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You might remember a pop group named The Applejacks, whose top ten single ‘Tell Me When’ rocketed into the charts and who practised in St Mary’s Church, which figures a lot in Splinters.

The Applejacks had been asked to reform several times over the years, but refused until the need to raise funds for a new roof for St Mary’s came about. They duly performed at a one-off reunion concert in December 2010.

People from places as far apart as Cornwall and Scotland came; one chap, who heard Brian Mathew give the gig its only plug on Radio 2, stopped what he was doing and travelled to Birmingham, as did a lady in Switzerland.

The place was packed out, and it was three days before I could walk properly again! having danced too much.

Andy Bevan covered the event for ATV News so a preview might exist in the agency’s archive.

You can buy a very special DVD; as I took the initiative to film this reunion concert – BUY The Applejacks DVD

More about The Applejacks… www.solihull-online.com, www.brumbeat.net

I will be back on the road in 2011:

‘An Evening With Tony Sheppard’ is scheduled for March 16th 2011 for the Perry Beeches section of the Women’s Institute, so if you fancy tea and a natter the venue is the Family Room, rear of St Mathew’s Church, Aldridge Road Great Barr B44 8RB, time 7.30 for 8pm.

My friend and colleague, Fiona Joseph is sharing the evening with me. Flo, a graduate of the National Academy of Writing diploma course at Birmingham City University, won the ‘2009 Prize for Fiction’ and her fascinating biography of Beatrice Cadbury, (1884-1976), who gave up her fortune to help those less fortunate when in her thirties, will be released in the autumn.

Also, it is expected that the President of the Methodist Conference will tell the Church of England General Synod that the Methodist Church is ‘prepared to go out of existence’. This comes as no surprise as congregations have been diminishing in churches all over the country at a steady rate for many years. Another symptom of an increasingly apathetic and self-indulgent society, I feel. But all is far from lost, and the presumed re-integration of Methodists into the Church of England will only strengthen the position of Christians. I do not yet know what will happen to J.M.A., the Methodist children’s charity to whom a donation is made from sales of Splinters, but I will keep you updated.

Yours in Christ,
Tony Sheppard

(competition now closed)

A special leather-bound copy of Splinters worth over £100 is being hand-crafted by our printers – and you could be in with a chance to to win it – in our 2nd Edition Launch Competition. Open now – closes 20th Dec 2009.

Just answer the question – ‘What is Ricky’s favourite meal?’

Clue:  The meal he shared with Esther when they first met on the flight back from the U.S.

Just put your entry in the boxes below with “competition” as the subject and your answer as the “message”

The draw will take place during Christmas week. The lucky winner will be notified of their ‘Christmas present’ by email. You may enter more than once but there will only be one winner, and it is a Prize Draw – as we expect many correct answers.

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Biography

Graham Higgins (born 1953) is a British writer and artist, designer and lecturer.

Higgins’ association with comics began with independent publishers Birmingham’s Ar-Zak Press and Knockabout Comics. He has drawn cartoons and covers for Punch including the Chandleresque comic-strip “Luke Carew, Lone Wolf Detective – The Hogfather”, Radio Times, Q magazine and others, and has also drawn for DC Comics, Marvel Comics and 2000 AD.  He is an associate artist with Comic Company, illustrating educational publications featuring health and social advice for children and young people.

Higgins is also associated with the UK fantasy fiction scene, as an occasional member of the Midnight Rose Collective and artist on the graphic novel adaptations of two of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels – Mort and Guards! Guards!

JMA is unusual in as much as it is the children of the congregation that do the collecting, with the proceeds going to help those less fortunate than themselves. Here’s how I found out about JMA…

While enjoying an after-service cup of tea at my local church I noticed posters advertising the work of J.M.A. “What a great initiative” I thought. “The collection process teaches the children to help other people, and maybe sometime in the future a person in a far away country who received the benefit, might remember the kindness. I’ll support that by giving a donation from my book sales…”

It was Wednesday July 6th 2005:  Being early for my appointment with Isabella Self, Chairwoman of Birmingham Writers, at the Central Library in Chamberlain Square, I sat on the top step of the man-made amphi-theatre behind the Council House watching people of many nationalities criss-cross the piazza below me.

High on the rear of the Council House, a huge television screen was showing the news.

“And now we go to London for the result of its bid to hold the 2012 Olympics,” the presenter said.

I thought the news that the 30th Olympiad would be held in England was wonderful, and deserved. Here I was in the heart of England, the mother country who opens her arms to any person who would come to work and build a better life.

Next morning, many innocent people were murdered when extremists detonated bombs in buses in London.

Like most people, I wandered about in a daze for the rest of the week. Then, on Sunday morning I felt the need to go to church. I chose Acocks Green Methodist Church, which is near my home.

People of all ages and colours came to church that morning: Families sat together; couples came, some elderly and supporting each other; lone figures entered, and by the time the service began the church was virtually full. The minister did not mention the atrocity, except indirectly when asking the congregation to pray for the families of the deceased. Then, it was time for Holy Communion.

The alter-rail soon filled with kneeling people. A queue formed in the aisles, and I knew when looking at their grim faces that the bombers would never win. The air seemed to fill with energy, and I was overwhelmed by a feeling of shared purpose as one by one the congregation stepped forward to receive the bread and the wine. It was as if by taking the place of the person before them they were demonstrating their commitment to defend their way of life.

“They’ll bury their dead,” I thought. “Not with bitterness, but with sadness. They won’t seek revenge, not because they’ll forgive, but because it is not in their nature to give in to intimidation. They’ll carry on, no matter what the cost, until they win.”

I then discovered the posters advertising the work of the J.M.A. Charity.

Tony Sheppard, August 2009

Thank you for supporting this worthy cause.

You can find out more about the Fund for Home Mission here; and The World Mission Fund here. They are registered under Statutory Instrument SI2002/1598 and the UK’s Methodist Church has charity status.

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Splinters is a thought-provoking, adult thriller/fantasy, about how the souls and memories of the dead are returned to earth via a bolt of lighting that strikes the great oak tree. The splinters one by one transfer these memories into the souls of the living … changing their lives forever.

It leads us to question hedonistic “live now, pay later” lifestyles. It’s a compelling book about people… with true-to-life characters… stories within a story… a saga of true love, greed, murder and political intrigue unfolds… can be read on many levels.

Put everything on hold… this is a real page turner.

Here is a photo from the launch of the 1st edition of Splinters in 2006

Pictured left to right: Shirley Thompson, Tony Sheppard and Chris Morgan.

Shirley Thompson is a Midlands based author, mainly biographies but also fiction, articles and screenplays.

Chris Morgan is Birmingham’s Poet Laureate 2008-2009, click his name to read some of his poems.