Built from Life
Illustrated Poems for the Modern World
Unprecedented times often mean uncertainty; life is a bubbling cauldron of change, but nature and humour will often bring a pause or a smile. Sarah’s illustrated book of poetry takes you on a short wander that will give you some moments of respite from the burdens of the day.
The author decided that a simple book of words would be quite a singular reading experience. To enhance this, she has designed each page to look like that of a personal journal, complete with pictures and doodles.
Nature:
Sarah’s poems about nature will introduce you to the relationship between the sun and moon, as well as the gentle chatter and imagined gossip which goes on amongst flora and fauna.
Drabbles:
A drabble is a 100 word story. It is a complete work and like any wonderful story it has a beginning, middle and an end. What the author achieves here by adding her own twist to the drabble is quite remarkable. It is picture painting and storytelling in one verse.
Life:
In stark contract, the chapter on life brings about a moment or two of reflection for the reader. Accounts of life in its raw form can often drain the spirit and even though the subjects in this section are frank, the author imparts undeniable positivity.
Humour:
The author, determined to leave you with a lightness in spirit, takes a lighthearted look at being human. Using rhyme for most of the poems in this section she undresses the fragility of each of us in such a way you beaming for the rest of the day.
Playing with words is something the author does throughout this pamphlet. Look closely and you will find her poems littered with little games. In the poem ‘Upon Ageing’, each line in every verse begins with the same words. And listen out for rhyming words at the end of the lines in ‘What was this Poem Called?’
Sarah's poem ‘The Light at the End’ of the Tunnel, a poem about the Covid pandemic, appears in BBC Radio 4’s Covid Chronicles archive stored in the British Library.
Merry Go Round
"One of the most haunting books I have read in a long time. This new author is one to watch."
A psychological romance. The more dangerous the ride, the harder it is to get off . . .
Lily Montrose has endured a white-knuckle ride during her on-off affair with Nathaniel Deighton. She is sitting alone in a coffee shop when a brief but devastating call brings the whole thing to a crashing halt.Fleeing her job and flat in London, she retreats to a farmstead on the shores of the north Devon coast to repair her broken spirit and regain her sense of self. Here she finds an unlikely soulmate in Adam, a somewhat homespun but handsome local with unexpected qualities.
As the months pass by, Lily begins to put her troubled past behind her and – despite harbouring the most intimate of secrets – her relationship with Adam deepens. But when Nat suddenly resurfaces, the malevolent merry go round begins to revolve once again, revealing the ugly truths that lie deep within Lily and unleashing a chain of events that will threaten not only her sanity, but everything she holds dear . . .
