Great Value for Money and Released Today

The paperback of “A Hell for Heroes” was released by Hodder and Stoughton today 29 August 2013. Priced at only £7.99 (Hardback is £18.99 and Kindle is £9.99) its great value for money.

Really Sorry

I’m so sorry to all of those who have taken the time to leave posts for not answering promptly. I also apologise to all those who return to the blog looking for something new. I have been working hard on the new book, trying to keep to deadlines and seem to have had little time for anything else. Please be patient, I should manage to catch up later this week. Thank you.

A Thought for Anzac Day

Wherever we come from, whatever we call it, the day we remember our fallen heroes has a special place in all our hearts. But things are changing. Today, because of the enormous advances in battlefield medicine far more of our soldiers are surviving the horrific injuries they receive on the battlefield. But it’s not only the physical scars, those that you can see, those that will change lives forever. It’s also the hidden scars, the ones that are only seen by those that carry them. This year as you remember those who so willingly paid the ultimate price for us and our country, spare a thought for those who are still paying the price in one way or another.

“My one hope is that the next time you see a serviceman or woman, or the old man sitting on the homeless shelter steps proudly brandishing a chest full of medals, you will pause for a few moments and try to look beyond that confident, sometimes brash, some would even say arrogant exterior, to the person that lies within.

A person who has worked hard, seen things that none of us should ever see, and in some cases suffered horrific injuries. Someone who will continue to suffer, either physically or mentally, but mostly in silence, for the rest of their lives, whilst at the same time still retaining hope and a strong belief in the greater good.”

Taken from “A Hell for Heroes”.

I want to wish everybody in Australia and New Zeeland all the best this Anzac Day, the 25th April.

Take care

What They’re Saying

Hi Everybody

It seems that people are becoming more and more reluctant to leave reviews of a book they have read on Amazon. In my case this may be due to the fact that most of the purchases of “A Hell for Heroes” have been made in high street book shops. However, the feedback I’m receiving here on the blog has been fantastic so I thought I would firstly like to say a huge thanks to all that have taken the time to read my book and then gone that extra mile and taken the time to leave a comment. Secondly I’d like to share them with interested visitors. the comments can be found at “What People are Saying” page on the right.

Unless stipulated all future comments will find their way onto this page, with the most recent being shown at the top.

Many thanks again.

Take care Theo

World Wide Thanks

I would like to thank everybody who has bought my book “A Hell for Heroes”; the response has been truly fantastic. I would especially like to thank those who live at the other end of the world, those in Australia and New Zealand who have purchased the book in large numbers. I was informed the other day that Hodder (Australia) have just completed a second reprint of the book in Australia which is great news as it’s only been out just over two months.

Thanks also to all of you who have taken the time to like my “A Hell for Heroes Facebook Page” and leave reviews on Amazon.co.uk and .com.

I wish you all a fantastic New Year and take care.

Theo

Deeply Touched.

At the end of last week a very kind person sent me an internet link along with a message which read “I don’t know if you’ve seen this but I thought you might be interested”. It then went on to say that the person who had sent the link was actually present at the event.

Intrigued I opened the link. The event in question was the Remembrance Day service on the 11th of November at Exeter Cathedral this year. What this kind person had sent me was a copy of the sermon that was given that day by the Canon, Revd, Carl Turner.

The greatest accolade for any writer or poet is to have their work read to an audience, not only for enjoyment but to have it used by the speaker to deliver what they consider to be a very important message. Not only did he begin the sermon by reading a passage from my book, “A Hell for Heroes” to the eight hundred strong congregation, but he finished it by reading them one of my poems, “I Just Wanna Talk”.

Needless to say, I feel extremely privileged to be included in such an event.

A copy of the Sermon can be read using the following link: Exeter Cathedral Sermon

Reviews Are So Important

My book “A Hell for Heroes” is receiving some great Reviews and I’m extremely grateful to each one of you who have taken the time to publish your opinions about the book on Amazon. Sales are going well but in order for the book to do its job of helping the friends and families of servicemen and women past and present to understand the changes they have seen in their loved ones on their return from combat, I need your help. Could I please ask those of you that have read the book, and have the time, to post a review on Amazon.co.uk.

Big Issue Review

I’ve just received a fantastic review of my book “A Hell for Heroes” in this week’s copy of the “BIG ISSUE” magazine. Some people will ask. `What has the life story of a Special Forces soldier got to do with the homeless?` The answer is simple, a large number of those who are currently living rough and alone on the streets of our cities today are ex servicemen and women. A lot of these individuals have spent years in the service of their country only to find that they couldn’t cope with the peace or life on the outside, (Civve Street) once they leave the service.

It’s a devastating feeling when you walk past a homeless person sitting on pavement in the rain only to realise that it’s someone you had once served with. Someone you had relied on to stand his ground and have your back when both of your lives depended on it, and he didn’t waver.

The magazine is not all doom and gloom, nor is it full of requests for you to repeatedly put your hand in your pocket for scroungers. True it does require a payment of £2.50, but its good value for money. You will receive a highly polished professional magazine that covers a large number of important issues, those that are relevant to most people’s everyday lives. It provides the reader with the latest spin on local, national and world news and events. In depth and searching interviews with leading politicians and celebrities, personal money matters, including how to make the most of what you have, along with personal stories and the latest in professional book, music , film and festival reviews.

The magazine sells in access of 150,000 copies every week through its street vendors, providing each one of them with a unique opportunity to help themselves. The important thing to remember is that this is not charity; the vendors first have to prove that they are homeless or in immediate danger of becoming homeless, they then have to purchase every copy of the “BIG ISSUE” magazine, before they are able to sell it.

My review was written by Thomas Quinn a regular book reviewer with the “BIG ISSUE”. You can read a taste of what he had to say about it. Take a look, it’s free here: Book Review

Take care. Theo

BBC Radio 4 Poem – “I Just Wanna Talk”

I had a fantastic response to the interview I gave on the BBC’s Radio 4 Midweek show on the 7th of November and would like to thank everybody for their very kind comments, and especially to all those who subsequently bought my new book “A Hell for Heroes” after hearing the broadcast.

Along with the comments came a huge number of requests asking for more information about the poem “I Just Wanna Talk” which I read that morning, and where people could get a copy. The poem is included in the book along with around thirty others. It was written after a contact (Fire Fight) where we lost a close friend of mine.

For those who missed the reading I have included a copy of it below.

I Just Wanna Talk

Sitting here alone on my cot
surrounded by my friends
in a silence that is deafening
apart from the one voice that’s no longer here
but now booms out around the room.

Few are willing to make eye contact
but those that do quickly turn away,
unwilling to share their feelings,
feelings that are trapped behind their pleading eyes,
eyes dancing with questions,
searching for answers,
answers to questions that none of us are willing to ask.

We’ve been back over an hour now
but still we are unwilling to surrender our weapons;
instead we cuddle them
like small boys with our favourite teddy bear.
It’s the only comfort we have left,
providing the false safety we so desperately desire.

Eventually the silence is broken;
he’s the oldest and wisest amongst us.
Such a heavy burden for one who’s still only twenty-three.
`Let’s get these weapons cleaned,
grab some scoff
and some shut-eye.`

But me
I would rather sit here and talk,
speak his name out loud,
search for those elusive answers,
shed some of this guilt,

because it coulda, woulda, shoulda been me.

Copyright © Theodore Knell 2012

Radio 4 Pick of the Week

I’ve just been informed that the interview I did with Libby Purvis on the BBC Radio 4 Midweek Show has been selected for the BBC’s Pick of the Week show which goes out on Sunday evening at 18:15.

I had a fantastic response when the show was initially aired on Wednesday (7th November) with over 1500 hits on my blog, 100’s of e-mails, (which I’ve only just finished replying to) received some really fantastic comments from total strangers and greatly increased my book sales.

The show was very interesting as Libby and her producer Paula McGinley had put together a very good mix of characters. There were four of us in total, Dame Stephanie Shirley who escaped from Nazi Germany as a Child, American opera singer Bryan Hymel, Covent Garden street performer Tom Balmont and myself. After personal introductions and some searching individual interviews, the show takes the form of a very informal round table discussion where everybody gets involved.

If you would like to listen to the whole show, you can find it as a podcast here. BBC Radio 4 Midweek.
Thank you all for your support. Take care