True Colours: a new novel by Derry writer James Simpson 

James came to the city as a Community Development Officer in 1976 with his wife Jen, who would become manager of Creggan Day Centre. 

‘It was a troubled time,’ he says, ‘and we had an immersive experience. But it didn’t take long to realise that here was a special city crammed with amazing and colourful characters. A place we wanted to stay. A town of music, kindness and generosity. 

‘I’m sure that everybody I ever came across on the streets of Derry, every entertaining encounter, every single amusing conversation I’ve had in this great city lodged somewhere in my head and has simply been biding its time for release.’ 

True Colours is that release. It recounts the larger-than-life career of the flamboyant Indigo Black, as she grasps opportunity and plays her hunches to become headteacher of the prestigious St Gobnait’s College. 

Faced suddenly with set-back, she switches direction to be elected as an independent City Councillor. This is not without its challenges. 

‘Her dream of aesthetic renewal harks back,’ says Simpson, ‘to the Year of Culture. For her, nothing is too ambitious, too outrageous or unthinkable. “Pessimism is passé darlings, human potential is everything.”’ 

‘True Colours reads like a love note to Derry in a rainbow of ink,’ according to Edge Hill prizewinning author Bernie McGill. ‘It is written by a cast of illustrious characters whose pedigree might be traced back to Dickens with a detour via Flann O’Brien.’ 

Derry writer James Simpson

These are life pilgrims on their own journeys to self-realisation. They all experience tough times. The highs and lows of life. Each has their own challenges and need for fulfilment. 

But do things get better? Well yes, they do, but not without effort, determination, jeopardy and serendipity. 

Is there tension? ‘Oh yes, definitely,’ James says, ‘plenty of it. Particularly as events climax on the playing fields of Prehen.’ No spoilers.

VERNACULAR 

Distilled from the essence of the city, True Colours acknowledges the privileged background of Indigo Black but is also rich in the vernacular of ordinary people going about their business. ‘But when you listen to those voices,’ James says ‘there is nothing ordinary about them. They are all exceptional. 

‘If Derry is a theatre, its citizens are the talented actors on stage. All you have to do is open your eyes and ears, sit back and enjoy the show.’ 

As an emergent writer James is grateful and proud to have been financially assisted by both Derry and Strabane District Council and the Northern Ireland Arts Council. 

A ‘blow-in’ fifty years ago,’ he is especially ‘honoured to be published by Colmcille Press,’ and grateful to Garbhán Downey for publishing his work. 

But is it too local? Will it be of interest to a wider audience? 

True Colours: a new novel by Derry writer James Simpson 

James thinks so. ‘Every city has its own character and characters,’ he says. ‘We love stories set in Dublin, Paris, New York. So why not Derry? We want to be drawn into the lives of the people we meet on the page. 

‘Place’ undoubtedly shapes our lives. But humanity resonates wherever we find it. I trust True Colours reflects that universality, but of course, and above all, I want to share the uniqueness of the town we love so well, and its people.’ 

A past runner up in the Francis McManus Short Story Competition, James has been a winning Irish Novel Fair finalist. Last year Smokes and Birds was shortlisted for the Carousel Aware anthology prize. This year he has been selected to take part in the John Hewitt Association Pen/Pen project, administered by the Irish Foreign Affairs Department, for ‘up and coming writers’. He is currently working on a second, coming of age, novel. In 2019, he graduated from the Heaney Centre at Queen’s University, with an MA in Creative Writing. 

True Colours will be showcased at a number of events beginning with a launch in Derry City Library on 12th September at 6.30pm. Further events will take place in Foyle u3a, Limavady Arts and Cultural Centre and Strabane Library.