On Thursday, 21st October, Bont Faen WI had a most interesting and entertaining talk and slide show by prolific local author, Catrin Collier who has also written under the pen names, Katherine John, Amber Knight and Caro French.

Catrin began her talk with a biography of her life and career and revealed that she wanted to be a writer from a very young age.

Born to a Welsh father and East Prussian mother, Catrin was brought up in Pontypridd and her very successful "Hearts of Gold" series draws on her experiences and those of her father in that area in the nineteen thirties, forties and fifties.

The books were eventually turned into a worldwide TV series by the BBC. The International bestseller "One Last Summer" was based on the wartime diaries of her maternal grandmother in East Prussia and so both sides of her family tree have produced invaluable material for her most successful books.

Catrin has written over 100 books, 56 of which have been published. Crime thrillers and Historical dramas are her favourite genres and she has recently published her second book, "Glorious Shall Their Dragon Be," of a quartet based on the life and times of Owain Glyndwr .

"The Foretold Son" is the first in the series. Catrin talked of the many hours she had spent researching the Welsh leader, who led a long-running war of Independence against the English in the late Middle Ages. He was a charismatic warrior whom the author really admires and there is the hope that a film or drama will be made in the future based on Catrin Collier's books.

The next social of Bont Faen WI will be a Poets and Wine evening at Aberthin Village Hall on Thursday, 28th October at 7.30pm. Ladies are invited to read a poem or listen to the contributions of others.