I'm proud to announce that The Nine Lives of Summer, my 10th published book, and my 4th cat book, came out in paperback/ebook worldwide  on 1st March 2023.

It is what is known as a 'crossover' title - a book for children (7+) AND adults, especially cat-lovers.

Reviews have been excellent - in YOUR CAT magazine and others, plus genuine reviews on USA Amazon, NetGalley, are mostly 5 and 4 star. As have sales worldwide, paperback & ebook.

March was the 10th anniversary of the publication of the first, A Cat Called Dog, which is still very popular - it spawned a shorter child-friendly version and a sequel A Cat Called Dog 2 - The One with the Kittens (2017) - which, for some unknown reason, is borrowed from UK libraries a lot (2nd of my borrowed books; SOMEWHERE IN EUROPE is number 1). Film rights/options interest for all of them.

That is what is great about books - they are born & remain. A bit like paper children who go on to live lives of their own, which you, the mere author/birth parent can't control even if you want to, just as you can't decide what meaning readers read into your stories.

Books LAST and are there for evermore. I love that. Unlike all the drivel and dross online, all the pointless reviews by attention-seeking talentless BS merchants on amoral tax-dodging exploitative Amazon and its subsidiary Goodreads which is just as bad (which I now boycott, except to sell my last three KDP-published books). They matter and they remain. There is no bad to books. THERE IS NO BAD TO BOOKS.

I am SO proud to have published 10 books since 2010. 

That is well over half a million well-written words, bought & read by diverse readers worldwide (esp USA, Germany & Scandinavia for some reason).

Plenty of famous fans too: politicians (MPs, lords), household names (David Attenborough sent me 12 letters, Vera Lynn emailed me when she was 101 years old, Lady Anne Dodd, Julia Baird - John Lennon's sister...). The largest creative agency in LA even got in touch. Yup, Hollywood!

And...I've just received a lovely contact from a reader/cat fan in the Far East inviting me to visit, which is great! Japan, South Korea, maybe more. Watch this space for news. I had NO idea I had even readers there until today!They adore all my 4 cat books. So my next book tour probably, next year. Better start brushing up my Japanese!

I have readers all over the world now who spontaneously get in touch from time to time. My books move people, emotionally connect with them (or as some hysteric mentaloids might say 'trigger' them =- and all that psychobabble word means is MOVED PEOPLE EMOTIONALLY which is evidence of an author SUCCEEDING as an author!)

Some big fans in Germany - I may visit there again next year too. I've been a few times, but many years ago, and my German is ropey. BUT I could do more Nazi and WWII research for future books; & I've never visited Hamburg (where my 4th cousin twice removed was the posh British officer in charge post WWII) and Munich and all Bavaria, so...looking forward to it. I shall research the sequels for the NAZI CRIME THRILLERS set in the 1980s.

I shall also visit Israel next year to meet a beautiful, brave people in THEIR homeland. I shall use the big compenstion I shall be receiving for being the target of anti-Semitic racist hate, harassment and abuse online to travel and stay there (oh the sweet SWEET irony), and then some. I may live and work there in future. We'll see.

I shall certainly share my experience of being attacked by malicious hatemonger anti-semites in the UK who accuse anyone supporting Israel/Jews of racism & even manage to mobilise corrupt UK police in their obsessive hate campaigns of revenge against their victims, those who expose their deranged malicious mendacious hateful racist anti-Semitic instincts (a news story soon, watch this space). I shall no doubt be interviewed by the Israeli media/TV, as well as Jewish media in the UK, and many other national media outlets including TV.

These hater troll cyberstalker bully types think if you dare criticise anyone of colour & faith, then you are racist - EVEN IF you are criticising a racist anti-semitic mob of mostly Asian Muslims targeting a branch of KFC for the crime of feeding chicken to Jews, and say so on Twitter. My troll took a screenshot that as 'evidence' or my racism - the media shall have it and publish it and say who took the screenshot to target an innocent man (onto whom the deranged hatemonger is clearly projecting her hatred of her ex - & thus shows she is a deranged hateful obsessive narcissist proven liar. TRUTH WILL OUT - sooner than you think).

The claim that to criticise that Jew-hating mobs is racist is absurd. Those who make such claims WILL be exposed and no doubt the media will name & shame them, get their faces on TV. I cannot wait. I shall be contacting no-one directly and doing nothing - the Great British media will do that.

I shall give anyone a TV/radio/press interview about this - I love TV/radio interviews, so direct and honest, press interviews can distort and misquote imho.

