Guest Blogger and Brighton Writer Rosie Davis highlights a free event this Thursday for writers courtesy of Myriad Editions and tells us why she is passionate about the work of one of their writers.
On Thursday 8th May Myriad Editions will announce their shortlist and
winner of this year’s Writer’s Retreat Competition. The very competition Nina De La Mer was
shortlisted for in 2010 with her entry 4a.m.
This is where she caught the attention of the publishers and from there saw the
birth of her debut novel. Five years on
she has released her highly acclaimed second novel Layla proving that entering that competition really can take you
to soaring heights.
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| ~ Layla by Nina de la Mer ~ |
Having just read Layla, it is hard for me
to fault with Nina De La Mer’s second novel. A storyline that steps into the back streets
and into the strip clubs of Soho with a large serving of dirt and grime. But it
isn’t the sex, drugs or thread worm tablets that kept me hooked, it was the
underlining plot that weaved its way throughout the hangovers and spotlights of
the dance floor. It was the feeling that
Nina so powerfully manages to put across that the separation from a mother and
her child is unbearable, that there is a part of you that is missing, which
will never be complete until they are back, “you’re gripped by the horrible
deadening of your hopes: of seeing that button nose ever again…”
In 2011 Nina’s debut novel 4a.m. was
published and it follows the story of two pill popping, techno loving squaddies
in Germany in the early ‘90s. A black
comedy that grabs the reader by the delicate parts with the use of the second
person narrative, a clever narration that has us deep in the sub-conscious of
the two male protagonists. Layla uses the same narrative device,
but this time taking us into the mind of a 19-year-old girl who has moved to
London after being kicked out of her mum’s home in Peacehaven. Set in the present day and told over one week,
Layla (who is actually Hayleigh)
looks at the transition from the label of teenage mother to stripper and
surviving in the bitchy environment of a strip club and being cut off from her
son, Connor. The mother and son bond
keeps her mind occupied every day in the most inappropriate times; “Funny how
he pops into your head whenever, wherever, your Little Man, as if he was lying
swaddled right there on the dance floor.”
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| Nina de la Mer |
Hayleigh (Layla is Hayleigh’s stage name,
don’t worry it is less confusing in the book) introduces us to a mixture of
acquaintances from kind souls (Ivana) to the scum of the earth (Billy), who may
have been based on personalities that Nina met while researching a number of
lap-dancing clubs over five years. Then there’s the mother. She pops in and out of the story but is still
an integral part as Hayleigh attempts to know more about her son and her
mother’s info is kept to a minimum creating an ever-growing distance; “Telling
you more by what she’s not telling you, in fact. Namely, she doesn’t give a
damn.” I felt empathy, but also frustration and anger for Hayleigh, on one
occasion throwing the book off the bed to stop and release floods of tears without
spoiling the pages. I refused to pick it
up for another two days until I was ready to step into her world again. But
this is what I want, I want to feel attached, I want to care about the
protagonist, and Nina delivered this.
As the numbers neared the final page of
269, I was sinking my nails into the bright and alluring cover, the final
chapter had built up a sense of tension and I was flipping through the pages
wanting to know what was going to happen, but at the end of my marathon I was
denied the medal. At first I searched the pages expecting an additional
chapter, or a final conclusion like Life
of Pi, but once I had come to terms with it not being there, I relished in
the knowing that Nina had left me wanting more, wanting to follow Hayleigh on
whatever path she chooses to take. Nina
is an accomplished writer and although the ending wasn’t what I was expecting I
would recommend reading Layla and
while you’re adding it to your basket, why not pick up 4a.m. These two books
compliment each other and highlight Nina’s talent and skill for taking us inside
her characters minds.
Join
Jonathan Kemp and Lesley Thomson for The Joy of Writing Competitions, this free
event will be held at the University of Brighton on Grand Parade on Thursday 8th
May from 6pm-8pm.
Listen
to the writers discuss the importance of writing competitions.
For
more information visit www.myriadeditions.com.
Follow Rosie Davis on Twitter @RosieDavisRed
and Tumblr at Creat-ure-comforts
