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Dear All, I am writing to thank all GEMmers for the part you have played in my book Major Tom's War. Please give yourselves a collective pat on the back. Several years ago now I wrote a fateful post asking anyone who could read Indian languages to get in touch as I needed help in ensuring sections of my novel which quoted Hindi were correct. Many of you did so, and one of the posts that came in led me to Jatinder Kailey from Historic Royal Palaces, who kindly volunteered family members to check the language and cultural references. Also, incredibly, the same post and the supportive and speedy GEM networking which followed led me to the niche-interest Sikh publishing team at Kashi House, who have a strong interest in military history and all things Indian (https://www.kashihouse.com/books/major-toms-war). 40 chapters, 145,000 words, pictures, maps - and I am happy to tell you that it is at last rolling off the presses! Major Tom's War (which I am publishing under the slightly tweaked name of Vee Walker) is a novel written as a personal commemoration of the Armistice in November 1918. It is a highly unusual book, based on unpublished archive material, which has been almost a decade in the making. Major Tom's War describes the First World War from invasion to liberation as seen through the eyes of four ordinary people with interconnecting stories, shaped by the extraordinary times forced upon them: an Indian Army cavalry officer, a would-be suffragette/V.A.D. nurse, a maverick Highland soldier-laird and the mayor of a small town in occupied France. Two of the four protagonists in the novel are my grandparents. It is illustrated with images of the real characters and other images drawn from Tom's war diary and my own research. In spite of its subject matter, the story is a moving and uplifting one. It has only been fictionalised to ensure it works as a compelling read for all. I would love to see some familiar GEM faces at the book launch (at which samosas have been rumoured.) although I know some of you are coming already. It's on 20th September 2018 (6pm next Thursday night) at the National Army Museum in Chelsea. Free of course but places are limited so if you would like to come please book (soon) at https://www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/major-toms-war. I am taking the unusual step of publishing my original sources too at www.majortomswar.com <http://www.majortomswar.com> so interested readers can compare fact with fiction; also launching next week. Please consider forwarding the Kashi House link above to any museum retail managers you work with who might be interested in stocking the book in the light of the forthcoming Armistice commemorations in November: sales will directly benefit Kashi House, which is part of the UK Punjab Heritage Association, and that would have pleased my Indian army cavalry officer grandfather Tom no end. If you haven't seen it, there is still time to catch the stellar 'Empire of the Sikhs' Exhibition the same team has created at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS - last day 23rd Sept. If anyone would be interested in hosting a future workshop based on how to fictionalise archive material convincingly, please get in touch, as I will be putting one together for next year with a family history audience in mind. I think it could be a 'thing', as my teenagers have taught me to say. With very best wishes, Verity/Vee Verity Walker Director Interpretaction 6 Greengates Place Fortrose IV10 8RY and author, Major Tom's War 077789 22407 www.interpretaction.com <http://www.interpretaction.com/> www.majortomswar.com <http://www.majortomswar.com> + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + GEM list: Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] Anyone can join for free at any time by sending this message to [log in to unmask]: Join GEM Firstname Secondname Include only the text above, without email signature etc. The title of the email doesn’t matter. Send it to [log in to unmask] If you are going on holiday or have an out of office message for some other reason, you can send this message: Set GEM nomail When you get back: Set GEM mail You don’t 'miss' any messages by doing this as they are all available via main GEM list web page as above. Finally, if you need to change your email address, but stay subscribed to GEM, just send your new email address like this: CHANGE GEM [log in to unmask] + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +