Rawny

Joy is born into an era of post-war uncertainty, one of the first babies delivered by the newly created NHS. A house move aged ten is unsettling and she struggles to make sense of the world and establish her identity. The novel charts her path through the trauma of the eleven plus and separation from her friends and culture. She experiences bullying and alienation at her new school and is helped by close friends, a supportive family and most importantly the local gypsies who live on the wasteland near her home. Rawny and his family take Joy into their hearts and share their lives and rich culture with her. The close enduring bonds Joy forges at this vital time of life enable her to navigate the difficulties life presents and enable her to find her own moral compass.

Anna Sloman-Gower started writing whilst still at school and has had many articles and poems published. Her writing skills were channelled for years into creating new qualifications for teacher training in the adult sector. Anna’s creative work is inspired by the people and cultures she has encountered. Whilst working at a university in Morocco, the BBC World Service broadcast her short story Abdul’s Bananas about a young boy trying to win himself a bride through playing music. During lockdown, Anna started telling regular stories to her grandchildren which developed into a book about their adventures together. This inspired her to write about her own childhood memories and was the motivation for Rawny.