Greetings from sunny Kent! Well, it probably won’t be sunny by the time you read this, but still... Current writing project(s) I'm not quite sure how it's happened, but I currently have three writing projects on the go at once, which is very much nothow I usually work! The first book, which I mentioned in a previous newsletter, is a novella connected to WW1, but which is not part of the Forensic Genealogist series. The story is coming along nicely, being around a third written so far. It is about one woman's search for information about her solider son who was killed in the conflict. If all goes to plan, then I will put the book on pre-order in the late summer, ready for release on the 11th November, the centenary of the end of WW1. It will be available in both Kindle and paperback formats. The second project which I am currently working on, is a short Morton Farrier story. I'm about one chapter in so far but have pretty well plotted and researched it in full. It is going to be a prequel to Hiding the Past and, for you lucky people who have access to Kindle (phone, tablet, PC & Kindle devices), the story will be FREE for two weeks. For those without access to an e-reader... I'm still working on a solution to that, as it will be too small to print as a stand-alone. One idea which I am considering is to include it as a special edition with Hiding the Past. Lastly, if you have been reading my newsletters for a while, you might recall that for the past three years I have been attempting to trace my half-aunt's biological father for her. Well, success! I won't give any more details away, as the whole process from beginning to end makes for very interesting reading, so I'm writing my first non-fiction book in several years! I'm hoping that this will be released sometime in late summer / early autumn. Blog I haven't been very prolific at blogging, managing a paltry three since 2015. Gulp. Well, four now, as I have added a blog post about my main character, Morton Farrier. If you want to find out more about him, where he came from, and who I think should play him if the series were ever televised, take a look! http://theforensicgenealogist.blogspot.com Trips & book-signing events Since writing the last newsletter I don't seem to have been home very often, with visits to Ireland, a wedding in the South of France and attending my uncle's 70thbirthday celebrations in South Wales. Whilst attending the latter, I visited the Dylan Thomas Boathouse. This is where the Welsh poet lived for a number of years prior to his death. Many of his famous poems and plays, including the most famous, Under Milkwoodwere written in his writing shed, just above the boathouse. I love seeing where other writers work and have to say that his writing shed is one of my favourites. Incidentally, I owe my middle name to Dylan Thomas! |
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The outside and inside of Dylan Thomas's writing shed |
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Pinterest I have updated my Pinterest page with research and photographs of the places featured in The Suffragette's Secret and The Wicked Trade. Please note, also, that the address on Pinterest has changed to www.pinterest.com/NathanDylanGoodwin |
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Website updates I have also updated my website to include maps showing the locations used in The Suffragette's Secret and The Wicked Trade, so if you’re unfamiliar with the area, go to the website and take a look: www.nathandylangoodwin.com YouTube I’ve uploaded a cheesy, whistle-stop tour of Rye to my YouTube channel. Among the places in the video are the Mermaid Inn on Mermaid Street, Knoops, the church and, of course, Morton and Juliette’s house. Take a look and subscribe to the channel to be notified of other similar inanities coming up in the future. |
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The Lost Ancestor I’m very pleased to say that the audiobook version of The Lost Ancestor has finished being recorded and is now going through final quality checks. All being well, it will be available on iTunes, Amazon and Audible within the next two weeks. |
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Events Since the last newsletter I have had three book signing events, all of which have been very successful and great opportunities to meet fans of the series. On the 19th May I attended the Chesterfield & District Family History Show, followed by a stint at the Jempsons supermarket in Peasmarsh. This small village, close to the town of Rye, was where my 4x great grandfather, Thomas Dengate lived from the 1850s, where he was the village miller until his death in 1908. The most recent book signing, on 23rd June, was at the York Family History Show, which was very well attended and another great opportunity to meet people. |
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Family History First of all, good news from the Ancestry website regarding DNA tests. You may recall from a previous newsletter that my ethnicity results from Ancestry didn’t correlate with the other DNA companies where I had tested. Well, Ancestry have revised their ethnicity estimates and mine have changed significantly, as you can see, below. The results are now much more in line with my own research, with most lines of my family being predominantly in the south of England. |
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In May I travelled down to Foxham in Wiltshire to attend a five-yearly Gingell family reunion. It was my first time at the reunion, which brought together around one hundred members of all the various strands of the Gingell family. Gingell was my paternal grandmother’s maiden name and it was great to be able to attend the reunion with my aunt and a cousin and to meet up with new relatives for the first time. After receiving my 4x great grandfather, Robert Savage’s death certificate, which stated that he had died on the 16th October 1942 after falling from his bicycle in his home village of Bawdeswell, Norfolk, I wanted to know more about what had happened. My initial idea was that perhaps the accident had happened at night time in the blackout. First of all, I emailed Norfolk Archives and asked if they would be able to look in the local newspapers for any mention of the accident or Robert’s death, but it had unfortunately not been reported. As he had actually died in the Norwich and Norfolk Hospital, I tried to find out whether the records for this period still existed. Frustratingly, many years’ records had survived, but none for 1942. The archive did, however, suggest looking at coroner’s records, some of which had survived from 1942. I was in luck! The inquest papers into Robert Savage’s death were among those in the archive holdings. The inquest consisted of several pages, the summary of which stated: ‘Deceased was admitted to the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital on the afternoon of the 14th October 1942. A history was obtained that a lorry had run over his legs just above the knees. On examination he was found to be severely shocked, suffering from abrasions of head and face and two wounds, one on either leg. When he had recovered from his primary shock his wounds were treated. X-Ray demonstrated a fractured knee-cap on the left side. After the operation the patient was given a transfusion. Next morning, the patient was better and had recovered from his primary shock. Early in the morning of 16.10.42 his condition became worse and he died at 6.35am. In my opinion the cause of death was due to secondary shock following on severe crush injury of both legs.’ The inquest papers include typed, then signed statements from key people involved in the accident, including Robert’s wife, Rosanna Savage, the local policeman, P.C. Lionel Hales and the lorry driver, who curiously shared the same surname as my 4x great grandfather, William Lester Savage. According to his statement, he ‘was driving on the Dereham Road at about 25 miles an hour. As I was about to pass a driftway on my left a man suddenly cycled out of the driftway and attempted to get off. He seemed to fall just as I was about to pass him, and I pulled up immediately. I assisted him and then telephoned the police. The accident would not have occurred if the cyclist had dismounted before coming on to the road.’ Naturally, I was intrigued as to whether Robert and William were related. I spent a good deal of time working on both lines of the family tree, but so far think it unlikely that they knew one another. As much as I don’t like coincidences in genealogy, I cannot see how they can have been related, at least not within 2-3 generations. That’s all the news from me, at the moment. Best wishes to you all, Nathan |
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