Robert Goodale is a Brighton based actor who has appeared in film, theatre and TV including Midsomer Murders and Holby City. He has written a debut novel for children called Felix Featherstone and the Way of the Wolveraffes (under the pseudonym Daniel Turnpike).
The usp is that the main protagonist, a young boy called Felix, suffers from anger issues and is so consumer with his emotions and trapped by his circumstances that, unless he is provided with opportunity, he will never find out what he is truly capable of. In the book the opportunity is via a trip to the fantasy world of the beautiful Hollow Island. The true life story, and inspiration for Felix, comes from Robert's experiences as a schoolteacher (he came late to acting at the age of 39 when he swopped careers). Some of the most moving times Robert experienced as a teacher were watching disadvantaged and neurodiverse children wanting to participate in Drama classes. He will never forget a girl with cerebral palsy, who could hardly walk, getting up and committing 100% to a lesson which involved complex movement and physicality. She was beaming with happiness throughout. The message of the book is that - whatever your obstacles are - the power of the human spirit can still shine through.
Prior to publication, Robert conducted almost a hundred workshops in a variety of schools around the country - and at his own expense. Many kids with anger issues and domestic problems came forward afterwards to tell him how much they identified with Felix and his circumstances and how much they wanted to break out of their own. Robert has witnessed so many disadvantaged children who have so much to offer and just need a chance in order for them to reach their full potential.
A schoolteacher for many years, Robert came late to acting at the age of 39 when he took a show to the Edinburgh Fringe. As luck would have it, Alan Rickman was in the audience and offered him the part of Rosencrantz in his forthcoming production of Hamlet. The rest, as they say, is history ....
PRESS RELEASE
Felix Featherstone and the Way of the Wolveraffes The Hollow Island Trilogy (Part 1) Daniel Turnpike
17th April 2024/Paperback £6.95
Available via Amazon and to order in all good bookshops
● A stunning new fantasy trilogy - set in the alternative world of Hollow Island - for children between the ages of 9-13.
● Written by former schoolteacher, actor and play-writing Olivier Award winner.
● The author has appeared in film, theatre and TV, including Midsomer Murders and Holby City, under his real name Robert Goodale. He lives in Brighton and is available for interview around publication.
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Felix Featherstone has anger issues, is isolated at school, and has a dysfunctional relationship with his father. He is also a 'Sagacitor'. In other words, he has lived on this planet many times before - as have Jermaine and Edith from his class. Not that he knows it. Not until he receives a note in his exercise book, that is, inviting him to go to Hollow Island - the most beautiful place he will probably ever see. But what is really going on in this 'beautiful place' is for you to guess and for him to find out.
About the author:
A schoolteacher for many years, it was this experience combined with an understanding of the issues facing young people, which inspired Robert to write a book for children. He came late to acting at the age of 39 when he took a show to the Edinburgh Fringe. As luck would have
it, Alan Rickman was in the audience and afterwards offered him the part of Rosencrantz in his forthcoming production of Hamlet. In 2013, Robert and his brother wrote a play, Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense, that won the 2014 Oliver Award for Best Comedy. Writing under the pseudonym Daniel Turnpike, Felix and the Way of the Wolveraffes is his first novel.
