Two new books from local authors. GRECH and The Night Swimmer

Two local authors launch new work on World Book Day

Hastings is blessed with a plethora of local talent so why not ‘shop local’ on World Book Day and treat yourself to a fiction set on the beach of Bulverhythe or the streets of Hastings Old Town? Dee Williams reviews. 

There is a natural interest in reading about our own town and identifying places we know and love. With five bookshops serving Hastings, we are a creative community that supports fellow creatives. Both authors who have just published new books write for the love of sharing their work and their experiences, hoping to engage the reader with a mix of pathos, humour and philosophy.

Ken Edwards

Author Ken Edwards has written four previous novels plus a collection of poetry. He has worked as a journalist and is currently a partner in a small printing press called grand IOTA.  His latest work GRECH is available on the grand IOTA website.

Set on the beach of Bulverhythe the work was inspired by a series of photographs taken by his wife Elaine Edwards on her regular walks during the pandemic. The main character is an elderly, homeless man living on the edge of the beach. He pontificates on philosophy and science and is obsessed by a mysterious character called Grech, whom he blames for his downfall. Familiar with this stretch of land between the railway line and the sea, this opening passage rang all too true.

“There is almost constant wind here, where we sit or stand or lie, and it is chiefly blowing from the direction of the south-west, that is the prevailing direction though sometimes (as a change) easterly, and one has to endure it, or make provision against it, or go with it, as is appropriate at any particular instant; for sometimes it’s mild, it softens the cheeks, glorious to relate, and sometimes it’s horrid, but that’s how it goes.”

The weather, the landscape and the bird life feature throughout, as do the beach huts, which offer some shelter until …  Best buy your own copy and unravel the journey from beginning to end. Edwards, alongside fellow author Sharon Kivland, will be hosting a book launch in London on 13 March, should you be interested in getting a signed copy.

Simon J Houlton

Meanwhile, Simon J Houlton has set his new work in and around the Old Town of Hastings. Simon has been writing for over a decade but The Night Swimmer is his first book to reach publication. His work also centres on a single, male character struggling with daily life.

Inspired by the punk movement Simon is a free-spirit, with a can-do attitude. He uses no formulas and has attended no courses. He writes from the heart and from his own experiences working and living among the Old Town community. He describes the book as ‘dark and edgy’ dealing with ‘psychological issues’  but with many dabs of humour along the way.

We follow the main character Bill Eckersley from his draughty top-floor Victorian flat through many of the pubs and bars of the Old Town as he struggles with thoughts of isolation. He finds solace in night swimming where reality blurs with fantasy. Simon has already had some wonderful reviews on Amazon, where his book is available in paperback, hardback and as a Kindle ebook. 

“This book conjured up the local culture and atmosphere of a small coastal town, immersing you so that you felt that you were there. There’s a good mixture of dark humour and observations of daily life, together with a plot that draws you in and comes to an unexpected conclusion.”

Let’s give our local authors some love and enjoy spotting some places, and possibly some people we know, as we journey with their fictional characters walking our streets and sitting on our bar stools.

Also in: Literature