A sea-faring cat; no really!
By ALGrace | Wednesday, July 01, 2009, 21:16
Local authoress Sylvia Murphy, 70, celebrated the launch of her new novel last night at a party held in Manor Cottage Restaurant, Exmouth.
Sylvia has published ‘Tyfoon’s Tale: the true story of a sea-faring cat’, and said: “This is my most exciting launch yet, the only one I have ever given a launch party for!
“I feel mighty relieved to get this book published because I have done most of the work myself and I tend to get obsessive when I am engaged on a project. I now self-publish all my books with the asistance of a small group of people who edit and typeset for me.
“I used to be published by mainstream publishers - my first five books were - but as the years crept by and fashions changed it became more and more obvious that I could be in my grave before I convinced agents and publishers that I still had something important to say.
“Despite being 70, I do understand chick-lit, funnily enough!”
Sylvia also has a prize-winning play to her name, 'The Way to the Wedding' along with 'Candy's Children', which received good reviews in local and national press, and 'Crocodiles' which was based on a recent visit to Africa. She has also written two non-fiction books about bereavement.
Tyfoon’s Tale, however, is a mixture of comedy and disaster, courage and love, based on a sickly kitten she and David Greenland rescued from a harbour in Portugal, while they were sailing around the world in their 60-year-old Maurice Griffiths’ Ketch, Nyala.
Born in Palestine but brought up in war-torn England, Sylvia has lived in Exmouth and Topsham on and off for 40 years and if you haven't already come across her in one of her workshops run at Exmouth Community College and the Library, you can meet her on Exmouth People soon.
Tyfoon’s Tale, £7.99, visit the Sylvia Murphy website. www.sylviamurphy.com.
Exmouth People is a community-led website. If you are interested in writing a novel or attend creative writing workshops, tell us about it. Post a story or a comment, or join the Creative Writing group and connect with others.
Comments
This is really intriguing, and when I looked at your website, Sylvia, I realised what an interesting background you have. You must have plenty more novels in you! I noticed you have written some books about bereavement, too. Did you know that the new Hospiscare group in Exmouth are recruiting volunteers to offer bereavement support to families affected by the loss of someone?
By blackandblue1 at 00:36 on 09/07/09
ReportGreat title. Congratulations Sylvia. Now you wait to hear from a smug cousin about your typo on page 377.
By Fizzwizz at 10:00 on 08/07/09
ReportThis sounds absolutely adorable. I'd read it.
By captainplanet at 11:59 on 06/07/09
ReportWhat a cute story! If any other cat lovers are reading this, can you recommend a good vet in Exmouth? We've just got a kitten. And when are Sylvia's next creative writing sessions running? Does anyone know? Do creative writing workshops really help? I've thought about writing a novel for years but it's the time and organisation side of it all and knowing where to start that puts me off.
By Rockwell1 at 21:14 on 01/07/09
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