Saturday 13 March 2010: Norwich. How wonderful life can be ! Especially when as a a writer you agonise for forty odd years about whether a book is worth publishing - then get a letter like the one I received today ..... ' I loved your book,' wrote Auriel Mims from an address in Norfolk, 'which is almost a cruel thing to say when it takes you into such a world of human suffering - but it was funny too.'
The book in question is of course my newly published ' Hostage Handbook,' which is a transcript of the secret shorthand diaries I managed to keep hidden from my guards while a hostage in China in the late 1960s. I kept the originals in a deed box at my bank for forty odd years, wondering whether to publish them intermingled with Reflections on the experience from the present - but I repeatedly decided against publication since I felt it might seem unduly egotistical to publish a warts-and-all verbatim account of the experience, having written a fast book in six weeks on my release in 1969 called 'Hostage in Peking.'
So this lovely comment today vindicated those instincts at long last...and they augmented another similar comment received yesterday from one, Penny Miller, a lovely lady who came to the book's launch party at the Book Hive in London Street Norwich about six weeks ago. I ran into Penny outside a Norwich supermarket by chance yesterday and she very kindly made similar very positive comments about the book that warmed this writer's heart. She said she was greatly 'enjoying it' then felt immediately a bit remiss for saying such a thing about the story of two years in solitary confinement as a hostage. But I reassured Penny that was the best thing she could have said because I am sure every writer wishes to give a reader some sense of the joy of life, even with all its ups and downs. But most importantly Auriel Mims and Penny had sensed the deepest essence of the book which sets out to demonstrate how we must each find our own inner peace deep inside ourselves before we can expect to live in a peaceful world. And it was being forced to do this as a hostage which set me on the path of discovery which I am still following - which in a way, as I say in the book, was a great delayed-action privilege. Inside this morning's letter was a card with the address of a website on it http://www.wopg.org/ and on the reverse side it had printed: 'It is not the world that needs peace; it is people. When people in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace.'
I have't visited the site yet, but I am going to right now as soon as I finish this post. .. And why don't you the same as soon as you finishing reading it.
The name of Prem Rawat was mentioned in connection with the site and I am looking forward to reading him. Because what has come out of today's letter is precisely the reason why I wrote the book. So I send love and thanks to Penny and Auriel and will allow a small warm glow of joy to burn even brighter inside as a result of these experiences of the past two days. More details of the book can be seen on the publisher's website http://www.tagmanpress.co.uk/
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Saturday, 6 March 2010: The national publication date for The Hostage Handbook has just been set for Thursday 29 April and a London launch party is planned, around that date, possibly at one of the branches of the Daunts Bookshop chain, in Chelsea or Marylebone High Street. There will be readings from the book, a question and answer session and signings of the Hostage Handbook and copies of my novels Saigon, Peking, Tokyo Bay. A glass of wine and snacks will be on offer. To purchase advance copies of the book or request review copies, please email Kirsty Fielding at KFielding@cle.co.uk
Meantime my next public engagement is an after-dinner talk at the Sherigham Museum Trust on Wednesday 24 March. Its title is: "The World Will Only Know Peace When We Each Find Inner Peace Within Ourselves." The theme arises from the publication of my new book The Hostage Handbook which is a transcript with up to date commenatries of my secret shorthand diaries kept during two years as a hostage in solitary confinement in China. Being held alone cut off from the world in a hostile country for two years forced me to begin learning the importance of getting to understand how our individual inner life profoundly influences the world outside us.
Meantime my next public engagement is an after-dinner talk at the Sherigham Museum Trust on Wednesday 24 March. Its title is: "The World Will Only Know Peace When We Each Find Inner Peace Within Ourselves." The theme arises from the publication of my new book The Hostage Handbook which is a transcript with up to date commenatries of my secret shorthand diaries kept during two years as a hostage in solitary confinement in China. Being held alone cut off from the world in a hostile country for two years forced me to begin learning the importance of getting to understand how our individual inner life profoundly influences the world outside us.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Wednesday, 17 February, 2010: Next speaking date: I am delighted to say I have been invited to Sheringham on Wednesday 24 March this year to speak at the monthly dinner of the new Sheringham Museum Trust, and the brand new Museum is officially opening the next day. The subject of the talk: The Hostage Handbook, how and why it came to be written and what lessons might be drawn from such an experience.