Anyway, I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. I am the victim here, the one attacked by someone on MY book pages on Goodreads esp. which a malicious hater - who then of course denounced me and claimed to be the victim - infected with many thousands (10,000) of words of abuse & harassment for months (28.8.23-16.4.24). I have copies of EVERYTHING, scans, screenshots. Physical evidence aplenty. Private prosecution via CPS a possibility too, and civil action, and my obsessive psycho cyberstalker keeps stalking me still!

Also, my books all sell, collectively THOUSANDS since 2010 (I have evidence of sales). Any claim that they do not is just malicious defamation from a twisted sick individual harassing me, trying to trash my reputation and adversely affect my book sales, and wreck my writing career. Nasty bullying. On Goodreads (Amazon), over months. They are culpable too - so legal action in USA is probable.

THE NINE LIVES OF SUMMER has sold well, as I mentioned (the average sales for a first novel incl from major publishers is just 400 and 70% books lose money, incl those from the big publishers); my 2021 quote book THINKING TIME has sold loads of ebook copies and still sells every year with NO PROMOTION from me or adverts; my poetry debut THE LOVED ONES has sold too, but sales are not THE focus of a quality poetry collection of course (the former Welsh national poet only sold 150 of her last collection, with all that backing and PR). Great reviews for all from HONEST readers for all my books and real influence of my three satirical novels, which are studied in universities and have been read by highly influential people worldwide (CRUMP 2010); RASMUS (2016), SOMEWHERE IN EUROPE - CRUMP II (2020). These are serious novels for intelligent readers (not slushy fluffy silly genre fiction for Goodreads ebooks & their unemployable housewife mentalist 'top reviewers', socalled) and they matter and that is why they have lasted. There is the usual revenge reviews from haters and fake reviewers from my malicious cyberstalker (STILL THERE on Amazon and Goodreads despite complaints - I can PROVE that reviewer did not buy or read that book or even pages; the hater read a sample only then trashed my book in revenge against me. SAD!) Such haters diminish themselves, but when THEY claim to be the victim after spewing abuse, THEN the crybullies need to be challenged, the professional victims exposed for what they are - and the media will do that soon. As will the law, in a civil court.

It is MY RIGHT TO REPLY and defend myself against bullies who attack me, incite third parties to ensure I cannot reply on Goodreads, then spend months spewing abuse and defamation and false accusations and allegations against me - my RIGHT to reply on MY author webpage. The obsessive malicious witch psychopath wanted to SILENCE ME as she hijacked MY book pages on Goodreads to wreck my writing career and trash my reputation, ruin my life and adversely affect my income by demonising me with lies - compensation awarded to me will reflect that. I believe these are criminal offences of harassment and malicious communications by my hater cyberstalker toll crybully too - though corrupt UP police are reluctant to act against such criminal women. Having said that, I can call police at any time and report my abuser's harassment and malicious communications in an organised anti-Semitic hate campaign - I have screenshots, copies and evidence of EVERYTHING (the media can see it all too, all 10,000 repulsive lying words of it).

I KNOW when reviewers online are LYING, however, and posting fake reviews BECAUSE I am not JUST the author of my last 3 books but the PUBLISHER too, SO I have access to ALL sales data, ebooks, page reads, location of sales, the lots. ALL STATS (including how many hits THIS website gets and who and where they are LOL). So I can tell if any nasty malicious one star review posted by someone with a grudge was posted by someone who had not bought the book. WITH EVIDENCE. I can PROVE the trash reviewer did not buy/read the eBook - and also how many page reads THE LOVED ONES got in that month, October 2023 - so the trash reviewer read a SAMPLE, 12 pages on the data graph. 12 pages! That is what the graph says. Yet the reviewer claims '100% honest reviews' on Goodreads/Amazon. LIAR OUTED right there with digital evidence ANY court would accept too (thouugh corrupt amoral Goodreads/Amazon do not, JUST because the fake reviewer provides them with free copy, thousands of ignorant ranting reviews in the last 12 years, over half a million years of pointless drivel by a sad talent-free non-author).  SO that is a lie REVENGE review then, a fake malicious hateful review, which I can prove, with IT data, in ANY context (legal, court, police, media - and thanks Goodreads for confirmation of the hater inciting third parties to join a hate campaign against me - that exposes the lies of my abuser). Now THAT is evidence.

