The Website of the Writer J.S.Watts
26 April 2015
Witchlight Virtual Launch Party
J.S.Watts is holding a virtual book launch and novel celebration party on Facebook on Tuesday 19th May for her new novel, "Witchlight". You are herewith invited to the party, which will be taking place on a Facebook public event page between 18:00 and midnight (BST) on 19th May. There will be bubbly and cake :-) but they will be virtual :-( It would be wonderful to have some of you drop by to say hi on the day and maybe even sample some of the virtual offerings. The event will be taking place here: https://www.facebook.com/events/768090666643843/ Please do come along. Everyone is welcome.
23 April 2015
A Slurp of Soup
The rather satisfying poetry and prose webzine, Ink Sweat and Tears , has shown great taste in publishing a poetic morsel by J.S.Watts. The poem in question is "A Brief Analysis of Soup and Soup Making" and it can be savoured fully by clicking here.
21 April 2015
Witchlight Draws Ever Closer
The official launch of J.S Watts' new paranormal novel, Witchlight, in both paperback and e-book editions, is taking place in May.
To get everyone in the mood, here is a reminder of what the novel is about:
Holly has been mortal all her life. Now at thirty-eight, her fairy godfather arrives to tell her she’s a witch, and suddenly she's having to come to terms with the uncertainties of an alarmingly magic-fuelled world. Magic is not like it is in the books and films, and Holly starts to doubt whether her fairy godfather, Partridge Mayflower, is the fey, avuncular charmer he appears.
When appearances are magically deceptive, Holly cannot afford to trust those closest to her, including herself. Accidents start to happen, people die, Old Magic is on the hunt, but in the age-old game of cat and mouse, just who is the feline and who is the rodent?
The cat was studying the mouse with considerable interest. Only a few seconds before, it had had its claws hooked into the soft flesh, but, being a cat, its mother had scrupulously taught it to play with its food before eating. So, it had released its trembling prey in order to watch it run and squirm some more before the final and inevitable conclusion to the age old game of cat and mouse. The mouse ran, the cat leapt, sharp claws once again sank into the mouse’s flank, strong teeth closed around skin, flesh, and bone, and the mouse, with an almost relieved sigh, plunged into the eternal blackness of the final mouse hole. The cat licked its lips and wandered off in pursuit of further feline gratification, thus missing out on a truly startling event, at least as far as the mortal human world was concerned. Then again, it was a cat, so perhaps the event would have been less surprising than failing to catch the mouse, had that happened, which of course it hadn’t; it was a cat, after all.
Twenty seconds after the cat vacated its spot in the darkest and most secluded part of the field, a blob of pale turquoise light appeared a metre or so above the grass, expanded in volume and brightness, and then disappeared with a barely audible poof!, leaving in its place a short, dapper man in well-washed blue jeans and an extremely bright, and ever so slightly twinkly, turquoise shirt. He patted himself down, smoothed his already immaculate auburn hair, and walked across the closely cropped combination of grass, thistles, and nettles towards the back of the houses overlooking the field. His intended destination was the somewhat rampant looking garden at the back of number sixty-six Basingfield Lane in which Holly Jepps, the owner, was currently attempting to tame some long-untended grass.
Holly remained unaware of her impending visitor until he leaned over the back fence, coughed politely, and in distinctly over-emphatic tones said, “Hi Holly, good to meet you. How’s it going?”
Holly looked up with a start, a look of puzzlement on her face, and a handful of grass cuttings in her left hand.
“Erm, hello? Can I help you?”
“Oh, no, no, no, no, no! It’s me who’s come to help you, girlie.” And with that, he jumped over the fence—or to be precise, he levitated over it—but Holly, being a pragmatic, level-headed woman, saw it as a jump. To be honest, as a woman two years or so off the milestone of forty, she was rather more surprised at being called girlie than by the pseudo leap. Though, as she was also fairly short and was used to being patted on the head, both metaphorically and literally, by people of more extended height, her initial reaction was actually an internal “Heightist, patronising git!” She revised this slightly as she realised he was little taller than she was and then further revised it when it occurred to her that both her garden and her personal space were being invaded by an unknown and unduly familiar man. She reached for the lawn rake, just in case.
“No need for that, girlie,” said the small, twinkly man. “I really am here to help you. I’m your fairy godfather.”
The silence that followed this announcement was dense enough to cut with a lawn mower. More explanation was clearly needed.
