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My Books on Amazon
My Books
FIELDS OF GRACE bittersweet romance set in 30s London's glittering theatreland http://bit.ly/WWFOG
My Books
CATCH THE MOON, MARY the story of a musical genius who attracts the attention of a desperate fallen angel http://amazon.com/dp/1700193538
Brilliant #review by Sarah Sansom. https://t.co/lvbnzT4ux7?amp=1
about Wendy Waters
Website ✦ AmazonUK ✦ GoodReads ✦ Twitter
Wendy Waters is an award-winning author, composer, lyricist and librettist. Born in Australia, she grew up in Sydney, lived in the USA for six years and now divides her time between London, Sydney and Paris. In 2011 Waters volunteered to work with OASIS Salvation Army Crisis Centre in Sydney, helping musically gifted young people streamline their talent and it was there that she first conceived of the idea of a guardian angel rescuing a troubled or abused child as many of the young people at Oasis spoke of guardian angels coming to their rescue at times of danger. Turning the angel into the one in need of rescue was the twist that gave Catch the Moon, Mary its leverage.
Waters has also written three musicals: ‘Fred’, ‘Alexander’ and ‘The Last Tale’ (with composer Shanon Whitelock).
Waters’ debut novel, Catch the Moon, Mary was published in the UK in 2015 and has been adapted by Waters into both a stage play and a screenplay. The play and Fred had staged readings at Tristan Bates Theatre in 2017 with graduate students from Amanda Redman’s ATS Drama School.
Music is a constant theme in Waters’ work and it still plays a major role in her latest novel, Fields of Grace.
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Fields of Grace
PaulH
4.0 out of 5 stars A tale of romance, London pre-war Theatre, Paris and Sydney
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2019
Wendy Waters returns to writing from the brilliant “Catch the Moon, Mary” to her second novel “Fields of Grace”.
“Fields of Grace” is a romantic story unfolding over four generations from before the second world war. It travels from Devon to London to Paris to Berlin and to Sydney.
There is a continuing maturity to the writing and the dialogue in this book and is a tribute to the author’s love of the theatre, the places featured in this tale and to her characters.
I could never be described as of a romantic disposition, but I enjoyed the story of a profound and deep love between the two main characters, infused as it was by a remarkable time in the history of London theatre and of the time leading up to the start of the war. Some well-known and less well-known actual characters are woven into the tale - a difficult, and I think a courageous thing to do in a novel - believable and well-handled by the author.
I read this in two sittings, broken only by the need to read another book for a book club, and thoroughly recommend it.
I look forward to the next tale from Ms Waters.
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Editorial Reviews
Review Catch the Moon, Mary
What a talent! The Antipodean Susskind! Superbly crafted prose in which every single word is 'in its proper place' - to quote Mary Granger, Catch The Moon, Mary's unlikely heroine. Wendy Waters' prose is breath-taking and shines like a Bulgari bracelet, each sentence perfectly merging into the next. Rarely has a first novel been so perfect in its intent, its spirit and its craft. One reads Mary Granger's adventures with the criminal yet well intended Angel Gabriel with a sense of intellectual jubilation. It is thrilling, full of suspense, entertaining, witty, and at times roaringly funny. - Isabelle Vallin-Thorpe, former speechwriter to the Hon Gareth Evans, Australia's former minister for Foreign Affairs Original and scintillating, tantalising and thought-provoking. Is the angel real? You bet he is! A novel about the transforming powers of music and beauty. Wendy Waters' words shimmer off the page. - Hazel Phillips OAM, Gold Logie Winner, author of Black River, Bright Star Weaves a singular spell, mesmerising the reader on several levels like a fugue. Wendy Waters and her characters believe deeply in the transformative power of music which pours lyrically from her sentences. - Joshua Rosenblum, composer, conductor, music critic A rare and ingenious glimpse into the real and the surreal. Waters interfaces these twin realities with ease and dexterity...A brave and unique journey. - Gerry Taylor-Wood, international lecturer on Esoteric Sciences and author of The Journey to a Sacred Well Wendy Waters writes with an angel's quill. - Anthony O'Neill, author of Scheherazade, The Lamplighter, Empire of Eternity A consummate tale of magical realism... richly satisfying and redemptive. - Scott Hastie, writer & poet, author of Meditations and Angel Voices A scintillating tale of the devastating choice between art and love. - Anne Eston, writer, director and filmmaker, Los Angeles A beguiling fantasy, original and unexpected, with glorious prose that drips like honey. - Donald Macdonald, writer and director of Letter to Larry and Caravan An incredible insight into the fragile nature of humanity and angels... a dark and disturbing world leading to a beautiful clearing where love, fragility and spirituality are revealed in crystal clarity. Sentences of pure gold take us on a magical journey. - Nigel Lewis, lighting designer Beautifully haunting, achingly lovely. Poetic simplicity within the prose and a story which unfolds with so much tenderness and grace. - Simon Egerton, theatre director, writer and composer/MD Waters composes an extraordinary tale that intertwines a Faustian pact between a musical child-prodigy and a beguiling angel with the themes of family, love, and the transcendent powers of art. Waters' style is lyrical, captivating, and rich, flowing melodiously through the original structure that comprises musical compositions and rhythms rather than conventional chapters. continue reading review → - Marija Spirkovska, MSc graduate of the University of Edinburgh
my thoughts
Catch The Moon, Mary is the story of a gifted young girl, whose musical enchantment was borne out of the horror of being abused, sexually and emotionally, by her father. Her music comes to her not as you and I perceive it, but as colour and texture and instinct … each note has a personality, each chord is ablaze with meaning, and the people she meets are interpreted as melodious harmonies or clashing discords. Whilst her music has never failed her, self-belief is an enigma, and it’s difficult to read the passages where such a young girl describes herself a ‘mad’ or ‘ugly’; a conviction that’s taken root in her because of the thoughtlessly cruel jibes of others.
