Reader of the Month Category
‘I see Kydd’s eyes open and honest, blue as a Sorrento sea… ’
Posted on November 5, 2014 1 Comment
Im delighted to feature Lin-Marie Milner-Brown as the November Reader of the Month. Lin-Marie is a book illustrator who lives in Nottinghamshire. Lin-Marie’s a great fan of sea tales and films like Master and Commander and The Onedin Line – and says the 18/19th century maritime environment now seems so familiar to her that it […]
‘Now holidays are always planned to spend as much time by the sea as possible!’
Posted on October 1, 2014 4 Comments
One of the aspects of feedback I get from readers that especially pleases me is that the Kydd books are seen not just as being for male readers; in fact I now know I have quite a large number of female readers following the adventures of Kydd and Renzi. One such is Kate Ross, the […]
‘My wife thinks I’m absolutely mad!’
Posted on September 5, 2014 3 Comments
Recently I received an email which began: ‘My wife thinks I’m absolutely mad!’ It went on to explain: ‘I’ve had one of the most fabulous months of my life – I’ve been in heaven re-reading all 14 Kydd books. Mentally I’m now sailing across the North Atlantic on my way back to the UK after […]
“Renzi is my favourite character”
Posted on August 5, 2014 4 Comments
[To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page] These days, with the pervasiveness of the internet and ease of world travel for many people, an author describing locations must be very careful to get his facts right, even if he is writing about how an area was in […]
‘The big trick is not to miss my stop!’
Posted on July 16, 2014 3 Comments
[To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page] I love meeting readers and am often humbled by their range of interests and accomplishments. Although I would love to be able to paint and draw, I do not have any real talent in this area – but I have […]
‘I discovered Kydd in Kazakhstan!’
Posted on June 3, 2014 1 Comment
It always gives me a thrill to hear of my Kydd tales being read in particularly exotic or unusual locales. They’ve been up the Amazon, carried to the frozen North and choppered in to a remote mining town in Western Australia – to name just a few. Now I can add Kazakhstan to the list! […]
Great Granny Annie’s Recipe
Posted on May 10, 2014 12 Comments
I take great pains with the authenticity of the Kydd books, visiting the locations in the tales for extensive on-site research, poring over charts and maps, checking technical specifications regarding Age of Sail seamanship and consulting experts in all kinds of arcane fields. It’s a big investment in terms of time and money but a […]
‘When I get homesick I read these novels’
Posted on April 12, 2014 2 Comments
The April Reader of the Month is Rod Redden, a Canadian currently living and working in Japan. Rod recently completed a master’s degree. One of his assignments was on a specific linguistic situation. He chose the prevalence of army and naval terms in the Atlantic region of Canada – and one of the works he […]
‘I always return to the Kydd series’
Posted on March 3, 2014 5 Comments
[To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page] The March Reader of the Month is 19-year-old Marcus Brandenborg Bjørn from Denmark, keen sailor and Kydd fan! Kathy and I had the pleasure of meeting Marcus during our recent location research trip to Denmark Where did your love of […]
The Cuban Grandmother
Posted on December 10, 2013 1 Comment
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] I’m delighted to launch a new BigJules feature – Reader of the Month! The first Reader of the Month is Martha Berry. A few years back Martha got in touch with me saying […]
Julian Stockwin 