NEWS FROM THE SUNDIAL PRESS

2009

Our next publications will be King Log and Lady Lea, Alyse Gregory's second novel, and a paperback edition of her third novel, Hester Craddock. Subsequently, a collection of H. A. Manhood's finest short stories, The Joy of It by Littleton Powys plus A Well Full of Leaves and Mrs Christopher by Elizabeth Myers. Further details to follow.

~ 13 April John Gray who has written an illuminating Introduction to Sundial's edition of UNCLAY appears on Radio 4's Start The Week at 09.00

To read an article by John Gray in The Independent, April 2009, please click here.

~ 01 April A Big Publisher and a Not-so-big One. An article by Roger Norman will feature in the next issue of Writers' Forum magazine on sale in most newsagents throughout the UK.

~ Author Website With much work still to do Roger Norman's new website is currently under construction which you can preview here .

~ 20 March 2009 KEEPING IT LOCAL - A DORSET MYSTERY The title of an article on ROGER NORMAN & RED DIE in this week's issue of the Blackmore Vale Magazine.

~ February 2009 Reported in BOOKSELLER, from data just released from Nielsen, the number of new books published in the UK in 2008 was 120,947, an increase of 4.4% on the previous year. The total number of English-language books held on the Nielsen Book database now stands at more than 8m globally and 5m for UK & Ireland published titles.

 A selection of reader's comments on RED DIE:

From the current Powys Society Newsletter (Mach 2009):

"The Sundial Press, which has reprinted essays by Llewelyn Powys and novels by T.F. and Philippa Powys, here present one by a contemporary writer who likewise knows his Dorset well. Set in 1916, Red Die is a strange and haunting story of a deserter from the Western Front. Jack Yeoman makes his way back to his Vale of Blackmore home, only to become a prey to eerie, apparently supernatural events that seem to have a bearing on his own predicament. But the book is no mere parable, and the writing conveys the sense of a physically substantial world, in places suggesting the work of Alan Garner, not least in being at times teasingly complex and enigmatic. The country between Shaftesbury and Cerne Abbas provides a romantic setting, with frequent references to places familiar to Powys readers, such as Buckland Newton, where both Katie and Francis Powys ended their days. Red Die has a powerful atmosphere generated by human as well as landscape factors, and maintains an element of surprise up to the end. This is the kind of book that John Cowper Powys, I suspect, would have enjoyed greatly. I know that I did." - Glen Cavaliero, President of The Powys Society, author of The Supernatural and English Fiction (Oxford University Press)

 

"My name is Jan Lööf and I am a Swedish writer and illustrator of children's books. I have just been reading Roger Norman's 'Red Die'. I want to give him a salut on my bass tuba. Nobody writes like this anymore. It's like something by Thomas Hardy found in an attic." - Jan Lööf, Sweden

"I came across this book quite serendipitously in my local bookshop; initially attracted by the word ‘Dorset’ in it’s title and then by it’s arresting cover. A quick skim through the opening paragraphs, the intriguing chapter titles and the author’s strong ties to Dorset outlined in the cover blurb decided me to make an impulse buy and I am glad that I did. Having lived in the Cerne Valley for most of my life I can assert with some authority how vividly this part of the county is accurately realised. Not only is it written in some of the most eloquent prose I’ve encountered in a ‘modern’ novel but the characters and plot are strong and memorable and this is one of my best reads in a very long time. Congratulations to the author and all involved." – Nick Henderson, Godmanstone, Dorset

"It was a pleasure to read 'Red Die' over the past few days. I have appreciated the well-crafted mix of realism, adventure, magic, mystery and meditation on life, death, and fate. It is also beautifully written: the style is elegant yet measured (the ancient classic Greek principal of 'Medan Agan' or 'nothing in excess'). I hope many other readers will have the chance to enjoy this book of high-quality literary fiction." - Fabrizio, F., New York

 

"My copy of 'Red Die' arrived promptly this morning and what a handsome volume it is. The cover illustration is most striking and the nicely spaced type will enhance my reading pleasure. Thank you." - Peter Knox, London.