NO PASARAN - I shall fight and fight and win, and the Great British media will expose this all, and the haters and the biased corrupt Jew-hating dodgy racist sexist police too. I did not ask for ANY of this, by the deranged hatemonger came AT me - posted on MY book pages on GOODREADS (I posted on no-one's book pages except mine), incited third parties all to complain to the corrupt biased Goodreads at the same time to get me banned so I could not reply there. Over 5000 words of abuse, lies, hate speech, defamation against me by my cyberstalker JUST on my 9 LIVES OF SUMMER Goodreads bookpage - more on THE LOVED ONES book page and my 2 PJ Vanston novels, SOMEWHERE IN EUROPE & RASMUS where my hater yet again incites third parties to join the cyberbully's hate campaign of revenge against me - real incitement, and in private, DMs, all on the hater's phone and laptop I am sure. On 4 of my books on Goodreads (which they did nothing about SO Goodreads enabled a hate campaign against me). THEN on Amazon too, and on Twitter (which continued past April 16th as my hater incites third parties to join her in a hate campaign against 'this man' or 'this author' AKA me. Again, I HAVE COPIES OF IT ALL, ALL EVIDENCE FOR THE FUTURE).

Up to 10,000 words of abuse spewed at me over many months - and the hater is still cyberstalking me, as I can see how visits to this MY WEBSITE have spiked on certain days (e.g. 12th July) and who is cyberstalking me. More evidence of a deranged hater's obsession with me. Remember, the hater came AT ME, abused me, harassed me, defamed me, bullied me, on MY book pages on Goodreads and Amazon and Twitter - I never came at my hater at all; I merely RESPONDED to abuse spewed at me, as is my RIGHT. This applies to my deranged hater  cyberstalker certainly:  “That’s what makes you a narcissist. Even in the middle of hurting other people you’re focused on yourself.”

I am the victim. I was attacked by a severely deranged hatemonger, a malicious mendacious manipulative malevolent psychopath hell bent on pursuing a hate campaign of revenge against me, for MONTHS AND MONTHS, she came at me like a psycho - all because I dared call out their sick review of my beautiful 9 LIVES book in which they said my book and I were a threat and danger to people incl children (GOODREADS complained to 3 times but refused to remove that or other hate - WHY I am suing them in the USA in time too, for millions). My hater repeated that disgusting lie on 2 December 2023, after 5000 words of abuse and hate on MY BOOK PAGE on Goodreads, which the psycho hijacked. Sheer malice, but a total crybully victimposing - so she got police to parrot her lies, such as the one I threatened her and her son. HOW DARE police do that, and more - repeating lies and defamation of a habitual liar is deeply corrupt, biased and wrong.

I am SO LOOKING FORWARD to justice, and shall sue them all HARD.

And I shall win in the end and be well compensated. I am a fighter and defiant, just like Trump - try and take me down and see what happens to you!

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS. NO PASARAN!

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FOR THE SAKE OF MY OWN MENTAL HEALTH, AND ON LEGAL ADVICE, I AM ENDING ON THIS WEBSITE OF ALL MENTION OF THE VICIOUS TARGETED ATTACKS ON ME BY AN ANTI-SEMITIC HATEMONGER WHICH HAVE NOW BEEN GOING ON FOR OVER 8 MONTHS NOW.

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JUST THINK - 9 MONTHS OF HATE, 10,000 words, 28/9/23-16/4/24 - just a deranged hate campaign of harassment against me. The psycho cyclberstalker loon tried SO HARD to incite third parties to hate on me as she did, came ot MY book pages on Goodreads & Amazon for spew abuse, lies, hate & harassment - yet the hater only has 20 fwends on Goodreads who LIKE her deranged loonie review of my BEAUTIFUL 9 LIVES OF SUMMER book which NORMAL sane people love, give 4 or 5 stars always, HA HA HA! Milly No-mates there then. Sales will soar too when this is a national news story and the GREAT BRITISH PRESS expose my hatemonger cyberstalker and the 10,000 words of abuse aimed at me on MY Goodreads book pages (I posted nothing on anyone else's pages; my hater came AT me, posted on MY book pages, attacked and harassed me, the victim, and my stalker is the perpetrator of that deranged obsessive hate campaign, AS ALL EVIDENCE SHOWS). My hater tried for over 9 months (28.8.23-16.4.24) to incite third parties to join her hate campaign & got just 20 likes for her abuse from fellow deranged unemployable psychowomen in the USA. Very telling, delusions of grandeur there, like Annie in MISERY, deluded and deranged, narcissitic peronality disorder maybe? ANYHOO...ALL ARCHIVED AND AVAILABLE TO JOURNALISTS (AND LAWYERS, CPS INCLUDED)FOR WHEN THIS ALL BECOMES A NEWS STORY (AND A LEGAL CASE). JUST ASK IF YOU NEED MORE INFO - you can then follow it up and interview all concerned. Not my doing, I shall approach and contact no-one except the press & media who can do their work and investigations and expose the BABY REINDEER hate campaign against me, the anti-Semitism, the police corruption and abuse. BIG STORY. 

