Foreshore has secured the memoir of Emma Culshaw Bell, star of the popular TV series Narrow Escapes. Titled Adrift, the book is set for publication this spring under Tributary, an imprint of Foreshore Publishing London. Culshaw Bell describes Adrift as “a sharp witted blend of memoir, travel, grief, humour, and personal transformation” She gained fame through her appearances in several episodes of Channel 4’s Narrow Escapes, a fly-on-the-wall series that highlights the diverse characters living along the canals, which premiered in late April last year. A highly anticipated second series is scheduled to air this spring. Nicki van Zandt, Publishing Manager at Foreshore, said, “We are thrilled to sign this work. Narrow Escapes was one of daytime’s top performers on Channel 4, and Emma one of the stars of the series. She will be back for the second series and her memoir is sure to be a big hit with fans of the show and also with anyone who has ever dreamed of giving it up for a life on a narrowboat. “The book offers a humorous, raw, and relatable account of an alternative lifestyle many of us secretly aspire to.” Adrift will be available for pre-order in paperback in April. £12.50.
Foreshore is delighted to announce the June 2025 publication of The Coming of Age of Ranjith SS, a major new book by award winning screenwriter Ramesh Avadhani. His first novel, The Coming of Age of Ranjith SS, is a domestic thriller set in India in the ’70s. “It is a real gift to publish Ramesh Avadhani, whose work is so refreshingly original, bold and funny,” said Phil M. Shirley, Publisher-in-Chief at Foreshore Publishing. “We we thrilled to get the chance to read The Coming of Age of Ranjith SS, and delighted to sign the work. It’s a real coup for us.” The Coming of Age of Ranjith SS presents fifteen interconnected stories featuring Ranjith S.S., a 21-year-old schizoid Tamil Brahmin whose life is a veritable rollercoaster of Shakespearean proportions – romantic misadventures, family drama, tragedy, mystery, exploitation. The narrative also explores the intricacies of East Indian Catholic and Tamil Brahmin cultures while depicting Ranjith’s unexpected and profound journey of self-discovery. Ramesh Avadhani is a novelist, writer and screenwriter. His short script Gustaakhi (Audacity) won awards from Indo French International Film Festival, Uruvatti International Film Festival, The Next International Short Film Festival, and Golden Sparrow International Film Festival. Avadhani’s writing has appeared in various well known journals of the Universities of California, Drexel, Liverpool, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and Western Australia, among others. His feature length screenplay The Share Taxi Mystery is currently under option for film adaptation. He lives in Bengaluru.
Interview: Simon Lamoon on classical music and the dark side of artificial intelligence and social media in his debut novel, The Gentleman of Bath. Congratulations on the forthcoming publication of The Gentleman of Bath. How is it all going? It seems to be going well, and it’s interesting going through the process. There are lots of bits to do to get to the finishing line of actually getting a book printed. I am very much looking forward to seeing the final product. What did revision look like for this project? How many drafts did you write in total? The first draft was very raw, and I practically rewrote it three times. I needed to get all the little scenarios set up to make a continuous narrative through the differing points of view. They aren’t exactly points of view but effectively the influence of a “mover and shaker” taking the story forward. Getting back to your question I wrote four complete drafts then a number of grammar a spell-checking sessions too numerous to mention. The novel centres on the unlucky protagonist, Richard Hoy, a newly retired banker whose previously monotonous life descends into chaos thanks to the rather diabolical scheming of his wife. The story revolves around the activities of the Bath Sharpe Quartet, the dark side of artificial intelligence and social media. What inspired you to write The Gentleman of Bath? A few years ago I was having lunch with a colleague at a financial institution near Bath when he mentioned to me that he had tickets to a ball at a big country house for himself, his wife and her friend. He was moaning that he couldn’t go as his wife had broken her leg. I replied in my glib manner, “Why don’t you just take her friend?” He calmly responded, “That would be instant divorce.” Walking back to my desk I thought, what if she wants a divorce? And breaking her leg was an excuse to get my colleague caught up in a supposed affair. It wasn’t the case in actuality. The thoughts were just a product of my over active imagination. I put that idea to one side until I was working on internet fraud systems and I realised social media was the perfect place to “stitch someone up.” Are you a classical music fan? Yes, to be honest I am a general music fan, including prog rock (which I know is uncool to admit). My children all joined youth choirs, and my son took piano up to grade eight. His increasing knowledge of music started to rub off on me and I became interested in the structures of classical music, including the different instrumentation. I have always liked the musical complexities of prog rock and the way they take influences from classical. Did you write the novel with a general outline or ending in mind? I knew what I wanted to include about different aspects of social media manipulation and the ability for AI to fake what we can see. I also knew how it was going to end. Instead of the plot being a didactic set of dos and don’ts about serious issues I thought the implied messages would be better illustrated through satirical humour. I needed to dream up ludicrous scenarios focused on certain fraudulent and manipulative activities from the real world. Where is home for you? Hertfordshire, I have lived in a small market town for the past thirty years, which is an easy commute into London where most of my work has been. I live there with my wife, three children, and two mini dachshunds. Where and when do you write? I have a very messy study from which I do a lot of working from home and writing. The writing tends to happen at weekends when I can get a good run at it. It takes me a lot of time to get into the writing zone. I can’t dip in and out for an hour or so like others seem to be able to do. What’s next for you? I am working on a sequel to Gentleman which tackles aspects of fraud that is not specifically internet based. These are to do with social manipulation, organised fraud, and account takeovers. I couldn’t include these in The Gentleman of Bath as it would make the plot unfocused. I have a few other projects I want to start which include a set of slightly uncanny short stories, which I have called “Commutables” and are stories told by a regular group of commuters. There will be someone telling a story going into town and then out. So there will be ten in total The Gentleman of Bath will be published in March by Foreshore Publishing. Photo by Josep Molina Secall on Unsplash ABOUT THE AUTHOR Simon Lamoon is an English novelist and satirist who writes under the pseudonym H. H. Bard. In a long career in the IT and finance industries, he’s worked as a designer of fraud prevention and anti-money laundering systems, among other things.
