Interview with Crispina Kemp, author of Learning to Fly

I am really excited to be able to share this fabulous interview with my talented blogging friend and author, Crispina Kemp. Her next book, Learning to Fly, is being released 1st April 2021. I was lucky enough to beta read this story, and I loved it as much as the five book series, The Spinner’s Game, which she released last year. Read on to learn more about her latest book…

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1: How does Learning to Fly fit into the world you created with the five-book series The Spinner’s Game, which you released in its entirety last year? And do you need to read The Spinner’s Game to be able to follow Learning to Fly?

To answer the second part of that question first, despite characters appear in this book who were met in The Spinner’s Game, you don’t need to read that series first. For those earlier characters this is a continuation and conclusion of the “Game” – which answers the rest of that question. Learning to Fly moves their story into a contemporary setting. The original characters in The Spinner’s Game have descendants, unto the seventh generation. The main thrust of the story follows one such descendant. Neve.

2: Learning to Fly follows the story of Neve.  How did her character come to you and what inspired her personality and background?

It was necessary to the plot to have a loner as the MC, someone not streetwise, an “innocent” in today’s world. But what woman in C21st Britain can be described as that? Perhaps someone who has spent the years since leaving school nursing her grandma, in a rural Norfolk village. But now with her grandma’s death, she’s released from that. Now she can find the mother who deserted her as a child.

Her personality is Piscean. I refer to astrology sun-types for all my main characters. It’s an excellent shorthand. Say Piscean and I know at once what she’s like. I know how she’ll react, what she’ll tolerate and what she won’t.

3: A question of favourites next.  Who’s your favourite character from Learning to Fly, which is your favourite location, and what is your favourite quote from this book?

My favourite character is Rat (Razimer), a former Viking, now a biker. He has such a charming personality, is an “air-drummer”, a frustrated Rockstar, and into all the same music as Neve. Who could not love him?

My favourite location? Some might think that would be Regin-jarl’s mead hall, so often do we visit there. But no. My favourite location is split between the offshore island of Yalesham Sands, aka Haggleland where Neve’s mastery of her nature is put to the test, and Ceza’s Well where she learns the truth. Ceza’s Well is a real location, scene of my adolescent idling dreams.

As to quote:

Neve yawned, her head mussy, her eyelids heavy. The old church was airless, thick with the smell of decay. She yawned again… and startled awake when Halftroll leapt onto the altar, straining to reach through the bars, exhibiting his lethal nails. Ten little razors upon his two little hands.

4: Who’s your least favourite character and why?

My least favourite character is Skrauti, traitorous, self-serving, obnoxious jerk with not a thought for other people.

About Learning to Fly: Medievalist Neve is delighted to find herself surrounded by swirling colours and foot-stomping music in Regin-jarl’s mead hall… even if her presence is dependent on the memories of a banished angel. Prompted by the angel to find the truth of her grandfather, locked in a cage to be food for vampiric grimmen, trapped beneath a dragon… life isn’t fun for Neve… though she does like the music!

5: Who was the hardest character to write and why?

Huat was the hardest to write. One of the characters from The Spinner’s Game, he has a small but vital part to play. As one expects, over the intervening millennia he has matured, and to show him as the same character despite those changes… that was difficult.

6: Music plays an important role in this book.  Was that intentional or did it come about by itself? Is music important to you and does it play a significant role in your life or in your writing process?

I would love to be able to include a music track to this book. It is crucial as in it provides much of the initial conflict between Raesan and Neve. More than that is the subtext included in those tracks. They are not chosen at random.
As an early teen I would create stories from the records in our collection; mostly love stories, because pop music is mostly about love. But music can say more than words ever can. It sets emotional tone and cultural background. It also provides rhythm, pace, colour, flavour, all things important in my writing. And yes, it does play a significant role in my life which has often involved musicians and the music scene.

7: Another important theme of the book is that of textiles. We are given lavish descriptions of clothing, wall-hangings and embroidery as we join Neve on her journey of discovery. What is it about textiles that you find interesting?

Attention to fabrics has become a hallmark of my writing, but what is it that I find interesting? First, and the way I use it in writing, is that clothing provides clues to social and cultural status. Yet I tend to go into more depth than the average person and so have given this as an interest to both Kerrid and Neve, the one being a spinner and weaver, the other an embroideress. This calls on my own interests: a dressmaker/designer in my 20s, an embroideress until my wrist refused me more, I love playing with colours and textures, and the finer details provided by needlework and jewellery. There is a sensuousness about the feel of fabric. Mmm, music and fabrics, my life is complete!

