Books published by PlashMill Press

An affectionate and comprehensive biography of extraordinary Bradfordian Percy Monkman (1892-1986). Actor, comedian, celebrated watercolourist and cartoonist and mainstay of the arts for over eight decades, Percy Monkman was the centre of an illustrious group of writers and artists, including JB Priestley. This illustrated memoir by his grandson chronicles his life.Born into a working family ion the last decade of the 19th century, Percy Monkman became fascinated by the arts during his service in the First World War. After volunteering for the RAMC, he soon found himself taking part in revues designed to entertain the troops and take their minds off the misery of the trenches. He was quickly picked out by senior officers as a star and was noted for his comedy routines, some of which he wrote. During this period, Monkman also discovered his talent for drawing. These two passions, theatre and art, would be with him for life.By day he worked in a bank -- the same one all his days -- but by night and on weekends, Monkman was a different man, whether performing in the limelight of the stage, where he was always a hit, or painting in his beloved Yorkshire. His theatre work spanned the gamut from light comedy to more serious drama, but it was as a comic character actor that he really shone and this was always his first love in theatre. In painting he preferred waterclour and is one in a long and noble trandition of English Watercolourists, who preferred the speed and spontaneity of the medium to the slower one of oil.Monkman was also a devoted family man, remaining married to his wife Doris, whom he married in 1918, until her untimely demise and always supporting his children and grandchildren. He was careful of his friends, and was spoken of fondly by many, including the great JB Priestley, one of England's premier men of letters of the 20th century.Illustrated with over 80 images including high quality reproductions of some of Monkman's most famous paintings, the book is both a visual delight and a joy to read.

Fortunate Isle: A  Memoir of TenerifeIn 1960, with a mere £40 in his pocket, 18-year-old Ronald Mackay hitched from Scotland to Spain then took a tramp steamer to Tenerife, thinking to voyage on to South America. Instead, he discovered the snug village of Buenavista del Norte, where he was welcomed in by the locals as 'El Extranjero'. He lived there for a year, working, making friendships, exploring and growing into manhood. 'Fortunate Isle' is a charming tale of a special time in the author's life, when he is entirely 'open to the universe'. His recall sparkles like the sun on the sea that was so important to his life there. The memoir contains moments of hilarity and of confusion, as a young man initially with no Spanish, struggles to integrate into a tight-knit village full of people with no English. Despite this, his likeable nature and willingness to work hard make him popular and he is taken under the wing of a matriarch who runs the small guest house he had found -- almost too fortunately to be happenstance -- the very day he arrived. Through the months in Buenavista del Norte, immersed in a life that was at once very different yet strangely similar to the one he had grown up in in rural Scotland, Mackay addresses the challenges that we all must, as we come of age; and with that knowledge prepares himself for life. Much more than a light-hearted travel memoir, this book charts a philosophical journey along a road that leads to independence, self-sufficiency and maturity. While offering humour and insight, it does not shirk discussion of deeper, more fundamental issues. Fortunate Isle is suitable for all ages and offers a warm, refreshing and invigorating read. It is illustrated with over fifty photographs, taken in 1960 by the author himself.

A compendium of unusual and inventive modern horror stories that respect the grand tradition of classic Gothic Horror and add a modern angle. With illustrations by Rod Fleming