Review of my first short story book, by acclaimed author Ken Ward.
“I have decided I must read 'I want to tell you a story.......' again. This time at thinking speed' rather than at reading speed' . Your copy hints at many things of which I know nothing. I must now turn over each sentence to find what lies behind it.”
Ken Ward, Author of SIX FEET to Land’s End www.footpathtouring.co.uk
An excellent read, in fact it becomes more than a read,
it's a journey to be enjoyed.
“I have decided I must read 'I want to tell you a story.......' again. This time at thinking speed' rather than at reading speed' . Your copy hints at many things of which I know nothing. I must now turn over each sentence to find what lies behind it.”
Ken Ward, Author of SIX FEET to Land’s End www.footpathtouring.co.uk
An excellent read, in fact it becomes more than a read,
it's a journey to be enjoyed.
Reviews of the book 'I want to tell you a Story. . . ' .
"Your book is wonderful, I have almost finished it - it is so warm and makes you think deep deep deep...this way and that...love the humour .. love the 'Yule Logs' - that first Yule story reminded me of such a lot in my own life. It touches places in your heart you never knew existed at times - it is just so clean and honest - here I go again.....words ....." "some are endowed with life skills that are just "different" I believe...that is why people should read your book and thoughts..." H
Just to say Richard that I have read your book "I want to tell you Story....." I have written to let you know that I keep the book with my lunch box, in my work bag! The book, is I admit, becoming a little crumpled and tea stained.... but I keep the words with me as an index of inspiration and wisdom. All my very best wishes and thank you. Caroline .
“Fifteen or twenty minutes and I'm ready to let the day melt into sleep. I have found that I often don't remember all of the story when I try to recall it the next morning. As a result, I re-read it the next night. Sometimes more than just a second time. Now, lest you jump to the erroneous conclusion that your stories just put me to sleep for lack of excitement, let me assure you that in fact, the opposite is true. I guess you could say that I am in the process of reading your book for the second and third time.
I like your writing style. When I read your words, I can hear you speaking them. Sometimes parts of a story actually creep into my dreams. I know, that probably sounds a little weird but it has happened. I suspect, you tell me if I am wrong, that each story has at it's core an actual life experience.” Chris J.
I like your writing style. When I read your words, I can hear you speaking them. Sometimes parts of a story actually creep into my dreams. I know, that probably sounds a little weird but it has happened. I suspect, you tell me if I am wrong, that each story has at it's core an actual life experience.” Chris J.
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It has given me a beautiful way of looking at the complexities of life so that I can put it into practice immediately and you have cleverly intertwined it into marvelous stories - I have not got far because I keep going back and reading paragraphs over and over - what you have put together has for me taken me back to that wonderful feeling I used to get when I had a new torch battery - a new book by my favourite author - plus a quarter of cough candy ....as a child who read secretly under the bedclothes..a naivety and innocence...(it was called happiness, when like you I was brought up when times were hard after the war and the electricity bills were dreaded. I never ever recaptured that before or since.....but I did with your book -
I can identify with your experiences so much over certain things and of course I just love the woods and trees forests bluebells and countryside - the aroma of all seasons in my favourite copse & amongst the carpets of golden & russet leaves and denuded trees...I just love it all and could go on and on about it - you feel you are there...
it is calming to the soul - cannot do it justice enough and I have not really covered too much but had to let you know my appreciative thoughts in sincerity from my heart - still will not be able to put it down adequately in words...
It's a lovely book Richard and thanks for opening my eyes to a whole host of new thinking...
I love your photographs and the one of the churchyard I swear there is a lady holding flowers on the first tomb stone, she is dressed in olden days attire and has dark hair...the tricks of photography..
Hazel.
