Jenny Martin Books
About Jenny
I am from a Cumbrian mining family who experienced at first hand the sorrows of war and the pits, and the indifference, sometimes amounting to contempt, to the hardship and loss that they suffered. I am married with two adult children and three grandchildren, I live in Cheshire and am a long retired medic joining Bollington Library Writing Group in 2008 at the age of 70. Author Nik Perring, the leader, persuaded me against what I wrongly thought was my better judgement to have a go at poetry - with several successes to my eternal surprise. Since then I have written seven books, all self published because at my age I had no time to waste trying then failing to persuade a traditional publisher to take me on.
The books are mainly poetry and short story collections, with one self help book on living with dementia, all proceeds going to appropriate charities. In Our Fathers’ Footsteps (2018), marking the centenary of the end of the First World War, tells the story of my and my husband’s families in war, all proceeds going to the Royal British Legion. My latest book, One Dog and His Cop (see books) about my cousin's award winning police dog, Villain, was published in November 2020. |
First successes
In 2008 the writing group decided to print their collection of poems and short stories, 90 Years On - from the end of World War I - to raise funds for the Royal British Legion. When I was struggling to turn an idea into a short story, Nik, our leader, said: 'Try it as a poem'. I replied: 'Who? Me?' But he insisted, waving aside my protestations that I was no good at poetry at school. Not wanting to offend this very good teacher (I'd been to one of his seminars at Bollington Library about a year before I joined) I gave it a try, the poem Last Post being the result. After a lot of editing, it was published in 90 Years On, The Whitehaven News, the charity, Forces Literary Organisation Worldwide for ALL (www.flowforall.org/about.asp), Aftermath and In Our Fathers' Footsteps.
My second poem, Brief Encounter, is about the famous Carnforth Station tea ladies of World War II. Its title is taken from the film which was made there. They handed out jam jars of tea with the words: 'Good luck, safe return' to the soldiers, one of whom was my father, on their way to occupied Europe. Brief Encounter was voted into FlowforAll's fund raising poetry collection, Poems of the Poppies, which got me a seat at the table with their patron Dame Vera Lynn at the book launch. I was so impressed with SilverWood Books' presentation of the collection that I went with them to publish my first book, Mining Memories, and went on to publish more with them. I am holding both titles in the photo above and you can read about the others under BOOKS.
My second poem, Brief Encounter, is about the famous Carnforth Station tea ladies of World War II. Its title is taken from the film which was made there. They handed out jam jars of tea with the words: 'Good luck, safe return' to the soldiers, one of whom was my father, on their way to occupied Europe. Brief Encounter was voted into FlowforAll's fund raising poetry collection, Poems of the Poppies, which got me a seat at the table with their patron Dame Vera Lynn at the book launch. I was so impressed with SilverWood Books' presentation of the collection that I went with them to publish my first book, Mining Memories, and went on to publish more with them. I am holding both titles in the photo above and you can read about the others under BOOKS.