Adventure
Edward J ChristieAdventure
Member
Website
Edward J. Christie has lived his life immersed in a love of
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Edward J. Christie has lived his life immersed in a love of
books and reading. He spent more than two decades in the
world of book publishing, working with many of the UK’s
bestselling authors.
In a moment of inspiration (or madness),
he undertook a sudden and dramatic career change and
retrained to become a GCSE English teacher. Edward has
always loved and lived close to the River Thames, the setting
and his inspiration for Stick or Twist. However, he rarely
swims in the water!
Author page
1 Book in the Bookstore – Details
Fantasy
Richard SmithFantasy
Webmaster
Website
I was introduced to fantasy early, through The Hobbit and then Lord of the Rings, arguably the origin story of modern fantasy. After that I started re...Show more
I was introduced to fantasy early, through The Hobbit and then Lord of the Rings, arguably the origin story of modern fantasy. After that I started reading Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, as well as the more traditionally styled Deverry> series from Katharine Kerr, and Wheel of Time> from Robert Jordan. You’ll see echoes of Kerr’s time-slicing in the structure of Serian novels. More recently I’ve read Mistborn and Stormlight Archive books from Brandon Sanderson.
You might also see some sci-fi and modern geopolitical fiction from me, and technical writing relating to my work in digital preservation and software development.
I live near Oxford, but I was brought up in North Yorkshire, near the moors. You might feel some of the same landscape in Seria as I became familiar with in the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales, thanks to my parents who took us out to enjoy them regularly. I still like to go out exploring on foot, especially around the coast and hills.
Author page
1 Book in the Bookstore – Details
Historical
Amanda RobertsHistorical
Secretary
Website
Author, bookworm and history lover, Amanda grew up in Derbyshire but has lived in Oxfordshire since 1997.
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Author, bookworm and history lover, Amanda grew up in Derbyshire but has lived in Oxfordshire since 1997.
Her first novel, The Roots of the Tree, was published in 2014. Based on a true family story, that one was close to her heart, but her real love is historical fiction.
She published her second novel in September 2023. The Woman in the Painting is a time-slip, set in 1645 and 2019 in the Oxfordshire village where she lives. It won a silver medal in the Coffee Pot Book Club’s 2023 Historical Fiction Book of the Year Awards in the Time Slip/Dual Narrative/Time Travel category.
Her latest novel, Lady of the Quay, is the first of a series, set in Berwick upon Tweed in 1560. It won a bronze medal in the Coffee Pot Book Club’s 2025 Historical Fiction Book of the Year Awards in The Tudors & The Stuarts category.
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3 Books in the Bookstore – Details
Christina HardymentHistorical
Website
Christina Hardyment is the author of many works of non-fiction and specialises in literary geography.
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Christina Hardyment is the author of many works of non-fiction and specialises in literary geography.
Recent books include "Writing the Thames" and "Novel Houses: Twenty Famous Fictional Dwelling", "Novel Crime scenes: Twenty Deadly Landscapes" and a series of history mystery novels based on Alyce Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk (1404-1475), the real-life granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer.
Author page
3 Books in the Bookstore – Details
Linda ProudHistorical
Website
Linda Proud is an English author best known for her novels set in Renaissance Italy. She was a freelance picture researcher before teaching creative w...Show more
Linda Proud is an English author best known for her novels set in Renaissance Italy. She was a freelance picture researcher before teaching creative writing to US students studying in Oxford, UK, which she did for twenty years, working mainly for Sarah Lawrence College. Her first novel, A Tabernacle for the Sun, published by Allison and Busby in 1997, was long-listed for the Booker Prize. It also won a bursary from Southern Arts and a month's residence at the writers' retreat of Hawthornden Castle. It was the first part of The Botticelli Trilogy which has drawn praise from authors and academics as well as the general reader, and is considered as best of its kind by many reviewers, including Lonely Planet Guide to Florence and Tuscany: 'The historical detail in all three is exemplary, and each is a cracking good read.'
In 2018 she published Chariot of the Soul set in Rome and Britain in the first century AD. The sequel, The Albios Way, was published October 2025. The third and final volume of the series is now in progress.
She lives in Wolvercote with her husband.
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6 Books in the Bookstore – Details
Mary McClareyHistorical
Membership Secretary
Website
I'm a local author, living in Headington. I have published three novels and several short stories and my particular interest is writing about ordinar...Show more
I'm a local author, living in Headington. I have published three novels and several short stories and my particular interest is writing about ordinary people in extraordinary times.
This results in a genre of historical fiction, but the history is fairly recent ( ie 20th century ).
I am the new members' secretary for Oxia and happy to welcome new or prospective members.
My more recent interests are in writing short stories, flash fiction and prose/poetry.
I am also a recently joined member of Writers in Oxford.
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3 Books in the Bookstore – Details
Memoir
Cathy WieldMemoir
member
Website
I am a recently retired emergency physician, but I have lived experience of many years labelled with ‘treatment resistant depression’ when I was s...Show more
I am a recently retired emergency physician, but I have lived experience of many years labelled with ‘treatment resistant depression’ when I was subjected to the worst excesses of psychiatry, often detained against my will, prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs and I survived over 100 electroshock treatments (ECT), and also psychosurgery.
My memoir ‘Unshackled Mind; a doctor’s story of trauma, liberation & healing’ reflects my change of perspectives from believing that psychiatry helped to facing up to the real root causes of my distress. My passion is to inspire hope and enable choice for distressed people and their families
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1 Book in the Bookstore – Details
