RACEVIEW resident June English is excited for the release of her first fiction book The Narrow House of Clay – Forbidden Love in September.
The book is an historical romance family saga following four generations of a family, with four books planned in the series.
A resident of Ipswich, English moved to the region just after the 1974 floods, and with her husband has lived in the same house in Raceview for nearly a half century.
After writing a book on her family history over three decades ago, English threw herself back into writing and joined a writing group at the Ipswich library in 2016.
“Each month the group would write a short story using a prompt we were given. However, sadly that group folded in 2019,” English said.
“I had sent some of these stories to my writing cousin in England, and he encouraged me to write a book after I retired.
“I didn’t think I could do it at first, but I sat down and created characters, then planned a storyline, and went from there.
“After a few false starts, The Narrow House of Clay evolved.”
English had decided to write to keep her mind active in retirement, telling Local Ipswich News that “it has been so much fun, and I am learning so much during the process”.
The process has been so enjoyable and educational, that there is already a sequel in the works.
“It may be called The Narrow House of Clay – A Place to Cal Home,” she said. “Each book will be called The Narrow House of Clay, with a different sub-title. It won’t be until the third book that the readers find out how the phrase The Narrow House of Clay comes into the story.”
English admitted that apart from writing newsletters for the local Neighbourhood Watch and the family history book, she had no experience in that world.
“I have no advanced education in this area, and if the truth be told, I failed English miserably at school,” she said.
“I sometimes wonder how I managed to write this story.”
