The name Gabansby Publishing is taken from a fictional town in my first novel, The Summer Queen. That name, in turn, was derived from the name ‘Gabrantovice’, a conjectural ancient British tribe, mentioned by Ptolemy. Gabrantovice could mean ‘goat warriors’ or ‘horse warriors’. I prefer to think of them as horse warriors – the Celts were well known for their skill with horses.

Horses, to me, are the ultimate symbol of freedom. Choosing to honour the horse riders of Yorkshire in this way, is a signal that Gabansby Publishing is all about creative freedom.

Throughout my time in the workplace I’ve produced content for briefing papers, newsletters, articles, parish magazines, corporate documents, management plans and media content: I never had creative freedom. I was always writing or making content for others to a brief, a formula or a set of marketing indices.

As a hobby, I’ve been writing, editing, producing and creating for a long time: from writing school plays for the drama group in 1979 to articles for Indie Shaman Magazine since 2019 and everything in between including poetry and prose.

Gabansby Publishing has produced only three titles so far but there will be many more to come.

Watch this space!