I am delighted to introduce our new VMBooks website, under the brilliant management of my designer Paul Downes, Creative Director of GD Associates in Witney, Oxfordshire. Paul and I have worked together for more than twelve years. I could not have created VMBooks six years ago without his imagination, technical knowledge and experience.
Also crucial to my small team are my magnificent Editor, Debi Alper, whose report on Larkswood transmuted it from good to excellent, thus encouraging the great publisher Orion to buy it; and Andrew Chapman, owner of his company Prepare to Publish in Charlbury, Oxfordshire. Andrew is a fountain of wisdom and guidance in the murky, often dangerous waters of self-publishing.
We are proof that small is beautiful. We hope you will agree.
Photo by Chris Challis Photography
featured work
As the Second World War begins to take its toll, Louisa’s work as a Red Cross nurse is threatened with extinction. Will the same happen to her love affair with Thomas?
Louisa Hamilton arrives at Larkswood to meet her grandfather for the first time. What is Edward hiding from her – and will she find the courage to discover the truth?
As the summer holidays begin, Dan becomes aware of a stranger who haunts his every move. How dangerous is he – and will Dan be brave enough to stop him in his criminal tracks?
Family, friends and lovers dominate this second collection of Valerie’s poems as she explores, remembers and describes special episodes and life-changing events.
latest poetry
For Sir Sam Mendes
I joined North London Collegiate School when I was six years old and left when I was eighteen. It was also my haven and sanctuary. I vowed when I left that I’d never go back unless they asked me to. Well, now they have. It will be an honour to talk to them on the evening of Tuesday 4 May 2027 and to see how this distinguished School has not only grown and changed, but came top in the recent Sunday Times review.
On Launching VMBooks in 2020
I’ve always been a walker, trudging miles to and from School as a child and as an adult in London longing for green spaces. Moving to Woodstock in 1976 deliberately brought me close to Blenheim’s extraordinary landscaped gardens, where every Sunday, come rain or shine, I’d walk and admire. I little thought the walk I made one dawn in 2020 would have so many significant memories for me six years later.
For Andrew Gasson
Short-sighted from childhood, I wore contact lenses for more than sixty years. Now, thanks to Zacks brilliant new eye clinic in London, I have abandoned them in favour of three pairs of modern spectacles. The new examination machines are staggeringly complex and useful, diagnosing and solving problems before they become real trouble.