8: What do you think is the most important theme in the story? Why? What do you hope readers will take away from the book when they’ve finished reading it?

In the opening image Neve is alone, isolated and, although confident to deal with the world, she doesn’t trust people; she’s been let down in the past, suffered racial abuse at school, and now prefers to be the hermit. Her lesson is to trust… in herself, in others, and in the unknown. Weaving through this is the theme that we do need other people in our lives, that we’re not better off alone. Even if alone is easier.

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About Crispina Kemp

Failing to find a place on the space programme – to boldly go – I turned my vision inwards to a study of psychology and exploration of spirituality. This encouraged an outward journey to explore this wonderful world, its peoples, its beliefs, but mostly its pasts. From the exploration I returned with the core of my writing.

But, for the more mundane-minded: For a shy child with a speech problem, the written word came as a release, enabling me to express myself without being asked, ‘Eh? What did you say? Say again?’ I wrote my first ‘proper’ story when I was nine. A gothic offering to scare my friends. Since then, there’s been scarcely a day when I haven’t been busy writing. Novels. The short story form doesn’t appeal to me, although over recent months I have posted micro-
fiction on my blog.

In my early teens, I visited Grimes Graves, the Neolithic flint mines in Norfolk. The following summer, I visited Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Thence began a lifelong interest in the archaeology of prehistory. The study of myths and legends seemed a natural progression, and from there to linguistics (despite my inability to pronounce the words).

Resident in Norfolk (UK) where my roots dig deep, my regular rambles into the surrounding countryside provide balance to the cerebral… and ample subjects for my camera.

https://www.amazon.com/author/crispinakemponamazon

https://crispinakemp.com

Twitter: @crispinakemp1 and @ineebrown51

Interview with Crispina Kemp, author of The Spinner’s Game – Part 3

You may have seen the interview with Crispina Kemp I shared a few weeks ago from my book review blog, Sammi Loves Books. Now I get to share with you an epic three-part interview with Crispina, as we talk about her soon-to-be released five book historical fantasy series, The Spinner’s Game.

In Part 1, Crispina answered questions on writing the series, the main character, Kerrid, and where the story is set. In Part 2, she answered questions on magic, mythology and society in her stories. The third and final part of the interview can be found below, where we turn our attention to language, characters and favourite things…

Part 3: Languages and Characters

The terminology you’ve created in the book is interesting. Farfoot, Wolfman, Zeflas…  How did you devise the words?  And what is the difference between Wise-One and a Breathman?

Some terms are logical – at least, I think so. To farfoot is to walk a great distance, to explore the far-lands, to form alliances with distant tribes and open trade routes. And because of his greater experience and knowledge, and his contacts who can be called upon in times of need, a farfoot will make a good chief. In Gushan, the term farfoot has replaced the term chief.

But why is a farfoot also called a wolfman? That’s logical too – at least to me. Beyond and between the encampments, a lone farfooter would make excellent prey for the grey-furred hunters. Yet in the ritual killing of a wolf and the donning of its skin, the wolfman acquires the wolf-spirit’s protection. In like manner, a chief will wear the skin of a big cat, whose spirit then protects the clan against other cats.

The case for the zeflas is different. Zeflas are small disease, polluting, or stinging demons. I changed demon to zefla at the suggestion of one of my early readers for, as she said, in today’s fantasies, demons are something else entirely. But why zefla? It’s a corruption of seraphim. It seemed to fit.

And you’re not the first to ask what’s the difference between Wise-One and a Breathman.

Bargli is a breathman while Serande is a wise-man. Both know how to oblige the divines and to protect against the lesser zeflas. We see the difference when there’s a problem with no stock solution. Then they must consult the divines.

Kitted out in various skins to ensure their spirit’s protection, Bargli spins to entrance – downward, to the Horned One’s Dark Domain, to the begetter of the Six Clans of Gushan.

Meanwhile, Serande squeezes himself into a womblike cave where he downs a disgusting concoction of hallucinogens and drums himself into the all-encompassing Oracular Web. All truths, he says, are found in that Web.

So, I guess we might say, the breathman consults the Father, the wise-man the Mother.

So we’ve spoken of how you invented words, how did you create the names for your characters?

I’ve already said about Kerrid, that her name, inspired by the Welsh goddess Cerridwen, pre-existed The Spinner’s Game.

