Tuesday 13 December 2011

December newsletter

 
Welcome to the December 2011 Dernier Publishing
newsletter!


 




All I want for Christmas is . . .
Well it's not something you can buy! At the hairdresser's yesterday the big topic of conversation was of course Christmas . . . we talked about which relatives we were going to see, how our shopping was going and how behind we were with preparations . . . I realised afterwards that I had missed a brilliant opportunity to talk about what Christmas means to me. I just wasn't thinking. If we really thought about what we wanted for Christmas, I wonder what we would do differently?
 
 
Encouragements!
We have heard through one of our authors that some of our books are being enjoyed in Denmark! How amazing is that! And here's some more encouraging feedback:

I asked my daughter what she would like for Christmas and she said all she wanted was two Beech Bank Girls books as she has read the first and loves it. She is thirteen.” - Wendy (Essex)

I particularly love the children's books you sell because they are non-preachy, nor in-your-face, heavy reads. They are full of excitement, adventure, emotion and wonder, with a subtle message we can all benefit from.” - Elizabeth (Hants)

74% of British Christians came to Christ by the time they were 19 – your work is so important.” - Dr Peter Brierley, former Executive Director of Christian Research
 
Books make the best presents!
Who could you buy a book for - friends' children, children's friends, nephews, nieces, neighbours, church children - why not take the opportunity of Christmas to sow some seeds and maybe touch a whole family? Maybe as a thank you gift? A book at £5.99 costs about the same as a tin of chocolates, but is soooo much healthier and soooo much better value! If you're not sure which one to choose, do email us (info@dernierpublishing.com), we would be glad to help you any way we can :-) If you can't get to your local Christian bookshop, you can look at and order books online www.dernierpublishing.com/youthf.php and read the first chapters of there too. As with the Christmas cards, we will send these to you first class between now and Christmas – last recommended posting date for UK is 20th December, but don't hesitate, order today!
 
Run out of cards, running late, need some help, don't panic!
We still have some Christmas cards left, with all proceeds going towards new books!
Penguin cards: greeting inside reads:
May the joy of the Lord
be yours this Christmas!
Robin cards: greeting inside reads:
May the peace of the Lord
be yours this Christmas!

Size: 148 x 104mm with a lovely glossy finish. Prices: (with white envelopes) £5.99 for 20 cards or £24.99 for 100. Just email me on info@dernierpublishing.com with your order and I will get those sent off to you with an invoice. P+p free as usual (UK only, sorry)! We will send these to you first class, so don't hesitate, email us now on info@dernierpublishing.com!


Need a last minute inspirational gift – but not a book?!
We still have a special offer on all four of our posters, by way of saying thank you to all of you who support us in so many different ways . . . the details are still on a previous blog - just scroll back and you will find them!
You could make savings of up to £18, so do take a look – we hope our posters will be a blessing to all the children (and the young at heart!) in your life. As with the books and Christmas cards, do email us as soon as possible with your order: info@dernierpublishing.com!


Prayer, the key
Please pray for all the children who will be reading our books this Christmas! However good the book is, it is the Lord who does the work of touching hearts. Thank you so much for standing with us. May you find peace and joy this Christmas, and know the joy of seeing others discover the wonder of the reason for the season :-)
Warmest good wishes to you all,
Janet
STOP PRESS: We are hoping to be on Revelation TV soon!!! Keep in touch by following us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dernier-Publishing/173040439575
 
 
 

Friday 2 December 2011

Eleanor Watkins, author of 40 books!

Back in August we put up a brief profile of author Eleanor Watkins, but as Beech Bank Girls III (recently released) is Eleanor's 40th book - wow, what an achievement! - I thought it would be nice to have a longer piece. Eleanor has kindly written the following fascinating account of her childhood on a farm in the Welsh borders, how she came to follow the Lord, and a bit about her writing career to date. Enjoy! :-)

“I think I was conscious of God from a very early age. As a family we attended an Anglican church; I loved the words and rhythms of the Prayer Book service and often pondered their meanings. Our church was a tiny rural one, looking as if it had been dumped down in the middle of a field, sister to the Parish church in the village and much beloved by the diarist Francis Kilvert, whose books are full of names and places I know well. We would walk to church, wearing wellies in wet weather, over a mile of fields, hills and dips, narrow lanes and streams to cross.

