R J Gould
- coordinator of the commercial editing reading group
Richard writes under the pseudonym R J Gould. He is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) and has been published by Headline Access and Lume Books in addition to self-publishing. His first novel was shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award following his participation on the RNA New Writers' Scheme.
Richard greatly appreciates the Cambridge Writers role in providing support during the potentially lonely activity of writing novels. He coordinates the Commercial Editing Group, within which fellow writers discuss their works in progress.
He writes contemporary literary fiction about relationships, using both humour and pathos to describe the tragi-comic life journeys of his protagonists. Novels to date are The Engagement Party, Jack and Jill Went Downhill, Mid-life follies, The bench by Cromer beach, Nothing Man, and Dream Cafe.
Selected Works
Nothing Man (2021)
One man in need of an overhaul. Two women determined to drag him there.
Neville Watkin’s life is so rubbish surely things can’t get any worse. Yes they can, because his wife leaves him, he loses his job, has a car crash and ends up in hospital. Feisty Laura, the other party in the car crash, befriends him and sets out to turn his life upside down. For reasons he struggles to understand, Caroline, her equally feisty mother, seems to like him. Rather a lot.
All in all things are looking up, but is Neville courageous enough to seize these new opportunities?
The bench by Cromer beach (2020)
Five people in a sleepy English coastal town. One year that changes everything.
They seem to have it all. They’re in good health and are financially secure. They live in a pleasant and comfortable town. But as their lives intertwine, cracks emerge and restlessness grows. For Clive, is retirement the beginning of the end? Can fun-loving Saskia break free from her adulterous husband? Will Andy marry his childhood sweetheart? Is Jamie prepared to change his dishonest ways? Might Ellie’s happy marriage be shattered by temptation?
Mid-life follies (2020)
Why has his wife abandoned him after 23 years of blissful marriage? Is she having a midlife crisis? Should he be having one, too?
Life is absolutely fine for Hugh and Liz Thorpe in Cambridge, England – a comfortable lifestyle, good health, kids to be proud of and a loving relationship. Then Hugh decides to take early retirement and it all goes hopelessly wrong.
The Engagement Party (Second edition) (2020)
Eight parents, step-parents and partners are invited to Wayne and Clarissa’s engagement party.
Their families are about to meet for the first time and it's going to be tricky. Very tricky. The obstacles seem insurmountable. Number One: the two families are from vastly different social backgrounds. Number Two: there are severe tensions between the exes. Number Three: some of the new relationships are falling apart.
Jack and Jill went downhill (2016)
They think they have it all. Then it starts to go wrong.
Freshers Big Party Night and it’s love at first sight. There’s passing amusement when they discover that their names are those of the nursery rhyme, but the connection with the children’s story is long forgotten as the relationship thrives. They fail to recognise that their lives are replicating the nursery rhyme plot as misdemeanours result in Jack falling down. Before long Jill is tumbling after.
Dream Cafe (2021)
“Why on earth am I here?” David wonders as he observes the juvenile antics of ex-classmates at the twenty-five year school reunion. Then he sees Bridget.
David draws up a list of all that he hopes to achieve to kick-start a new life now that his wife has moved in with his best friend – his ex-best friend. A relationship with Bridget is top of the list, opening an arts café is a close second. Formidable women – an unfaithful wife, a reckless teenage daughter, a boss from hell, a disapproving policewoman – seem like insurmountable obstacles. But it’s still OK to dream, isn’t it?
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