I know the Great British press and media will make all this news story and the truth will out and THEN the chickens will come home to roost. I am always happy to do media interviews (TV, radio, press). I CANNOT WAIT! Truth will out. Good.

JUSTICE IS COMING, FOLKS! I am a born fighter and my mission in life now is JUSTICE AND TRUTH, exposing liars and being adequately compensated. I shall not be silenced or beaten, or suffer anti-Semitism from ANYONE. I shall win through this all. A storm is coming - good. I love a good storm! You run at me bully, I do not run away, I run AT YOU. You hit me, then I hit you back 10 times harder. Just like the great state of Israel...

I WAS JUST THINKING, THE DREADFUL HAMAS TERROR MASSACRE IN ISRAEL HAPPENED over 9 MONTHS AGO, SO I HAVE BEEN UNDER ATTACK FOR AMOST OF THAT TIME (28.8.23-16.4.24) TOO FROM SOMEONE WHOSE ANTI-SEMITISM MAKES ME FEEL PHYSICALLY SICK. I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE JEWS OF ISRAEL ARE GOING THROUGH, THE INJUSTICE OF IT. IT IS REAL RACISM, MAKE NO MISTAKE. I AM ISRAEL. MY ENEMY IS HAMAS. WHO WILL WIN? I KNOW.

ANYONE WHO CLAIMS ANY OF MY BOOKS ARE RACIST IS A MALICIOUS MALEVOLENT LIAR OR JUST PLAIN THICK. Just read THE NINE LIVES OF SUMMER - so diverse and international. My satirical novels demand ALL people abide by the SAME rules and values (GOODREADS take note as you did NOT apply your rules to your deranged hater 'top reviewer' as you want the free copy, which shows you to be in the moral sewer). Defamation right there from my hater and the enabler GOODREADS, attempt to wreck my writing career and trash my reputation, YOU WILL FAIL; I SHALL WIN, and expose my hater to the full glare of publicity too. I LOVE doing TV/radio interviews espeically - my abuser HATES publicity but that face with THAt evil smirk WILL BE ON SCREEN worldwide, esp when I sue Goodreads/Amazon in a US court (talking to my US No Win No Fee attorney now).

I HAVE FOUGHT AGAINST RACISM, BIGOTRY AND HATRED ALL MY LIFE - MY BOOKS SHOW THAT, AS DOES MY LIFE. Jewhaters often yell RACIST at Jews though eh and white people esp men, who my hater has an issue with it seems. See the posts about 'WHITE MAN TEARS'. The defamatory claim my books and I am racist. SEE YOU IN COURT where this will all be exposed.

I HATE BULLIES AND ALWAYS STAND AGAINST BULLIES WHEN OTHERS ARE BULLIED - BUT NOW I FIND MYSELF BULLIED AND DEFAMED, ABUSED AND LIED ABOUT.

WELL I NEVER RUN AWAY FROM BULLIES. I RUN AT THEM. I DO NOT CARE WHO THEY ARE.

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JUST TO SAY: Many thanks to the organisations and individuals for information,  support & advice - Society of Authors, Free Speech Union, AFAF, CIEO, various Jewish organisations, several journalist colleagues/contacts and many more. Much appreciated. We shall win this thing and get justice, as we all know. You can all have a great story which exposes the extent of anti-Semitism and corruption in the UK, and nails the abusers, names and shames them maybe - up to the free press not me.  Then I shall be compensated for what has happened to me.

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ANYHOO, back to MY LIFE AS AN AUTHOR not a civil rights champion and hero fighting for free speech in my own country now ruled by corrupt racist institutionally anti-Semitic pc gestapo UK police.

I also now have some more short stories to add to the 30 or so I have written (8 or so published). Prepping 3 or 4 to submit to major competitions in the next couple of years. Completed a cracking one this year, 23 drafts done to tweak it, so that will be submitted to the biggest national competitions in future. Writing 4 or 5 new ones, cracking ideas.