“Although, to be precise and, leaving out the issue of sexual preference, I’m actually a witch rather than a fairy.”
Holly briefly debated whether to hit him with the lawn rake before legging it to the kitchen door, or just run as fast as she could for the door prior to locking it firmly behind her. The man seemed to sense her thought processes and eyeballed her pointedly before clapping his hands and releasing a sizeable charm of goldfinches from between them. Holly remained rooted to the spot. He clapped his hands again, and Holly found herself sitting at her kitchen table with a mug of hot coffee in her hands. Opposite her, the man was juggling yellow coloured gemstones, which turned into canaries, flew upwards, and disappeared.
“I think, young Holly, that we need to talk.”
To get everyone in the mood, here is a reminder of what the novel is about:
Holly has been mortal all her life. Now at thirty-eight, her fairy godfather arrives to tell her she’s a witch, and suddenly she's having to come to terms with the uncertainties of an alarmingly magic-fuelled world. Magic is not like it is in the books and films, and Holly starts to doubt whether her fairy godfather, Partridge Mayflower, is the fey, avuncular charmer he appears.
When appearances are magically deceptive, Holly cannot afford to trust those closest to her, including herself. Accidents start to happen, people die, Old Magic is on the hunt, but in the age-old game of cat and mouse, just who is the feline and who is the rodent?
And here is a taste of the opening chapter:
Witchlight
By J.S.Watts
Chapter 1
The cat was studying the mouse with considerable interest. Only a few seconds before, it had had its claws hooked into the soft flesh, but, being a cat, its mother had scrupulously taught it to play with its food before eating. So, it had released its trembling prey in order to watch it run and squirm some more before the final and inevitable conclusion to the age old game of cat and mouse. The mouse ran, the cat leapt, sharp claws once again sank into the mouse’s flank, strong teeth closed around skin, flesh, and bone, and the mouse, with an almost relieved sigh, plunged into the eternal blackness of the final mouse hole. The cat licked its lips and wandered off in pursuit of further feline gratification, thus missing out on a truly startling event, at least as far as the mortal human world was concerned. Then again, it was a cat, so perhaps the event would have been less surprising than failing to catch the mouse, had that happened, which of course it hadn’t; it was a cat, after all.
Twenty seconds after the cat vacated its spot in the darkest and most secluded part of the field, a blob of pale turquoise light appeared a metre or so above the grass, expanded in volume and brightness, and then disappeared with a barely audible poof!, leaving in its place a short, dapper man in well-washed blue jeans and an extremely bright, and ever so slightly twinkly, turquoise shirt. He patted himself down, smoothed his already immaculate auburn hair, and walked across the closely cropped combination of grass, thistles, and nettles towards the back of the houses overlooking the field. His intended destination was the somewhat rampant looking garden at the back of number sixty-six Basingfield Lane in which Holly Jepps, the owner, was currently attempting to tame some long-untended grass.
Holly remained unaware of her impending visitor until he leaned over the back fence, coughed politely, and in distinctly over-emphatic tones said, “Hi Holly, good to meet you. How’s it going?”
Holly looked up with a start, a look of puzzlement on her face, and a handful of grass cuttings in her left hand.
“Erm, hello? Can I help you?”
“Oh, no, no, no, no, no! It’s me who’s come to help you, girlie.” And with that, he jumped over the fence—or to be precise, he levitated over it—but Holly, being a pragmatic, level-headed woman, saw it as a jump. To be honest, as a woman two years or so off the milestone of forty, she was rather more surprised at being called girlie than by the pseudo leap. Though, as she was also fairly short and was used to being patted on the head, both metaphorically and literally, by people of more extended height, her initial reaction was actually an internal “Heightist, patronising git!” She revised this slightly as she realised he was little taller than she was and then further revised it when it occurred to her that both her garden and her personal space were being invaded by an unknown and unduly familiar man. She reached for the lawn rake, just in case.
“No need for that, girlie,” said the small, twinkly man. “I really am here to help you. I’m your fairy godfather.”
The silence that followed this announcement was dense enough to cut with a lawn mower. More explanation was clearly needed.
“Although, to be precise and, leaving out the issue of sexual preference, I’m actually a witch rather than a fairy.”
