Category Archives: Mentoring

The Students of Barrenmoor Ridge

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The Students of Barrenmoor Ridge

Over the New Year, I took a break from writing The Clearwater Mysteries and wrote ‘The Students of Barrenmoor Ridge.’ I’m not sure why it decided to pop out just then, but it did. I wrote the novel, ‘The Mentor of Barrenmoor Ridge’ a couple of years ago, and for a reason I’ve yet to fathom, it did better than any of my previous releases. It still does well, I am pleased to say, and maybe it was that which inspired me to write ‘The Students…’

This novel took me back in memory to the age of seventeen/eighteen, and to the issue of what we’d now call bromance. I wanted to explore the idea of when a bromance is something more, but neither party has the way with all to admit they want the friendship to develop further because they fear rejection. The strength of young, male friendships, the intensity of them, and how it is easy to confuse platonic love of a friend for something deeper, is a theme that runs through many of my novels. Or, if not ‘easy to confuse’ then difficult to separate the feelings of being mates from the feelings of being in love and what that can lead to; self-denial, lost love, missed opportunities…

In ‘The Students…’ Liam and Casper are the two main characters, and they are pictured on the front cover. Casper is the dark-haired, Greek/English man and Liam is the blond one, both musically brilliant, both suffering doubts in their own way. They take off on a camping trip which Liam has designed because he wants to have Casper on his own to make his ‘confession’, i.e., come out. He has chosen to visit Inglestone (or, Ingleton as it is in real life) and walk up Fellborough (Ingleborough) one of the three peaks. He is also there to see the famous Ribblehead Viaduct for reason of his own which don’t become apparent until the end. However, bad weather gets in the way and leads to a life or death emergency towards the top of the fell. That’s where the characters from ‘The Mentor of Barrenmoor Ridge’ come in…

John Hamilton and Gary Taylor from ‘The Mentor…’ appear in this story as the mentors of the two younger men, and as ‘The Students…’ is set two years after the first book, their lives have moved on a pace. So, if you enjoyed the first book, ‘The Mentor…’ you can continue John and Gary’s lives in this, the second in the series. You will find drama, action, adventure, mountain rescue, rock climbing, some laughs and plenty of sweet moments during the story, and who knows, there may even be a third instalment in the future.

For now, though, I am back to The Clearwater Mysteries, my most successful venture to date, and I am working on part six, with a working title of ‘Artful Deception.’ There will be more about that in due course. Meanwhile, look out for news of a blog tour for ‘The Students of Barrenmoor Ridge’, and check out my Facebook Page for more information. If you do go to the page, please give it a like, and if you do read any of the books, please give them a review.

I’ll leave you with the first review of ‘The Students of Barrenmoor Ridge’ which, when I read it, completely made my day.

What a beautiful novel… A perfect sequel to The Mentor of Barrenmoor Ridge.
This novel tells a story of 2 people discovering more about themselves and discovering more about each other. It’s touching, exciting, filled with adventure, and will take you on the most incredible journey. The characters are so well developed it’s like you’ve known them for a long time.
Re-introducing John and Gary from the first novel was such a nice treat.
This novel is highly recommended. Another beautiful novel by Mr. Jackson Marsh.

[The Students of Barrenmoor Ridge – Amazon.com (and other Amazon outlets) Kindle, print and KU.)

Research

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Research

My collection of research books for the new series I am writing is expanding. The Clearwater Mysteries series is set in Victorian times (1888) and set in a city which is clearly London, but because I need to take liberties with history, I have made it an ‘imaginary London of 1888’. When I say liberties, I mean, for example, in book one of the series, the Ripper is killing men, not women, and so I am mixing fact with fiction.

