Yorkshire Lasses in Wales: When Jessie Met Judith Barrow

Judith Barrow, originally from Saddleworth, near Oldham, and on the wrong side of the Pennines but still in Yorkshire

Judith Barrow

Judith Barrow, originally from Saddleworth, near Oldham, and on the wrong side of the Pennines but still in Yorkshire, has lived in Pembrokeshire, Wales, for forty years.

She has an MA in Creative Writing with the University of Wales Trinity St David’s College, Carmarthen, a BA (Hons) in Literature with the Open University and a Diploma in Drama from Swansea University. She has had short stories, plays, reviews and articles, published throughout the British Isles and has won several poetry competitions. She has completed three children’s books.

She is also a Creative Writing tutor for Pembrokeshire County Council.

Jessie:  Judith, tell me what a Yorkshire lass is doing in Pembrokeshire.

Judith:  We went on holiday to Pembrokeshire, loved it and never returned to Saddleworth.  We bought a half-built house and renovated it.

Jessie:  Do you miss Yorkshire?

Judith Barrow – Secrets

Judith:  Pembrokeshire was a great place for our kids to grow up.  I miss Yorkshire stone, craggy landscape and the meandering moors. I love our house, in Pembrokeshire, but I always expected I’d live in a stone cottage in my old age.  As you can hear, even after forty years in Wales my accent hasn’t changed – I’m still a Yorkshire lass.  People say they can hear my voice in their heads when they read my books.  Lucky them!

Jessie:  Obviously, people love your voice as you have written eight books.  How did the writing start?

Judith:  Well, I hope they do. As for the writing, I’d written since I was a child but never done anything much about it. Then I went to night school with my daughter. I finished A Level English and went on to gain a degree through the Open University. Whilst studying for the degree, I had breast cancer, and this made me see life differently.  I decided to follow my dream to become a writer.

A place that inspired the setting of Judith’s novels

Jessie: I am so sorry to hear about your health issues. It is wonderful you decided to follow your dream. What kind of books do you write?

Judith:  I write people driven, gritty dramas and wasn’t prepared to adapt my writing.  Eventually, I got a contract with Honno Press – an independent publisher in Wales- and found their approach personal and supportive.  My first book ‘Pattern of Shadows’

Jessie:  What’s Pattern of Shadows about?

Judith:  It’s the story of a nursing sister, Mary Howarth, and her family, during World War Two and is set around a POW camp located in a disused cotton mill in a Lancashire town.  When I was a child my mother was a winder in a cotton mill and I would go there to wait for her to finish work; I remember the smell of the grease and cotton, the sound of the loud machinery and the colours of the threads and bales of material.  Pattern of Shadows was meant to be a standalone book, but the characters wanted me to carry on with their lives. Eventually, it developed into a family saga trilogy. My recent book, the prequel, is A Hundred Tiny Threads. The two main characters, Winifred and Bill, are the parents of the protagonist in the trilogy, Mary Howarth. They wanted me to explain their, how they had become what they are in the trilogy. I was happy to; I think, as we get older, we are made by our life experiences.

Hundred Tiny Threads. The two main characters, Winifred and Bill, are the parents of the protagonist in the trilogy, Mary Howarth

Jessie:  I’m reading One Hundred Tiny Threads. The opening is engrossing with Winifred waking up to another day in the shop. The characters are so real, and I love getting inside their heads.  I’m shouting at them all the time. The way you thread the characters’ attitudes towards women is brilliant.  I’m fascinated by the Suffragettes in Leeds.  For some reason, I always imagined the movement to be concentrated in London.

Judith:  Researching the Suffragettes opened up my eyes.  I wanted to tell their story through the voices of the characters and show how women, in the society at that time, were ready for the change. Stories draw people into to the political background of the era, and life was certainly a challenge then.  People say my books are dark.  Have you got to the gory bits?

Jessie:  Well, there has been a murder.

Judith:  No, I’m thinking of scene after that – you wait.  Bill’s a bastard but it’s his background.  I don’t know why Winifred married him.

Jessie:  Oh no, what was Winifred thinking of?  I’m furious with her, as I haven’t read the terrible news yet.  I’m intrigued as to why she didn’t marry the love of her life and scared for her.

Judith: Oh ‘eck, hope I haven’t I haven’t spoiled it for you, Jessie.  But, you must understand Bill had a terrible life as a child with his father.  And then he was a soldier in the horrendous First World Wars. He was also one of the Black and Tans when he returned from the Front. He’s a bastard but didn’t have it easy.  As I said, our lives shape us.

Jessie:  I agree and people interest me too.

Judith:  Yes, well your novel is also character driven and could become a family saga.  I can see it now.  I want to know more about Luke and Rosa and their parents.