Living in the depths of the countryside reinforced my deep inner feeling that there must have been a master Creator behind the wonder and beauty of the natural world. Our farm perched on a hillside overlooking the beautiful Wye valley, facing the misty blue ridges of the Black Mountains across the river. My brothers and I had a hundred and twenty acres of fields, streams and woodland as our playground and we knew every inch of it; each tree, every bend in the stream, the damp places where golden marsh marigolds and delicate wild orchids grew, the reed-fringed pond where we took our jam jars to collect frog spawn, the best horse chestnuts for conkers. We built houses in trees and dens in bushes, dammed the stream and diverted channels to create islands. We also sometimes did forbidden things, like building fires in woodland, or squeezing through holes in hedges to trespass on neighbours’ land. Looking back, it was an idyllic childhood, free of restriction - we truly ‘walked in Eden.’
  
Our farmhouse was draughty and sadly lacking in mod cons; one cold tap supplied all the domestic water, heating consisted of open fires and a couple of smelly oil heaters. We read by oil lamps or in bed by candlelight (fire hazard!), the toilet was at the bottom of the garden down a long and shrub-fringed path, scary in the dark, and we bathed in a tin tub in front of the kitchen fire. My parents were hard-working and often hard-up, but our house was full of books and magazines, from encyclopaedias to classics, poetry to farming magazines and children's comics. We all read avidly, studied the things that interested us, travelled to other times and places through the printed page. My brother wanted to be a naturalist, and I knew from very early on that I wanted to be a writer.

A turning point in my life came at sixteen, when three friends and I went to our village hall to see a film and listen to a visiting evangelistic speaker. As the evening progressed I had the growing conviction that these people knew Jesus in a personal way, and, more importantly, that his death on the Cross that I heard about in Sunday services had been for me, personally, and that I needed to make a decision; to accept him into my heart and life or to reject him. I had the uneasy feeling that the former decision might restrict my blossoming teenage social life, so I headed straight for the door when the meeting ended. My friend, though, persuaded me to respond to the altar call, and together we duly stayed behind for counselling. Once pinned down, I prayed the sinner’s prayer with sincerity, and really felt that something significant had happened.

Over the years, I’m amazed at the way God has kept his hand on me through many ups and downs, wanderings and strayings (on my part), heartaches and problems and happy times, and the incredible diversity and wonder and adventure of life lived with Jesus. I’ve met so many amazing people and learned and experienced so much in so many ways, from the joy and wonder of being filled with the Holy Spirit, to the pain of church splits and the hard work of setting up new enterprises. I don’t always understand what God is doing, but I do believe that, in the end, ‘all will be well, and all will be most well, and all manner of things will be well.’(Julian of Norwich)

I’ve written stories since I could hold a pen, and had my first acceptance at the age of 21, when Christian Herald newspaper accepted one of my short stories for the princely fee of three guineas! They took several more, and later published a children's serial which I had started when I was sixteen and finished a few years later when I was looking for something to do during my baby son’s nap time. My first book was published by Victory Press in 1973, the story of a boy and a fox cub. By then I was a farmer’s wife and mother of three small boys, living in a farmhouse in the lee of the Black Mountains facing across the valley to my childhood home. Life was busy, but I persevered with the writing and more books followed with Victory Press. A lean spell in publishing came later in the 70s and 80s, and I turned to short stories and articles, selling a respectable number to various magazines in this country, Australia and the US. Children's fiction was my first love, though, and it was with relief that I discovered Lion Publishing, who helped and nurtured me enormously, and later Scripture Union and Kevin Mayhew.

Beech Bank Girls III: Christmas is Coming!, published this year, is my fortieth book, not counting the dozen or so manuscripts, finished and unfinished, that lurk in my files. I began the Beech Bank Girls stories after reading something similar in secular teenage fiction and wondering how it would work if the girls telling the stories had experienced Jesus in their lives. The first couple of publishers I approached were dubious, then I met Janet through the pages of the ACW magazine, she liked the stories and the rest, as they say, is history. The latest book was inspired by the bitter weather of last winter which started before Christmas – I thought it would be fun to have a pre-Christmas story with a cold and snowy setting. The girls themselves are not goody-goody or super-spiritual, they are ordinary girls who laugh, cry, fall out sometimes, face heartaches, make mistakes, act silly and have a lot of fun. I want the readers, above all, to have a sense of how precious they are to God, how much he loves them just as they are, and to know that he has wonderful plans for their lives.

