Author Archives: Polly

Pressed Flowers

A poetry anthology coordinated by Worcestershire Poet Laureate Charley Barnes and Polly Stretton of Black Pear Press as a result of sharing sunflower poems. Charley’s sunflower poem ‘Helianthus Forest’ won her the laureateship in 2019 and features in the anthology. Charley says, ‘We put our heads together and decided that, given the many talented poetsContinue reading “Pressed Flowers”

Jill Todd comes to Malvern

Jill Todd signed copies of her locally-based novel, ‘Echo of Bells’, at W.H.Smith in Great Malvern in October 2019. The Malvern Hills in winter play a major role in this atmospheric thriller from Black Pear Press, in which a young couple must unearth the secrets of their family’s tragic history or risk losing everything—including theirContinue reading “Jill Todd comes to Malvern”

Review – The Portswick Imp

Part of a review by Sarah Hegarty recently published in Writing in Education Review, Sarah Hegarty, Writing in Education, no. 78 (Autumn, 2109) A sense of yearning for a simpler time, long gone, permeates some of [Michael W. Thomas’s] tales. The title story, told in the voices of a husband and wife, traces his boyhoodContinue reading “Review – The Portswick Imp”

Pick Your Own

Reviews Pick Your Own is a beautiful collection of poems which prove that time travel is, in fact, possible. The childhood memories are particularly impressive and well captured. The sense of loss, of a father and of a child self,  permeates the collection. There are moments that caught my heart – especially in Creature –Continue reading “Pick Your Own”

Two Reviews

Here are two of the latest reviews for Heather Wastie’s Don’t Oil The Hinges: “I’m enjoying Don’t Oil the Hinges enormously… I love the way Heather weaves introductions into the book, I’ve never seen this done before and it creates a lovely, intimate reading experience.” Nancy Campbell, Canal Laureate “You can’t help but warm toContinue reading “Two Reviews”

A Review of Michael W. Thomas’s ‘The Portswick Imp’

5* Amazon Review from E.M. Eames “This is a fine collection of humane tales by a consistently excellent author of both prose and poetry. The title story was the first to grab me, and I was delighted to find that all the other pieces matched it in quality. Thomas has perfected a blend of quietContinue reading “A Review of Michael W. Thomas’s ‘The Portswick Imp’”