Holly briefly debated whether to hit him with the lawn rake before legging it to the kitchen door, or just run as fast as she could for the door prior to locking it firmly behind her. The man seemed to sense her thought processes and eyeballed her pointedly before clapping his hands and releasing a sizeable charm of goldfinches from between them. Holly remained rooted to the spot. He clapped his hands again, and Holly found herself sitting at her kitchen table with a mug of hot coffee in her hands. Opposite her, the man was juggling yellow coloured gemstones, which turned into canaries, flew upwards, and disappeared.
“I think, young Holly, that we need to talk.”
If you like what you've read so far, you can read a longer sample of Witchlight over on Amazon. To navigate to the correct page, just click here and, once on Amazon, click on the image of the Witchlight book cover where it says look inside.
Hope you enjoy it!
17 April 2015
Poetry To Go
Fancy something a bit different? Allographic presents Poetry To Go, a takeaway experience where our lyrical chefs cook up a brand-new, bespoke poem for you in short order for you to take away and enjoy forever on the medium of your choice (anything from badges to scrolls to origami... or even just a piece of paper...!).
J.S.Watts is one of the Poetry To Go team and will be providing short order poetry between approximately 12.30 and 5.30pm on Saturday, but, if you can't make it then, there will be other poets and other opportunities to partake of a calorie-light poem. No dieting necessary.
Come and find Poetry To Go in the grounds of the Cambridge Union Building, Friday 17th - Sunday 19th April as part of the Cambridge Literary Festival.
13 April 2015
Witchlight Shines Even Brighter With Five Stars
Lilian finds the novel to be "paranormal at its best, what a truly well written, informative, extraordinary book." She ends by saying "you will struggle to put this book down."
Okay, this website is biased, but don't you just love the great reviews that are beginning to come in for Witchlight? It's not even released in paperback and full e-versions until next month.
If you want to read the full five star review on Lilian's Book Blog you can do so by clicking here. Go on. You know you want to know what she has to say.
11 April 2015
Poems For Peace
Friday, 10th April saw the launch of the "Poems For Peace" poetry anthology, edited by 2014 Fenland Poet Laureate, Poppy Kleiser.
The launch was held at the Wisbech and Fenland Museum, Wisbech and over on J.S.Watts' photo blog, "Random Acts of Would-be Photography", there are some photos of the event which you can see by clicking here.
Poets from across East Anglia, including J.S.Watts, contributed their poems to the anthology, which is prefaced by a thought-provoking foreword by the inspirational Benjamin Zephaniah, himself an East Anglian resident. As Zephaniah says in his foreword, "we can see that the poets gathered here between these pages have, in their own ways, seen the ugliness of war and rejected the glorification of this brutality."
"Poems For Peace" (ISBN 9780956828231) is a poetry anthology "inspired by the futility of war through the ages". It includes poems by: Alison Brackenbury, Anthony Smith, Daisy Thurston-Gent, Elaine Ewart, Gram Joel Davies, Helen Pletts, J.S.Watts, Jacqueline Mulhallen, James Knox Whittet, Jonathan Totman, Josh Bone, Keely Mills, Leanne Moden, Martin Figura, Mike Alderson, Mike Bannister, Nigel Hilliam, Nikki Marrone, Patrick Widdess, Paul Quant, Pete Cardinal Cox, Pete Irving, Philip Dunkerley, Poppy Kleiser, Rachel Rose Reid, Robin Shorey, Russell J. Turner, Samantha Weaver and William Alderson.
9 April 2015
Rejection! Get Over It.
J.S.Watts writes about the thorny topic of rejection as part of a new blog series, “Writing and Publishing Tips From Authors Around the World”, created by mystery writer Susan Finlay and designed to help writers at varied stages in their writing and publishing careers.
J.S.'s article is the eighth in a growing series, which so far has covered topics such as Self-publishing, How To Write Dialogue, How to Write a Book Review, Ten Things No One Tells you About Book Publishing, Writing After Retirement and, of course, Dealing With Rejection.
If you want to read J.S.'s thoughts on getting rejected click here
8 April 2015
Book Reader Features Witchlight
J.S.Watts is a featured author on Book Reader Magazine. In her interview with Vinny O'Hare, J.S. talks about herself, her fascination with books and her latest book, Witchlight.As there is not much more than a month to go before Witchlight's publication date on 19th May, why don't you check out J.S.'s interview before the novel comes out. Click here to read the whole interview on the Book Reader website.
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