 

"I'm so thrilled to get this book, always hoping that Roger would write another novel after his earlier success. RED DIE certainly lives up to and exceeds my expectations. Please congratulate him for an impressive read." - Harry Cale, Oxford

 

"One of the many pleasures of this finely written novel is the beautiful evocation of Dorset. It may provide the backdrop to the cleverly plotted narrative but quickly establishes itself as a character in its own right. I have visited Dorset many times over the past two decades although not recently and reading 'Red Die' has reminded me that another visit is now a priority. Needless to say, I'm enjoying this splendid novel and think I will be ordering several more copies to give to friends." - Jane Selwyn, Rye.

 

"I read Roger Norman's Albion's Dream about sixteen years ago in my teens and it left a deep impression on me. Now in my early thirties it was a delight to discover that Mr Norman has written a novel for adults so I placed an order for it immediately. I've just read the first two chapters and I'm already gripped by the beauty of the prose and its strong story line full of suspense and excitement. I think this is going to be a roller coaster of a ride!" - David Wright, Bristol.

 

"I started reading RED DIE soon after the book arrived and have just completed it in one day but two sittings: and what a triumph! What I like about it are the sharply drawn characters, the strong sense of place and time, the often imperceptible blurring between fact, imagination, dream, fate and a little magic and the brisk pace of the narrative which still allows for descriptive passages (no purple prose here though) without a single unnecessary word. The ending came as both a surprise and a shock which I must read again. This is a book that deserves wide exposure in which case it could become a runaway success. I hope so." - Ben Bowen, Cheltenham.

The Author in Dorset where he attended Sherborne School and founded Booklore.

[To enlarge photos, please click on the images]

Roger Norman being interviewed by Nicola Rayner from THE DORSET ECHO plus visits to Sherborne School and Booklore (The Sherborne Bookshop) and signing copies of RED DIE.

We welcome your comments on RED DIE: please email them to books@sundialpress.co.uk

If you have any questions you would like to put to Roger, or simply wish to contact him, please email him here: info@sundialpress.co.uk

The RED DIE Press Kit is now available to download here which you can either read online or print out.

Roger Norman's first novel ALBION'S DREAM was published in hardback in 1990 by Faber and Faber. Recently, a small box containing near mint copies of the first edition of ALBION'S DREAM in hardback was discovered and we are making these available at the original published price of £7.99 (plus postage). Further details here. 

We have now sold out of Alyse Gregory's HESTER CRADDOCK and have only a few copies left of Philippa Powys's THE BLACKTHORN WINTER.

UNCLAY ON STAGE UNCLAY is currently being developed by writer Michael Caines for bagg theatre’s first commission. "Michael discovered a battered hardback copy in a second-hand bookshop in early 2007 and, realising he’d found something unique, gave it to bagg theatre Artistic Director, Laura, to read. Unclay is a novel by T. F. Powys, first published in 1931 and subsequently out of print for many years. An excellent new edition of Unclay has just been published by the Sundial Press. UNCLAY is a unique piece of writing, a curious and humorous mix of fiction and fable, with an engrossing and suspenseful narrative, and fantastic theatrical potential." We will post performance dates when they become available. [bagg theatre is based in Barringer Square, London. Visit there website here.]

To read more about our titles please click on the various links.

To Order: Online - you can choose between clicking on either the Google Checkout BUY NOW or PAYPAL buttons.

Or you can print out an order form (see above PDF postal order form) and post it with a cheque.

If you require further info please click here. You can also PRINT OUT and post an ORDER FORM

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Should you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact us by email or by telephone.

info@sundialpress.co.uk

Sherborne, Dorset

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Our current publication is a new novel by Roger Norman: RED DIE, an enthralling mystery set in Dorset. Read more ...  

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May 2009