BIOGRAPHY OF JOE STIRLING by PHYLLIDA SCRIVENS published by Pen and Sword Books on 5th January 2016. The true story of a remarkable boy who walked across Europe to escape the dangers of Nazi Germany and went on to become Sheriff of Norwich. USE DROP DOWN MENU TO LEARN HOW TO ORDER YOUR COPY SIGNED BY BOTH JOE STIRLING AND AUTHOR.
The January edition of the glossy EDP Norfolk Magazine is now available, with a full page article on page 40 promoting Escaping Hitler in advance of publication later this month. I am grateful to journalist Rowan Mantell for a sensitive and enthusiastic report. I was very excited to find a full page photo of myself opposite the piece, much to the amusement of other shoppers in the supermarket!! Not long now before I will be setting up an online store from this website where you can place an order for my debut biography. Keep a look out for it!
I can hardly believe it – I have received an email from a feature journalist with the Archant glossy publication ‘Norfolk Magazine’. Rowan Mantell, one of the senior writers wants to interview me for the January edition about my book EscapingHitler, Joe’s life and how it all came about. She has requested a ‘publicity shot’ and a photo of the book cover. I will be going into the Newspaper office next Monday. It will be very strange being interviewed having spent the past five years interviewing Joe and over 35 others for my research! The marketing machine is really cranking up!
I would love to share with you a letter to the editor, published recently in Let’s Talk Magazine, an East Anglian magazine from the Archant stable. During the summer I had responded to an earlier letter in the magazine detailing her wish to meet with Joe. I suggested I drive him to her home for tea and we duly turned up one summer’s day this year. It was lovely to see Anne so ‘star struck’ and Joe was on good form. Here is her letter – it seems we did the right thing!
Tea and a few tears with Joe from Ann Ramsbottom Little Plumstead, Norwich
Many thanks for publishing my letter re Joe Stirling (March). As a result, I received a call from Phyllida Scrivens, who is writing his biography. Now a firm friend of his, she said he and his niece would be lunching with her. Having shown him my letter to you, he was happy to come over for a visit to us.
Of course I was surprised and delighted, and they duly arrived. Joe had a captive audience as he recounted some of his experiences. It is one thing to read of the atrocities inflicted on the Jewish population, but quite another to listen to someone who, together with his family, had actually suffered them.
I had to tear myself away to be a good hostess and make tea, so missed some of the conversation.
Joe is a charming gentleman and thanked me for inviting him to our home as he is just an ordinary man. I couldn’t agree with him there and said the thanks were all mine as it was an honour. I had hoped some day to catch one of his talks and meet him then but never imagined I would be serving him tea and home made cake in our home. He complimented me on the cake and laughingly asked for the recipe.
I complimented him on his taste in shirts and he quickly asked how much I would give him for it. As Phyllida said, he was a businessman.
Both Phyllida and Gail, his niece, were warm and charming ladies and I am so grateful to Phyllida taking time out of her busy life to bring them on a visit to us.
My husband and I enjoyed every moment despite a few tears on hearing of some of Joe’s experiences on his trek to freedom. I cannot wait to read the book, to be published January 2016.
I am indebted to journalist Derek Neale who has included some free publicity for my book Escaping Hitler, in the May edition of nostalgia magazine Let’s Talk Magazine published in Norwich. The story on Joe Stirling is amongst other articles in a special supplement to note the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Thanks Derek. I will admit I am feeling the pressure right now with one week to go to my deadline for submission. Ploughing on, not quite there yet……
Escaping Hitler: A Jewish Boy's Quest for Freedom and his Future 