I tend to avoid short stories - which is always where new writers start and which writing magazines & courses are obsessed with. WHY? Impossible to get em published, except in compilations no-one reads that many authors actually pay a fee to be included in. I've won awards for some  of mine, of course - see the other tabs to read three or so. THE PRAGUE VIOLIN won me two cash prizes actually. Love it. There are 5 of my short stories on my website STORIES page.

I am now definitely writing my novel/novella about a psychowoman stalker, MY OWN PERSONAL BABYREINDEER. It COULD be a TV drama but I start with the novel, a short one, 60-80,000 words. Planning it out now, I know what I shall call the main character and what she will look and sound like, Oh yeah, I am GREATLY looking forward to writing and publishing it. Done three chapters now, present tense, immediate, scary the way a stalker psychowoman can manipulative and hate, so twisted and malicious. FUN to write though.

AND IT IS MY RIGHT TO WRITE FICTION - it is to me incredible I was told by a police officer in an interview that I was not allowed to write fiction. WTF? Britain, 2020s. Or 1984? WELL F U, nazi pigsfull of shit  pc gestapoo. It is MY RIGHT to write fiction.

And your orders to me  and abuse of me WILL be reported - in a formal complaint and by the literary press and national media too no doubt. Then I shall sue you - hard. To be told I am not allowed to write fiction as an author by a member of the pc gestapo. WTF? FOR SHAME.

I have put my children's writing on pause for the time being but have two excellent middle-grade stories done and dusted, which received positive feedback from 2 publishers and 3 agents just before the pandemic. They will be published one day, for sure (in fact I have privately published 30 copies of one for friends, to see it in the world). I have at least 3 decent middle grade books sketched out too - I am never short of ideas. But I detest the sort of ISHOO-led preachy woke kids' books landscape of now - they are so mediocre, and fail to lift the literacy of kids which I think is almost criminal. They should try to WISE UP not DUMB DOWN. They should STOP preaching propaganda.

Also, kids' books can and MUST contain important issues, such as death and pain - and no, they do NOT need trigger warnings, and nor do old Disney films like Dumbo, Bambi and 101 Dalmatians. Anyone demanding a trigger warning needs a trigger warning tattooed on their forehead. Then they need to be put in a see-through plastic room full of plastic colour balls and left there while the rest of us behave like people used to be behave - NOT LIKE BABYBRAINED MORONS, in other words. Kids are seriously stunted and abused really these days by being overprotected by hysterical ignorant people (women mostly) who think treating them like toddlers until teenage years is good. Not, it is bad and the CAUSE of great anxiety, depression and mental illness in kids who have NOT been allowed to go through the normal stages of childhood. As a result they lack all resilience and cannot cope, then get labelled 'autistic' and 'neaurodiverse'. These kids are SO hurt by their ignorant mollycoddlers. Overprotection is a form of child abuse.

So many new children's books PREACH sermons as their first purpose - much like Nazi/Communist propaganda kids' books which I saw in USSR on my visit in 1979 (yes, really). It is why those books exist - TO PREACH a message and brainwash. YUCK YUCK YUCK! Who wants to read that drivel? Kids do not - it is FORCED on them by brainwashing abusive adults actually, usually ignorant women.

By the way, I know all about the Nazi period from my extensive research for my novel, and also my family history (my father was arrested by the Nazis in 1943 for slave labour, and even though his Flemish family was Catholic, his probable father was Jewish German, so I have Jewish heritage too, which makes me enormously proud).

SO my advice to all writers is this: 

JUST TELL A STORY WELL! THAT IS IT. There is no more.

A GOOD STORY WELL TOLD should be your aim, always. Nothing else.

That is what good books (and films) do. They do not start with a list of ISHOOS to tickbox and please the latest pc woke committee. I HATE books like that. They are, in a word, crap - dangerous crap too.

My advice to parents: RAID THE ARCHIVE. There are many superb children's books from the past free of the disease of the woke virus, so find them. LITTLENOSE books; PROFESSOR BRANESTAWM. Lots of top Scandi fiction by many author.

Anyway, I write. It is what I do, and do well. What I write really MOVES people. That proves my success as an author of fiction.

