Paperbooks

The Snowing and Greening.. top 10 book of 2009!

The brilliant The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore by Paul Burman has been listed as a top 10 book of 2009 by Magdalena Ball writer of the Compulsive Reader blog. To see the blog look here!

One of the great joys of reviewing is happening upon a small press book from a first author that is so good, you can’t stop thinking about it. It’s a wonderful serendipity that publishers, agents and reviewers wearily hope for and rarely find. The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore is one of those books. It’s tightly, expertly written, and yet so tenderly rendered, that the reader descends directly into Thomas Passmore’s dreams, struggling to surface back to reality along with the protagonist... The way in which Burman manages to traverse the line between the inner and outer world is masterful. This is a novel deeply rooted in time and place, while it moves beyond both of those things. It is an exceptional debut.

To read the review in full click here!

Lucy

Paul Burman's recent reads

We love visiting all our authors' blogs and websites, which give a fantastic insight into the life of a writer as well as it always being interesting to have a nose.

Paul Burman, author of the powerful The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore' has this week been letting us know about his recent reading habits! Nice to see Paul reading Gary Davison's Streakers and also Legend Press book Journey by Jae Watson.

Streakers is a fun read from start to finish, and I got the sense that he had a great time writing it. It comes through every page, which makes it a page-turner! Having had a chat with Gary about this (and who's currently running a short story competition over at his website), I have to agree that it would make a great film: very visual and vibrant - a book bursting with antics and energy. It put me in mind of The Full Monty, even though the storyline is nothing alike; possibly because it shares the same gritty, irreverent humour and is a celebration of determination against all odds.

To visit Paul's blog please click here!

Lucy

The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore

The fantastic The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore by Paul Burman has been reviewed by Scott Pack on his blog Me and My Big Mouth.

'A young man falls asleep on an Australian beach only to wake up on a plane just landed at Heathrow. An intriguing set up, a great title and a strong cover. Not sure if any book chains promoted it but they should have done, it is rather good.'

To see the review click here!

Lucy

Paul Burman on BlogTalkRadio

Paul Burman, author of the brilliant The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore has been interviewed on BlogTalkRadio by Magdalena Ball, who introduced the book as "definitely the best book I've read this year... and I've read a lot of good books this year."

Listen to the interview by clicking here:

Order your copy now - £7.99 

Lucy

'deeply original, powerfully moving, and hugely satisfying'

The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore by Paul Burman has received a brilliant review on CompulsiveReader.com describing the novel as 'deeply original, powerfully moving, and hugely satisfying'. Below is a taster:

"One of the great joys of reviewing is happening upon a small press book from a first author that is so good, you can’t stop thinking about it. It’s a wonderful serendipity that publishers, agents and reviewers wearily hope for and rarely find. The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore is one of those books. It’s tightly, expertly written, and yet so tenderly rendered, that the reader descends directly into Thomas Passmore’s dreams, struggling to surface back to reality along with the protagonist...

The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore is deeply original, powerfully moving, and hugely satisfying. The reader can expect to cry, but not in any contrived way. The way in which Burman manages to traverse the line between the inner and outer world is masterful. This is a novel deeply rooted in time and place, while it moves beyond both of those things. It is an exceptional debut."

To read the review in full click here!

Order your copy now - £7.99 

Lucy

Book the day now - 30 min interview with Paul Burman

Paul Burman, author of the brilliant THE SNOWING AND GREENING OF THOMAS PASSMORE, is to be interviewed on Big Talk Radio on, and make sure you circle this date on your calendars, mark it into your fancy email reminders etc, on 7th April at 12 noon.

See further details here and make sure you've got a copy of Paul's remarkable debut novel - a 30 minute interview and many hours of reading enjoyment all rolled into one!

Tom

Thomas Passmore: Globe Trotter

The name Passmore, I learned when first getting to know this character, is probably of Norman origin.  It's derived from a French nickname for a sailor (passe-mer or passage over the sea).  It's great, therefore, to see the novel getting around this planet of ours with one classy review from Germany-based The Amateur Book Blogger a couple of weeks back, and another from American-based Diary of a Heretic this week.  Now to set sail for the other continents.  Would anyone in Antarctica like a copy?

Paul

Order your copy now - £7.99 

Recipe for an Aussie bash!

A short 'recipe' for the Port Fairy celebration to mark the UK release of The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore!

Recipe To Celebrate Book Release 17,000 km Distant
- Take 1 appropriate venue (Yacht Club, overlooking river)
- Mix gently with long, balmy evening

- Add liberal sprinkling of excellent company

- Toss in at least 1 doz platters tasty food
- Blend with well-stocked bar

- Serve with accompaniment of first-rate musicians

(Guarantees an evening to remember.)

 

More photos from the night can be found on the album in the right hand column!

 

Paul

Order your copy now - £5.99 

Snowing and Greening in the Independent

The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore by Paul Burman was reviewed really postively in The Independent on Sunday last week. The reviewer said "Burman's first novel reveals an inventive, passionate and insightful writer". It is great to see this fantastic novel getting the praise it deserves! Paul had another launch celebration last weekend so we will hopefulluy we posting up some pictures soon!

Click here to read the review in full.

Order your copy now - £5.99 

Lucy

Snowing and Greening in the Australian Times

  An interview with Paul Burman appeared in the Australian Times this week. Paul spoke about what influenced him as a writer and talked about his debut novel The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore. Here's a little snippet (read the rest by clicking here!)

Are the experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
 
Like most other writers, artists, musicians – anybody who creates something that reflects aspects of the world in which they live (even fantasy and sci-fi writers) – I certainly draw on experiences and observations to some extent.

After all, even our ‘wildest imaginings’ are based on dreams or speculation of how things might be... which are responses conditioned by experiences and observations that we’ve acquired first-hand or through someone else.

In a sense, this is why there are no new stories, only new and exciting ways of telling old stories. A novel is a montage of bits and pieces (images, smells, sounds, anecdotes, memories, dreams, imaginings and the like) which have come from different sources, but which have been cut up, distorted, tweaked, rearranged, sewn together, painted over, mounted and framed to achieve a different focus.

So, yes, there are some bits and pieces of my ‘experience’ that I’ve drawn on, but so much skewing and chopping and adding and re-rendering has taken place, in order for them to explore and tell Thomas Passmore’s story, that their origin is insignificant and they’ve grown into fiction.

Order your copy now - £5.99 

Lucy