I write mostly in longhand, in a spiral-bound manuscript book, editing each days’ work later the same day, editing it again when it goes on the computer – and then again, and again…… My three pieces of advice to budding writers? 1. Read. 2. Write. 3. Make sure you have a good editor. I can’t emphasize that enough. However well you think you’ve edited your work, there will always be things you missed, or that could be improved on. Whether a lot or a little needs to be changed, a good editor is a must.
 
A few years ago, on a trip to New England, I visited Walden Pond and was very taken with Thoreau’s idea of a little hut in the woods, having the fanciful notion I’d like one to write in. My husband, bless him, took this on board and some time later obtained a small wooden hut and set it up in our own woodland. It was a nice idea, but alas!, very little writing has been done there. The grandchildren play in it and I go there occasionally to watch wildlife, or to have a scream or rant without danger of disturbing the family or upsetting the cat! These days, I can’t get by without piles of books, concordances, notes on bits of paper, the phone, and a computer with Google, Amazon and Facebook to provide distraction at regular intervals. Plus a comfy armchair, central heating and a cup of tea, of course!"

Eleanor at the Christian Resources Exhibition at Sandown Park in May.

All three Beech Bank Girls books, for girls aged 10-14,  are available from good bookshops everywhere (support your local Christian bookshop if you can) or direct from our website  www.dernierpublishing.com/youthf.php at price £5.99 each. For more information about these books and our others, scroll down to previous posts, find us on facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dernier-Publishing/173040439575 or check out our website!



Monday 21 November 2011

November newsletter

Welcome to the November Dernier Publishing
newsletter!





 
Are children becoming animals?
Many people are at risk of giving up on children altogether, a shocking new poll commissioned by Barnardo’s has found. It shows that nearly half the UK population (49 per cent) agree that children today are beginning to behave like animals. ICM Research reveals that the public holds a negative view of all children, despite the majority being well behaved, attending school, taking part in activities and a significant number contributing to their communities and volunteering.
Read more of the research findings here:
So it seems that our children are facing discrimination. How sad. We all need to feel cared for and appreciated; our young people are not exempt, with perhaps more pressures on them than many of us had to face at their age. There are more family break-ups than ever before, an increasingly immoral society, pressure at school to conform/not conform, more families with financial problems, job uncertainties, job losses . . . It's tempting to wonder what we can do, but if we all go out of our way to encourage our young people whenever we can, and make them feel appreciated, we can make a difference. If you don't know any children yourself, why not buy a Christian book or two for a school library? You could be the means of great blessing!


Books for Christmas!
Books make wonderful presents! Our books make excellent, non-threatening gifts for all the 8-16 year-old children you love. Those of you who have known us for a while will know all about our books; if you would like a catalogue please let us know, or if you would like help in choosing a suitable book for a particular child (or group), do not hesitate to contact me on info@dernierpublishing.com.
You can buy all our books from your local Christian Bookshop, internet store, or direct from us: www.dernierpublishing.com/youthf.php
 
With thanks to all who pray
Often we don't see the results of our prayers, but occasionally we receive good news! Here's an extract from an email I received recently, a wonderful encouragement that the Lord is at work through our books:
I just want you to know how amazing your books are! 
1. One girl aged 8 from a very difficult background, came to me on Sunday. It was her birthday last Thursday. She was thrilled to bits when she got 3 birthday cards. One from Grandma, one from Kidz Klub, and one from the lady who sponsored her book! [Church members sponsored books to give to Sunday School children last term.] The only thing she asked for for her birthday was another book like 'I Want To Be an Airline Pilot'. Grandma bought her 'The Birthday Shoes'. Result: one very happy little girl.
2. One lady who lives 17 miles away from church, came on Sunday. She came because she had read her son's book, one of the Treasure Mystery ones. Her son loves coming to Kidz Klub, and she wanted to see why. At the end of the service she stayed behind to talk to the preacher, and after a long chat with him, she was born again! Wow, wow, and wow again!!”
Poster Offer


Do scroll back to a previous post with a special offer on our posters, by way of saying thank you to all of you who support us in so many different ways . . .
In a nutshell, you could make savings of up to £18, so do take a look – we hope our posters will be a blessing to all the children in your life. Offer expires 24th December, but we recommend you order them well before then! Why not take a look now - there's no time like the present, excuse the pun :-)

May the Lord bless you all as you prepare for Christmas, when we will celebrate that most amazing of events, when the only Son of God, our Saviour, came down to us.
 

