Colin Jones

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About Colin Jones

Colin Jones is best-known as the author of several books for Welsh learners. His novels Coed y Brenin and Cwm Gwrachod have gone on to sell thousands of copies, a moderately remarkable feat for a Welsh-language author.

Colin wrote and recorded the acclaimed Welsh home-study course Cadw Sŵn, which was refreshed in 2020 to celebrate 20 years in print. Not content with slashing the price (again), the book is now widely available worldwide on Amazon, and includes full details of how to obtain the audio downloads.

He continues to tell the stories of the inhabitants of the fictional Welsh hamlet Aberarthur and the supernatural tales of Cwm Gwrachod. Canol Nos - Cwm Gwrachod volume 2 was released in 2020, and Colin is keen to make a start on the third Cwm Gwrachod novel.

As well as narrating his own audiobooks Colin has recorded the ancient Celtic epic 'Maginogion, The Four Branches', for which he also wrote the introduction.

Colin's official website is colin.cymru

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$5.99

Kindle Edition
$5.95

Kindle Edition
$9.95

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$3.99

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$6.95

Kindle Edition
$7.95

Kindle Edition
$9.20

Kindle Edition
$7.00

Kindle Edition
$35.00

Paperback
$11.95

Paperback
Learn Welsh Fast with Cadw Swn (2009, Colin Jones, paperback)

Paperback

Author Updates

Books By Colin Jones

All Formats Kindle Edition Audible Audiobook Paperback

Simple Welsh in an Hour of Your Time: Kickstart Your Welsh Today Feb 23, 2016

by Colin Jones

( 67 )

$5.99

This short book gives you the basics of Welsh in an effective and efficient way, taking as little time as possible. You can use it if you’re a complete beginner, or as a revision aid if you’re already on the road to fluency. Or maybe if you just find yourself in a rut, and would like a bit of help moving on.

The idea is simple; by spending around an hour on this book, with breaks in between chapters, you should be able to master a very simple form of Welsh. A simple form that will let you say what you, or anyone else, is doing, has done, or is going to do, including the negative and question forms.

The book is broken down into six chapters, each taking around 10 minutes to complete and revise. Each chapter has exercises, together with answers at the back of the book.

'Simple Welsh in an Hour of Your Time' is written by professional Welsh-to-adults tutor Colin Jones, author of the epic home-study Welsh course 'Cadw Swn'.

This book is the distillation of years of teaching Welsh to adults, and should provide an essential introduction to the language.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback

Cwm Gwrachod: A novel for Welsh learners (Welsh Edition) Dec 8, 2016

by Colin Jones

( 56 )

$5.95

Croeso i Gwm Gwrachod, cwm bach diniwed yn y De.

Welcome to Witches’ Valley, an innocent little valley in the South.

Written by the author of the bestselling Welsh learners’ novel Coed y Brenin, this book should help you expand and improve your Welsh, while being both interesting and entertaining.

‘The events, people and places in Cwm Gwrachod are imaginary, in that they exist only in my mind. The funny thing is that as you read this book they will exist in your mind too, but entirely through the medium of Welsh.’

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback

Coed y Brenin: A novel for Welsh learners (Welsh Edition) Mar 4, 2016

by Colin Jones

( 70 )

$9.95

Croeso i Aberarthur, pentref bach cysglyd yn y De.
Mae llawer o bobl yn byw yma, ac mae stori gyda phob un. Credwch chi fi.

Welcome to Aberarthur, a small sleepy village in the South. Lots of people live here, and each has a story. Believe you me.

Apparently Aberarthur is a fictional village, in that it exists only in my mind. The funny thing is that as you read this book it will exist in your mind too, but entirely through the medium of Welsh.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback

Mabinogion, the Four Branches of The Mabinogi (Annotated): The Ancient Celtic Epic Apr 23, 2017

by Colin Jones , Charlotte Guest

( 14 )

$3.99

The original four branches of the Mabinogi, translated into English by Lady Charlotte Guest.

With a comprehensive introduction by Colin Jones, author of the Cadw Swn home-study Welsh course.

The After reading, recording, and listening to the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, I'm amazed that the world isn't full of Manga comics, Hollywood blockbusters, bestselling novels, sticker collections, trading cards, and fantasy role-playing games based on this quite astonishing collection of Welsh tales.