The modern word 'trigger' used  by hysterics and loons came from psychiatry but any victim-posing BS merchant now claims everything is a 'trigger'. ALL that means in the context of books is that a story causes an emotional reaction in the reader. WELL, GOOD! That is the whole POINT of writing. DUH! My GREAT diverse anti-racist book THE NINE LIVES OF SUMMER is an emotional roller-coaster and I am SO glad that ALL the reviews of it are 4 anf 5 stars. There is always a mentaloid psycho babyhysteric posting a revenge review - they shame themselves with their spite (esp as they cannot tolerate any 1 star review for the ONLY publication they have in a self-published US trash horror collection. COWARD HYPOCRITE!)

If you really are an author, you write. You create. Always. That is who you are. That is who I am.

People like me do not retire.

And I shall never - NEVER - be silenced.

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!

The Nine Lives of Summer is a heart-warming tale ideal for both children and adult cat lovers of all ages. 

It is the purr-fect book for fans of A Street Cat Named Bob and A Cat Called Dog, as well as stories about refugees such as The Boy at the Back of the Class.

“A heart-warming tale with a life-affirming message.”

“Often funny, sometimes sad, always full of hope.”

One cat, nine lives and a quest to find a way home

Summer is a cat living happily with ten-year-old girl Sami and her family in Syria. Then the war comes.

Sami and her parents are forced to make the heart-wrenching decision to flee as refugees, leaving Summer behind.

On her journey through nine lives in a dozen countries, Summer discovers her purpose – to find Sami again.

The quest leads Summer all over the world, meeting diverse people from a vast array of cultures and backgrounds, through exciting adventures and heart-break, desperate struggle and survival. But she never ever gives up hoping and searching.

Will Summer ever find Sami, and be reunited with her family in her furever home once again?

ISBN  978-1-3999-4432-8 - Published by Two Fat Cats Publishing, 1^st  March 2023

Price £7.99 paperback; £3.99 eBook.

Available from Amazon and bookstores worldwide.

Author website: www.vanston.co.uk ; Twitter: @9LivesofSummer

ALSO I am making the first 50 pages or so, 8 chapters, available here FOR FREE: https://www.book2look.com/book/rpoTIljtSb

ENJOY!

Well here they are, the result of 15 years' hard work, almost half a million words, 10 books including a collection of poetry, 3 satirical novels, 4 cat novels/stories, a non-fiction quote book, and a Christmas poem picture book.

Thousands of hours' work; thousands in investment in myself and NOT a penny of public subsidy. I would have earned more on minimum wage stacking shelves, frankly.

Was it worth it? Yes and no. Yes for the enormous satisfaction of authoring and publishing real high-quality and worthwhile stories; no, financially and for the energy it has taken from my income-earning projects and business, and then the vile abuse from certain hateful reviewers with issues. BUT that is what dedication means.

It will be if the Nazi Crime Thriller novel ( a very psychological and original speculative story) I have just completed (1st draft) gets signed up by an agent/publisher for a series, with TV/film rights, for sure. It'd make a great movie - actually, my writing is all very cinematic so most of my books would make great films too (animation maybe for the cat stories).

But yes of course, it is a MASSIVE achievement and I am proud of the originality and high quality of all my books. Tbh despite sound commercial arguments, I have no interest in churning out genre ebooks in production-line-crime or romantic escapism genres as some do - but whatever floats your boat... They can work their side of the street, and I shall work mine.

All my books are in public libraries and The British Library. My pandemic poems are in the National Library of Wales and Museum of London 'Covid' archive collections for evermore...

I am pleased to announce the publication of my debut collection of poetry, THE LOVED ONES - A COLLECTION OF PANDEMIC POEMS ABOUT LOVE AND LOSS, by Jem Vanston, on 9th April 2022.

There are 54 poems in the collection, including 10 song lyrics - 9 have links to online demo recordings of the songs, so it's a real multimedia project! Most were written in 2020/21.

It's a diverse collection of poems, some darky funny, others very moving. Lots of poems about grief, bereavement, loss, death but also love - and hope.

Quite a few war poems here - First and Second World War poems, a Falklands poem (song), Viking, Roman, ancient warrior themes. Inspired by the war on Covid really but now sadly and tragically very timely as the war in Ukraine rages.

Two poems here are in the National Library of Wales Covid Collection - POEM OF THE PLAGUE YEAR and TWENTY-TWENTY: A YEAR IN THE LIFE (read them on the NEWS page of this website). The latter was also featured on That's Swansea Bay TV on November 5th 2020 (anyone interested can scroll back on Facebook to that clip), and also praised as 'poignant' by a representative of Her Majesty the Queen. It is most unusual for replies from royalty to include an opinion, so maybe the poem was read by our monarch. Who knows?

