WORDWATCHERS

Brian Medhurst

For many years Brian carried this one particular story in his head which he wanted to share with the rest of the world.  Somewhat to his surprise when he finally got down to the serious business of putting pen to paper he discovered there were a lot more.  These other mainly short stories (and poems) proved an exciting distraction and he was able to experiment with his writing styles and with different genres.  He found himself rewriting the first few chapters of his novel The Lion And The Asp incorporating greater use of mood and ambience and giving more complexity to the main characters. This book, a historical novel based on true events, is now complete and ready for publication.

He intends eventually to write a sequel to The Lion and the Asp but at present he is immersed in writing a contemporary novel  provisionally titled ‘Into urban roar (where no picnics are)’

Brian is also a member of  Andover Writers' Circle and he has won their annual poetry competition three times and the short story competition twice.

Brian, who is married with two grown-up sons, is a mathematics teacher and he lives in Highclere. He joined Newbury WordWatchers in 2002 and he has been impressed with the community spirit of the group and with the support and encouragement both offered and received. Writing can be a lonely business when pursued in isolation and he would recommend any aspiring writer, particularly of longer pieces of work, to join a similar group.

He and his wife Cathy have walked the lengths of both the Thames and the Kennet and Avon canal.  He plays chess and bridge both seriously and for fun.  He also likes solving cryptic crosswords, and in the last year he has begun  to compile them too.  To date he has had three of these published.

Brian can be emailed on: brian@medhurstb.fsnet.co.uk