Kindest regards to you all,

Janet  
PS Don't forget to find us on Facebook!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


























Wednesday 16 November 2011

Author profile - Denise Hayward

I hope you enjoy reading about our authors - today, with no further ado, I am delighted to introduce you to Denise Hayward, author of 'Deepest Darkness'!

"As a child I loved reading, and I read all the children’s classics – The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Alice in Wonderland, Heidi, Little Women etc. I also enjoyed Enid Blyton – she gets a bad press now but she drew me into books. Two books that really impacted me were Helen Keller’s autobiography and The Diary of Anne Frank. Probably more than any other book The Diary of Anne Frank inspired me to start writing. For my 13th birthday I bought a note book with some money I’d had and began to keep a diary. I think I began by trying to record the boring intricacies of my day but quite soon it became a place to write what I thought and felt, how I processed the world. Those early diaries read rather embarrassingly now! I have never been faithful to writing my journal every day but I have more or less kept it up ever since. I still have days when I write reams and occasionally let several days, even weeks, lapse.

I don’t remember when I first wanted to write children’s stories, probably some time in my early twenties. I just know that for a long while I wanted to and then eventually began to put some of the ideas I had in my head onto paper. From the time I was a young teenager I wanted to be an actress, and from the age of 16 acting was a total obsession for me. It was all I wanted to do. I did eventually go to drama school and then had a summer season in the children’s theatre in Butlins. It’s a long story but I learned a lot about myself I didn’t like during that summer. I had been reading Christian books such as Jackie Pullinger’s ‘Chasing the Dragon,’ and Joni Eareckson’s autobiography. I may, at times, have called myself a Christian up to that point but I was not a follower of Jesus and these books brought that home to me. Anyway God sought me out, thankfully, and aged 23 I became a follower of Jesus. And he very clearly led me out of the acting world. It seemed hard at the time but I am glad He did. I wouldn’t have survived as a Christian in that world. That’s not the case for everyone but it certainly was for me.

I think it was probably around that time that the possibility of being a writer began to take hold of me. I certainly began writing more seriously then. I think my first completed work was probably a one woman play about Eleanor Roosevelt. I hoped to tour it around schools but didn’t get much interest – they kept telling me what women they would like a show about. I’ve never been very good at writing on demand. It has to mean something to me. However it began, somewhere in me I knew I wanted to write children’s stories. Of course I discovered writing them is far easier than getting them published! It always seemed like I was playing a game that I didn’t know the rules of.


The inspiration for Deepest Darkness came when my husband, Frederick, and I had a holiday in Canada. We caught the train from Toronto that crosses Canada to Vancouver, on the west coast. We stopped off at the Rockies on the way over then continued on to Vancouver. From there we hired a car and drove around Vancouver Island. We walked in the Rockies, went whale watching, stayed in an old loggers cabin and took boats out to see Grizzly bears along the coast. Throughout the journey the thing that struck us was the wildness and the unpredictability of it. The reality that as we walked we could very possibly stumble across a bear was exciting and scary! All the while, as we faced a wildness that doesn’t exist anymore in Britain, I felt God stirring things in me, facing fears. Not just the fear of stumbling across a bear but a certain fearfulness that gripped me. My fear was not as raw and controlling as Abi’s [from Deepest Darkness] but certainly controlled aspects of my life. God had long been dealing with fear in me. But there is simply something about walking in wilderness that touches something deep. Not just about me, but about the reality that God is not a tame God, and actually, in the depths of who I am, I don’t want Him to be anyway.



