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swordandfiddle.co.uk
Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
@swordandfiddle.co.uk
370 followers 900 following 16 posts
We are a small production company run by a wife and husband located in South West England. Currently developing our own projects in high end TV, film and children's productions with the odd bit of doc work thrown in.

https://www.swordandfiddle.com
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Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited @swordandfiddle.co.uk · Nov 16
Hi to all the new followers that have followed back since we found a bunch of #StarterPacks to hit up. Particularly welcome are links with film/tv and other creatives in Bristol and SW England.
We mostly post on our own social media channel and re-post here, so apologies if interaction's slow.
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
amysparkes.bsky.social
A double-whammy in this month's (October) Writing Magazine: a feature about the story behind the story for my #historicalfiction novel "The Players Act 1: All The World's A Stage", and an article about the importance of voice in #picturebooks!

@writersonline.bsky.social
#writingcommunity
#kidlit
An open magazine, showing an article titled 'The New and the Old' with a headshot of Amy Sparkes. A copy of her novel 'The Players Act 1: All The World's A Stage' is placed on top of the open magazine. Amy Sparkes smiles and stands in a small attic room holding a magazine open with an article titled 'Speak up!' An autumnal cover of Writing Magazine October 2025 issue, next to an orange cup and saucer filled with tea!
September 11, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
sarafand.bsky.social
Watched first 2 episodes. Splendid acting. Well done, Looking forward to the others.
danielyorkloh.bsky.social Daniel York Loh @danielyorkloh.bsky.social · Sep 3
This pleases me beyond everything

Our show kept its live audience figure

Invest in British TV drama

Invest in British TV writers like @jamiecricht0n.bsky.social

Invest in the stories of people like Ann Ming

Invest in our regions

Huge kudos to @itvx.com for programming #ifoughtthelaw
September 5, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
hollyholdsworth.bsky.social
Filmmakers, is your to do list like this?
To do list - watch more short films - meet collaborators for my next project - connect with the commissioning team at Exeter Phoenix oh... 😂 I'll just go to SWIF's short open mic and do that all in one go 🔥 Short film open mic ⏰ Fri 29 Aug at 7pm 📍 Exeter Phoenix 🎟️ Free swif.club
August 26, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
amysparkes.bsky.social
🎭LAST DAY OF #Players1715 BLOGTOUR🎭

Thank you to @mjporterauthor.bsky.social for the review on this last stop.

Thanks to all the bloggers for arranging interviews, reviews and guest posts. And a big thank you to @rachelsrandoms.bsky.social for organising the tour.

#BookSky
#histfic
🎭🥁🎻💀⚔️🎲
August 24, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
booksrme.bsky.social
Diving into the world of #Players1715 feels like stepping onto a vibrant stage where history dances with drama! Each character reflects a piece of ourselves, revealing hidden layers. What a beautiful journey! #BookSky #Shakespeare
amysparkes.bsky.social Amy Sparkes @amysparkes.bsky.social · Aug 18
A big thank you to @rararesources.bsky.social for organising the #Players1715 blog tour which kicks off today! And thank you to @leftontheshelf1.bsky.social for the interview. Which character in The Players am I most like? Take a peek and find out.
#histfic
#historicalfiction
#BookSky
#Shakespeare
August 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
leftontheshelf1.bsky.social
I'm thrilled to have #author @amysparkes.bsky.social join me on the blog today. Amy will be talking about her new book, The Players - Act 1 (All the World's a Stage!).

