https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories daily 0.75 2022-06-16 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/blog-post-title-three-z7dfb monthly 0.5 2021-02-17 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/blog-post-title-two-c8amr monthly 0.5 2021-01-30 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/blog-post-title-four-n8esb monthly 0.5 2021-01-30 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/blog-post-title-one-fc8cy monthly 0.5 2021-01-30 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/my-backstories-quest monthly 0.5 2021-10-03 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/theguitar monthly 0.5 2021-10-03 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/backstories-charities monthly 0.5 2021-01-08 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/press-release monthly 0.5 2021-02-12 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/backstories-quotes monthly 0.5 2021-02-19 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/qampa-with-smoke-amp-mirrors-press monthly 0.5 2021-03-18 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/free-copy-of-the-pacifist monthly 0.5 2021-11-06 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/in-praise-of-backstories monthly 0.5 2022-06-16 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/likemagic monthly 0.5 2021-11-06 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/spoilers-the-answers-to-backstories monthly 0.5 2021-05-08 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/stories/in-praise-of-the-silent-brother monthly 0.5 2022-06-16 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/home daily 1.0 2022-06-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/804ee141-f3da-4054-9aa3-561a1705796f/9781915179074.png Home - “Harrowing but wonderful” - Jane Jesmond When his beloved little brother is stolen away, five-year-old Tommy Farrier is left alone with his alcoholic mam, his violent step-dad and his guilt. Too young to understand what has really happened, Tommy is sure of only one thing. He is to blame. Tommy tries to be good, to live-up to his brother’s increasingly hazy memory, but trapped in a world of shame and degradation he grows up with just two options; poverty or crime. And crime pays. Or so he thinks. A teenage drug-dealer for the vicious Burns gang, Tommy’s life is headed for disaster, until, in the place he least expects, Tommy sees a familiar face… And then things get a whole lot worse. Less https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1605809099186-GASGFC67DVWO87UMW1V0/Backstories_finalfrontcover.jpg Home - “Ingenious idea, brilliantly executed” - The Daily Mirror Can you find the famous person hidden in every story? And once found, can you understand them? Backstories – ‘the stand-out most original book of the year’ - is a collection of stories each told from the point of view of one of my personal heroes, (or villains) back when they were just another Jew or black, or queer – back when they were nobody. Bullied, assaulted or psychologically abused, their road to redemption was never easy, and for some there would be no redemption, only a descent into evil. These are people you know, but not as you know them. Peel back the mask and see. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1605812512807-9Y4PLIIRHRG0GKNOVTLM/A3F0EEC0-4582-422B-9E7F-569110B2842D-1.JPG Home - My Backstories Quest “Whatever happened to, all of the heroes?” The Stranglers 1977 I was twelve years old when I first heard this song and although there was something in the feral tone that grabbed me, I didn’t really understand it. I do now. I get the angst and the loss and the emptiness, which is why, in Backstories, I aim to answer the question. I’m not interested in simplistic tabloid truths of good and evil, success and failure; they clung on too long, drank too much, lost their looks and their charm and generally reminded us that we’re all getting older. That’s not what I want from my heroes. What I want is to find the spark, to dig down into their pain, their passions and their imperfections, and show you our heroes as they truly are. So join me on my quest. Let’s bypass the obvious, the tedious and the dull, and brave the deeper, darker paths where treasures may be found. Together we’ll uncover the fears and doubts that made our heroes what they were, and perhaps catch a glimpse of ourselves along the way. Whatever happened to all of the heroes? They turned out to be human beings, in all their diverse glory. – Simon Van Der Velde https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1633262408931-D10JBIOJYG5Y6NE484PE/Readers-Favorite-gold-shiny-highres.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1633262475733-JNCPNYZ2Q1O0GU6ERG2H/Freddy-Cruz.jpeg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1633262692599-3VWMFIXSCDJ6KNGQ0UU6/New+Project.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1633262718501-ZMY1M1PQAHJFK9BINRW5/Podcasts.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618511387030-5LI1E5QMVTQ2RY9S00A4/20140228_Trade+151_0046+1.jpg Home https://www.simonvandervelde.