The instrument felt tired, flogged … Mary whispered assurances to the exhausted instrument, calming it as a jockey might calm a highly strung overworked racehorse … “What are you? A piano whisperer?” he asked with a sour laugh.
Whilst Mary’s music is her escape from life’s cruelest realities, it also summons the attentions of a fallen angel who will steer Mary’s future irrevocably. In return for freedom from her father’s abhorrent attentions, 11-year old Mary enters into an insidious pact with Gabriel, agreeing that her music will be his from the day she has grown up enough that her hands can span a full chord on the piano.
Lifting the piano lid was like opening a magician’s box
In spite of his angelic biology, Gabriel’s actions aren’t entirely pure of heart. Granted, he’s rescued Mary from her monstrous father, but his intentions are greedy and self-serving, and his possessiveness threatens to overwhelm Mary’s daily life. Yes, we are talking the archangel Gabriel here – and he’s been earthbound for centuries in a quest to restore faith amongst mortals, and to find his beloved brother, Rigel who he’s convinced will help him fulfil this.
Everybody rushing about in pursuit of nothing, producing little of lasting value. No-one stands still long enough to hear his own soul crying out for meaning.
In all honesty, I shrank back from the book initially as I thought it could tip over in to the realms of religion. At this point, I want to make it very clear that whilst I don’t follow any religion I wholeheartedly respect those who do … it’s just not for me. And if anybody comes knocking at my door, or approaches me in the street (pre-Covid, of course!!) to ‘sell’ the merits of their religion to me, they’re tapping-up the wrong gal … and I was nervous this book might head that way.
But it didn’t, not in the slightest … and so on I read.
From the very first moment Gabriel heard Mary’s music, he knew its beauty and power was his ticket to success … a ticket back into his father’s good books … and that any obstruction to his redemption was something to be removed. With Mary as his sole source of redemption, Gabriel’s attentions quickly turn toxic, killing those who have the power to stand between Mary and the fêted stage of Carnegie Hall.
“Carnegie Hall’s mission is to present extraordinary music and musicians, and to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience.” Google
The dichotomy of this gentle, mild-mannered young pianist shines through in the face of Gabriel’s stifling control; vulnerable but courageous; naive yet wise; loyal but independent. As the book progresses, so too their relationship evolves and the power starts to shift – Mary becomes as much Gabriel’s rescuer as he was hers all those years ago. They reflect each other’s loneliness, understand each other’s emotional scars, and help each other live a life each thought was beyond their grasp.
Catch The Moon, Mary is an incredibly vivid and poignant book, lyrically written, and with a depth of wisdom and tenderness that speaks of someone who’s lived many, many lives. The chapters are short, yet full of life, and each is titled with a musical term that teases you into the themes woven into the following pages.
In fact, music is at the very heart of this book – which is not a surprise when you read about Wendy Waters’ background (as you’ll see when you read the author bio at the end of this review). The music has colour and scent and flavour; it drips from the pages.
To rip-off an infamous song: The pages are alive with the sound of music 🎼.
They chime.
They resonate.
They are pianissimo,
and they are forte.