@rararesources.bsky.social
The Players - Act 1: All the World's a Stage by Amy Sparkes - Q&A #blogtour #authorinterview
Left on the Shelf Book Blog Book Reviews Book Information Recommendations Writing Reading Books for Children Books for Adults Books for Teens Fiction
leftontheshelfbookblog.blogspot.com
August 18, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
alyn.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy
Great to see my wife's new book has been picked up by a good number of book bloggers to review and talk about next week. I've not been able to find any of them with federated accounts sadly.
https://adults.amysparkes.co.uk
Blog page links in the reply & feel […]

[Original post on wandering.shop]
A promotional poster detailing the blogs that will be talking about The Players Act 1 - All The World's A Stage by Amy Sparkes. On the left is an iPad displaying the cover of the book and on the right are the dates and blogs as follows. 18th AUGUST SUDESHNABLOGS ~ BOOKWORM86 LEFT ON THE SHELF 19th AUGUST B FOR BOOKREVIEW SCRAPPING&PLAYING 20th AUGUST @CANDYGIRL73READS ~ RAMBLINGMADS.COM LET US TALK OF MANY THINGS... 21st AUGUST PORTABLE MAGIC BELINDA MISSEN - AUTHOR AND BETA READER. 22th AUGUST BECCA'S BOOK REVIEWS ~ PORTOBELLO BOOK BLOG 23rd AUGUST A KNIGHT'S READS THE.MOONFLOWER.READER 24th AUGUST SARANDIPITY'S ~ MJPORTERAUTHOR BLOG
August 15, 2025 at 4:58 PM
swordandfiddle.co.uk
Incredibly tiring but rewarding two days just gone. As part of the biggest crew we've worked with so far (Director/Producer, Camera Operator, Sound Recordist, Drone Operator, Camera Assistant (me), Camera-Car driver, 2x "Hero" drivers and a Location Manager)
1/2
alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · Aug 9
Incredibly tiring but rewarding two days just gone. As part of the biggest crew we've worked with so far (Director/Producer, Camera Operator, Sound Recordist, Drone Operator, Camera Assistant (me), Camera-Car driver, 2x "Hero" drivers and a […]

[Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]
A "studio" film shoot of a Dino gt in Ferrari red. Far left of frame is the cameraman with a large digital cinema camera on a heavy tripod which is itself on a tri-wheeled trolley. We are looking at the rear of the car and can just see down the right side. A small radio mike is taped to the rear bumper of the car to record the exhaust note. On the left side of the car is a hanging black cloth absorbing some reflected light while two LED light panels in front and behind the car actually provide the light. A large, sturdy metal door is in front of the car closing off the view to outside. A panoramic view of the inside of the workshop where we filmed the indoor shots of the cars. On the far left is the camera man with a large digital cinema camera on a heavy tripod. Behind him is an Italian sports car in dark red sat on a four-post car lift (in the down position). There's a caravan with an old SHELL petrol station sign in front of it, a square wheeled trolley with approximately 75 hammers on, a Dino GT in Ferrari Red with a Sun Automotive Disagnostic system behind it, some lighting systems (LED and Tungsten) surrond the car. On the far right is another Italian sports car, this time in mid blue with a scaffold tower in front of it that has camera gear piled up around its feet. A shot of the two cars being filmed parked up in the workshop. A Ferrari 458 Pista in dark red fills the front of the frame with a Dino gts visible behind it. On the wall behind the Dino are many items of motoring memorabilia - old oil cans, enamel signs, etc. Taken by the driver of the Dino, this is the two cars parked up outside in a moorland area. The top half of the frame is Hawthorne bush silhouetted against the sky. The Dino gts is in the foreground with the Ferrari 458 Pista behind it.
August 9, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
amysparkes.bsky.social
It's always nail-biting when you send something new out into the world, especially a 'first'. #Players1715 is my 1st book for adults & 1st #historicalfiction. Grateful for encouraging words from early readers.
www.amazon.co.uk/Players-Act-...

#Shakespeare #BookReview #BookSky
Cover: Sarah Christie
July 31, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
amysparkes.bsky.social
🎼Listen to the Players Playlist and find out more about the book here: adults.amysparkes.co.uk

📚You can order from your local bookshop
Or Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Players-Act-...
Or Kobo: www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...