The others? For many I took inspiration from Sumerian names. Just to end a name in -il, or -li gives it an alien and ancient feel. And likewise, having found Kerrid’s name, I repeated that -id ending: Suenid, the Uissids (pronounced Wizids). But I controlled my passion for ending names in -en, -in, and -an, which I think is possibly a Germanic thing. There are some; Gimmerin for example. Another trick I used was to change a letter or two in an English name. Elizabeth became Erazibat.

But no matter the names used in the beginning, many evolved into something else during the writing process. A matter of rhythm, the flow of the sentence, and has it the right sound for the character? During those early days my brain made adjustments without consultation.

Who was the hardest character to write, and why?

My answer to that is a character from the second book, Lake of Dreams. Urinod.

He’s not the worst of the Uissids, but still he’s not a nice character. One of my beta-readers was offended by him and called him a toxic male. Certainly, he’s a misogynist who can’t abide Kerrid, in his opinion the root of all evil. He’s very much a physical person too; prefers to use his fists not his head – unless it’s to head-butt. And he’s possessive of his position within the Uissid’s hierarchy. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as head-on as that. It would have been easy to paint him all the way bad, but everyone has a backstory that explains how they are. I’d say his comes in one word: Olun, his older brother.

Now a question of favourites: who was your favourite character to write, where was your favourite location and what is your favourite quote from the first book in the series, The Spinner’s Child?

My favourite character to write, both in The Spinner’s Child and The Spinner’s Game is the one character everyone hates. The loathsome, psychopathic Paddlo. I had great fun with him, though several times I had to pull back. Gimmerin holds a close second place. For me, he’s an amalgam of every woman’s despised husband. He does try… truly. But he’s such an egotist.

My favourite location? In The Spinner’s Child, I’d say that’s the Spinner’s Otherworld Web, based on a vision experienced many years ago during meditation.

And my favourite quote? I have several, depending upon my mood. I’ve taken this from Kerrid’s first meeting with Gimmerin.

‘My brothers would fume if they knew I helped you,’ he said.
‘You’d best return to them then. I’m surprised any of Chief Uissinir’s sons care to help. I’m surprised they dare interfere.’
Her shimmer twitched. His flames remained steady. She pursed her lips. And again, her hands wouldn’t be still but rubbed her thighs.
‘Itch, do they?’
She picked at a bead instead.

One final question to bring this three-part interview to a close. If readers take away one thing from The Spinner’s Child, what do you hope that is?

First – and for this, it’s easiest to quote the poet Omar Khayyam: The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on. Nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.

In other words, what’s done is done and can’t now be undone; a sentiment expressed several times in the course of the five books. However, while it can’t be undone, one can make amends and put things right. It’s this which drives Kerrid to complete her journey.

Second: What at first might seem a disability, with acceptance can become a gift. I’ve seen this in my own life, where a speech defect in childhood served as the impetus to develop my writing skills so I could communicate. Yet look where it’s taken me.

If you would like to read my thoughts on the first book in the series, The Spinner’s Child, you can find the review here.

The Spinner’s Game

All five books of Crispina Kemp’s series, The Spinner’s Game, are available for pre-order now, with a release date of 21st March 2020. Follow the link below to her Amazon author page or website for more information.

Connect with Crispina Kemp

Failing to find a place on the space programme – to boldly go – I turned my vision inwards to a study of psychology and exploration of spirituality. This encouraged an outward journey to explore this wonderful world, its peoples, its beliefs, but mostly its pasts. From the exploration I returned with the core of my writing.

But, for the more mundane-minded: For a shy child with a speech problem, the written word came as a release, enabling me to express myself without being asked, ‘Eh? What did you say? Say again?’ I wrote my first ‘proper’ story when I was nine. A gothic offering to scare my friends. Since then, there’s been scarcely a day when I haven’t been busy writing. Novels. The short story form doesn’t appeal to me, although over recent months I have posted micro-fiction on my blog.

In my early teens, I visited Grimes Graves, the Neolithic flint mines in Norfolk. The following summer, I visited Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Thence began a lifelong interest in the archaeology of prehistory. The study of myths and legends seemed a natural progression, and from there to linguistics (despite my inability to pronounce the words).

Resident in Norfolk where my roots dig deep, my regular rambles into the surrounding countryside provide balance to the cerebral… and ample subjects for my camera.

