Tall Trees Short Stories is out

After many months of hard work and a bumpy ride through a global virus pandemic, it’s a relief to see my next book published. It is always a daunting privilege to read reviews from readers for the first time but the book seems to be going down quite well.

Writing fiction is a curious art. The writer spends months if not years working away in complete isolation before sharing it first with a select few people, including early draft reviewers, copy editor and so on. It is not until the book reaches the hands of the reader that s/he has any idea how the book will be perceived. It is a very personal thing because fiction inevitably involves the writer sharing their innermost thoughts and feelings, even if embroiled in fantasy and tossed in make-believe. It’s an experience perhaps best described as baring your soul to strangers.

I’m very grateful to early reviewers for taking the time to read the book and provide some reader perspectives. Here are a small selection of book reviews:

What I love about this collection is how wide ranging the stories are, incorporating trees in so many different ways, reflecting the myriad of different ways in which real trees impact and affect our real lives. It’s an enjoyable and thought provoking read.

Juliet Wilson, Goodreads

I recommend this book: those who love trees will see them in several new lights; those who like stories will find a rich array of narratives.

Robin Walter, Goodreads

This is a captivating, moving and thought-provoking collection that will appeal to readers of all ages and genres from fairy tale to science fiction. Using a range of devices including satire, allegory, poetry and time travel, Hemery creates a crescendo of voices to impress upon the reader that ‘Without trees, there is no future.’ Be prepared to be taken on a journey through time, to inhabit the minds of other species, and to acquire a greater appreciation of our woodlands, and why they should be cherished. After all, “Nature is more than miraculous, it’s – it’s the most beautiful, frighteningly intelligent solution to our self-inflicted peril.”

Tasha Simmons, Goodreads

A wonderful book that explores the natural world, the cycle of life and our relationship with trees and wildlife. I loved the medley of genres – old gods (Gaia, goddess of Earth, is woven throughout), mixed with sci-fi aliens and future technology (bionic trees that move 250m a year). There’s an engaging variety of styles – letters, shanties, poems, parables, the echoes of fairy tales and more. There are strong lead roles for females as well as males – hurrah for this! We see inside the minds of birds and even thorns come to life. But most of all this book challenges us to rethink our behaviour and to ‘love the wood for the trees and the trees for their wood’. If you enjoy birds and forests and well-written, thoughtful tales, then this is for you.

The Tree Council, Amazon

Coming to this book of stories with a theme of trees and forests I was looking forward to reading and reviewing. But I encountered a problem. The Tall Trees Short Stories tales were so enthralling that my pen and notebook were left untouched. Instead I wandered through sylvan trails wondering where I would I next find myself.

Marie Shallcross, book blogger

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