Northern Lights…poems and stories from the North of England

I am one of nine authors for this anthology. I also did the drawings and published the book through Magpies Nest Publishing. The list of contents and first pages can be seen on the Magpies Nest Publishing site. The list of authors are as follows:

Gladys Hobson is a designer, turned teacher, now novelist — in her her own name, and as Angela Ashley and Richard L Gray
http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk

Bob Taylor is a retired Yorkshire miner with a passion for poetry, literature ... and karaoke!
For a sample of his book The Primrose Path and other poems, visit
http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk

Ann Dunning is a retired nurse who delights in creating verse to express her life's experiences.

Les Floyd, a freethinker living in Carlisle, works as a freelance journalist. You can view his work and ideas at
http://www.floydpublishing.com

Geoff Nelder works as a writer and editor. Links to his novels and story samples inhabit
http://www.geoffnelder.com

John Sales is an ex-army Yorkshireman who, when not away on business, enjoys writing fiction accompanied by a glass and a good cigar. Join him at http://johnssales.tripod.com

John A. Silkstone, retired from the army after 25 years, took up writing and runs a creative writing group.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/longfordwriters edits their magazine.
For information on his book of military anecdotes, Email: openforme@hotmail.co.uk

Roy Scott, a business coach and mentor, relaxes by expressing his feelings and imagination through verse and short stories.

Taylor West has enjoyed writing since childhood, and for a number of years was valued as a columnist (Diane West) on the Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express.

When Phones Were Immobile and Lived in Red Boxes (RED BOXES)

When Phones Were Immobile and Lived in Red Boxes (RED BOXES) An illustrated book of childhood memories 1939-1953
When I was young, having few toys or books, I lived largely in a world of my own imagination. I would turn cornflowers into fairies by giving them matchstick arms and legs. I would decorate a cow-pat with sticks and wild flowers and think of it as the birthday cake I never had. (It was not eaten!). We had concerts in an attic - winding up the old gramophone and dancing to ballet music. I rarely went more than a few miles from home. Holidays were for the well-off. We were terribly ignorant and naive but we were free to be children. This book is a peek into a different world - a world of innocent childhood and where dreams can sometimes come true.
Chapter one Schooldays: sewage, sex, sport and school dinners
Chapter two No NHS!
Chapter three Of God and bananas
Chapter four Of war and play
Chapter five Innocent youth or just plain daft!
Chapter six Family affairs
Chapter seven I want to be a designer
Chapter eight Moving on to where I started!
Chapter nine Boys!
Chapter ten You shall go to the ball!
Conclusion The beginning of the new

This little book is a trip down memory lane. Just dip into its pages. If you think it quite unbelievable what we thought and did in those days, believe me, we would have laughed at the very idea of men on the moon and a handy in your pocket! As for sex, that was as hush-hush as state secrets. But, delve into these pages and all will be revealed!

This book is presently out of print. A new edition is expected later this year. The first edition sold one to ten copies at a time. Copies were passed around families. Read the first two chapters and reviews
at Magpies Nest Publishing.

Still Waters Run Deep, Stories Of Hidden Depths

All the stories have Cumbrian settings, although some are imaginary based on actual places and events. Mystery and imagination: humour and horror, love and hate, joy and sorrow, poignancy and lust. Passions run deep wherever you live, Characters may be recognised as known persons even though they are plucked from the author’s imagination, which has been nurtured by a lifetime of observation of human characteristics — especially those little foibles seldom admitted to.
Each tale has an interesting introduction to the setting, or what it was that inspired the story.

Review by Geoff Nelder
(Award Winning author of numerous works — latest novel, Exit, Pursued by a Bee)
‘Don’t be fooled by the writings of Gladys Hobson. She appears like a harmless mature woman and so you settle one afternoon to relax into her stories. Then in goes the hot poker and you find the goings on in Ulverston, ignited passion, and Cumbrian emotions. The wicked are saved by pseudonyms, the innocent by their ignorance. This collection is a jigsaw of zeal and a genuine feel for landscape.’

The book (as all my books) can be ordered from Waterstones or any good bookshop. Or straight from Magpies Nest Publishing. No postage UK but a part postage charge elsewhere to cover extra cost.

My Activities on the Web!

I am listing here the various sites to do with my books.

Visit my Wrinkly Writers at:: http://gladyshobson.wordpress.co.uk
My site at My Space: http://www.myspace.com/gladyswrites
My own publishing site at: http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk
My publisher Stonehedge Pub.: http://www.stonehedgepublishing.com
My publisher: Mythica Publishing: http://www.mythicapublishing.com
My publisher AGPress: http://www.AGPress.8m.net
For questions about post-war Britain — http://askgranhobson.blogspot.com

I belong to various group and web sites on ning. Facebook, Goodreads and more. But some are not yet developed.
Since there is a lot of interest in the years when I was a girl (I was born in 1932) I have started a blog called Ask Gran Hobson,
http://askgranhobson.blogspot.com

Blazing Embers… keeping love alive and kicking

Blazing Embers (AGPress version by Gladys Hobson. Magpies Nest Publishing version in the pen name Angela Ashley)
This book could well have a banner of "Sex and the Over Sixties," or "A granny in search of an orgasm," or maybe "How to keep love alive and kicking."

About the story:
“You see, Alice, everyone’s at it these days. Young folk do it openly but if we oldies did that in public they’d take us off and put us in care!”