Jessie:  I plan to do that, and you have inspired me to complete historical research.  I would have to look carefully into the eras the generations were born into.   Thanks for your advice.

Judith:  No problem, I teach creative writing in Pembrokeshire, so I just can’t help myself (some would say it’s interfering!!).  Writing is like looking at the world through the eyes of a child and I love it. I watch folk walk past my window, at home.  It’s hilarious how people walk. I can’t stop people watching and passing it on through my books.  I never stop watching and am always so busy.

Jessie:  What advice would you give to fledgling writers?

Judith:  Get a professional editor and be prepared for a slog.  The first draft of the book is the best bit. I always cry when I get my editor’s comments.

Contact Judith at:
Twitter: @judithbarrow77 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judith.barrow.3

Amazon link to her books:

Secrets
A Hundred Tiny Threads

Secrets

Winifred is a determined young woman eager for new experiences, for a life beyond the grocer’s shop counter ruled over by her domineering mother. When her friend Honora – an Irish girl, with the freedom to do as she pleases – drags Winifred along to a suffragette rally, she realises that there is more to life than the shop and her parents’ humdrum lives of work and grumbling. Bill Howarth’s troubled childhood echoes through his early adult life and the scars linger, affecting his work, his relationships and his health. The only light in his life comes from a chance meeting with Winifred, the daughter of a Lancashire grocer. The girl he determines to make his wife. Meeting Honora’s intelligent and silver-tongued medical student brother turns Winifred’s heart upside down and she finds herself suddenly pregnant. Bill Howarth reappears on the scene offering her a way out.

 

 

Jan Brigden’s ‘As Weekends Go’ is Calorie Free Indulgence

Jan Brigden writes in a lively, witty style and captures her characters beautifully.

Jan Brigden’s ‘As Weekends Go’ is a great escape. Visiting a hotel described as ‘a vast stretch of grandeur’ is a perfect destination.  I had the pleasure of meeting Rebecca whose life is turned upside down when she receives an invitation from her friend.

I had a great time with cast of characters during a visit to Hawsley Manor, York.  Brigden writes in a lively, witty style and captures her characters beautifully.  She skilfully incorporates four perspectives in order to build the tension to fever pitch.  I wanted to join Abi and Rebecca on their weekend retreat.  I loved the way Bridgen draws these characters and represents the heart of their friendship. The lively exchanges between these Rebecca and Abi makes you feel as if you are sitting there joining in the conversation.  Similarly, the dialogue during scenes of smouldering tension or conflict is outstanding.  This novel would make a great film.  I have just discovered it is an audio book and would be ideal for this medium.

Could this be an inspiration for Hawsley Manor?

I must also praise Jan Brigden for the way she presents the male characters and explores their perspective.   The contrast between the arrogant, ambitious Greg and calm, considerate Alex is perfect.   The book had me shouting at the horrible characters and racing towards the outcome.  Challenging the stereotype of the celebrity footballer is a clever idea.

I laughed at portrayal of characters.  You will meet ‘the suited gorilla’, ‘Doberman’, the woman ‘with a face you could chop wood on’.  An there’s Martina who ‘hijacked’ Alex, then ‘cross examined him resting her boobs on a side plate’ in the restaurant.  The thread of comic observation adds to the fast pace of the novel.

Rebecca and Abbi escape to York for the weekend

I enjoy a positive, upbeat message in a novel: love, friendship and honesty are key qualities throughout the novel.  As a reader, one is loyal and supportive of Rebecca until the very end.  And ‘if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be’ and will happen.  Brigden shows that we gain strength and warmth from friends and families and hungry ambition needs to be fed to the wolves.

Reading ‘As Weekends Go’ is like indulging in a luxurious bar of chocolate without the calories.  ‘As Weekends Go’ is a perfect must read for the weekend.

Meet the author

More About Jan Bridgen

Jan lives in South East London with her husband and motley crew of cuddly toys. Jan’s written for pleasure from a young age; short stories for classmates, odes for workmates, fun quizzes for family and friends, progressing to her first novel, the idea for which sprang from a script she composed as part of a creative writing course assignment via The Writers Bureau. Following much secret plotting, research and feigning of passion for the customer accounts she was supposed to be reconciling during the day job, the chance finally arose to put pen to paper.

After attending many author talks, literary events, and connecting with writers and readers on Facebook and Twitter, Jan learned of and joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme.

Jan’s debut novel As Weekends Go subsequently won the 2014/2015 Choc Lit and Whole Story Audiobooks Search for a Star Competition , which led to a publishing contract with Choc Lit.

An avid reader and all round book devotee, Jan is also one eighth of online group blog The Romaniacs who proudly received the RNA Industry Media Star Award and even got a mention in The Bookseller.

 

Please see all my reviews at Books In Handbag and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.