Parlour Press: The Collaborative Publisher at Carmarthen Book Fayre

    Councillor Kevin Madge/Vice Chair of Carmarthen County Council & Mrs Catrin Madge 

This weekend, I took my independent publishing press to Carmarthen Book Fayre. It was a fantastic experience. I met lots of people and it was a great opportunity to talk indepth about Parlour Press & my new SOUL INK collection. 

As a writer, I have developed an Award Winning Collaborative Publishing Press from the parlour of my little stone cottage in West Wales. By fostering partnership working, I visit and work with people of all ages and abilities, to help them 'write themselves well' through creative writing and publishing. 

I founded Parlour Press 17 years ago and since then, have published 52 books, written in collaboration with individuals, groups and communities, including Care Homes, Secure Units, Children in Care, Young Mums Projects, Young people who Self Harm, patients during renal dialysis, those living with dementia ...

Let me explain what I mean by 'Collaborative Publishing' and how my model of working makes positive social change for those individuals taking part and for the wider community. 

In this blog, I will speak to you about 'Postcards from Louie' and how, as a body of work, it has impacted my newest collection, SOUL INK, both of which were with me at Carmarthen Book Fayre.

I met Louise Davies in a Dementia Friendly Care Home in Llanelli when she was 92. I had been invited by Artscare Gofal Celf to run storytelling workshops for people with dementia and as we were finishing, Louise, or Louie as her friends call her, turned around in her wheel chair and asked me to 'Save her story'. 

The funding for my work had run out, but I felt it was a great privilege to work with someone in this way, to help them to remember themselves, so I agreed to carry on as a volunteer. 

The family agreed for me to submit the work for my Masters Degree in Drama, where I specialised in Applied Arts at the Atrium in Cardiff, part of the University of South Wales. I was absolutely thrilled to be awarded an Outstanding Contribution Award to Drama by the University. It was the first time that someone in this department had been given the award.

Postcards from Louie took on a life of its own. I organised an Exhibition at Greenspace Gallery in Carmarthen, performing the folk rhymes to a packed audience, including Louie's family who travelled to come and celebrate her life together. 

We organised a children's trail of Louie's memories, which led to work in Carmarthen schools and regular visits to the care home from the local children, with tea parties and sing- a- longs.

Postcards from Louie Talking Book became part of the National Talking Book Service and a welsh language version was created for the People's Collection Wales.

I was then invited to join the research team at the Wales School of Social Care & Research at Swansea University, to be part of the  'A Better Life' team, funded by Joseph Rowntree Foundation. 

This enabled me to work with a number of other older people attending dementia care facilities, supporting them to create their own resources, such as 'The Memoirs of Strang the Strong' which became an anti-bullying book in primary education and 'Singing with Betty and Friends', which became a resource for table top dementia choirs.

For this body of work I was absolutely astounded to be awarded the GOLD Wales National Care Award in 2015.

At Parlour Press, my work is grounded in applied writing and publishing, it is an innovative approach that creates a supportive environment for an individual, group or community , so that they are empowered to 'write themselves well' by  accessing the story of self, and in so doing, inspire others to write themselves well, too.

Let's have a look at the key strands running through my work ...

EMPOWERMENT: By collaborating with a writer and publisher (ME), Louie was enabled to create her own memory resource rather than have me do something for or to her. She is the voice of her own narrative and empowered through this. 

ENABLE: By publishing Louie's memory resources, the books and CD's became  resources for other older people, enabling older people to help each other and be heard in a meaningful and valued way. Part of feeling better is in the giving, as well as the receiving of support.

CONTINUITY OF SELF

Louie was able to retain and connect to a sense of self, to celebrate her identity and in so doing, continue to contribute to society in the ways that she always had before having dementia. Her family were also able to celebrate what she could still remember and be a part of collating that journey.

DECONSTRUCTING STEREOTYPES

As a collaborative writer and publisher, I am enabling people with chronic illness, disability and disadvantage the platform to make social change, deconstructing negative stereotypes through positive action and making visible the person behind the label as an equal stakeholder in devising resources.

SOCIAL HISTORY

My work enables us to capture and preserve a social history that is alove and vibrant, able to heal us rather than stay on a shelf or otherwise, be lost, so that we can build a living picture of our national and  richly human, cultural heritage.

POLITICS OF CARE

Louie's story opened up possibilities for her to contribute to national research, findings of which have changed policy with regard to social care for older people across the country. 