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It has given me a beautiful way of looking at the complexities of life so that I can put it into practice immediately and you have cleverly intertwined it into marvelous stories - I have not got far because I keep going back and reading paragraphs over and over - what you have put together has for me taken me back to that wonderful feeling I used to get when I had a new torch battery - a new book by my favourite author - plus a quarter of cough candy ....as a child who read secretly under the bedclothes..a naivety and innocence...(it was called happiness, when like you I was brought up when times were hard after the war and the electricity bills were dreaded. I never ever recaptured that before or since.....but I did with your book -
I can identify with your experiences so much over certain things and of course I just love the woods and trees forests bluebells and countryside - the aroma of all seasons in my favourite copse & amongst the carpets of golden & russet leaves and denuded trees...I just love it all and could go on and on about it - you feel you are there...
it is calming to the soul - cannot do it justice enough and I have not really covered too much but had to let you know my appreciative thoughts in sincerity from my heart - still will not be able to put it down adequately in words...
It's a lovely book Richard and thanks for opening my eyes to a whole host of new thinking...
I love your photographs and the one of the churchyard I swear there is a lady holding flowers on the first tomb stone, she is dressed in olden days attire and has dark hair...the tricks of photography..
Hazel.
*******
The Maroon . . . a lifeboat story; ".... which I read the other day. It's good stuff; crisply written and very moving. It undoubtedly sums up the sense of valour and commitment at the heart of this noble organisation." Paul Boissier Chief Exec RNLI
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"I really liked the introduction 'About the Author' - it's very brave and honest and touches the heart. Thank goodess you had one inspiring teacher who must have seen, and hopefully encouraged, your gift You so deserve recognition for your talent and this would in turn lead to more people reading, enjoying and benefiting from your stories. Ah, if only I had a magic wand...." Angela.
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"... have been reading your book and had to let you know how fantastic it is! It's difficult to explain but it seems different reading the stories in this book - it is as though something extra has happened to them, something more has come with them, it's difficult to put into words. There is an energy that comes with the stories that really does transport you to another place. You, my friend, have a wonderful gift, one that is very rare in a writer, to create not only a picture of the place or event, but everything else - the feelings, the energy, the atmosphere. The only other writer I have read that can do this is Kent Nerburn and he has become very famous (and very rich) from it. Your gift now needs to be acknowledged by the media and the only way that can be done is if they are made aware of it. These words are not just being kind to you but the truth as we see it." Terry.
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"Thank-you very much for the book, it is so impressively bound, great quality. It is an honour to know such a good writer, I can’t wait to absorb this latest offering, wonderful! " Jane
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“The ‘Victorian Fireman’s Axe’ and ‘The Maroon’ are tales of courage and guts told in a way that shows raw human spirit. There is no room for pretence.
In all the stories the author seeks to portray the good in human beings. Where he finds falsehood or social injustice he exposes it with satire or humour.
His stories are meant to make the reader think of the deeper meaning in life.” A.A.
*****
Thank you so much for the book, I am working my way through it. You are an interesting author Richard, with a wide range of interests, and much travelled.
It means a lot to me to have this. Tommy
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“We look forward to reading the rest of Richard’s book. The author seems to have found the right direction in modern day philosophy. We all seek for spiritual answers, and this has so far been a very enjoyable read.” Dave.
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"I really liked the introduction 'About the Author' - it's very brave and honest and touches the heart. Thank goodess you had one inspiring teacher who must have seen, and hopefully encouraged, your gift You so deserve recognition for your talent and this would in turn lead to more people reading, enjoying and benefiting from your stories. Ah, if only I had a magic wand...." Angela.
****
"... have been reading your book and had to let you know how fantastic it is! It's difficult to explain but it seems different reading the stories in this book - it is as though something extra has happened to them, something more has come with them, it's difficult to put into words. There is an energy that comes with the stories that really does transport you to another place. You, my friend, have a wonderful gift, one that is very rare in a writer, to create not only a picture of the place or event, but everything else - the feelings, the energy, the atmosphere. The only other writer I have read that can do this is Kent Nerburn and he has become very famous (and very rich) from it. Your gift now needs to be acknowledged by the media and the only way that can be done is if they are made aware of it. These words are not just being kind to you but the truth as we see it." Terry.