In my stories (The Clearwater Mysteries), as in truth, the identity of the Ripper is never known, except in my series, we do know who he is, and we see what he went on to do after those crimes ended. We also find out why. In other places, I have stayed close to the facts but not quite, using some real locations, basing characters and their names on people of the time or near the time. Example, in book four, ‘Fallen Splendour’ (still in editing and not yet published), I have a barrister called Sir Easterby Creswell. I took his name from a real judge in the 19th century called Sir Creswell Creswell (whose family name was Easterby), and so on.

Over the weekend, I received two more books to add to the collection of things to be read when I take time off from writing. So far, I have collected several actual books, which I prefer, and a few Kindles. I find Kindle good for when I want some information now and don’t want to have to wait two weeks for an online order to arrive. If the book is something I will keep and use again, I’ll then order a paper or hardback copy.

Off the top of my head (I am in the study at 4.30 a.m., and the books are scattered around the house, and I don’t want to make noise by searching for them), I have gathered books about the stately homes of England, Victorian buildings, the Cleveland Street scandal of 1889, life in Victorian London, Jack the Ripper (I already have several), a collection of writings by ordinary people of the time, first-hand accounts of daily life etc., a book on the railways, the history of the Ukraine, ‘The Sins of Jack Saul’ and Saul’s allegedly penned, er, ‘novel’ about the life of a male street worker in those days, a dictionary of Victorian slang, a Bradshaw’s guide (1886, reprint), and several railways maps from the time. There are others, but I expect you’re getting bored by now. What I am looking for next is a good Atlas of the country from around that time, something as detailed as the large, green-cover Readers’ Digest atlas we used to have when younger.

[Here’s the link to the first three books of the series, The Clearwater Mysteries]

Mentoring

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Mentoring

I want to find an aspiring new author I can help via one-to-one mentoring.

As my readers know, I tend towards an older/younger, mentor/student theme in many of my novels. At least, there is usually a more experienced character and a younger one who is not so experienced. Through the stories, the older mentors the younger, and sometimes it works the other way around, but this theme of passing on knowledge and experience is one that intrigues me and maybe that’s because I have a hankering for doing it myself. Mentoring, I mean, not the other stuff that goes on between the characters (inserts a knowing wink).

The Mentor of Lonemarsh HouseThe trouble I’ve had is finding a place where I can offer to do this. For example, I’ve posted in some of the Facebook gay writing groups offering a free service to anyone who is interested, and had a few replies, but mainly from people who missed the point of the offer. Maybe I need to reword it, but I don’t think so, it’s a simple offer.

Because of time and personal interest/experience, I’d be interested in working with a young, gay, male author who wants to improve their writing, someone with whom I can share my experience and thoughts, ideas, encouragement and knowledge, passing on what I have learned over the past 20 years as a professional writer. It’s as simple as that. I’m encouraging people to contact me and start a discussion so we can first find out more about each other to see if we can work together. Read my criteria, drop me an email, and we’ll take it from there.

The Stoker ConnectionAbout you
You want to start writing or improve your writing. Either way, you must be serious
You are a gay man over the age of 18, open to mentoring, advice and criticism
You are committed to developing your skills and listening to experience
You write in English
You are honest
Your writing doesn’t have to be MM romance, but it must be gay-men themed

About me
I have published 22 novels under two names
I am a married, gay man, English and educated to MSc level
I have won awards for my stories, musicals and film scripts
I earn my living through writing (yes, it can be done)

About the process
Contact me with a basic CV of your experience no matter if it’s limited
State what it is you want to achieve. Simply better writing? Developing a story?
Tell me about yourself
If you’re what I’m looking for, we’ll start an email discussion and take it from there.
I will reply to all emails honestly
I am not charging for this offer. In fact, if I think we are compatible, I will send you one of my books for free so you can read what I write and see if you think I’m for you
I can only take on one writer at a time
Our discussions will be private

So, there are no strings and no charge, but commitment and honesty are a must, and I can only accept one new writer at a time. Please double check the criteria and send me an email with your details. I’ll get back to you either way.

jack@jacksonmarsh.com

I look forward to hearing from you.