A new book is being snapped up by readers keen to escape the pressures of our troubled world.
Reviewers have given Feel-Good Stories, the latest book by professional author and former Reading teacher Sarah Swatridge, 4.8 out of five stars.
Sarah, who lives in Charvil with her husband Graham, said: “The book has uplifting short stories, full of memorable, quirky characters.
“You can read about the heroic postie, the eccentric duke, a spoilt parrot, a true friend and a determined would-be husband.
“People want to read feel-good stories particularly at the moment: the world is in a difficult place and the book is a little bit of escapism.”
The stories include Twyford’s gentleman gypsy and highwayman Dick Turpin’s possible Sonning links.
Sarah, who went to Southlands Girls School in Reading, has sold over 100 stories to women’s magazines. Her first book, a My Weekly novella, An Honourable Wager, has just been republished.
After retiring from teaching, mainly at Woodley CofE Primary and Ryeish Green School, Sarah, 64, has more time for writing.
She goes to great lengths to empathise with her characters. Writing about the women at White Waltham transporting warplanes in World War II, she flew a Spitfire simulator. She also lived on wartime rations. “I want my books to feel authentic,” she said.
She tried on Twyford Drama’s Victorian style costumes to see how they felt. “They make you stand up tall. Putting on an outfit can change your personality,” she said.
Many of her 12 large print novels published by Ulverscroft and available in libraries are set in the late Victorian period.
She gleans stories from everywhere. Chatting at car manufacturer William Morris’s home Nuffield Place, she heard about his wife arranging for women in the services to borrow wedding dresses for their big day. The result was her story Second Hand Sheila.
Sarah has two sons, Tom and Phil who live in Woodley.
Sarah and her books will be at the Easter Craft Fair at Charvil Village Hall on April 12, 11am to 3pm, and at Sonning Common Library, on May 30, 10.30am to 12.30pm. Feel-Good Stories, published by Bridge House Publishing, is £7.50 from Waterstones, Amazon and other outlets.