****
"Thank-you very much for the book, it is so impressively bound, great quality. It is an honour to know such a good writer, I can’t wait to absorb this latest offering, wonderful! " Jane
***
“The ‘Victorian Fireman’s Axe’ and ‘The Maroon’ are tales of courage and guts told in a way that shows raw human spirit. There is no room for pretence.
In all the stories the author seeks to portray the good in human beings. Where he finds falsehood or social injustice he exposes it with satire or humour.
His stories are meant to make the reader think of the deeper meaning in life.” A.A.
*****
Thank you so much for the book, I am working my way through it. You are an interesting author Richard, with a wide range of interests, and much travelled.
It means a lot to me to have this. Tommy
**********
“We look forward to reading the rest of Richard’s book. The author seems to have found the right direction in modern day philosophy. We all seek for spiritual answers, and this has so far been a very enjoyable read.” Dave.
**********
In times so full of falsehood and sensationalism, Richard Small’s collection of short stories breathes a welcome change that is undeniably honest and true. It is rare indeed to find an author prepared to be so soulful and generous with his own life, whilst telling a tale with such purpose and intent. These stories, told with much candour and openheartedness, draw us in and invite us to walk a journey of hope, discovery and enlightenment. Within each one is a pearl, and our task as readers is to find that pearl, capture it and become the richer because of it.
Richard generously shares with us his hard earned wisdom in words that not only entertain but also hold the keys to many of life’s mysteries. Every time I re-read them, I find something new, and that is a precious gift indeed!
Thank you, M.G.
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Richard generously shares with us his hard earned wisdom in words that not only entertain but also hold the keys to many of life’s mysteries. Every time I re-read them, I find something new, and that is a precious gift indeed!
Thank you, M.G.
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It is unusual to find a book of short stories where every tale is a must-read, Richard Small has produced one.
These tales are ingeniously plotted, with richly drawn characters, some remarkable stories, some amusing, all wonderfully written.
A great book to accompany your holiday or just to sit and relax and enjoy the journeys that Richard Small presents.
I am greatly looking forward to his second book.
Jane, Holland Media Services
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These tales are ingeniously plotted, with richly drawn characters, some remarkable stories, some amusing, all wonderfully written.
A great book to accompany your holiday or just to sit and relax and enjoy the journeys that Richard Small presents.
I am greatly looking forward to his second book.
Jane, Holland Media Services
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Your book has had the most amazing effect on me, before I even started to read the stories. On page five I read when and where you were born (and how you lived). It just opened up the floodgates of memory. I was born two years earlier than you in the neighbouring county of Huntingdonshire in a small village called Hartford in one of four cottages (long since condemned and demolished) where we all took our water from a central pump, until we had the luxury of a cold tap installed in the scullery. There was a built in copper in the corner and a black lead range for the cooking and in front of which we were bathed on a Friday night before being given our dose of Syrup of Figs. I recall the glow and hiss of the gas lamps when they were lit in the evening and the beautiful Jack Frost patterns on the ice inside the bedroom windows in the Winter. I could smell the apples which were stored in the loft and kept us going until they were no longer edible when I guess they were fed to the chickens, whose eggs were preserved in Isinglass to be used in the periods when they were not laying. Unlike you we had a productive fruit and vegetable garden where the root vegetables were stored in clamps, again to keep us going through lean times. As well as chickens there were rabbits, all of whom I regarded as pets, although doubtless they ended up in the pot. I can see the neighbours so vividly they could be standing in front of me right now. The village school where the classrooms were divide by curtains (can you imagine that these days!) The fields where we used to go "sticking" for kindling to light the fires and where I learnt the names of the trees and wildflowers from my elderly neighbour. This and so much more keeps coming into my head, so thank you for that, not at all the intention of your book, which I look forward to reading more of (last two and first stories so far).
Kind regards Ruth
Kind regards Ruth