Diadem Books releases the last two books by the late Roy Holland, poet and literary scholar.

It is a great privilege that I was asked by Roy Holland, before he sadly passed away in January 2011, to bring out a new and comprehensive volume of his poems—and my thanks are due to his daughter Lynda Harris, and to her husband Michael Harris, for their expert and efficient classification of them, and for sending them on to me.

The poems reflect a wide range of experience and insights, as well as places, indeed, continents, where the different settings and cultures inspired the poet. They reflect the places where he lived, in his youth in England and later in Lesotho, Greece, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Before he died Roy also asked me to publish his hitherto unpublished notes on F.R.Leavis, under whom he had studied at Cambridge, and had sent me a copy of the notes he had jotted down in the course of attending the tutorials given by F.R. Leavis, while he was a student at Cambridge University studying for the English Tripos examinations (1954-1957). These notes comprise a rich vein of ore, of gems, or nuggets, for the scholar to pick up at will. Roy attended Leavis’ tutorials for about three days a week. They were held in groups in his rooms in Downing College. Leavis’ divagations on Shakespeare and many (often startling!) observations on writers like Wordsworth and Arnold are here to be picked up by the scholar or literary researcher—from these verbatim, hitherto unpublished comments of a man who many see as the founder of modern literary criticism.

It was a privilege to have been asked to speak at Roy’s funeral on 4th February 2011 at the Hereford Crematorium. I will always remember him, not only a talented poet and gifted writer, but a very dear friend. These recently published two books of Roy’s will certainly add to our rich heritage of English literature. – Charles Muller, Diadem Books.

Review of Beth Richards' new book in The Worksop Guardian.
Epic Times, Past & Present (Diadem Books,2011).

Beth's creative achievements!

Just released - a new study on the  Victorian novelist and preacher, Charles Kingsley.

An Autobiography.

Just released: FROM BEAN STREET TO CRUISE LINE CAPTAIN & BEYOND, by Charles Anderson (Diadem Books, 2010). Charles Muller, of Diadem Books, recently visited the author, Captain Charles Anderson, in Hull, following the release of his autobiography. Captain Anderson is shown here with Charles Muller and David Lynn, the man who was his Chief Engineer from the time when he was a cruise ship captain.

Throughout the book are humorous, disastrous incidents and an intriguing insight into ‘Behind the Scenes’ operations in cruising. A must read for seafarers, former seafarers, cruise ship passengers, former cruise ship passengers, especially former crew members and passengers who sailed on the Veracruz and Liberte. Incidents that stand out are the rescue of a couple from a sinking yacht, and a genuine sighting, from the bridge while at sea, of a UFO! During his time as a cruise ship captain, Charles Anderson also had many celebrities at his captain’s table, including Bob Hope and John Denver.

From Bean Street to Cruise Line Captain & Beyond

Adventures of Amber the Witch

JK Rowling eat your heart out – a former Whitby woman has penned her own action-packed magical series inspired by her childhood visits to Goathland.
Writer Helen Cardwell has written the The Elf-Witch Chronicles which follow the adventures of a teenage witch called Amber Blackett

We would like to congratulate our author Barrie David, who entered his book 'Movie Idea' into the adventure category of the International Indies Excellence Awards, which takes place annually in California USA. It's a competition that invites submissions from worldwide independently published authors and all entries are judged by industry professionals. Barrie reached the finals and can now display the coveted sticker on the front cover of his book, currently on show at his website.

Book Launch in Leven, Fife: A New Autobiography by William J. Nicol

THE BOOK LAUNCH OF ANOTHER STORY BY REV. WILLIAM NICOLE on Saturday 17 April 2010.  The following photographs were taken on the occasion:

From the East Fife Mail, Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The recording sessions at the Genesis TV studio in London on Saturday (28 March 2010) under the expert guidance of Pastor Yemi Balogun (left) were wonderful and very rewarding. I was rather taken aback when I was asked to introduce each interview session, wired for sound and looking straight into the camera, and then, at the end of each session, addressing the viewers and inviting them to respond to the website and telephone number “which you can see on your screen at this moment.” These were all recordings for future broadcasts – if you have Sky TV you will eventually be able to see these on the Genesis TV channel. The author, Dr Robert Peprah-Gyamfi, was most generous—our two-night stay at the amazing Britannica International Hotel, Canary Wharf, in London, was an unforgettable experience in itself. The Lord has certainly turned around the life of Dr Robert Peprah-Gyamfi, a successful medical doctor and the founder of the Thank You Jesus Ministry—considering he was born into poverty in a remote village in Ghana! Thank you, Robert! You are a walking testimony of the words from Proverbs 3:5-7: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” We spoke about his vision so many years ago, in Ghana, that called him to Europe (in The Call That Changed My Life) and discussed his message in all of his subsequent books, especially his most recent book on the healing ministry of Jesus, titled Doctor Jesus. The author, a medical doctor, was well qualified to write this, and examines each of the healing miracles in the light of modern medical science The book is remarkable for the focus it places on the way Jesus, when healing, "immediately activated the mechanism of creation". Jesus is the doctor whose healing "knows no bounds", and is the only doctor, so to speak, capable of curing the ultimate disease—death itself.  Jesus' power is the power of the resurrection, for diseased or wasted tissue and bone are not repaired, but "recreated"—just as God originally created man by a voice command. Thus Lazarus was resurrected, as it were, from the dust—recreating tissue that was beyond repair. The healing is always instant. Ultimately, this is how we who accept Jesus will be healed, in the resurrection (or the Rapture!) when, in the "twinkling of an eye" we will have a new, glorified body. The crux of the book is therefore the author's quotation of Jesus' words spoken just before the resurrection of Lazarus: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me shall never die." (John 11:25-6.) Doctor Jesus' healing power is the power of the resurrection.

Book Launch in Kelso, Scottish Borders: Another Story by William J. Nicol

The book-launch and booksigning of ANOTHER STORY: A Tale of a Son and a Daughter of Two Villages by Rev Dr William Nicol took place in Kelso, in the Scottish Borders, on Saturday 3^rd April, and was attended my many folk who travelled many miles for the occasion, including Charles & Joanne Muller, of Diadem Books. The book is called ‘Another Story’ since it is a follow up of Against the Grain, the first autobiographical book by Rev Nicol, being a tale of events that have taken place subsequently, revealing a fascinating historical exploration of the southern coastal region of the Kingdom of Fife, including the story of Alexander Selkirk (associated with Lower Largo) who inspired Defoe in his creation of Robinson Crusoe.  The new book was inspired by the author meeting up, once again, with his fiancé of many years ago (Margaret Deas Thomson, now a retired headmistress). The similarities in their background in coal-mining East Fife, and their decidedly different outlooks on life grounded on quite different lifestyles, are confronted by the author in the light of our national divided society over the past three hundred years since the time of Alexander Selkirk and Robinson Crusoe. Love thrived on conflicts of mind and ideologies. The book is an inspirational tonic! 

[Top & middle: The author & Margaret with family members.

  Bottom row: Celia Murry, Rev. Duncan Murray.]

Gordon Fraser’s novel The Scent of Rain is a gripping blend of fact and fiction. The survival of a wild life Journalist and a Geologist in the wildest part of the African bush leads to a romance filled with irony and humour. The author, who lives in South Africa, has been surprised and gratified at the compliments people have made. A reader who had bought a book at the bookstore in the Mall, in George, a coastal town in South Africa, phoned him to ask if he could call round and get it signed. The author reports that he has been receiving complaints from husbands that once their wives get hold of the book they closet themselves away and refuse to be disturbed until they've finished reading the book. One good friend told him that his wife lay on the bed all Sunday, reading, and every time he tried to come into the bedroom, he was told, "Get out. I don't want to be disturbed." She called it “a fabulous love story”—though primarily it is a book of adventure and action that should appeal mainly to men. The author heard of one reader (a man this time!) sitting in his hotel swimming pool in 40 degree heat in Mozambique reading the novel which he said he could not put down until he'd finished it and then felt cheated that there wasn't more of it  The local George Herald asked for an interview in order to create a profile of the author.  The following is an extract from the published report (headed A Glumpse of Gordon) by Michelle Blanckenberg-Pienaar:

"Conversations over our last cup of coffee were directed at the publication of his first novel, The Scent of Rain, which had been inspired by his own life experience as a geologist in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia). Newly married in the late 1950’s, Gordon and his wife Yvonne spent five years in the Northern Rhodesian bush, as part of a small community of six families who operated a small manganese mine. Gordon’s job was to prospect 1000 square miles of territory including a narrow portion of the Luangwa Valley…"