Thank you from me and the players. Here's a health to the company! 🍷

🎭🥁🎻🎲⚔️💀❤️‍🩹
Amy Sparkes Adult Fiction
adults.amysparkes.co.uk
July 29, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
amysparkes.bsky.social
Huge thanks to cover designer Sarah Christie, editor @catcamacho1.bsky.social proof-reader Ally Wilkes @unheimlichmanvr.bsky.social, sensitivity reader @pridereads.bsky.social, and everyone else who has given feedback or encouraged me with this book along the way.
#Players1715
Amy Sparkes Adult Fiction
adults.amysparkes.co.uk
July 29, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
amysparkes.bsky.social
Today the curtain rises on my adult #histfict debut: THE PLAYERS ACT 1: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE.
These broken but beautiful players have been with me a long time. I've walked beside them, listened to their pain, chuckled at their antics and despaired at their decisions for many years now.
#BookSky
July 29, 2025 at 9:19 AM
swordandfiddle.co.uk
A year ago today we filmed "Things We Do For Love" with @sarahlidstone.bsky.social, Josh Alexander, & Molly Jackson. It was a lot of fun, shot in half-a-day at @liznojanbooks.bsky.social and brings a little fun to a debate that still rages to this day.
vimeo.com/965527235
#shortfilm #indiefilmmaking
Things We Do For Love
A loving couple meet with a counsellor to resolve a seemingly insurmountable problem in their relationship.
vimeo.com
June 10, 2025 at 4:08 PM
swordandfiddle.co.uk
This was an intriguing video to make. How do you communicate the feel and tone of a novel in a teaser video?

"Totems" representing some of the characters seemed the easiest way but getting that stopwatch to spin at the right speed and face forward as it landed was a small exercise in frustration!
amysparkes.bsky.social Amy Sparkes @amysparkes.bsky.social · Jun 3
The characters stand behind the curtain, waiting for their turn on the stage... While they wait, here's a little teaser we made.
🎭🥁🎻⚔️💀🎲❤️‍🩹

Curtain rise: 29th July
Cover: Sarah Christie
Fiddle: Philip Belsham
Filming: @swordandfiddle.co.uk
adults.amysparkes.co.uk
#historicalfiction #BookSky #HistFic
June 3, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
sparkey.org.uk
It'd be lovely for more people to know about it, maybe sign up to the newsletter and perhaps even pre-order the DRM-free ebook.
www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DY8CM3LX

#booksky
The Players Act 1 ebook by Amy Sparkes - Rakuten Kobo
Read "The Players Act 1 All The World's A Stage" by Amy Sparkes available from Rakuten Kobo. How far would you go to save what you truly love? Devon, 1715. When society doesn’t understand you, and you...
www.kobo.com
May 30, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
sparkey.org.uk
My wife @amysparkes.bsky.social is releasing a new book at the end of July and is premiering the first chapter in her newsletter this weekend.
buttondown.com/AmySparkesAu...

#booksky
Amy Sparkes Readers
The Bookshop at the Back Of Beyond; illus - Ben Mantle An irregular newsletter for readers and fans of Amy Sparkes. Initially a writer of children’s fiction, Amy is now beginning to release books for ...
buttondown.com
May 30, 2025 at 2:55 PM
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filmstories.bsky.social
Can you support Film Stories, and our independent work? We're clickbait-free, AI--free, and trying to do things the right way. We don't always get it right, but we give it a damn good try. Any help and amplification is hugely appreciated...

buff.ly/E2VVrhQ
May 23, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
amysparkes.bsky.social
If you'd like a sneak-peek at my debut adult novel, "THE PLAYERS ACT 1: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE", my next newsletter for readers is coming out in a few days and I'm sharing the opening chapter: buttondown.com/AmySparkesAu...
Just over two months until the book is published! Yeek!
#BookSky 🎭⚔️🥁🎻❤️‍🩹
May 23, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
alyn.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy
If you'd like a peek at my wife's @StoryGodmother debut adult novel, "THE PLAYERS ACT 1: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE", her next newsletter for readers is coming out in a few days and she's sharing the opening chapter.
You can sign up (free) to receive it here […]