The paperback costs £8.99 - feel free to email me if you want to order a signed copy (acatcalleddog@hotmail.co.uk). The eBook is £3.99 - and the songlinks work better on there.

Here is the Amazon.co.uk link to the book (copy and paste):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Loved-Ones-Collection-Pandemic-Poems/dp/1399918087/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

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1st SEPTEMBER 2021

I am proud to announce publication of my book of quotes:

'THINKING TIME: 365 inspiring, amusing and thought-provoking quotes to get you through the year'

£7.99 paperback - the perfect Christmas present!

Great for quotes for lessons, lectures, services, speeches. Also useful for developing 'Intelligent Mindfulness' - a quote a day for a year for a daily mindfulness focus. And you'll learn something!

Plenty of quotes from Ancient Greece/Rome/China; plenty of quotes from authors, artists, politicians, actors, musicians, film/pop stars too - as reflects my education and interests.

Lots of wise and witty quotes, and great fun too!

Plenty of quotes from people of all nationalities, faiths, races and women. But ALL quotes are there ON MERIT ALONE. I vehemently oppose the patronising racism/sexism of race/gender quotas + only included quotes I feel are worthy of inclusion in my book.

Glad to get fellow Dartford boy Mick Jagger there on his birthday in July, and Freddie Mercury on his birthday 5th September.

Other pop stars include John Lydon, Annie Lennox, Keith Richards, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon also in there, reflecting my musical background, and film stars such as Charlie Chaplin there too. Women include Amy Johnson, Victoria Wood, Oprah Winfrey and many, many more. Loads of authors and poets in there too, and various politicians, historical figures and thinkers.

I dislike slushy, schmaltzy, spiritual motivational quote books and there are so many other there, so avoided such huggy-wuggy touchy-feely fluffy slushy quotes! Though there are some quotes by saints - St David on 1 March - and plenty by various philosophers from all of human history and around the world.

Some have quotes on the day they died such as Dylan Thomas, Prince Philip, Amy Johnson and many more. Some readers may notice the clever choice of quotes for significant dates; others will not. It does not matter - the book still works if they do not!

Anyway, enjoy your THINKING TIME!

I promise this will be a book of quotes you go back to time and again over the years, because the quotes are so diverse, witty, wise, fun and classic - and for every occasion.

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MARCH 2020 - SOMEWHERE IN EUROPE, my Swansea Campus Novel.

I am proud to announce that my new campus novel SOMEWHERE IN EUROPE was published on 28th March 2020.

Set in an unnamed and fictional university town in South Wales, my tale has a great deal to say about the education system, woke snowflake censorship, New Puritan culture, gender politics, Brexit and Remain issues, the EU, the state of the nation. Available from bookshops (though they all closed on 24th March!) and the usual online sellers (though there may be a delay in lockdown).

The BEST place to buy it is direct from the publisher who can fulfil orders quickly at any time, lockdown or no: 

https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/contemporary/somewhere-in-europe/ 

Somewhere in Europe is also available to buy direct from me - signed copy - for cover price + £3 postage, or from publisher website, or to buy or order from bookshops, or, if you must, Amazon (who snaffle 60% of cover price but at least stock books by smaller writers, unlike most bookstores). 

This novel has been called 'The Lucky Jim of now'. Or, as it says on the back cover, "It's like a cross between Catch-22 and Lucky Jim for the Brexit Generation". It is dark satire and laugh-out-loud funny at times too, but with some very moving scenes and characters too.

Worried about where education is going and how freedom of speech is under threat these days? Then this is the novel for you!

The novel predicts BLM and the taking down of statues and portraits of white men too - it has already happened in The Town in the story.

As of 2024, this novel is borrowed more from UK libraries than any other of my books, just loads of lends - which suggests it may be on a booklist or two at universities really. I love the way this novel triggers those people it lampoons too, those smug self-righteous types who claim they are 'progressive' all while yelling slogans to destroy Israel and all Jews on the streets of London. The lack of self-awareness is just stunning. Regressive, intolerant and illiberal is what these bigots are, yet always accuse others of racism - well, they need to be challenged (watch this space on that).

Any reviewer or media person wanting any further information can contact me via this website or the publishers. Many thanks.

MEANWHILE...

