Welcome to my website. This is where I write about anything that takes my fancy, anything that magnetically draws two jabbing forefingers, their companions quite redundant, towards the keyboard. I never did learn to type properly. Where I offer opinions to the world. Where I review books I particularly like and where I say a little about my own writing. If you’d like to, please linger awhile and browse, and read anything that takes your fancy.
I’ve always been passionate about words; about the mental pictures they paint when chosen carefully and skilfully combined. Working with them began early for me in my working career, as a compositor in the olden days of metal type, then as a graphic designer and copywriter. Then, like the filling in a sandwich, there came an interlude in the middle of my adult life when I did something completely different: old house renovation and then landscape gardening. Now, living in Wales these last thirty-three years, I’ve renewed my acquaintance with words. I blog them and sometimes fashion them into novels (two of which can be read here) or short stories.
I just love words.
This novel about, as the title suggests, imagined conversations around a table over the course of a hundred years, is available serialised chapter by chapter for visitors to read for free. If you’d like to know something about it, please click the image. That takes you to the introduction and first chapter. If you want to carry on reading, click the forwards link at the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoy and perhaps are occasionally a little moved by it.
And this one, also sometimes emotional and heart-rending, about two nurses on trial in Belgium and Germany a hundred years apart, although available on Amazon can also be read gratis here. If you’d like information, please click the image. Again, if you want to continue reading, follow the links.
This is my previous novel, published both as a physical paperback and ebook on Amazon. It’s a story of fierce sibling love, prejudice, sexual identity, loyalty and coming of age. Please click the image for more details.
My latest novel, about identy, memory and a man finding himself on the horns of a terrible, seemingly unresolvable moral dilemma. It’s available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback. Click the image for information.
This is my enlarged anthology of short stories (which was previously published under the title Awakening). It contains new stand-alone short stories and some purloined from the novels above and below. For more information and a sample read, of the titular story, please click the image. It’s published in both ebook and paperback form on Amazon.
This is not yet published but being serialised on here, Please click the link of the title on the right for details.
Details of my other books on this page, on the right, all of which except Conversations at Table are available on Amazon, can be seen there by clicking their images.
John Needham 
Thank you for the nice, friendly invitation and that glorious sunset to look upon. I accept your welcome and look forward to your wonderfully worded offerings.
Thanks Gwen! Hope you enjoy my site.
Hi John
I have been sitting at the computer just finishing my mother’s side of the family tree;would you believe the furthest relative I can trace back was a Chemist & Druggist in Coventry (about 1770-just like me!-about when Cook found Ozz) It is cold & miserable as I look out my window, unlike the lovely photos you show above, so we’ll probably head for the Cinema to see Malificent.
You should be getting into some pretty good weather in June as we head into winter.Lucky you! Enjoy!
Lucky you Mike in being able to trace your lineage so far back. It’s fascinating! I could only get as far back as the British census goes: 1841.
I am so jealous of your summer house/writing den! It is beautiful. I do my writing at the kitchen table or the table in the lounge! Would so love a special place! Enjoy!
Thanks Chantelle; you’re very kind. Yes, I enjoyed making the summerhouse. (Bit of a bugger to make though, as the rear corners are cut off to make it fit better into the corner. Created lots of strange angles. Still, an interesting challenge!) I entertained ideas of creating a complete Hansel and Gretel-type house to live in before coming here, but the idea fell through. So I settled for the summerhouse instead. Really liked your last blog!
Hello John
I’ve just put up my contribution for the Autharium Writer’s Blog Tour on my blog site and you have been specially mentioned.
Regards Mike
Hello John
Just checking your blog.
I have just sent Vignettes in for review to on-demand publishing with Createspace. I’m still having a bit of trouble with the fonts and adding the index at the beginning tends to create a bit of havoc but sorted the latter out. I should be doing this on iAuthor shouldn’t I?
–to be continued—
There’s no stopping you now is there Mike? They’ll probably ask you for a higher-res. cover image again, as per Love from Dad. Just put your Kindle version cover on iE; there’s no point in putting the physical book cover there. (Same with LfD; the original is better.anyway). Still waiting to see you put an advert on iA?
OK to have a well earned rest. Hope you’re enjoying it! I’m trying to overcome writers block . maybe I should just sit back and “let it stew ” as the last autharium blog suggests.
Give Sali a pat from me!
Hi John, Im a volunteer Journalist in the Bournemouth area looking to write an article about Smuggling history in Bournemouth. I hoped you would be able to spare me five minutes on the phone, or answer a few questions over email? please contact me – scotteboeser@gmail.com – many thanks.
Hello Scott, I’m afraid, I think, you’re victim of mistaken identity. I’m not the John Needham who writes about Bournemouth. Unfortunately, two of us with the same name are bundled together on Amazon. (You’ll note there’s no mention of books about Bournmouth on this website). I don’t know whether the other John Needham is contactable at all. I hope you can find him. Good luck!
Hi John,
My wife and I are currently in the process of buying one of the properties you lovingly renovated. We found your article relating to the property on the internet, it is very interesting reading indeed. However we are keen to find out a little more about the conversion and maybe a little more history. lf your able to help us we would be very grateful?
Best Wishes
David Cook
Hello David. Well, this is certainly a bolt from the blue! Which house are you buying? I certainly loved doing up (not ‘modernising!’) all my houses. As a matter of fact, if you’re interested, l’ve written another book which isn’t so much an autobiography, as published on my website, but one concentrating solely on my projects, giving a lot of detail about the renovations but also, as far as I was able to research it, the social and general history of each place. A bit like the BBC’s A House through Time! I never published it, but it exists in computer memory and I’d be very happy to send the relevant chapter to you (gratis, of course) as a Word or Acrobat file. You might find it interesting. If you let me know your email address, I’ll send it. If you’d like to speak to me more directly, my own email address is: johnneedham1943@gmail.com
Kind regards,
John.