Real Wild Heaven: 22,000 Years on Glen Dye
WORDS BY CHARLIE GLADSTONE
My latest book will be published on 29th May.
That sounds very grand, because I am not really a writer but somehow this is my third proper, grown-up book. I am proud of all three, but the publication of this new one feels particularly exciting.
You can pre-order it from today and I would love it if you would. Pre-orders are hugely helpful.
It is called: Real Wild Heaven. 22,000 Years of Glen Dye.
It is part historical fiction, part opinion piece, personal memoir, geography lesson, and musing on the fleeting nature of our time on this beautiful planet. It is at once gently educational, occasionally quite funny, deeply opinionated and possibly rather original.
I have written it to appeal to everyone, and I hope that it will resonate with readers whether they have visited Glen Dye or not.
At the beginning of this year, I didn’t know that I was going to write this book. I’d been messing around with an idea for a new book for a while, but I shelved that because I couldn’t get to grips with it. Then, in early January I was reading a book by the esteemed Danish poet and author Olga Ravn, and something clicked.
If you know me then you might be able to guess what happened next; I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours researching and writing, ploughing every hour of my down time into the book. (Thanks to Caroline for tolerating this, I know it’s annoying).
I worked hard, but it all just came pouring out. Looking back, I can’t quite believe that it did, but there you have it.
I was extremely lucky to be able to call on the best editors, copy editor and designer imaginable to help realise my vision, and now it is done.
There are two editions; a hardback with eight pages of photos (colour and black and white), 22 illustrations and a map, and a paperback without the photos.
We have decided to publish Real Wild Heaven ourselves. I’ve been very lucky to work with Random House and The Do Book Co on my last books, but this time we’re going it alone. This gives me complete creative control -I had a specific vision for the quality and feel- and it allows me to get it out into the world straight away. I am nothing if not impatient.
So, there you have it.
Thank you for reading this note.
You can pre-order the book now. I’d be so happy if you would.
Charlie x