My Christmas poem SANTA GOES ON STRIKE was published on 30th September 2018, as a colour-illustrated paperback and ebook. (Repromoted for Christmas 2019 with WH Smith book store signings! Maybe in the run-up to Christmas 2020 too...)

It's a funny, heart-warming, meaningful poem picture book with WONDERFUL illustrations (based on my specifications) for both children and adults, and ideally is to be read aloud by families at Christmas. A fitting tribute to my late mum Marjorie who loved my poem and used to read it aloud to her friends at the many Christmas lunches she used to go to every year. It always went down a storm! (I now have it translated into French too, for media in France/Canada).

Paperback widely available online, but eBook not available on Amazon (they do not support fixed-file layout for some reason) so only available on Kobo or Apple or the online bookshop of the Cardiff publishers:

https://www.rowanvalebooks.com/book/santa-goes-on-strike

PERFECT for a Christmas present for both children and adults!

"A modern-day classic!"  "A real gem!" "delightful"

Please see the REVIEWS page (top menu) for all the wonderful reviews and feedback for SANTA GOES ON STRIKE - which includes some very famous people too! Thanks to them for their replies! Much appreciated. Odd that strangers show more interest than local media or bookshops here in Swansea, but I guess that explains why we didn't win CITY OF CULTURE for 2021. Well done Coventry - you deserve it.

I shall be promoting SANTA GOES ON STRIKE in the run-up to Chrismas 2019 due to popular demand and the wonderful reviews. Signings at branches of WH Smith, definitely - updates nearer the time. But probably Swansea, Llanelli, Carmarthen, maybe Cardiff, possibly even branches in England. Watch this space.

Out 31st August 2017, A CAT CALLED DOG 2 - THE ONE WITH THE KITTENS was finally published.

If in the UK, buy it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cat-Called-Dog-One-Kittens/dp/1786293382/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1504178160&sr=8-7&keywords=Jem+Vanston

Or here: http://www.austinmacauley.com/book/cat-called-dog-2-one-kittens

Suitable for both children and adults. No need to read the first book to understand and enjoy this one. Excellent reviews in Cat World, The Bookbag, NetGalley etc.

Or order from your bookshop. ALSO available at UK libraries - after SOMEWHERE IN EUROPE this is my most borrowed book from them, in the 2023-24 year (just got my PLR stat form!)

If in USA or outside UK, your own country's Amazon will be stocking it.

Jem Vanston AKA PJ Vanston is also author of the satirical campus novel Crump (Troubador:2010), cat lover novel A Cat Called Dog (Troubador:2013), plus the illustrated children's/crossover version of A Cat Called Dog (Austin Macauley:2015) - and A Cat Called Dog 2 (out 31/8/2017). Occasional writer of short stories and winner of prizes too. Author of Christmas picture book (for all ages) Santa Goes On Strike (2018).

I'm also a published song writer (music and lyrics) and musician (piano/keyboards/bass guitar), and have written over 100 songs. Listen to some of my demos here: https://soundcloud.com/user-217675148

PJ Vanston is the author of a new scathing satire on the television industry, the BBC and reality TV: Rasmus - a television tale (Troubador: October 2016). This may soon be optioned by the biggest film agency in the USA. Order via Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rasmus-Television-P-J-Vanston/dp/1785893610/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470389533&sr=1-1&keywords=rasmus+a+television+tale

http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=4061 (author page)

REVIEW (4 stars!) here: http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Rasmus:_A_Television_Tale_by_PJ_Vanston

And here: https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-d232-Satire-on-reality-TV-puts-the-gross-in-engrossing#.WUOP_uRK1PY

To order the illustrated children's version of A Cat Called Dog by Jem Vanston, please use the following information:

Paperback (£6.99)  ISBN: 9781784559595

Hardback (£12.99) ISBN: 9781784559618

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cat-Called-Dog-Jem-Vanston/dp/1784559598/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440484462&sr=1-1&keywords=a+cat+called+dog

Also available in all decent national book shops now.

The original 2013 edition of A Cat Called Dog can be purchased here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cat-Called-Dog-Jem-Vanston/dp/1780885598

To hear radio interviews click on the sound files on the left side of this webpage:

http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=2177

My first novel - a dark campus satire called Crump - is sold out of paperback (hurrah!) but still available in e-book format + still selling:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crump-P-J-Vanston/dp/1848762852

A sequel will be out in 2020/2021.

Here is my author page on one of my publishers' websites:

http://www.austinmacauley.com/author/vanston-jem