News

Things have been quiet of late

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

First of all, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year! I hope you and your families had a wonderful festive break, and that 2019 has been good to you so far.

I have been very inactive on here over the last twelve months, and for that I am sorry. I do have a valid excuse though, I was preparing and have now moved to Seattle, USA to live with my wife, Heather!

2018 was a trip, and not a year I will forget in a hurry. Now that I am settling into my new home with Heather I wanted to touch base with you all.

Since I arrived in Seattle in late September last year, as well as looking for a job to pay the bills (I am still looking for the right fit), I have had a chance to reconnect with my wife and two stepchildren, who I have been living apart from for far too long; get back into reading, which has been far too sporadic for my liking over the last few years; and reconnect with my creative life, which, in 2018 felt stunted at best.

Now that I feel happy and grounded in my new home, I am more than ready to face the world again. There are lots of projects in the pipeline that I will be sharing information about soon. Until then, it’s great to be back!

Phil

Drawing Outside of the Lines: Poems 2007-2017 delay

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

I am sorry to announce that my selected poems, Drawing Outside of the Lines: Poems 2007-2017 release will be delayed. 

The book was due to be released on 1st July 2017, but due to a hold up at the printers with my final proof copies, I have no choice but to delay the release of the book until a later date. 

I don’t like having to alter the plans for a book release after I have announced it, but sometimes circumstances are out of my control, and I must, for the integrity of the book, take the extra time needed to ready it for release. 

I will update you on the new release date in the next week or so. 

Thank you for your patience. 

Phil 

Other Silent Days Available Now!

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​​Other Silent Days is available now!!

So proud of this one! I still can’t quite believe after four years it is done. So many people I want to thank for making this a reality, none more so than Heather for her unconditional love and support and for the incredible art on the covers and inside the book. I love you with all of my heart. Friends and family around the world; past and current teachers and you guys for the encouragement and support in the lead up to this release. Without you nothing would be possible so from the bottom of my heart thank you! 
So here it is, finally it is done and available for you to order! 
To order your copy follow the link here for the hardback edition: http://www.lulu.com/shop/phillip-mellor/other-silent-days-hardback/hardcover/product-22876278.html and here for the paperback edition: http://www.lulu.com/shop/phillip-mellor/other-silent-days-paperback/paperback/product-22876300.html Prices are £13.08 for the hardback and £6.98 for the paperback plus p&p. 
I really hope you enjoy the book! I have poured so much love into it and now it is finally yours. 
Instagram Giveaway!
In conjunction with this release I am running giveaway competition for my Instagram followers. I love to connect with you guys so when you receive your copy of Other Silent Days in the post, why not post a photo or a video of yourself with the book using @pipmel and the hashtags #phillipmellor #othersilentdays and at the end of October I will pick 3 of you and the winners will receive a signed copy of my 2014 book, Lights From The Lowlands. Make sure to follow my Instagram page too to be eligible. Thanks. 
Good luck for the giveaway and happy reading!! 
Love.
Phil xx

One week to go…

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

Only one week until Other Silent Days will be available to order and I cannot wait for you all the read it. Putting this book together has been a real labour of love for me and it is difficult for me to describe the journey I have been on to create it.
The book captures over 4 years of my writing and some dramatic shifts in my life.

It has many themes, it would be hard to pin down just one. My hope is that you will read it and draw your own conclusions.
The poems in this book were almost discarded, several times, as I fell in and out of love with them. But they are here now, some of them fully formed pieces, others almost thought dreams. Nevertheless, there is an unbreakable link between them all, and I am proud that the book is finally finished and I can hand it over to you.
As always I want to thank you all for the support and encouragement. It means everything to be able to share these poems with you. I hope they can warm your heart and touch your soul. They are yours now.
Much love,
Phil
Other Silent Days available to order from lulu.com on 1st October 2016

Featuring artwork by Heather Carr
Available in:
Hardback Edition priced £13.08

&

Paperback Edition priced £6.98

Other Silent Days to be released on 1st October 2016

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

It is my great pleasure to announce that my new book of poetry, Other Silent Days is to be released on Saturday 1st October 2016!
When the proof copies arrived I was so excited to see four years of work all in one place. I am so proud of this one, and I cannot wait to share it with you all. 

The book contains a huge 362 pages and will be available in both hardcover and paperback editions. I will post the link to my store on the 1st October so you can all easily grab your copy. 
A great big thank you to all of you who have been on this journey with me. Without your support and encouragement the book would not exist. 
Much love to you all. 
Phil xx

