http://www.writers-online.co.uk APRIL 2017WRITER’S BOOKSHELF
http://www.writers-online.co.ukwww.writers-online.co.uk NOVEMBER 2019^3737THE WONKY
DONKEY
by Craig Smith
‘This book
tells the
story of a
bird walking
down a road
when he sees
a donkey
with only
three legs. It is a Wonky Donkey. It
has been the most read book by me
for the past five to six years – I am the
grandmother of small children. It is a
wonderful story about a donkey with
“issues” both physical and emotional –
yes, he is also a cranky Wonky Donkey.
Reading it to little ones is a pleasure
for the reader as much as the delight it
is for the listeners. It’s a tongue-twister
and getting it wrong in the reading
gives the little ones the chance to tell
you, you made a mistake, and don’t
they love telling an adult that! The
importance of this book to me is of
course the treasured moments I have
with a small child sitting on my lap,
laughing and sharing this cleverly told
children’s story.’‘W
riting The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey
had two very different impacts on me. Because I
knew Lale, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, we became
friends, spending countless hours together both
getting his story and socially. Writing it became emotionally gut-
wrenching. It was one thing to hear of the horror and evil he had
witnessed and experienced, to hold his hand as it trembled and
his eyes moistened, watching him remembering and being back
in one of the darkest periods of history. The pain of hearing his
story was then intensified as the research carried out by myself and
professional researchers confirmed what he had been telling me. I
drew no comfort from this confirmation. I was on the journey with
Lale as he told me his story of love, hope, courage and survival.
‘Writing Cilka’s Journey was an entirely different process. Cilka
had died and I obviously did not have access to her memory. I was
able to travel to her home country of Slovakia and meet friends who
had known her for decades. Cilka chose not to share the details of
her past with friends so I relied on professional researchers in Russia
as well as material, reports and testimonies of other female survivors
to imagine and create Cilka’s life in the Gulag. The outstanding
emotion for me researching and writing was one of anger. Anger
that a young girl / woman was subjected to years of unbelievable
evil and abuse. I harnessed that anger in writing to honour the
bravery and courage of Cilka who made the choiceless choice, to
survive. To call out the abuse she suffered for what it was – rape.
‘How I wish I could say yes, I am a disciplined writer! For the
most part I prefer to write at night, when it is dark and quiet withminimal stimulation to distract me. I did a lot of my research
during the day, along with reading testimonies and other books
about the Gulag system. I am a firm believer in the saying –
research, research, research, now throw away the research and write.
When it came to focus on the writing, I had no books, no research
documents in front of me, relying on it being clear in my head if it
was going to end up on the page.
‘One of the challenges I had writing Cilka’s Journey was creating
names for the characters who lived and worked with Cilka. To
get correct Russian names complete with the patronymic had me
consulting Google frequently.
‘I tell people, the stories are out there, look for them. It may
just be a small article in a local paper about a person who has an
extraordinary aspect to their life. I tell people to trawl through old
newspapers and magazines looking for a quote or a paragraph that
captures your imagination and which you want to explore further.
Historical fiction is just that – fiction based
on a snippet, a vignette or something that
happened, or a person who lived through
an event which had an impact on them
or others. Write a short story if it helps
to bring the event or person to the page.
Write several. You’ll know when you
have researched and created the bigger
picture to form it into a novel. It just takes
commitment and a passion for telling
stories. Just do it.’ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
‘With four brothers, friends I could only see at school, two dogs
and several hundred cows being my circle, I was grateful that my
parents went to the expense of buying, in instalments, Encyclopaedia
Britannica. I devoured the information and stories of cultures and
countries which seemed so exotic, so tantalisingly wonderful to the
life I lived. I recall being drawn to the many countries of Africa
and Egypt. They had history, a way of life, food I’d never heard of,
communities I could only dream about. I did dream, daydreamed
mostly, and put myself into their world and wondered how I would
cope in the time of the Pharaohs, in the wild of Africa with its
animals that were so much more interesting than my dogs and cows.’‘This is the story of Nuri, a beekeeper in Aleppo, Syria, and his wife Afra, by Craig Smith
an artist. They lived a simple, happy life with family and friends, they knew
the importance of love. When tragedy strikes, they must flee their home,
becoming one of many thousands of asylum seekers making the perilous,
dangerous journey to a different life in a strange land. Traumatised, grief
stricken, they encounter hatred and prejudice, make friends, lose friends. As
a couple they cling to each other, at times they strain and part, Nuri often
feeling helpless in bringing Afra out of the fog of grief and trauma she has witnessed.
‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo, to me, was the telling of a story not unlike The Tattooist of Auschwitz,
set in contemporary times. It speaks of love, of hope. Thanks to writers like Christy we can read
between the news headlines that flash before us and learn of the horror playing out through the
eyes of Nuri and Afra.’
‘This is the story of Nuri, a beekeeper in Aleppo, Syria, and his wife Afra,
an artist. They lived a simple, happy life with family and friends, they knew
the importance of love. When tragedy strikes, they must flee their home,feeling helpless in bringing Afra out of the fog of grief and trauma she has witnessed.
THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO
by Christy Lefteri