You've got to get this ...

This illustrated recipe book will be a production that is guaranteed to make you smile -

If you read my blog from 10th May this year then you'll already know that our historian and costumier Julia Gant is in the throes of preparing a very special recipe book to accompany the Heartsfelled film production.  The recipes are being chosen by Heartsfelled himself as being his favourites.

To fill you in a bit further - Heartsfelled is a Storyteller who is timeless and ageless which means he has been around since time began and collects his stories from across all times and places.  So the recipes he is choosing are genuine, historical dishes with wonderful stories behind their development and the illustrated book will explain the ingredients, how they are made and so-on.

To give you an idea of just how seriously good the authoress Julia is, only four years ago she catered "The Grand Ball at Villa de Molina"  that was in the ground floor of Napoleon's villa on Elba; she's lectured for academic circles and field cooks and the public at large and she's managed kitchens in some very fine historical homes  and shared pies with some pretty highly titled gents!

So, what's got me all excited this week?  Well,  I spent an hour with Heartsfelled himself and he, along with his amanuensis and muse Mnemosyne, was busy writing down anecdotes and tales of how he came to be there when each of the historical dishes was served.  I could sit and listen to these two historians, historical food experts and most literary people tell their stories and experiences for hours.  So, not only are Heartsfelled's musings and recollections historically fascinating, introducing us to a range of wonderful people from the point of view of their fine dining habits - but Heartsfelled has a glorious sense of humour and his writings are witty and funny too.  I had such a happy time listening to previews of the anecdotes that go with the recipes, smiling and laughing even gasping at Heartsfelled's life experiences.   I will add that there is some pretty smart research and a whole lot of real-life fun and games by lovely Nigel Gant behind Heartsfelled's musings . . . but don't tell Heartsfelled that I let on!

If you are interested in being told when this book is available (latest release date is August 2020 but it could well be available before that) them leave me a message here and I will be in touch.

Nigel Gant as Heartsfelled 

Through the Long Forgotten Door:

One week ago, in the spot where I now stand, was the Museum of Stories.
Here we stood inside Heartsfelled the Storyteller's magical lair.  Here is where his collections of stories, portals into stories, and little clues and artefacts belonging to lost or forgotten stories were all to be found.  But like many magical and special treats - the Museum of Stories will only stay in one place for a little while.  When it's ready it will dissolve away and if you wanted to visit again you'd have to know the secret and how to step through the "long forgotten door".
As I stand here now I see only the grey, empty square building.   I look around, here is where I  built a hollow cardboard wall to dampen the sound for the film crew.  Here is where the woodland corner was built, and over there Heartsfelled's table ....  I kick over the traces of dust, bark and sand.  I try to recall in my mind's eye the island beach and the little boy's bedroom all ready for bedtime stories to be told. And, feeling quite sad as it turned out, I start to sweep away the last dusty reminders. 
The floor and walls echo now as I step around the empty room. 

Zak adjusts the "white" and gets ready to do some pretty clever stuff with his camera

Testing the framing and lighting
- it takes skill to get it right.

Heartsfelled gets ready for the next "take".

Zak in his element - look at that smile.

Assistant Director, Tina, making sure the angles are correct.

Is the pen (quill) mightier than the sword?

Blue screen . . . coz Julia's not really transparent!

Getting ready, trying not to melt - it's over 30 degrees in there by now. 
Hottest weekend ever!

Checking his Anglo-Saxon pronunciation perhaps.

Clapper Board Girl - the Assistant Director on such a small crew gets to do it all!

He's picked an interesting volume off the shelf there.

Here comes the next spate of filming!

Hold your breath folks - at the end of this week (that's next weekend!) the Heartsfelled crew will getting it together in the mystical, magical Museum of Stories somewhere in the heart of deepest Lincolnshire.
Zak Wylde Productions will be filming Heartsfelled himself as he recounts the tale Fyrdhwaet, The Identity Stealer.  During the week I will try to give you sneak previews of some arts of the Museum and let you know how things are going, after next weekend there will be more teasers and tit-bits available to whet our appetites.
Keep checking in for updates .....

On being the writer . . . .

It is quite a thing to be the person that wrote the poetic saga which, years later, becomes realised in film form.   There is a big helping of responsibility attached as I see this as an important (not at all irreplaceable but I would go so far as to say significant) step in the development of the very talented young Zak Wylde Holland's career.  The director, makeup artists, costumiers, actors, and so-on all heave expectations. I may steer the ship alongside the Director from time-to-time, however, I am not to be lauded as anything more than a willing project assistant with a clear view on how things can be progressed.  I am the writer and that is my raison d'etre.  I look forward to the production with unbounded enthusiasm but the depth of my pleasure will be felt equally when the special edition book is released and I am holding it in my ink-stained hand!

            On the matter of being a writer, I have been creating stories and poems since I was a very small child.  I can recall back to when I was four or even younger, when I couldn't get to sleep (which seemed often in the way of my recall) my mother would say to me "Lie down, close your eyes, and tell yourself a story!"  So I did.  And I have been doing just that ever since.  Songwriters and sometimes poets will tell you that if you can remember the words in the morning then it's a good piece, worth developing!

            Of course the greater majority of what I have written in my adult, professional years has been textbooks and academic work.  That's what happens when you go and get yourself a PhD (mine is Law and Business would you believe!) they expect you to research in-depth, write with great clarity and have a good, strong sense of purpose.  Now that I have moved on and can fully indulge my passion for writing fiction I am finding that research habit very enriching.
              Being a writer to the core also means that I am entrenched in the new book I am researching and creating as well as keeping a weather eye on my duties towards this wonderful Heartsfelled project.  In time my role on this particular Heartsfelled film will melt away and I will sink down deep into the depths of being a writer once again.  The fantasy fiction that I created in a previous life, under a different name was well received so, although I have no wish to revive that series or be that person again, I am very much enjoying the escape into my worlds and the people who come to me there.
               In the meantime, out here in the real world, sets are being built, choreography is being refined and all things are making excellent progress.