The book is also featured with four pages of pictures and text written by Paul Dickson in the March edition of the Archant magazine Let's Talk and Henry Layte, proprietor of the great new independent bookshop in Norwich, The Book Hive was featured with the book today in an Eastern Daily Press article on the Norwich Lanes. Henry's knowledge about books and his enthusiasm for them and their authors is already warming many literary hearts as never before in and around the city. Thanks to him signed copies of The Hostage Handbook are among a number of new publications being featured by Henry at The Book Hive, a very comfortable and pleasant venue where a rather special book launch party for Handbook went ahead on the evening of Friday 29 January despite the heavy blizzard that descended on the city that night -- and despite the fact that The Book Hive stands on top of what became a very icy hill.
Despite the challenging weather, friends of Henry and myself and complete strangers alike all came by road, from as far away as London, Colchester and Kings Lynn as well as other outposts in and around the city. Among the star guests of the evening who enjoyed a glass of wine and snacks were my dear London-based friends 'Holmes and Watson' who appear in full costume most days of the week at the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street in London.'s West End. S Holmes Esq himself, (Stewart Quentin Holmes in full) himself the author of a slyly funny humour book Nothing Really Serious had many of the guests in stitches with his jokes and humorous asides. Henry Layte gave the book a very generous introduction and I was very honoured that among the guests was Illuminee Nganemariya, the author with Paul Dickson of the extraordinary book Miracle in Kigali which describes graphically the amazing and moving experience of her survival of the Rwanda genocide in the heart of the capital.
I was also very touched to find a dear friend of my childhood, Megan James, now Megan Davies, who grew up in the same street as myself at Hotblack Road, Norwich, attending with her husband Tony. We had not met for over sixty years! And we still recognised each other!!! And now we have discovered we are neighbours again, living only a few minutes apart south-west of Norwich. Jon Welch, a new friend and a senior reporter on the EDP came along too - jut for the fun of it, not to write about it.
Off and on it has taken me four decades to make up my mind to publish the verbatim transcripts of those diaries of my time as a hostage in China - and in lots of ways already publishing the book has been a wonderful and heartwarming experience. Meeting old and new friends in and around Norfolk as described in this blog has been an unexpected and marvellous surprise. And it has reminded me again of just how wonderful it is to be free in this fair land of ours.
The book is now currently being sent for review in the national press and media and a London launch party is planned, possibly at one of the Daunts bookshops in West London. Watch this space !
The book is also featured with four pages of pictures and text written by Paul Dickson in the March edition of the Archant magazine Let's Talk and Henry Layte, proprietor of the great new independent bookshop in Norwich, The Book Hive was featured with the book today in an Eastern Daily Press article on the Norwich Lanes. Henry's knowledge about books and his enthusiasm for them and their authors is already warming many literary hearts as never before in and around the city. Thanks to him signed copies of The Hostage Handbook are among a number of new publications being featured by Henry at The Book Hive, a very comfortable and pleasant venue where a rather special book launch party for Handbook went ahead on the evening of Friday 29 January despite the heavy blizzard that descended on the city that night -- and despite the fact that The Book Hive stands on top of what became a very icy hill.
Despite the challenging weather, friends of Henry and myself and complete strangers alike all came by road, from as far away as London, Colchester and Kings Lynn as well as other outposts in and around the city. Among the star guests of the evening who enjoyed a glass of wine and snacks were my dear London-based friends 'Holmes and Watson' who appear in full costume most days of the week at the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street in London.'s West End. S Holmes Esq himself, (Stewart Quentin Holmes in full) himself the author of a slyly funny humour book Nothing Really Serious had many of the guests in stitches with his jokes and humorous asides. Henry Layte gave the book a very generous introduction and I was very honoured that among the guests was Illuminee Nganemariya, the author with Paul Dickson of the extraordinary book Miracle in Kigali which describes graphically the amazing and moving experience of her survival of the Rwanda genocide in the heart of the capital.
I was also very touched to find a dear friend of my childhood, Megan James, now Megan Davies, who grew up in the same street as myself at Hotblack Road, Norwich, attending with her husband Tony. We had not met for over sixty years! And we still recognised each other!!! And now we have discovered we are neighbours again, living only a few minutes apart south-west of Norwich. Jon Welch, a new friend and a senior reporter on the EDP came along too - jut for the fun of it, not to write about it.
Off and on it has taken me four decades to make up my mind to publish the verbatim transcripts of those diaries of my time as a hostage in China - and in lots of ways already publishing the book has been a wonderful and heartwarming experience. Meeting old and new friends in and around Norfolk as described in this blog has been an unexpected and marvellous surprise. And it has reminded me again of just how wonderful it is to be free in this fair land of ours.
The book is now currently being sent for review in the national press and media and a London launch party is planned, possibly at one of the Daunts bookshops in West London. Watch this space !
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