After watching late night television, Alice realises what has always been missing from her love life. Her hubby, Roger, has benefited from forty-five years of satisfaction, time for her to experience an orgasmic encounter. First attempts to change things meet with failure. Roger’s friend, debonair Tony Bradshaw, steps into Alice’s life and is determined to alleviate her problem.
Shocked, dismayed and humiliated by Alice’s expectations of a loftier sex life, Roger turns to Tony for advice. But when Roger puts his new knowledge into practice, he does so in his usual ham-fisted way of doing things — he gets a kick out of it but Alice is left with the pain! Will Tony be allowed to succeed where Roger has failed?


Blazing Embers has splendid reviews but I rather like what Aretha Renia (Goodreads) said to me more casually (when, after reading the review she did of my book, I asked her what she enjoyed most in the story). She wrote this:
"Hi! I just loved Alice's encounters with Tony, but I would have to say that the part where she went shopping for "knickers" was my favorite. I also got so frustrated with Roger as she was trying so hard to seduce him. LOL From time to time, I forgot that I was reading a book and started to talk to the characters. LOL. It really is a great book. I also liked the parts describing when she first met Roger. There is so much realism in your writing. I could picture everything as if I were watching it or even a part of it"

Also one by Diane West:
Blazing Embers is a must for all ages. My copy has been passed around and read so many times, by various age groups, that I’ve lost count. That’s the best compliment for any book. My copy looks very tired and worn now, but that means it’s given a lot of pleasure and made a lot of people smile. What better purpose for a good book!

And another by Andrew O'Hara:
Wow. I don't say that often. Ms. Ashley's writing is quite good indeed. There's such a wistful, genuine quality to her style that it's hard not to be drawn in right away. Unpretentious — so nice to see that in writing once in a great while. Very unique, and very charming.

More about Blazing Embers, first chapters, more reviews etc and ordering from the UK publisher can be found at http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk
To buy the USA version published by www.AGPress.8m.net go to their web site or Amazon.com

When Angels Lie

A story of Love, hate, trust, lust and betrayal, When Angels Lie was first published by my Magpies Nest Publishing in the name of Richard L Gray. It has since been published by AG Press.8m.net and also as an Ebook by Mythica Publishing. The storyliine is far from common and the sort to be picked up by only the bravest of publishers. (So I suspect that cuts out major names in the business!) I am putting here a review done by someone I have the greatest respect for — Andrew F O'Hara, editor, The Jimston Journal. Author, The Swan, Tales of the Sacramento Valley.

When Angels Lie: An Award Winner

Gladys Hobson has written an award winner with ‘When Angels Lie.’ Daring to take on a subject guaranteed to make some readers squirm, Hobson boldly explores the life of handsome Anglican priest Paul Stringer as he takes on an impoverished parish and pursues a loving affair—with a neighboring male priest. The author follows him as he struggles painfully with a commitment to his church and his desperate need for acceptance and companionship.

Although the two priests determine to keep their personal affair confidential, they learn that suspicions are quick to arise in this small community. Confused by the rebuffs of the parish’s most eligible bachelor, local women begin to grow increasingly suspicious of his often repeated vow of bachelorhood. Worse, the enmity of the church warden, the jealousy of a woman spurned and the sexual escapades of two teenage lovers in the chapel are twisted into a scandal that threatens to expose not only the relationship of the priests but destroy their many accomplishments in the church.

Smoothly, expertly written, the author captures the essence and conflict of human love and religion as they struggle to coexist in a judgmental world. Hobson reveals a church hierarchy attempting to compromise with a nervous reality, and walks the reader ever so beautifully through the torment of a young man deeply devoted to his vows and wanting fervently to serve his parish--with the support of a loving partner. As the story unfolds, however, his options grow more desperate and his torment ever more intense.

Hobson is a writer of the first class, able to build a story quickly and maintain excitement throughout the book. Her characters are full and multidimensional—at times, the reader is torn by compassion and empathy for one and then the other. Such is the making of a fine novel and a book well worth reading. It is unfortunate that books such as these, so worthy of recognition, go unheralded by the literary establishment. I, for one, give it “tens” across the board. Andrew F O'Hara

Samples, reviews and details can be read by visiting http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk
The AGPress book can be bought on Amazon.com
The Mythica Ebook can be bought at Mobipocket

Awakening Love

DESIRE (Awakening Love) has all the ingredients for a satisfying love story: lust, aggressive ambition, intrigue; contrasting with tender romantic love.
Authentically set in the Midlands of post-war Britain, Awakening Love (USA print book - DESIRE) is the tale of young June Armstrong's awakening to her sexuality in the hands of her gentle, much older lover - war hero, Arthur Rogers. A small gold locket secretly containing the diamond for an engagement ring is Arthur's pledge of the sincerity of his love. But Arthur's handsome younger brother, Charles, is also attracted to this innocent teenager, and June finds him to be a most engaging companion when Arthur is abroad. Both men are from a socially superior background and their mother is determined not to have this 'sewing girl' for a daughter-in-law. But the biggest obstacle on the path to married bliss is June's burning ambition to be a top designer. Innocent enough of itself, but the man assisting her on that ladder of success is her young entrepreneur boss, Robert Watson, known at the factory for his rugged good looks and sexual prowess. Rob, adroit at dirty tricks, is determined not to lose his talented designer to the ties of marriage. He forcefully makes his play to own her body and soul.
Sub plots, with many twists and turns, add flesh to the well-formed bones of this love story.

http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk for first two chapters and ordering printed version.
Ebook see http://www.mobipocket.com/EN/eBooks/eBookDetails.asp?BookID=108672
or http://www.powells.com/biblio/91-9781602760363-0
Or http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Love-ebook/dp/B001F4OU8S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1239809988&sr=1-3
Or most ebook sellers

The USA print version published by AG Press is now available from

Amazon.com

or the Ag Press Book Store