PROFILE OF SMH BOOKS

Sandra Saer founded the company in 1987 with publication of her own book: COLDWALTHAM: A Story of Three Hamlets.

(Sandra is looking to buy back copies of her Coldwaltham book - rather like J R Hartley/'Fly Fishing' in the Yellow Pages ad! Does anyone have one to sell?)

She was trained as a journalist, and worked as editor, and book publicist and marketer, on her own behalf and for the BBC. Setting up and running SMH BOOKS was the culmination of all her professional experience.

The company now operates from 14 Caen Stone Court, Queen Street. ARUNDEL, BN18 9FE, to which all postal enquiries should be directed. (See our Home Page for other contact details)

SMH’s list has been dedicated to Sussex memoirs, anthologies of prose and poetry, and regional and local books. Details are to be found elsewhere on this website.

AN EXALTATION OF SKYLARKS (2,300 years of Skylark prose and poetry compiled by Stewart Beer, with a Preface by Richard Mabey), is a triple-award-winner. It was one of three SMH titles selected for display this year at the Frankfurt International Book Fair (attendance: 387,000!). The others were THE RHYTHM OF THE TIDE: Tales through the ages of Chichester Harbour, by Jeremy Thomas, which received worldwide acclaim – not just from sailors…

Sandra’s children’s book, THE GIANT AND THE MOUSE, written for her four children when little (30 years before publication, in 2003), and the recipient of a major Award by the David St John Thomas CharitableTrust.

COUNTRY PEOPLE: An Endangered Species, This anthology was compiled by Tony Hodgson for fifteen years, the last six of which he and Sandra worked on together - but every year of work was worth it! First published in 2001 in hardcover, When it went out of print, MAKING HISTORY FOR SMH BOOKS! - it was published in 2005 in softcover…In 2009, the second impression of the hardback and the third, of the hardback, were printed. Just a few of these new, update editions, now remain. BUY NOW, if you want one! We are not reprinting them.

Two last titles, published on 27 October, 2006 , are EACH DAY’S A DIAMOND (now out of print): Facets of Life through Poetry - a lovely miscellany by Robert Melliard, and MORE FROM PEAR TREE COTTAGE, Sandra’s second book of prose and poetry, the writing of which,she says, owes much to her cottage, in whose tranquillity her work was mainly done, over twenty- three years.

**For those who have waited patiently (two have even paid in advance for copies!), please note that the third part of my PEAR TREE COTTAGE trilogy will be published later this year.

Apologies for the delay, caused by my move and all the ramifications that went with it.

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