[Original post on wandering.shop]
Image of a book called "The Players - Act 1 : All the world's a stage" by Amy Sparkes showing the front cover and spine. The cover has a background resembling old paper. The author’s name is at the very top. A white ribbon with a sage green reverse loops back and forth down the cover, bearing the words of the title and subtitle. Four Commedia dell'Arte characters dressed in purple are set along the ribbon at different points. A hammer, a skull, a pocket watch, the Comedy/Tragedy theatre masks, a fiddle and peacock feather are also dotted around the ribbon. At the bottom reads a tagline: How far would you go to save what you truly love? On the spine is the author's name at the top again, and a ribbon runs down with the title and subtitle on, separated by the pocketwatch graphic. At the very base is the Sword and Fiddle logo (a fiddle with a sword making the neck and headstock) in blue on a white circle. The background of the spine resembles a loose-bound bundle of papers like a poorly organised script.
May 23, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy
OK, realising I've done a few of these "this time last year posts," but I still find them educative to put together.
So a year ago, we were filming some parts of our short film "Booted." Still in post-prod while we sort some sound and VO (we know who we want, but availability is the thing).
An actor and cameraman in the process of setting up an outdoor shot on short, rough grass. We can only see the actor from the waist down and they're wearing brown walking boots with red laces and black cargo trousers. The cameraman (Me) is facing away from the shot and we're looking over his shoulder at the camera on a thick neckstrap with a shotgun mic mounted above it. The camera is pointed at the walking boots. An actor lacing up walking boots viewed from above with the actor sitting and facing towards the camera. We can only see the boots, trousers, hands, and forearms of the actor. The boots are brown with red laces that have little flecks of black in them, the trousers are black cargo-style and the arms are bare - one thumb has the remains of some black nail polish on.
May 9, 2025 at 3:26 PM
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thelongestjohns.bsky.social
That Sinners soundtrack's a bit good, isn't it? But then we've been fans of Rocky Road to Dublin (amongst others) for some time..
youtu.be/cQ5ZRRxO3O8
You can hear our version on C-Sides!

#TheLongestJohns #RockyRoadToDublin #SinnersMovie #FolkMusic
May 9, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
amysparkes.bsky.social
A big thank you to Mary Ward and Bethany Malcolmson at Writers Online for inviting me onto the podcast today, talking about writing life, emotion, and what happens when you go digging up your Grandad's garden...
Episode coming soon. Catch up with previous episodes here:
rss.com/podcasts/wri...
Write Club Podcast | Podcast on RSS.com
Welcome to Write Club, the ultimate podcast for anyone passionate about the written word. Brought to you by Writers Online, in each episode we'll give you an insight into the world of writing, creativ...
rss.com
April 30, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy
This time two years ago I was doing pre-production information gathering on our first paid commission - a documentary short film celebrating 50 years of a horse-drawn canal barge offering passenger trips in Mid-Devon.
While there were challenges […]

[Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]
On the tow-path of a canal. In the background, a decorated canal barge is pulled up under a short, steel fabricated bridge with stone abutments. In the foreground (and slightly unfocussed) is a pushbike handlebar with an orange plastic case open in front of it. Visible inside the case is a small camera with a extended zoom lens, and a nylon carrying bag - presumably full of other equipment (I think it was my sound gear).
May 3, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Sword and Fiddle Productions Limited
alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy
#bookstodon #booksky #indiepublishing #players1715
Well, it's taken a little time, but we've got pre-orders for Players Act 1 (out July 29th) working on Kobo now as well as Amazon.

Both versions will be **DRM-FREE** for your convenience, and […]

[Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]
A 3D rendering of the book "The Players Act 1 - All The World's A Stage" by Amy Sparkes. Around the book are some key features of the text with curved and swirling arrows pointing towards the book. The features are: Found family Grey villain Uplifting Strong Females Vengeance Marginalised Characters A wide image of a wooden stage with a green curtain. A copy of the book "The Players Act 1 - All The World's A Stage" by Amy Sparkes appears stood on the boards on the right-hand. Also shown are four "totems" - drawn depictions of aspects of the book. A pocket watch, peacock feather, skull, and comedy/tragedy masks. Aligned left, text reads: England, 1715. A theatre company about to collapse... An ex-member seeking revenge... How far would you go to save what you truly love?
April 28, 2025 at 10:26 AM