Even though I have done all this work, it was not until I awoke one morning 2 years ago with hearing loss, that I truly understood how creative writing adn publishing can not just enable us to write ourselves well, but it can actually save you. For sure, it saved me.

SOUL INK
My new collection of books is my own story, using the same model that I had developed with so many others, finding ways to write myself well and sharing those with others, so that they might be inspired to do the same.

When I first became deaf 2 years ago, I did not remember my own story. That sounds strange doesn't it, but I was so consumed by loss, that I forgot that I had spent 17 years honing a way of empowering other people to write themselves well. 

Once I remembered my sense of self identity by intensively working from the place of my own story, I realised that everything I needed to heal, was within me. From this seed, a beautiful pathway unfolded. 

A year ago, when my hearing disabilities held me almost a prisoner in my own home, it would not have even been possible to think that I would be at Carmarthen Book Fair talking to Councillor Kevin Madge, Vice Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council and his partner, about my collaborative model of working at Parlour Press. I am proof of the Parlour Press pudding, that I have spent all these years perfecting. 

My next adventure is organising Parlour Press, Llandysul Book Fair at The Porth Hotel 29th September where you can come and meet the lovely authors and poets of West Wales, whilst overlooking the beautiful Teifi River ... 

My first time: FB LIVE

Tonight, was my first ever FACEBOOK LIVE. It's part of my new plan to build a platform from which to share my work as a poet, writer and songstress. Having hyperacusis means that performance is pretty much out of the question, at least for now, until I can devise new ways of making it so. 

To be honest, if I look back over the last year, who would have thought that I could have come this far in terms of carving a whole new life around my hearing needs, so ...  'Never say never' (as my Nan would say)

Here's the first facebook live, this one was on my new SOUL INK writer's page and to be honest, not many people jumped in ... 

Feeling more confident with the technology (in that I actually worked out how to turn it on!) I then I went over to my main facebook page and did a second LIVE SOUL INK recording. 

Here it is (below) ... as you can see, many more people responded because my main page comes up in their feed, whereas my new Writer's Page is a Business Page, so it doesn't seem to. It's all a learning process ... which is fabulous.

I got quite emotional at times because friends that I have not seen for ages, were responding live, and in real time, it felt very magical indeed. Like a proper connection.

So, despite feeling sick with nerves before doing it, I am so pleased to have begun this facebook LIVE journey. That I can speak to you from the bed where I wrote my book 'SOUL INK for the Morning' and do readings personally for you, in a real time response, is beyond words really, it's an emotion I haven't felt for a very long time, if ever.

And when something feels this right, well, you just have to keep going with it.

                                     

SOUL INK READINGS AT MY FACEBOOK LIVE: The quest for creative, disability friendly platforms

The quest for disability friendly platforms continues and I am finding it quite exciting. My hyperacusis means that being in large crowded theatres and venues has become untenable, mostly because theatres sadly do not have the equipment I need to able to access performance. So, unperturbed, I am currently exploring ways that I can work from the quiet of home and yet still creatively connect with people who might be interested in my work.

As I wrote in an earlier blog, I have spent some time re-vamping my youtube and now today, I am going to try and get to grips with FACEBOOK LIVE!! I am a tad nervous but in a good way.

The first thing I have done is opened a Cheryl Beer SOUL INK page dedicated just to my writing. This is an enormous step for me. Deep down, I have this feeling that my little humble offerings are not really going to be of any worth, so I tend to push them to one side and make myself too busy, by helping everyone else. But then this week, I went for an Angel Card Reading with the lovely Mandy Hawkins and what came up was that I need to 'turn up the volume and allow myself to shine'. Well, I started crying when she said it. The very thought of focusing on my own work quite frankly, makes me almost giddy. But, I'm not one to argue with angels and whether you believe in angel card readings or not, Mandy's loving encouragement and ability to switch on my sparkle, was really beautiful.

Anyway, I digress, so, I opened the writers page and over 200 people joined within 24 hours ... which was just MIND BLOWING and gave me affirmation that I am walking the right pathway.

So, tonight at 6.30pm I am going to see if I can get facebook live to work. I have no idea what I'm doing but I am guessing we can all learn together.

The idea is that I will be able to give interactive readings from my new SOUL INK book, sharing with folks that leave messages in my feed whilst filming. What a lovely way to connect with folk.

If you'd like SOUL INK reading, just pop on over and LIKE MY PAGE.

If you're intrigued and would like to find out more about me, why not click the link and pop to my website ... 