Book update

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New book update: 
As some of you may be aware I have been working hard of late putting the finishing touches to my new book of poems, Other Silent Days. I have been getting asked a lot about when it will be out, so I thought I would give you all a little update. 
For those, like me, who cannot help but express their innermost thoughts and feelings in lines of rhyme and then collect those precious little things in a book, will tell you, the endeavour is both rewarding, enjoyable and incredibly hard work at times. Over the last four and some years this particular book has been all these things at one time or another to me and sometimes all of them together. 
Current status of the book is that the manuscript is finished, as is the cover and all have been sent to the printer for first proof copies to be made. I am still waiting for them to drop through my letterbox, or maybe handed to me by the postman, for I doubt both the paperback and hardcover version of the 362 page book will be able to fit through the letterbox. 
I am like a child at Christmas, if Christmas were a randomly assigned day sometime in the very near future, rather than a set date on the calendar. I have already been waiting longer than the postal deadline stated and I can tell you I am more than ready to look over the fruits of my labour 😬 But patience must win the day as my Jedi teachings would say 😝
I was hoping to have the book out by 1st October as that would have been my Mum’s 73rd Birthday and the book is dedicated to her memory. Alas, that is looking less and less likely as the day’s tick by without a proof copy to be seen. 
I promise I will keep those of you interested posted on when the proofs arrive and when I have signed them off so you can take your pick between a shiny new hardcover or paperback of those collected thoughts and feelings of mine. 
I thank you all for your interest and support. As always it means the world to me. But it is late here now and I should have been sleeping a long time ago. Night night all 😴💤
P xx  

Other Silent Days Update: Artwork 

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

My fiancé, and very talented artist Heather Carr https://heatherunderground.com http://instagram.com/heatherunderground has been working hard on the cover and inner artwork for my new poetry collection, Other Silent Days. Here is a selection of the pieces she has been working on, including the cover art. Save for the piece with scattering crows with the title of the book at the centre, which is something I put together after being inspired by Heather’s work, all the work is hers. I love it! I hope you do too. Px

Other Silent Days Update… Cover art

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

First for all let me say I am sorry this is the first update in a while. I have not fallen off the face of the planet but have been busy moving house and helping with an office move at my day job. I hope the day finds you all well and your weekend is off to the best start. 

Poetry has taken a little bit of a back seat of late with all the chaos that has been going on. However, what has been happening is the cover design for my upcoming book of poems, Other Silent Days. 

I am lucky enough to have my extremely talented other half, Heather Carr working on the art and below is a preview of the work she has been doing. I think it is amazing and captures the mood I was hoping for the book. What do you think? 

The crow is a very strong image in the book, mystical and misunderstood; symbolic in the journey that you will take while reading the poems. 

The book itself is split into four individual parts, each one written in a different year of my life. You will meet ghosts and sirens of the sea; feel heartbreak and hope in equal measure, and learn that the eye and the heart see things in entirely different ways. I cannot wait to share it with you all. 

I will be flying out to the States later on this week to spend some well earned time with Heather. I will get to see the art for the first time in person too! When I return I will be sharing more updates with you all, including when you can get your hands on a copy of Other Silent Days. Until then enjoy the art and if you like what you see, please visit Heather’s site here https://heatherunderground.com where you can find out more about Heather and her art. 

Thanks for all your patience and support. Love to you all.

Phil xx
 

New Year/New Book… Soon!

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

A very belated happy new year to you all! January has come and gone and February is here! I was hoping to be able to give you some solid news about when my new book of poems was going to be released, however this just isn’t possible at this moment for several reasons. 

I have recently relocated and all the excitement that ensues from that endeavour has and is still in motion. A recent family bereavement has been receiving much of my emotional attention and of course a recent submission of work to the New Yorker (one poem of which is planned to be featured in Other Silent Days) is still under consideration. 

What I can tell you is I have had some very exciting conversations with Heather and the cover art sounds like it is going to be awesome! Once that is completed we can proof the book and review ready to sign off for the full printing run. I will keep you up to date as much as I can over the next weeks and as soon as I can I will be announcing when you can get your hands on a copy for yourself. 

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. 2016 is going to be amazing! I hope you can come along for the ride!

Phil x

Who We Are

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment 
This morning I have been reviewing my first draft of the new book, Other Silent Days. The poems in the book stretch as far back as 2012 through to the present day, covering various subjects.

With the current vile display of the worst side of human nature that is happening around the world at the hand of extremists, and the war mongering talk in the media and by the worlds politicians, I felt maybe it was time for reflection and inner peace. I came across the following poem and thought it was fitting to share today. I wrote it back in 2012. I hope it can resinate some hope in peace in your hearts. Peace.

Who We Are

I sought the stars for answers, 
The cosmology of truth; 
The origin of remembrance
In the vastness of our youth.

I found nothing there but deconstruction; 
The building blocks of life. 
I found no emotion in the void
Just the actualities implied.

No story to be told; 
No conclusion to be drawn; 
No scientific paper to write; 
No intellectual dawn.

Just faith in the knowledge
That we are more than the sum of our parts; 
There is hope in our existence
And the complexities of our hearts.

And we are altogether one
A symmetry of stardust –
A revolving mass of particles
Adrift in the darkness.

Despite all our differences
And varied points of view,
You are related to me
As I am to you.

And from a distance we are viewed
As just another lonely star
Flickering in the firmament
With someone wondering who we are.

Phillip Mellor from Other Silent Days (coming 2016)