Kimberley author hosting double book launch in the town
A Kimberley author is celebrating publishing two very different books with a special launch event which will feature readings, book signing and a celebratory African drum circle led by Milla's African Drumming.
Hanna Mae King writes fiction centred on women’s voices and experiences, often placing her characters in unfamiliar worlds and exploring how they navigate them.
Her stories cross places, periods and genres, but share an interest in female experience, independence and the unexpected ways in which women find or reclaim their place in the world.
Her latest two books are highly contrasting.
Beth Reclaimed, is a novel about finding yourself and starting again while Training Charlie – Mistakes, Meltdowns and Making Friends with AI, is a novel written with a proper Nottingham sense of humour.
Hanna said: “Beth Reclaimed was the book I originally set out to write.
"I spent years as a fair-trade importer from Thailand, running a retail shop in Kimberley and a wholesale warehouse in Eastwood, before closing the business when Covid came.
“Beth’s story follows a woman rebuilding her life after a controlling marriage.
“It’s women’s fiction about finding your voice, reclaiming your independence and having the courage to start again.
"Through her journey between England and Thailand. I also wanted to take readers on a journey to the real Thailand I came to know, its people, places and different cultures. “Training Charlie was an unexpected side adventure.
"At 62, living with a disability and arthritis in my fingers, I found AI useful for research and support with speech to text, proofreading and editing, particularly without the budget for professional help.
"I wrote the books myself, but the technology wasn’t always helpful and its misunderstandings, quirks and frustrating moments gave me inspiration for another book.
“Training Charlie, Mistakes, Meltdowns and Making Friends with AI, is a comic novella about an ordinary human getting to grips with this extraordinary new technology.
"It’s full of proper British – or Nottingham – humour.particularly when she decides to teach AI Nottingham slang.
"It wasn’t something I had originally planned to write, but the humour is very much me.
“Although the books are very different, one grew out of the experience of creating the other.
"Beth was my original mission while Charlie was the surprise along the way
"With Christmas approaching, Charlie felt like a cracking little stocking filler, so it seemed the right time to release them together.
The launch event takes place on Sunday, November 15 from 4pm to 6pm with readings, signings, drumming and a licenced bar.
Entry is free but places needed to be booked in advance at [email protected]
Signed copies come with limited-edition matching bookmarks, and the books will also be available at Bizy Lizy bookshop in Heanor
Both titles are available on Amazon in paperback and eBook, and signed copies can be bought directly from Hanna.
Hanna continued: “I’ve now established my own publishing imprint, Hanna Mae King Publishing, with more exciting projects ahead including Tyna, Daughter of the Isles, a feisty 1500s female scottish clan chief and an unexpected exciting collaboration with an established American author on the story of a British Georgian woman whose history has fascinated us both.”