A collection of poems and ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ by accomplished authors Frank L. Ying, Juliet Smith, Simon Holder, Ian Stuart, Alexia Young and Saskia Young.

Six different writers from the very young to the not-so-young blend in a symphony of verse and prose on a rollercoaster of a journey of love lost, love regained, grief, regret and despair, and with hope restored.

Included is work by the beautiful poetess and muse Juliet Smith, who mysteriously disappeared circa 1970, leaving a collection of haunting love poems to an unknown stranger.

With a touch of pathos from the cradle onwards, and joyful odes to the family cat who gave us reason to laugh again. All brought to life with artful drawings and intriguing tales of the unexpected that draw you in with a ready smile. All intertwined into a kaleidoscope of mystique and longing with a splash of sardonic humour.

F. L. Ying is a retired osteopath, married with young grandchildren. He has been from an early age interested in art and creative writing, and in childhood won several art awards and pre University won the Dickens Prize. He went on to write poems and stories and in 2021 published ‘The Ancestral Quest’ (under the pseudonym F. G. Kwong) and YA fiction novel ‘A Dangerous Riddle of Chance’ (Book Guild).

F. L. Ying explains: “Seeing a mass of poetry and short stories to a potential reader can appear to be dry or daunting sometimes; a popular misconception thinking it elitist or too highbrow. This book is an attempt to make it appeal to a broader section of the reading public, by using six different writers with entirely different styles, from poems about love, longing and regret and then redemption, to satirical rhymes or observations of everyday events.

The book is illustrated by established illustrators and photographers to add colour and reality and the joy of reading the works in this anthology.”

RELEASE DATE: 28/11/2024 ISBN: 9781836280361 Price: £10.