I can be found on crispinakemp.com and my author’s page on Amazon

Next week: An interview with writer and book cover designer Lauren Willmore

Interview with Crispina Kemp, author of The Spinner’s Game – Part 2

You may have seen the interview with Crispina Kemp I shared a few weeks ago from my book review blog, Sammi Loves Books. Now I get to share with you an epic three-part interview with Crispina, as we talk about her soon-to-be released five book historical fantasy series, The Spinner’s Game.

In Part 1, Crispina answered questions on writing the series, the main character, Kerrid, and where the story is set. The second part of the interview can be found below, where Crispina answers some questions on magic, mythology and society in her stories. Tune in next week for Part 3, when we turn our attention to language, characters and favourite things…

Part 2: Magic, Myth and Society

The story has a rich mythological framework woven through it.  How does Kerrid and her people view and interact with the divine? How easy was it to create the mythology and fables? 

Before there was a belief in the gods, there was a belief in an all-pervading ‘Spirit’, a belief still prevalent throughout our world, and not only in non-technological societies. In fact, it is regaining ground in the West.

But for Kerrid’s people that belief included the notion of agency, known today as animism, in which Spirit, now coalesced into discrete entities, is able to act of its own volition. With the relevant gifts, these discrete entities – divines – might be made to act on the donor’s behalf. But who knows which gifts might oblige them? While knowledge of the more common gifts – e.g. a slop of brew for the Lady of the Hills will keep her sweet and not convulsing – anything out of the ordinary requires a specialist.

And then there are the demons. The role of a demon is to destroy. As Kerrid says, it’s what they do. They cause disease and rot.

I enjoyed creating the myths and fables. Straight from my head? I think not. I have read so much mythology over the years, it’s more likely they’re an amalgamation of many myths, distilled to their essence and simplified.

The first public outing of The Spinner’s Game was in instalment form on my blog where I called it Feast Fables. I imagined the fables not as tales but as ‘things said’ at the time of the feast. At Christmas we talk of Santa, his flying reindeer, his helpful elves. At Easter, we say of the Easter Bunny hiding its eggs. At Halloween, we speak of witches and goblins and the awakening dead. While these have roots in ancient rituals and beliefs, they are not myths. They’re feast fables. And so too with Kerrid’s people. Everyone knew the Lady’s sons had cut up their mother to make the world, but few knew the underlying myth.

Magical rituals make a number of appearances throughout the book. Could you explain a little about how magic operates in this world?

First, with animism, magic is everywhere, and everyone a practitioner… all without them knowing it. For anyone who makes a gift and gets a result is working magic. To Kerrid’s people, this would be as commonplace as for us to switch on a light. But that’s for everyday-everywhere magic. As I’ve already said, sometimes a specialist is needed. A specialist serves as a repository of the tribe’s magic lore – imagine a living encyclopaedia. But more important, the specialist knows how to communicate with the divines (Spirit); thus the specialist can ask what the divine might like.

The other magic in this world belongs to Kerrid and her Asars. It doesn’t belong in this world, it’s intrusive. Moreover, unlike the popular magic where knowledge and use is handed down from practitioner to practitioner, this is an intrinsic force that can’t be acquired. In other words, the Asars are magical beings (but don’t let them hear you say that).

The Spinner’s Child is set in a patriarchal society, where the roles of women are limited.  How do you think readers should approach this aspect of the story?

I’d say we should not project today’s conditions upon the past. They are not at all the same. We have medicines, social welfare, charities, schools, day care centres, food bought in shops, power delivered by pipes and cables. We have longevity and paid employment.

Imagine that your daily food depends upon a successful hunt, or a full fishing net, and what you can gather of fruits and nuts and roots in season (and eggs and insects and lizards). Imagine you’re the one who has to fetch it. And you have two children.

You can’t join the hunt with children in tow – though ‘tis true, you might leave them with the old folk. Except few people survive beyond their thirtieth birthday. Women die in childbirth. Men die in hunting accidents. So, who’s looking after your children while you join with the men in the hunt? Safer for the children if you restrict yourself to gathering. Besides, there’s always good gossip amongst the women. And you need their friendship so they’ll share their food with your children should you be ill.

The scenarios multiply. But always the concern for the children limits what a woman can do. Those children are the future of the family, the clan and the tribe. Yet without access to a healthy reproductive woman, there can be no children. Therefore, the women are valued even beyond the children. For a child might die (until recently, infant mortality was appallingly high) but a healthy woman can bear another.

