Cut Him Out in Little Stars
by Sheila Auld

"When he shall die take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night." Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene II

Sheila Auld lives in Hexham, Northumberland. She is a Priest in the Church of England. Employed in 1988-2002 by the Cedarwood Trust, she worked with women and children on the North Shields Meadow Well Estate, a housing estate of multiple deprivation. She led the women in a writing group that published two books of poetry and prose about life on the Meadow Well. Helped by poet and broadcaster Ellen Phethean, the women also wrote a play for Radio, and performed their work at venues around the country, including the Archbishop's Garden Party at Lambeth Palace. Sheila has BA degree in English/History and MA in Creative Writing.

This is the story of the disappearance of a beloved husband Len, missing for three years and the search for him during that time. A search that ends in the beautiful but wild Northumbrian hills of Simonside. It is however not a morbid story. It reverts to sections of Sheila Auld's life where other things were lost, Grandfather's strength, Nana's freedom, virginity, first love, first husband in divorce. In all there is poignancy, but this is tinged with a certain humour. Cut Him Out in Little Stars is for everyone, but particularly for those who have lost anyone or anything in their lives.

" . . .psychologically this is acute, perceptive, rings true. Given that it is married to beautiful, often heartbreaking prose, it is very powerful."
Garry Disher (Australian novelist)

" . . .writing is very, very strong . . . voice is original . . . characters very real and the [true]situation very mysterious."
Claire Malcolm (Director, New Writing North)

"descriptions of her past; the richness and warmth of her time in Lebanon make a wonderful counterpoint to the cold northern landscape of her search for Len. Sheila is a woman who grabs life with both hands; her joie de vivre is infectious but it is also the foundation of her strength to survive. She is an inspiration.
Ellen Phethean (Writer and broadcaster)

£5.99.
ISBN(13) 978-1-903914-31-1