Email the Author
You can use this page to email John Arthur Nichol about A Wee Bit of Integrity.
About the Book
Thank you for this delightful book! I immediately read the first two episodes. It’s difficult to stop, but I need to pace myself, and I have work to do.
I paid a bit extra, because I was so happy that this exists, a bit of sunshine in a… well, it’s sunny today, but it’s dismal in a less literal sense, and this book is a joy.
… I’ve watched Derry Girls and enjoy it very much, but your limericks have brought a new layer to it, so I’m starting to watch them all over again.
Andrew, Leanpub Reader
Derry Girls, Seasons 1 and 2. Perfect moments from every episode, captured in verse that takes a moment to read. Five lines. They’re funny. And they rhyme :)
If you’re a fan, you’ll not need me to tell you that Derry Girls is a hilarious, irreverent comedy set in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. If you’re not familiar with Derry Girls, you’ll find the show on Netflix … and if you enjoy a good belly laugh, you’ll be delighted that you did.
I love Derry Girls, and I love writing limericks.
If you time it well, a limerick is the perfect tool for capturing moments. Derry Girls offers so many moments worth capturing, that a limerick writer who loves the series could never do justice to them all.
But one can try.
And you can help.
Buy the book now. Have a look. Get a refund if you want.
A Wee Bit of Integrity is my book of limericks based on Seasons 1 and 2 of Derry Girls. It’s here now, unfinished and ready to buy. Unfinished? Yes. The price reflects that - it's as low as I can set it on Leanpub. And you can get your money back.
All the Derry Girls limericks I’ve completed are here. One hundred and sixty two of them (so far). I’ve worked long and hard to make them as good as they can be. But that’s only my opinion. I need yours.
There’s no artwork, no photos or illustrations, no eye-catching cover. These things cost money, and I’ve learnt the hard lesson that it’s money badly spent if nobody wants to buy the book.
Who wants a book of limericks about Derry Girls, the TV series?
Hopefully, lots of people do. But if it’s no one, I’d rather find out now and not spend all that money, and not waste any more time.
So I’m asking you to buy the book, unfinished, and tell me what you think.
Good Point 1: If you hate what you read, you have 45 days to get your money back. No risk.
Good Point 2: You might love it :)
Good Point 3: It’s cheap now. If lots of people like the book, I’ll finish it. The price will rise, but what you pay today is all you’ll pay. For today’s price you’ll get the finished book, and every update along the way.
Good Point 4: Your feedback will help make a better book.
A Wee Bit of Integrity: Limericks After Derry Girls, Seasons 1 and 2. Buy it. Try it. Have your say :)
About the Author
John Arthur Nichol hates writing about himself in the third person, so I won't do that.
I was born in a hospital named for a king, which now forms part of a hospital named for a prince, and I assume both will be subsumed one day in a hospital named for a robber baron, of whom Sydney's had plenty.
67 years later I've worked out what I want to do with my life, and it's something I've been doing all along. I write in verse. I'm not calling it poetry, but I write in verse. I can't help it. Verse happens all day long in my head as my thoughts mould to the flow of half-remembered melodies. English nags me with its rhythms; and if that's not bad enough, I'm compelled to rhyme.
So that's who I am and what I do. It's taken a lifetime to recognise it, accept it, and work out what to do about it.
I thought for a time that picture books must be the vessel to carry my stories written in verse, so Sascha Martin's Rocket-Ship, Time Machine and Super Ball, respectively, appeared with the beautiful illustrations of Manuela Pentangelo.
But the more I wrote ... the more I wrote. The more I wrote, the more I enjoyed it. And the more I understood my needs and my intention.
I wasn't writing picture books.
I was writing stories that made me smile. I think they make other people smile as well. Not everyone. Just the people who get what I'm doing and who enjoy a smile.
They're the ones I'm writing for. And me, of course.
So, text is my medium, my stories are in verse that rhymes, my audience is older kids, grown-ups, family, but only the ones who like rhyming smiles. And the format is regular paperback.
Just the facts, Ma'am ...
1955: Born in Sydney.
65 years of stony sleep ...
2020: Retired. New website for my writing.
2022: Epiphany. New website MK II for my writing. Torn between two websites (feeling like a fool). Still writing in verse. Still smiling.
Sascha Martin Books by John Arthur Nichol:
Sascha Martin’s Rocket-Ship
Sascha Martin’s Time Machine
Sascha Martin’s Super Ball
Sascha Martin's Zombie Dust
Limerick books by John Arthur Nichol:
The Fifth Line: Limericks After Lear Book 1
The Next Hundred Lears: Limericks After Lear Book 2
A Wee Bit of Integrity: Limericks After Derry Girls, Seasons 1 and 2