing at Waterstones on Saturday.
The novels by musicians Mitch Norman and Sean Geraghty and former Bridport News editor Margery Hookings had all been languishing in drawers before being published by the newly-formed Bridport Press.
Margery, who writes under the pen name, Maddie Grigg, said: “I published a novella, A Year in Lush Places, earlier this year which was based on my blog, The World from My Window. The book, which takes a humorous and affectionate look at life in a West Dorset village, has been doing really well. I knew that Mitch and Sean, who I’ve known for many years, had once written novels about Bridport and the surrounding area and had never done anything with them.
“I’d also written a novel over twenty years ago, a Tom Sharpe-style farce based on my days as a young newspaper reporter in Bridport, and I just thought, why not brush them up and get them all into print?
“People are so interested in anything to do with Bridport. I thought it was the right time to reveal a side of the area which might not be appreciated by those who’ve moved here recently.”
The three books could not be more different.
Mitch Norman’s Well, Fare Thee Well is a funny and poignant, bitter-sweet coming-of-age story, featuring scooters, Tamla Motown and girls; The Borassic Coast by S C Geraghty is a dark tale revealing the underbelly of The Jurassic Coast through linked characters and stories and A Town Like This is a farcical romp by Maddie Grigg, featuring a cavernous outfitters with hidden attics and a local newspaper reporter out to make a name for himself.
Mitch always fancied himself as being a bit of an author, and wanted to write about his youthful escapades living in a small town. An avid reader of John Steinbeck, Laurie Lee, Ray Bradbury and J D Salinger, among others, Well, Fare Thee Well is his first attempt, written over twenty years ago.
The manuscript, typed out on an old Smith-Corona typewriter, was left in a drawer in his garage and only saw the light of day when he was invited by Margery to retrieve it and get it published. The book has been likened to a West Country Cannery Row.
Sean, who fronts the band The Sidekicks, said: “I’m delighted to have completed this project, after a helpful nudge from my writing buddies. The local theme seems to have created a healthy diversity in approaches that will hopefully reach readers further afield.”
Said Margery: ‘I set up The Bridport Press as a sort of umbrella under which to publish the three titles. There has been a lot of interest in it and I’m now looking at working on some children’s fiction by local writers which has come my way.’
The three writers will be signing copies of their books this Saturday, 23 November, at Waterstones, Bridport, between 10am and noon.
An event to launch all three books is being held the following week at the Lyric Theatre, Bridport.
All the books can be ordered from local bookshops or via www.feedaread.com