Such was the origin of patriarchy, though intensified and corrupted into something oppressive with the rise of city-states and standing armies.

Part Three coming next week!

If you would like to read my thoughts on the first book in the series, The Spinner’s Child, you can find the review here.

The Spinner’s Game

All five books of Crispina Kemp’s series, The Spinner’s Game, are available for pre-order now, with a release date of 21st March 2020. Follow the link below to her Amazon author page or website for more information.

As a bonus, she says:

“And I’m now able to offer a full-sized, full-colour map of Lake of Skulls – a high resolution (2048 x 1536 px) full-colour fantasy map on pdf – if the reader sends me proof of pre-order. They should contact me via my Contact Me page on crispinakemp.com”

Connect with Crispina Kemp

Failing to find a place on the space programme – to boldly go – I turned my vision inwards to a study of psychology and exploration of spirituality. This encouraged an outward journey to explore this wonderful world, its peoples, its beliefs, but mostly its pasts. From the exploration I returned with the core of my writing.

But, for the more mundane-minded: For a shy child with a speech problem, the written word came as a release, enabling me to express myself without being asked, ‘Eh? What did you say? Say again?’ I wrote my first ‘proper’ story when I was nine. A gothic offering to scare my friends. Since then, there’s been scarcely a day when I haven’t been busy writing. Novels. The short story form doesn’t appeal to me, although over recent months I have posted micro-fiction on my blog.

In my early teens, I visited Grimes Graves, the Neolithic flint mines in Norfolk. The following summer, I visited Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Thence began a lifelong interest in the archaeology of prehistory. The study of myths and legends seemed a natural progression, and from there to linguistics (despite my inability to pronounce the words).

Resident in Norfolk where my roots dig deep, my regular rambles into the surrounding countryside provide balance to the cerebral… and ample subjects for my camera.

I can be found on crispinakemp.com and my author’s page on Amazon

Interview with Crispina Kemp, author of The Spinner’s Game – Part 1

You may have seen the interview with Crispina Kemp I shared a few weeks ago from my book review blog, Sammi Loves Books. Now I get to share with you an epic three-part interview with Crispina, as we talk about her soon-to-be released five book historical fantasy series, The Spinner’s Game.

The first part of the interview can be found below, where Crispina answers some questions on writing the series, the main character, Kerrid, and where the story is set. Tune in next Friday for Part 2, when we turn our attention to magic and mythology, amongst other things…

Part 1: Introducing an Epic Series

You’ve just released a five-book fantasy series for pre-order, The Spinner’s Game.  Could you please introduce the series for those not yet acquainted with it.

Simplest said is the starting premise: To be different is to be feared, and people destroy what they fear. Kerrid is different; she has disturbing powers not shared by any in her clan. The Spinner’s Game follows Kerrid’s journey across vast distances through a world of changing cultures, from tribal to early townships, as she discovers her truths and puts right an ancient wrong.

A five-book series, with each instalment being an epic-length book, is not only a huge achievement, but a huge commitment too.  How long did the process take you roughly from beginning to end?  And, what were the highs and lows, if any, of your journey?

If we take it from the first draft, then my simple answer is 14 years. But that’s a misrepresentation. During the first 12 years, I also wrote several other stories.

I began The Spinner’s Game in 2006. But for an unknown author, its word-count of 150,000 was too high. I set it aside, to come back to it in 2012 when I restructured it… and doubled the word-count. It was now a trilogy.

In December 2012, I created the Feast Fables blog where I posted The Spinner’s Game in instalments. It took three years.
I thought that would satisfy my need to expose the Spinner’s child to public view. But it didn’t. In November 2017, I announced my intention to publish the story as an e-book. And the first thing I did was again to restructure it. Now into five parts.

The highs and the lows of that journey?

There have been many highs, more than there have been lows. The highest was when my critique partner, cover-designer Lauren Willmore, offered her talents to design the covers. When I saw that first cover, even though it was only in rough… wow! And she continued to deliver amazing covers.

But the lows…? The long hours I was working towards the end. For the entirety of January, I was putting in eight hours a day, every day, to complete and make ready to upload. It was hard graft, but it was worth it.

How did the character of Kerrid come to you?  Was she fully formed or did her personality and background slowly reveal themselves as the story progressed?

The first glimmer of inspiration was from the Welsh myth of the goddess Cerridwen with her magical cauldron. Oh, how far she has come from there!

