Elsewhere Newsletter – Winter Solstice 2024
Recently in a radio interview, I was asked when Elsewhere took hold of my imagination. Could I remember? Was it before drawing that map of Elsewhere back in the spring of 1976? It’s a really good question.
And the answer is ‘yes’.
Play was a very big part of my childhood. Even now, when I have to learn something new, I tend to play with it, rather than read the instructions.
As the youngest in our family (with five brothers and two sisters much older than me) my formative imagination years between three and five years old, I spent many hours playing alone in the vast magical house in Wales where we had the good fortune to live at that time.
I remember the upstairs conservatory, its views in all directions, the smell of it, the glass, the wooden floor. 68 years later I can still feel like I am standing inside that room.
Incidentally, I have just learnt that Lord Llewellyn, who had the house built, bought the three story conservatory in a London auction. He then had it dismantled and rebuilt on the wing of the house. Visually, as you can see in the photograph below, a wonderful edition.
There were other places where I also roamed and played - up and down the massive staircase, looking down on the huge hall below. I remember a deep-set landing the size of a room with banisters to peer through. The ceiling in the hall was two rooms high. To a child like me that ceiling seemed as high as the sky. There was a giant basement with a full-size snooker table. And other, mysterious rooms off it that led to unknown sets of further stairs. Where they led down to, I still don’t know…
The house, Brooklea, was built on a raised piece of land. A field of horses in one direction, a forest in another, and at the front there were steep grassy slopes that led down to the main front garden. I remember rolling down the slopes on summer days when the grass was lush and soft on my face. Sometimes I might feel giddy and a little sick, but that never seemed to matter.
I also recall one winter when my brothers and sisters rolled a snowball down that same slope. I watched as it gathered speed and grew and grew until it had rolled right across the lawn from one side to the other. There they built an igloo that seemed to last till the spring.
I have a strong memory of a glass back door adjoined to the kitchen, which led to one of the many gardens. This was the door where Henry the house spider lived. According to my brother John, he and I adored Henry, and would feed him flies.
As you might imagine, for a child, this house was a world of absolute wonder. A house of endless adventures where I am sure the seeds of Elsewhere began in my imagination.
No surprise then that I have houses of Wonder in my books: Armon's house of Happenings (Book 6) ~a magical house if ever there was one Eldrin’s House of Mirrors (Book 4) The Merchant’s House of Dark Wonders (Books 2 and 3)
We are what we are. I was so lucky to have Brooklea. I hope you had somewhere magical in your childhood as well.
Publishing the first Trilogy – 2025
This year will be the publication of the first Trilogy.
I can’t tell you how excited I am to share the stories that make up the first three books of The Realms of Elsewhere. When I reached this part of writing the nine book saga, I was beginning to look at the major themes that make Elsewhere what it is.
These themes are the bridges that link the nine books together. They make sure that the main stories, their leading characters and their narratives are fully honoured. Around them flows the magic, and the wonder, the side stories and the many other characters who I hope will bring colour and energy to the work as a whole.
Here are the approximate publishing dates:
Book One: The Hidden Destiny 2nd edition: January 31st 2025
Book Two: The Uprising! 1st Edition: February 28th 2025
Book Three: Merchant of Storms: 1st Edition: November 21st 2025
•DISCOVER THE SERIES • GALLERY • BOOK STORE • ELSEWHERE LORE & HISTORY • LIMITED EDITION PRINTS • UPCOMING EVENTS • & MUCH MORE
RARE ORIGINAL ARTWORKS
Over the coming months, there will also be opportunities to purchase some of my rare original artworks. These will include watercolours, pen and inks and fine line artworks that feature in the Books. I will be selling these to help fund the Legacy project.
If you’re interested in purchasing please email me at paul@pauljacksonstory.com
BOOK SHOP
This is where you can buy or preorder copies of the hard back editions of the first three books. Please check approximate publishing dates. I am looking into publishing paperback books at the time of sending this out to you.
TikTok and the Film Community
A revolution happened on TikTok. If someone had told me that, I’d never have believed them, but I would have been wrong. Step by step Fabian has built a community through film making. We gently crept from 15 to 20 followers. He was determined to do it organically. Not buy followers. Just me and a camera, talking about what I do and why I do it.
20 followers became 100 then 200 and on it went. As we approached a year on the social media site we were almost at 1000 followers and had 140 films available to see. Then Fabian created a video that went viral. The video whooshed around the world: over 300,000 watched it, 1000 wrote and posted about it. 300 books were sold and are still selling. We now have readers of The Hidden Destiny in 14 different countries! If you’re not on there and are curious, do come and join us.
Join my growing TikTok community here.
NOTE: Changes may happen for those of you in America. TikTok may be banned for political reasons in the next 90 days. Over a hundred of you in the US bought The Hidden Destiny, and clearly I need to stay in contact with you as Book Two will be published around 28th Feb 2025. I will send you a separate email.
In the meantime, please join me on Instagram here
Patreon and the growing of a Membership Community
When I had my studio open to the public back in 1985, collectors of my work would come and chat over a cup of tea. We would go through my sketch books together and develop something new for their collection of my work.
Forty years later, in 2025, Patreon is my online studio; open all hours to share with you.
It’s accessible to anyone around the world and is the place where The Realms of Elsewhere are being explored month by month.
Patreon is a membership platform with Tiers priced from £1.50 a month upwards, depending on how much you want to explore the Realms and have access to material only available here. There is a one week free membership to try it out.
Patreon is the home for my Podcasts on the last Friday of the month. This Quarter the dates are: 31st Jan, 28th Feb & 28th March. If You would like the opportunity to ask questions about Elsewhere, please email them to me before the recording date. Email: paul@pauljacksonstory.com
Also on my Patreon Membership site: 32 “Collections” containing all the things you can’t find anywhere else. Audio Tracks of the Books, recorded by me, Extra Elsewhere Stories Sketchbooks containing the earliest drawings of Elsewhere, and the latest 20 years of journals, main character profiles - films, histories, mythologies and much more.
So, as you can imagine. I am really looking forward to publishing The Trilogy this year and, sharing it with You.
Thank you so much for helping me achieve this: through your subscriptions, purchases and donations.
Kindest regards to you…as always
Paul
January 2025
News Flash
Elsewhere has been given a donation of £1000 from ORACLE GIRL to help pay for the publication of the book: The Uprising!
Oracle Girl is an organisation that wish to support creatives and others seeking to bring more kindness and Light into our troubled world. Please do take a look at their site and read their ethos:
https://www.oraclegirl.org/article/paul-jackson
