Publishing

I write and publish fiction, and, via my subsidiary - The Football Ground - football history books and articles

Fiction

I have written and published a full-length novel, pithy observations of railway commuters, and anthologies of poems.

All of the titles are available in digital form on amazon. Just search for the title or Mark Rasdall in any amazon store and it will appear. You can also download it to a Kindle or Kindle app on PC, iPad, iPhone and other devices.

Full-length novels

Tales from Waxling Beach
Set over 19 days in 2007, this is the story of PR man, Nick Golding, whose London agency, Prindle Massey, is on the brink of huge changes as the technology-led social media revolution threatens their very existence. The agency’s American owners decide to embrace new communications strategies but with the damage limitation offered by trying them out on charities and those in need first.

Approaching middle age, Nick is finding it hard to relate to any of this, or even his own family. Behind his apparent cynicism is an unexplained fear of loss and he finds himself looking for clues to his unease from a childhood holiday, forty years earlier in 1967.

Meanwhile, his wife, Nora, a marine archaeologist, who is similarly dissatisfied with their marriage, offers to help with an excavation at Waxling Beach, on England’s North Norfolk Coast, as part of the History and Mystery television series. The villagers’ livelihoods there are similarly threatened by their historic foe - the sea - leading the imposing, former RNLI coxswain, St John de Criel, to enlist Prindle Massey to help with their PR campaign for greater flood defences.

As the incessant waves erode ever more layers of truth, so Waxling’s history of natural flooding and drowning is gradually revealed to be one accompanied by greed and self-interest, during which Nick makes his own, unexpected discovery of a tragic past, and resolves to try to prevent events from repeating themselves. However, it might already be too late for the one young girl who is closer to him than any other.

As Nick’s family seeks repair, so he realises that, regardless of time, place and motive, the message of love and understanding is everything; all else is just driftwood on the beach.

This title was published in August 2017 in both print and Kindle formats and available in all amazon stores

You can read a review of the book from the editorial team at Ena's Reviews in the USA

Just search for this title or Mark Rasdall in any amazon store and the titles will appear. You can download the digital version to a Kindle or Kindle app on PC, iPad, iPhone and other devices.

The print edition is also available from all good bookshops, worldwide.

ISBN: 9781975712983

Commuter observations

Railway Lines - train tales from a long-suffering commuter: Volume One

Based on more than twenty year's worth of commuter journeys from East Anglia to London, this is the first volume of twenty humorous observations on train travel and railroad travellers.

These satirical sketches are borne mainly out of frustration with railway travel but also a fascination with seemingly limitless English eccentricity.

Railway officialdom, passengers and unexpected situations are described in a witty, pithy fashion, including ludicrous questions asked at the ticket office, the commuter who insisted on setting up a mobile office environment, inappropriate clothing in hot weather and the unexpected eating habits of a bearded explorer.

Railway Lines - train tales from a long-suffering commuter: Volume Two

Based on more than twenty year's worth of commuter journeys from East Anglia to London, this is the second volume of twenty-one humorous observations on train travel and railroad travellers.

These satirical sketches are borne mainly out of frustration with railway travel but also a fascination with seemingly limitless English eccentricity.

Railway officialdom, passengers and unexpected situations are described in a witty, pithy fashion, including former actors, high-powered executives and ladies who lunch on each other's weaknesses.

Poetry

Fen Creative - some pictures, poems and lyrics from East Anglia: Volume 1 (Freeform Verses)

This is the first in a series of three volumes of early freeform poetry. This poetry anthology features twenty three verses which were inspired by people and places in East Anglia and, especially, the Cambridgeshire Fens.

Random thoughts and observations include 'The Ticket Collector' who inspected my regular tickets for railway journeys from Cambridge to London "... Can I see your ticket please? Like a lyric from a love song with an endless reprise ..." and 'No candlelight in the morning' about my late grandfather's journey from tiny Fenland village to the Western Front "... In the tiny schoolroom he is taught how to remember and under the vast spire he is told to forget ..."