Kerrid began as the antagonist in The Hare and the Adder, a story yet to be reworked to my satisfaction. As head of a trading empire, she already had certain qualities… and her otherworldly abilities. But she had no backstory. How did she come to be perched on the western shores of the Boundless Sea? And why doesn’t she like my protagonist? There began her backstory… which became The Spinner’s Game.

During the initial creation of characters, I sometimes assign them an astrological sun sign. In The Spinner’s Child, Gimmerin takes Aries – red hair, body conscious, a me-first attitude. Kerrid takes Libra – but to explain the reasons behind that would give too many spoilers. However, it’s her Libran qualities that endow her with a love of fabrics, and her indecisiveness. Other than that, Kerrid’s character was forged by the challenges faced from early childhood on.

The series blends prehistory with imaginative fantasy on an epic scale, but where is the story set?  Here in this world, or in a secondary world?  Are the descriptions of locations of real places? If not, do any take their inspiration from real world destinations?

While the story belongs to this world, it is a myth and, as with all myths, is set in liminal times, at liminal places. These (liminal) thresholds are a recognised stage of initiation, to move beyond effects a change.

We see this and acknowledge it even in our hurried asphalt-greyed days. The sweetness of spring, the autumnal smell of decay, the lengthening days with the promise of warmth and sun and good times ahead. And at these times fall the major religious holidays. Place too: the woodland edge, the mountain top, the cave as an entrance to another world, and the many borders of land and sea. Who does not find inspiration in a simple riverside walk? In such places we gain a sense of being outside of time. It’s in that ‘outside of time and space’ that the story is set.

But also, I did have specific eras and geographic regions in mind when writing. In my head, the story begins just as the Younger Dryas (the last blip of the Ice Age) was beginning to bite. I imagined the women of Kerrid’s clan as horticulturists. During the last Glacial Maximum, many of our temperate plants found refuge south of the Caspian Sea. The apple is believed to come from here. But the region served as a hook to help me research the flora and fauna.

In a similar vein, when Kerrid travels west and north in search of the pole that threads, it seemed logical to place her on the Atlantic seaboard of Western Europe, a familiar landscape for me.

Part Two coming next week!

The Spinner’s Game

All five books of Crispina Kemp’s series, The Spinner’s Game, are available for pre-order now, with a release date of 21st March 2020. Follow the link below to her Amazon author page or website for more information.

As a bonus, she says:

“And I’m now able to offer a full-sized, full-colour map of Lake of Skulls – a high resolution (2048 x 1536 px) full-colour fantasy map on pdf – if the reader sends me proof of pre-order. They should contact me via my Contact Me page on crispinakemp.com”

Connect with Crispina Kemp

Failing to find a place on the space programme – to boldly go – I turned my vision inwards to a study of psychology and exploration of spirituality. This encouraged an outward journey to explore this wonderful world, its peoples, its beliefs, but mostly its pasts. From the exploration I returned with the core of my writing.

But, for the more mundane-minded: For a shy child with a speech problem, the written word came as a release, enabling me to express myself without being asked, ‘Eh? What did you say? Say again?’ I wrote my first ‘proper’ story when I was nine. A gothic offering to scare my friends. Since then, there’s been scarcely a day when I haven’t been busy writing. Novels. The short story form doesn’t appeal to me, although over recent months I have posted micro-fiction on my blog.

In my early teens, I visited Grimes Graves, the Neolithic flint mines in Norfolk. The following summer, I visited Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Thence began a lifelong interest in the archaeology of prehistory. The study of myths and legends seemed a natural progression, and from there to linguistics (despite my inability to pronounce the words).

Resident in Norfolk where my roots dig deep, my regular rambles into the surrounding countryside provide balance to the cerebral… and ample subjects for my camera.

I can be found on crispinakemp.com and my author’s page on Amazon

Whilst over at Sammi Loves Books…

For those of you who don’t know, I have a book review blog, Sammi Loves Books. Hence the title of this post 🙂  So…

Whilst over at Sammi Loves Books…I am about to start my third “Indie Only Month” challenge.  This is where I set myself the goal of only reading and reviewing works written by Indie authors for the month of July, be they poets, short story writers, authors of independently (self-published) novels or collections, works that have been published via Wattpad or on the author’s own blog.

If you have something you would like to see reviewed, I am still taking review requests.  To find out more, check out this:

https://sammicox.wordpress.com/2016/06/18/july-is-indie-only-month-at-sammi-loves-books-2/