But it was in a small place on the west coast of Vancouver Island that the story began to stir in me. Our hotel was virtually on the beach, we had a room looking out to the sea. The beach was beautiful, to me it was paradise. The dark rocks in the sea, the long sandy beach. Behind were mountains and forests. All that part of Canada used to be temperate rainforest but most of it has been logged and there is very little original forest left. But there is some and from the road there was a boardwalk into the edge of the forest. As we walked I wept, the colours, the variety of green and the ancientness of this forest, deeply touched my heart, deeply spoke to me of the One who is the Ancient of Days.


One morning on the beach, the line ‘When I was a child of 9 or 10 I came to this island full of fear,’ popped into my head. And it stayed there. It became a matter of discovering who this person was and what had happened to her. In many ways Dave, Abi’s father, contains strands of my story as much as Abi herself. For me, Deepest Darkness is as much about discovering God is far bigger and wild and real and good than we ever imagine, as it is about one young girl facing her fears and finding God cares. He is enough. He made this wild, incredible planet that He cares deeply about. And yet He knows me and He cares. He intends life to be fully lived and embraced, He doesn’t want us cowering or making a life for ourselves that we can manage. He is too wild for us to tame and life is too huge for us to control but He holds us and lights our way."

Deepest Darkness really is a beautiful book; thoughtful, exciting, inspiring and equally suitable for Christian children or those with no church background. If you would like to read the first chapter, you can do so online:  http://dernierpublishing.com/deepestdarkness.php

Here is a little bit about the book, with some reviews:
 
Ten-year old Abi suffers from terrible nightmares and her life is ruled by fear. On holiday in Canada, she makes a new friend who shows her that true light shines, even in the deepest darkness. Facing her fears one by one, Abi opens up her life to the light and finds a freedom that she never thought possible.

This is a brilliant story all about a girl called Abi. She's got a fear of everything, but a trip to Canada brings a new friend and some important answers. This is one of the best books I've read – EVER!” - Maddie


It is a fantastic adventure and God is really real.” - Natalie 
 
I enjoyed the story very much. I felt for Abi and all the characters, and was really excited while reading the book.” - Polina 
 
"Deepest Darkness' has deeply touched my daughters. There is something about it which has  struck a chord with them." - Jo

Deepest Darkness is available from all good bookshops everywhere (shop locally if you can!) or direct from our website. It costs £5.99 - if you need to order it, here is the ISBN: 9780953696352


Thursday 10 November 2011

Inspirational Posters

A few years ago, when we only had two books (well everyone has to start somewhere!), we produced a couple of posters, so that the exhibition stand we had booked didn't look too ridiculously empty.

Now we have eleven books, by the grace of God, and four posters - all with the aim of encouraging and inspiring young people in their faith and showing non-church kids what they are missing.

Our aim right from the beginning was to set up a publishing company for youth fiction, and as time has gone on our books have taken over just about all our time and energy. We are still proud of our posters though, and it's a shame they have been a bit neglected, because they are such wonderfully unique pictures with a great message. A few words can sometimes speak volumes; who doesn't need to be reminded on a regular basis that the Lord keeps his promises, that heaven is a wonderful place (this is popular with older folk too), that we can overcome evil with good and should keep rejoicing? . . . um, this is speaking to me right now . . .!

Our children (grandchildren, pupils, neighbours, nephews and nieces and friends' children) need to hear these things, just as much as we do - the writer to the Hebrews urges us to encourage one another daily - well here's a great way to do that, even if we can't be there in person.

Our posters sell for £3.99 each on our website www.dernierpublishing.com/posters.php . . . so, here's a special offer to raise their profile and to thank you for your interest in what we do:

First poster £3.99, every poster after that HALF PRICE (£1.99), up to another nine more posters! That's 10 posters for £21.90, a saving of £18!!! Of course you can order fewer if  you don't need ten.
Postage and packing free (UK only, sorry).


Offer limited to ten posters per household, not for resale, offer expires on 24th December, usual terms and conditions apply - see our website www.dernierpublishing.com for details.