And they are impossible to put downI feel extremely privileged to have read this book and, as I said at the start of this review, the end came without those dreaded post-book blues. That’s not for want of engagement – far from it! I found the story compelling, the prose hypnotic, the characters thoroughly human and likeable. I’ve even waited a few days since finishing Catch The Moon, Mary before writing this review, in the hope of understanding the magic that’s kept those blues away. I put it down to the very richness of Wendy’s storytelling; the human bonds of love, family, friendship, and loss fill the pages and resonate like the purest note long after the book is closed. Buy Catch The Moon, Mary at Amazon ✦ Waterstones
Brilliant #review by Sarah Sansom. https://t.co/lvbnzT4ux7?amp=1
ALEXANDER
Music by Wendy Waters & Ian Camilleri
Music by Wendy Waters & Ian Camilleri
Music by Wendy Waters & Ian Camilleri
My #musical ALEXANDER excerpt from
Canadian radio Wednesday 15th April. For those lucky enough to be in UK or US or Canada tune in. For everyone else ENJOY!
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtFMpokjm_kBqyPF3qA26DO0kg6K?e=DjKFh3
ALEXANDER
Music by Wendy Waters & Ian Camilleri
Music by Wendy Waters & Ian Camilleri
ALEXANDER Star of Macedonia
The Show
Music by Wendy Waters & Ian Camilleri
The Show
The show is currently ready to be workshopped.
The Last Tale
The Last Tale
Baghdad 800AD, ten years after Scheherazade has told the last of her 1001 tales. She is Baghdad's beloved saviour. But her jealous husband King Shariah cannot share his people or his power with anyone and plots her abduction and murder.
Lyrics and Book by Wendy Waters
Music by Shanon D. Whitelock
The Last Tale is a lush, colourful romp through ancient Baghdad when carpets flew and genies blew and romance was encrypted in every dune and star.
My #musical ALEXANDER, based on the life of the great conqueror as seen through the eyes of his faithful servant, Bagoas, a eunuch whom he acquired from King Darius after conquering Persia.
ALEXANDER follows the inner journey of a man tortured by ambition and his desire to save the world. His outer journey is well-documented but his inner torment and eventual descent into madness and melancholy is less well-known.
*Newsflash WENDY WATERS RITES WORDS Cabaret Show at The Pheasantry London 3rd September featuring songs from ALEXANDER, FRED & THE LAST TALE starring Frank Loman, Lauren Lovejoy, Louise Burke and Ricardo Nunes Fernandes on Piano.
Frank Loman singing ONE BAG OF GOLD
Ricardo Nunes Fernandes on Piano
https://t.co/3RyUNVrmSI My Blog
About Me
My Beginnings
My Favorite Work
My Favorite Work
I started life as an actress/singer. My passion for the world of Arts and Entertainment was equalled only by my passion for nature and art. In some respects I am very lucky my career as an actress/singer never found traction. To relieve the frustration I wrote - poems, music, plays and prose. Soon my writing started to get the attention
I started life as an actress/singer. My passion for the world of Arts and Entertainment was equalled only by my passion for nature and art. In some respects I am very lucky my career as an actress/singer never found traction. To relieve the frustration I wrote - poems, music, plays and prose. Soon my writing started to get the attention I'd always hoped my singing would get. Transitioning to writing happened suddenly. I started winning prizes and found a freedom of expression and an autonomy over my career that acting and singing had never provided. Today I call myself a writer.
My Favorite Work
My Favorite Work
My Favorite Work
The work I enjoy most is polishing a first draft of a novel, play or lyric. I love it when the blank page is filled with scribbles and ideas and I can start
refining and polishing and crystallising my ideas. Completed works are Catch the Moon, Mary and Fields of Grace (novels) Miriam, Fred and Alexander (musicals) and a play based on Catc
The work I enjoy most is polishing a first draft of a novel, play or lyric. I love it when the blank page is filled with scribbles and ideas and I can start
refining and polishing and crystallising my ideas. Completed works are Catch the Moon, Mary and Fields of Grace (novels) Miriam, Fred and Alexander (musicals) and a play based on Catch the Moon, Mary co-written with Jemina Macedo. Currently I'm working on a sequel to Catch the Moon, Mary.
My Life Today
My Favorite Work
My Life Today
My life today looks very different from my life only a few short years ago. Prior to 2015 I was just another unpublished author. Today I have a novel published and two musicals ready to be staged and a musical about to be workshopped. I have had the privilege of working with talented composers and been fortunate enough to work with actors
My life today looks very different from my life only a few short years ago. Prior to 2015 I was just another unpublished author. Today I have a novel published and two musicals ready to be staged and a musical about to be workshopped. I have had the privilege of working with talented composers and been fortunate enough to work with actors in London who have given me their time and support in a reading at Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden in 2017. Added to all this my work is being showcased at The Pheasantry on 3rd September.