Fen Creative - some poems and lyrics from East Anglia: Volume 2 (Freeform Verses)

This is the second in a series of three volumes of early freeform poetry. This poetry anthology features twenty three verses which were inspired by people and places in East Anglia and, especially, the Cambridgeshire Fens.

Random thoughts and observations include ‘For Charlotte, riding high’ about a little girl who drowned in a tragic accident in the Ramsey Forty Foot drain “... Horsey, Horsey, don’t you stop; Ignore the hands on the old church clock ...” and ‘Sense’ about a little boy clinging to his mother’s hand as they are on the move again; destination seemingly unknown to either of them “... Back down the line a forgotten child peers out into a colourless, blighted land, that cries with him, shares his unsophisticated tears ...”

Fen Creative - some poems and lyrics from East Anglia: Volume 3 (Freeform Verses)

This is the third and final volume in a series of early freeform poetry. This poetry anthology features twenty three verses which were inspired by people and places in East Anglia and, especially, the Cambridgeshire Fens.

Random thoughts and observations include ‘Blackened Lines’ about a crumbling, derelict house way out in the Fens that had once been a home “... Blackened lines traced furrows on grey facing stone that stared blankly through the green. But not from a crumbling chimney whose open hearth drew smiling faces in cosy, teatime scenes ...” and ‘The battered school bus’ which took me back to long-ago primary school days in Peterborough “... I stood, quite still, and watched the battered school bus disappear round the corner of old, drab buildings that had seen so many bright young things taken away ...”

Football

Through our subsidiary The Football Ground - we write books and articles on football history

First Football Histories: The Arsenal FC story

This book is not intended to be a comprehensive history of Arsenal FC from training ground to trophy cabinet. It is written as a story for the fans – a narrative of characters, scenes and events that provides an introduction to some key moments in the club’s history; from their humble origins in Woolwich as ‘Dial Square’ in 1886 to its status as one of the English Premier League's leading football clubs.

With their pioneering approach being coupled to the insight and imagination of a few key individuals along the way, the club has made the long journey from an armaments factory in South-East London to the entertaining of millions of football fans worldwide: a truly global brand.

Aimed at teenage readers and above, it is hoped that, as the flow of history weaves its way in and out of times and places, readers will step off at different points and explore more about football clubs, competitions, countries and players for themselves - as well as the general social and political history providing the backdrop to each tale.

You can find reviews of this book on amazon. Just search for the title or 'Mark Rasdall' in any amazon store and the title will appear. You can download the digital version to a Kindle or Kindle app on PC, iPad, iPhone and other devices.

The print edition is also available from all good bookshops, worldwide.

ISBN: 9781537018119

First Football Histories: The Chelsea FC story

The Chelsea FC story is the second in the First Football Histories series of books from The Football Ground.

It is not intended to be a comprehensive history of Chelsea FC from training ground to the trophy cabinet. It is written as a story for the fans – a narrative of characters, scenes and events that provide an introduction to some key moments in the club’s history; from its foundation in England’s ‘Edwardian’ era through to the modern day, and a country contemplating its departure from Europe.

Ironically, it is in Europe where many of the most compelling Chelsea stories and successes can be described, from being the only British club to have won the European Cup Winners’ Cup twice and the only team from London club to lift the Champions League trophy. Chelsea’s European pedigree stretches back to the very first European Cup competition more than 60 years ago when they were the original British team to be invited to take part.

Aimed at teenage readers and above, it is hoped that, as the flow of history weaves its way in and out of times and places, readers will step off at different points and explore more about football clubs, competitions, countries and players for themselves - as well as the general social and political history providing the backdrop to each tale.

You can find reviews of this book on amazon. Just search for the title or 'Mark Rasdall' in any amazon store and the title will appear. You can download the digital version to a Kindle or Kindle app on PC, iPad, iPhone and other devices.

The print edition is also available from all good bookshops, worldwide.

ISBN: 1979288119