Just email me: info@dernierpublishing.com how many of each you would like (mix and match is fine) and I will send them to you with an invoice, in a poster tube/s. They are 130gsm, gloss finish, 16" x 20" in size and look great on walls everywhere - where could you post yours? :-)
  • Sunday School rooms
  • Toddler groups
  • Children's bedrooms
  • Your office :-) (penguins?)
  • Pre-schools and nurseries
  • Creche rooms
  • Classrooms
  • House of Commons (I was thinking of the bats!)
  • Buckingham Palace - well why not :-)

At this price, perhaps you could afford to buy them for your Sunday School children for Christmas - imagine what a blessing these could be, not just to the children but to their families too! :-)


Wednesday 19 October 2011

October Newsletter

Welcome to the October 2011
Dernier Publishing
newsletter!



Acorns in the park
It's that time of year! Under the oak trees in my local park, the ground is littered with acorns. Some fall on the path and get squashed by dog-walkers like me, some are eaten by squirrels, some might take root then get mown down – some will grow into beautiful oak trees! What a wonderful encouragement to make the most of every opportunity to share the good news – who knows what may grow from one small seed?

 
Ultimate Christian Library Book Award 2012
We have nominated our five most recent books for this prestigious award, which is so exciting! We will of course keep you in touch with how we get on, because if the judges shortlist any of our books (which would be wonderful!), we will need you to vote! For more info about the awards follow this link: http://www.christianbookawards.org/

Our first ever proper catalogues!
Would anybody like any of our autumn/winter catalogues? We have taken the big step of producing 8-page A5 glossy brochures as we now have eleven books to promote :-) We are delighted with them! Could you pass some on to your church family, Sunday School parents, teachers at your local school or just pass some around to friends and family? Young people need to hear the good news - our books can help in reaching out to the ones you love :-) Email me at info@dernierpublishing.com and I will get those sent off to you, free of charge of course. 


Latest gossip!
A Christian bookshop in Epsom has chosen 'Beech Bank Girls, Christmas is Coming!' as children's book of the month for October! If you have read it, you can give it a star rating on the website - just click on the link: www.dovecotebookshop.co.uk Do support Christian bookshops if you can.
 
Mary Weeks Millard (right) has heard that Dorset library service are considering adding her children's books to their list - please pray that they do!
Mary will be visiting Rwanda from October 25 to November 15th. Please pray for her, for safety in travel, good health and for the Lord's blessing wherever she goes.

 
Last posting dates for Christmas, international surface mail
If you need (want?!) to send presents to relatives/friends abroad, here are the remaining last posting dates for international surface mail (Last dates for some destinations have already gone): Tue 18th October: South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, the USA and Canada Tue 8th November: Eastern Europe, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Malta and Iceland Tue 22nd November: Western Europe. How about sending a good book to encourage and inspire your young people in their faith? Get in there quick as it's quite a bit cheaper now than sending airmail!

Poster for Halloween
Halloween is fast approaching. We have a poster with a great message; might you be able to use one or more at home, in church or school? They would also make perfect gifts for alternative 'Praise parties'! Price: £3.99 Size: 16"x20". Gloss 130gsm card. SPECIAL OFFER TO E-NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS – First poster £3.99, EVERY POSTER AFTER THAT ONLY 99p, as many as you like! If you would like to subscribe to the e-newsletter and take advantage of this offer, email me on info@dernierpublishing.com and I will send your posters to you, POST FREE, with an invoice! Check out our other posters on www.dernierpublishing.com

 
Books Change Lives
I received a most encouraging email from a lady whose church members sponsored books for their Sunday School children, many of whom come from a local estate. "It's now several weeks since we presented the books to our children. This morning I asked how they were getting on with them. They were very enthusiastic and have been swapping them round when they've finished their own. Most of these kids are reluctant readers, too. One girl, non-Christian family, no support or interest at home, very violent background, told me her grandma had read her book, 'I want to be an airline pilot', and wanted to know where she could buy some of the others." The Lord is using our books to touch people's lives, which is awesome. Be a part of it, sow some seeds! (Picture posed by model)

Phew! I think that's all for now – remember, a book at £5.99 is the same cost as coffee and cake in a High Street cafĂ©, less than half the price of a DVD and a fraction of the price of many computer games (e.g. 1/5 of £29.99). What great value! :-)

With love to you all,
Janet

P.S. We have 11 books now and there are about 10 weeks left until Christmas, so last week I thought it would be fun to begin featuring one book a week on our facebook page . . to help you keep count of the book-shopping weeks until Christmas, hehe :-) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dernier-Publishing/173040439575