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-03-25 https://www.simonvandervelde.com/sign-up daily 0.75 2021-10-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618497259178-6XJGK9GR6YAVBQL5L519/20140301_Trade-151_012-2.jpg Sign Up https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607638148090-Y6OFDI575CM3NQV732RJ/Large+JPG-Aro+Ha_0387.jpg Sign Up https://www.simonvandervelde.com/about daily 0.75 2022-06-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1610736096483-LTYWC62KUWDOMDSE105T/image-asset.jpeg ABOUT - About the Author Simon Van der Velde has worked variously as a barman, labourer, teacher, caterer and lawyer, as well as travelling throughout Europe and South America collecting characters and insights for his award-winning stories. Since completing a creative writing M.A. (with distinction) at The University of Northumbria in 2010, Simon’s work has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards including; The Yeovil Literary Prize, (twice), The Wasafiri New Writing Prize, The Luke Bitmead Bursary, The Frome Short-story Prize, The Harry Bowling Prize, The Henshaw Press Short Story Competition and The National Association of Writers’ Groups Open Competition - establishing him as one of the UK’s foremost short-story writers. Simon now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with his wife, Nicola, their labradoodle, Barney and their two tyrannical children. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1610895664816-KOKQHBTO2MNBJRU9ER7I/Backstories_Front+Cover..jpg ABOUT - My Backstories Quest “Whatever happened to, all of the heroes?” The Stranglers 1977 I was twelve years old when I first heard this song and although there was something in the feral tone that grabbed me, I didn’t really understand it. I do now. I get the angst and the loss and the emptiness, which is why, in Backstories, I aim to answer the question. I’m not interested in simplistic tabloid truths of good and evil, success and failure; they clung on too long, drank too much, lost their looks and their charm and generally reminded us that we’re all getting older. That’s not what I want from my heroes. What I want is to find the spark, to dig down into their pain, their passions and their imperfections, and show you our heroes as they truly are. So join me on my quest. Let’s bypass the obvious, the tedious and the dull, and brave the deeper, darker paths where treasures may be found. Together we’ll uncover the fears and doubts that made our heroes what they were, and perhaps catch a glimpse of ourselves along the way. Whatever happened to all of the heroes? They turned out to be human beings, in all their diverse glory. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1605813299342-7KFO6MRW9CBNISMILGJS/IMG_0174-1.jpeg ABOUT - Backstories Charities I am proud to be giving 30% of all profits from Backstories to Stop Hate UK, The North East Autism Society and Friends of the Earth. Of course there are many worthy charities, but as anyone who reads Backstories will see, these are the causes that resonate most deeply with me. https://www.simonvandervelde.com/books daily 0.75 2022-06-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1112c132-7826-48dc-88ca-76ce57902ed8/SilentBrother.png BOOKs - In Praise for The Silent Brother ‘Original and compelling... had me reading well into the night’ - Awais Khan, author of In the Company of Strangers. ‘A searing tale of redemption set in Newcastle’s dark underbelly’ - Trevor Wood, author of the Jimmy Mullen Series. ‘I felt part of Tommy's journey from the very first page’ - Sarah Clarke, author of A Mother Never Lies https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1617092836047-44JFQ6UM06SECOLX7U6V/Soft_Cover_Book_Mockup_v01.jpg BOOKs - In Praise of Backstories ‘Oh, how I enjoyed these stories. A highly original and beautifully crafted collection that explodes into the reader’s consciousness like fireworks’ - Kate Horsley, award-winning author of The American Girl. ‘Tightly written, technically accomplished, light-footed, wryly ironic and genuinely affecting. Excellent stuff’ - Professor Graham Mort, Director of The Centre for Transcultural Writing and Research and winner of both the Bridport Prize and The Edge Hill Prize. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1610736096483-LTYWC62KUWDOMDSE105T/AuthorImage2020.JPG BOOKs - My Backstories Quest “Whatever happened to, all of the heroes?” The Stranglers 1977 I was twelve years old when I first heard this song and although there was something in the feral tone that grabbed me, I didn’t really understand it. I do now. I get the angst and the loss and the emptiness, which is why, in Backstories, I aim to answer the question. I’m not interested in simplistic tabloid truths. They clung on too long, drank too much, lost their looks and their charm and generally reminded us that we’re all getting older. That’s not what I want from my heroes. What I want is to find the spark, to dig down into their pain, their passions and their imperfections, and show you our heroes as they truly are. So join me on my quest. Let’s bypass the obvious, the tedious,and the dull. Brave the deeper, darker paths where the treasures can be found, and together we’ll uncover the fears and doubts that made our heroes what they were and perhaps catch a glimpse of ourselves along the way. Whatever happened to all of the heroes? They turned out to be human beings, in all their diverse glory. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5faa6796e5acb325b82407c6/1618130234802-JYZ8OOSCXWGQZKVUZ52Y/Backstories+Challenge_win.jpg BOOKs - Win a Free, Signed Copy of Backstories Find this lost little boy to claim your reward – The first three correct entrants out of the hat will receive a signed, original review copy of Backstories and a chocolate treat. https://www.simonvandervelde.com/backstories-challenge-ii daily 0.75 2021-04-22