Graficas Books, Cwmbach, Powys, Glasbury-on-Wye HR3 5LU, 01497 847894

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Celia Boyd has written Young Ravens, a novel for children set in the Midlands during the Second World War - shortly to be published by Graficas Books, and First Fashionings, Social Conditioning in Georgian Children’s Fiction. She has contributed to The Cambridge Guide to Children’s Books in English, and has had two articles published in Signal, Approaches to Children’s books.

As Celia Mason, working for the West Midlands Probation Services, she wrote Are You Here For The Beer?, an in-cell, self-help guide for prison inmates, whose criminality stemmed from alcohol abuse. For this she received the Butler Trust Award. She currently writes full time, and is working on the third part of A Reason from the Stars series, entitled "An Act of Rebellion".

First Dry Rattle

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Being the first of the Thomas Fletcher papers, entitled A Reason From The Stars, a first-hand account of the late civil disturbances endured by our unfortunate country, undertaken by royal command in 1668.

Tom Fletcher, a young surgeon from Worcester, in 1642, is thrust unwillingly into events of the English Civil War. He finds himself the quarry of a psychopath, whose criminal tendencies now rampage unchecked by the normal restraints of Seventeeth Century Society. “The King Enjoys His Own Again.”

“There’s neither Swallow, Dove, nor Dade,
Can soar more high or deeper wade;
Nor show a reason from the Stars,
What causeth peace, or Civil Wars.”

Matthew Parker d.1656

ISBN 0 9554834 0 9
ISBN 978 0 9554834 0 0

A Daring Resolution

Graficas Books Publishes 'A Daring Resolution' - a Historical Page-Turner Set in the English Civil War.


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Graficas Books announces the August 2007 publication of 'A Daring Resolution', by Celia Boyd, the second book in her 'A Reason from the Stars' series of historical novels set during the English Civil War.

Transporting the reader back to tumultuous days in 1643, the novel tells the story of hero, Tom Fletcher, a well-trained, good-hearted surgeon from Worcester, struggling to maintain his neutrality during this turbulent period of English history.

With Tom's skills as a physician prized by both Royalists and Parliamentarians, his desire to assist the sick and wounded comes into increasing conflict with his disdain for the politics that are beginning to impact on the lives of all English people. The writer skilfully demonstrates the tragedy, violence and treachery that befell innocent citizens as the two sides fought early Civil War battles in Lichfield, Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Jane Wynne of Graficas Books, publisher of the 'A Reason from the Stars' series, comments: "Celia Boyd's novels are a compulsive read for lovers of historical fiction. Well researched - including faithful descriptions of everyday life in the 17th century and vivid accounts of the surgical practices of the time - the series gives a powerful insight into the turmoil of the Civil War, particularly in the context of the experiences of ordinary men and women."

'A Daring Resolution' comes hot on the heels of Celia Boyd's first novel in the 'A Reason from the Stars' series, 'First Dry Rattle'. Readers reviewing the first novel on Amazon.co.uk have been enthusiastic in their praise for the text.

Reader Don Salter said: "'First Dry Rattle' is a book which may be admired for its historical accuracy and detail but it is, in the end, primarily a powerful page-turner which I read almost at a single sitting."

Mrs F C Brown said: "First and foremost - a rattling good yarn! The narrative abounds in rich description of nature as well as 17th century rural and domestic life; above all it abounds in spirited and delightfully observed humour and wit."

Gordon Parsons said: "I was delighted to find a historical novel which took me back to the golden age of this genre."

'A Daring Resolution' is available in all good bookshops from August 21, 2007, RRP £8.99.

For further information, please contact:
Jane Wynne, partner, Graficas Books
Tel: 01497 847894 / 01497 847983 / 07717 222273
Email:

A Daring Resolution is the second fictional memoir in the series, A Reason From The Stars.

ISBN 978 0 9554834 1 7

Act of Rebellion by Celia Boyd

Third novel in the series: A Reason from the Stars


History… as you’ve never seen it before



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THE history books tell us much about the power struggles of kings and queens, politicians and generals.
We read the accounts of battles and study the accompanying maps, poring over the dispositions of soldiers on their day of trial. Yet the reality of warfare is so often transformed into a leisurely game to be enjoyed from the comfort of an armchair.

And all too often, the human cost of combat is overlooked. In this sterile printed world of black and white, the cries of the wounded and dying cannot be heard, neither is it possible to truly imagine the utter horror of the surgeon’s slab…

However, acclaimed author Celia Boyd has soundly demolished this stereotype with Act of Rebellion, her third novel set during the English Civil Wars.

For the Hay-on-Wye writer has not only single-handedly set about changing the reader’s perception of the full implications of conflict, but also created her own template in narrative style, drawing on regional dialects to lend authenticity to her prose.
As the conflicting armies jostle for advantage, the green fields of the Midlands shires are soon running red with men’s blood.
In Act of Rebellion, the third Tom Fletcher chronicle in the series, A Reason from the Stars, the hero is forced to escape from Worcester to flee the unjust taunts of his housekeeper, after he suffers a grave personal tragedy. He travels by river to Gloucester, en route to London.
The August of 1643 was a memorable month for the people of Gloucester. Together with a small garrison, they successfully defy the King’s vast army that is camped outside the walls.
Fletcher attempts yet again to retain his stance of neutrality, but personal loyalties force him to travel, after the siege, to Buckinghamshire and Berkshire where, during the first Battle of Newbury, he observes the consequences of a further rebellious act against the King.
In this third memoir of Tom Fletcher’s adventures, his desire to remain uncommitted to either side is seriously compromised.
Using all her skills as a consummate storyteller, Celia Boyd skilfully demonstrates the tragedy, violence and treachery that can so often be the fate of innocent people caught up in civil turmoil, undeniably echoing events closer to our own times, most notably recent events in the Balkans.
Act of Rebellion traces Tom Fletcher’s further adventures in a war-torn England, taking up the story from the previous books in the series, First Dry Rattle and A Daring Resolution.

ISBN 978 0 9554834 2 4

Available from all good bookshops from April 2009 RRP £10.99