                                                                     

Published by Parlour Press

Wrapping with love : Every book sale has a story

As an author, I never feel more nervously excited than when I am wrapping a book up for someone who has invested in me, in my work, in my stories. When someone buys one of my books, it is not just a purchase. It is an emotional attachment. You are enabling me to rebuild my life.

Since being a child, I have lived as a musician, so when I became suddenly deaf, living with debilitating tinnitus and hyperacusis, I thought my life was over. To put it into perspective, sometimes the distortion of my tinnitus is so loud, I cannot even hear my own voice. Writing has saved me. Given me back myself.

Every book sale has a story with it and today I am going to tell you about the book I have just finished wrapping. I will not mention names because it wouldn't be fair on the young woman.

Many years ago, I was working in Community Education designing creative courses to build the confidence of Young Mums. And in she walked, filled with so much beautiful light shining from within her, but she could not see it herself. We worked together as a whole team over the next few years. I was so very proud of her, as we all were. She became such a wonderful Mother, trained in Youth Work and started to make a difference to the life of others. 

And then today, she wrote to me, saying how incredibly proud of me she was, that I  had taken something that she described as a curse, my hearing loss, and I had turned it around. She said that she admired me for having done this and wanted to buy a book so that she could feel me.

I cannot even begin to describe the emotion that this evoked inside me. I felt authentic, real. Like all the times that I have held the hand of young mums, older people with dementia, people on renal dialysis, those at end of life, every time I have sat with them to design a creative way of lifting their soul through writing, publishing or the arts, consolidated here; I was walking my walk just as I had supported them to do.

And there was she, all grown up and proud of me and I felt taller because of her, likely as tall as I had helped her to feel, all those years ago.

So, you see, when you buy a book from someone like me, it is so much more than a book. No, I am not on the shelves of WH Smith ... but I can be on your shelf, in your heart, part of your world.

 If you would like to purchase one of my books, why not pop over to me facebook page.  I will put all my love into wrapping it up and sending it to you.

Chocolate for the Eyes & Soul : The Joys of Self Publishing

Writing stories and poems to lift the soul is one thing, typing them all up, formatting them, commissioning the artwork, discussing designs, the whole process of Self Publishing is a journey of love and dedication. I have run Parlour Press for 17 years, helping other people to write and publish ... And now, this week, I find myself with my own books finally in my hands. I cannot begin to tell you how remarkable it  feels.

Have you noticed that when you buy a mug from a potter, you can feel that potter's love every time you have a cup of tea. Well, it's the same with books. Yes, you can buy a mug in a supermarket for a couple of quid, but it's just not quite the same as knowing that someone has stayed awake, night after night, making an extension of them self, to gift you part of their being, so that you might be inspired by their story.

That's how it is for me. I am not just making books, I am making memories. I am planting heartfelt seeds within you, sharing stories that will stay with you, help you in darker times. Poems that you might share to lift the hearts of your little ones when they are a bit blue. Bite sized chunks of love, like chocolate for the eyes and the soul.

These are not stories to end up on shelves, but to be assimilated into your being to help you grow.

'Soul Seeds: Planting Heartfelt Stories' is a collection that has been sent to me from my inner being. I know that sounds out there, doesn't it, but it is my truth. Mostly, I woke up in the morning and found them recorded onto my phone during my sleep! 

The same with ‘Soul Ink for the Morning’. This beautiful little book has 100 poetic messages that I have awoken with. I open my eyes in the morning, and into my head pops just the right amount of hope to get me through my day and now, you can keep my book by your bed to help you in the mornings, too.

I can honestly say, that my writing has saved me, since becoming suddenly deaf and learning to live with tinnitus and hyperacusis, my stories and poems have lifted me, given me back hope and now I share that light with you. My heartfelt intention is to inspire hope in you, too. In fact, I promised the Universe I would do this; if she could see her way to helping me heal, then I would share that healing with others.

My 3rd little book may be the smallest, but ‘The Truth is in There’ will take you on a personal journey of divine meditation. Not only will you read the profound effect that meeting my inner child had on me, it will give you the tools to take yourself on a similar journey, if you so wish.

Just now, if you would like to buy my books, feel free to come to me direct on Facebook. I am still setting up the infra- structure for Sales. The reason I have waited is because I didn't know what the platform would be or look like, until I held the books in my hands. And now, I can feel them, take joy in them, this inspires the next step of the path we take together, my books and I.

I share with you here, an intimate moment, the morning I opened the boxes as they arrived from the postie. And remember, every time you buy a book from a self- published author, you can be assured that she is skipping around the house doing a happy dance.

It is always lovely to hear from you, feel free to drop me a line.