What a week for copies of my latest book Reptiles to arrive! The book opens with Toad Patrol  an annual  rescue of amphibians  as they cross the Old Abingdon Road .  Many from my village take part including me wearing high viz . (new recruits are always welcome) The’ reptiles’ in my novel  are humans ! I had the ungodly task of researching  JD Vance, Christian Nationalism and the manosphere. One character, Serena Shriver, is inspired by Phyllis Shaffley. In Reptiles, Serena is an influential Republican Christian Nationalist whose son, Gideon, is working on a DPhil in theology at Oxford  who organises harassing demonstrations at  Dr. Yasmin Bell’s clinic. She’s a supporter of JD Vance and helped him get elected. There are quotes from him, I included almost as they happened including his jibe at ‘childless cat ladies’.  So when he arrived in Oxfordshire it felt PERSONAL and I headed to Charlbury to join in the protests!

The victim in Reptiles is a feminist gynaecologist. This interview echoes a scene in Reptiles. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002d87b

A recent report vindicates a plot line relating to Iran. The victim’s mother is an Iranian feminist. Mark Turner  has produced this feature on targeted killings carried out by Iran. The ms was off to be copy edited and designed when the documentary was released. I let out a sigh of relief that I had got in right .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002csb2/eye-investigations-iran-murder-for-hire?seriesId=unsliced&page=1

Mark is a fellow member of a casual Oxford networking called First Tuesday. You turn up if you can and want to meet some fellow film makers (such as Zoe Broughton and Richard Scrace), journalists (local and national) and freelance writers (like me) on the First Tuesday of each month. If you are one of the above or a photographer, cartoonist or anything media related, and would like to join us, let me know.

The first launches of Reptiles are on Wednesday 24 September @ Oxford Poetry Circle in  Common Ground in Little Clarendon Street, Oxford. (One character writes poetry – nods to PD James who was my customer at the Jam Factory)

The launch of  Reptiles in Kennington Village Centre

            Saturday 27 September: 7.00- 9.30 pm.

      Celebrates Kennington in Fact and Fiction

 There’ll be entertainment and an Indian buffet.

         A non-alcoholic punch will be provided otherwise

            bring your own bottles for your table, please.

Reptiles opens in Kennington, alias Thames Reach,

                  & ends on White Horse Hill.

There are 10 places still available, if you would like one email : sylviavetta@gmail.com

Also in Kennington at the on November 1, Fellow exhibitors include , Korky Paul ,Mario Cuelho, Diana Bell, Ray Foulk, Oxford Independent authors and more..

 

 

I’ll launch Reptiles at the Oxford Indie Book Fair in the University Examination Schools on Sunday November 23. (The iconic building is not usually open to the public and our event is free and everyone of all ages and backgrounds feel welcome (See pic of last year’s exhibitors)

In Reptiles and Current of Death, my village goes under the name of Thames Reach.The main local characters are the same as in Current of Death  but Reptiles is darker. Locals will understand from the cover that up to the minute local issues are involved too.  But no book of mine can be without light and humour. It ends on White Horse Hill which I always visit when I judge the writing at the Swire Art Prize, in Uffington, and hope to have a launch in the local pub The Fox and Hounds.

Endorsements for Reptiles

Well researched and insightful, this engrossing page-turner brings to life the front line of our culture wars across local, national and international contexts. Every page touches a nerve, every turn of the plot vibrates with contemporary angst and builds to a satisfying climax. The characters are intriguing: all are relatable and motivating – I loved sharing their struggles, and being inside the bonds that grew between them. Deeply sad, as an honest-to-God murder story is likely to be, Reptiles raises smiles along the way, and is ultimately up-lifting.

Steve Lunn, author of The Price of Dormice and We’re Not Getting Divorced.

Come for the many twists and turns of a murder mystery thriller – you’ll be swept along by the fast pace of the investigation. But expect much more from Reptiles than a cleverly constructed plot. Well-developed characters and webs of intrigue that are much of the moment will take you far beyond the confines of an apparently ordinary village on the edge of Oxford.

Paul Gamble, Oxfordshire-based writer and poet