The breadth and imagination of these stories is really quite amazing - How many other stories can boast such a heady collection of wizards, body-swapping, bitter curses, deep revenge lasting for generations, a giant, a cauldron of immortality, murder plots, princes, kings and even pig-embezzlement?

Not to mention a woman made from flowers by two wizards as a wife for a man cursed by his mother from ever marrying another human being. A man who can only be killed by a spear which has been crafted for one year and this while he stands with one leg on a bath and the other on the back of a young goat?

The Mabinogion is a collection of tales, told over generations, recorded in two manuscripts; Llyfr Coch Hergest (the Red Book of Hergest) and Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch (The White Book of Rhydderch). Translated into English by Lady Charlotte Guest, they contain a large number of tales from the Welsh storytelling tradition. Strictly speaking, however, the term Mabinogi (Mabinogion was mistakenly taken as the plural of Mabinogi by Lady Charlotte Guest) refers to the Four Branches recorded here.

The Mabinogi begins with the tale of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed. Pwyll changes places with a King of Annwfn, the Otherworld. He also meets Rhiannon for the first time, who appears on a charmed horse which cannot be caught by even the fastest rider.

The Second Branch concerns Branwen, her brother Bendigeidfran (a giant) and the terrible fate which follows her marriage to the King of Ireland.

In The Third Branch a castle appears where none has ever been seen before, charms are cast and deep revenge is played out.

The fourth branch concerns Blodeuwedd, the Woman of Flowers;

'So they took the the blossoms of the oak, and the blossoms of the broom, and the blossoms of the meadow-sweet, and produced from them a maiden, the fairest and most graceful that man ever saw. And they baptized her, and gave her the name of Blodeuwedd.'

Long before the stories were ever written down, Welsh storytellers would enthrall audiences with tales of Pwyll, Rhiannon, Bendigeidfran, Branwen, and their adventures. I hope this collection captures the spirit and wonder of these ancient tales.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback

Canol Nos: Nofel Cwm Gwrachod I Ddysgwyr (Welsh Edition) Oct 7, 2020

by Colin Jones

( 1 )

$6.95

Written by the author of the bestselling Welsh learners’ novel Coed y Brenin, this book should help you expand and improve your Welsh, while being both interesting and entertaining. Book two in the Cwm Gwrachod series, complete with notes and vocabulary.

"Gwelais i ysbryd neithiwr. Rhyfedd. Ro’n i’n cerdded dros y mynydd. A dweud y gwir, ro’n i’n hedfan dros y mynydd.
Rhyfedd, eto.
Roedd hi’n noson braf, a doedd dim byd ar y teledu. Dim byd ond pêl-droed ac operâu sebon. Ych-a-fi !
Ond sori, anghofiais i. Sam ydw i. Samantha Tywyll. Gwrach ydw i. Gwrach wen."

Other Formats: Paperback

Rarebits for Welsh Learners: A Miscellany for Adults Learning Welsh May 8, 2018

by Colin Jones

( 14 )

$7.95

A miscellany of explanations, idioms, jokes and more to improve and ease your Welsh. Suitable for adult Welsh learners of all levels as an informative and entertaining booster.
Includes: the amazing Welsh Flipper,
the best ‘cnoc, cnoc’ joke ever,
idioms for everyday use and more!

Colin Jones is a professional Welsh to adults tutor and the author of the Cadw Swn home study Welsh course.

Other Formats: Paperback

Chwedlau o’r Gadair Wyllt - Tales From the Wild Chair (Welsh Edition) Sep 9, 2019

by Colin Jones , William Brown , Hywel Edwards

( 6 )

$9.20

A collection of old and new folk tales by Colin Jones, author of the revolutionary Cadw Sŵn home study Welsh course, and handsomely illustrated by international artist William Brown. The stories are printed side by side in both Welsh and English, thus being of particular use to Welsh learners."God knows there are enough weird and wonderful things in the Welsh subconscious to tax the ingenuity of a legion of artists, and William Brown and Colin Jones with mabinogion charm entice us into the ‘Wild Chair’ to see and hear tell of ‘The Mari Lwyd Man’, ‘The Maid of Cefn Ydfa’, ‘The Lowlands’, ‘The Shipwreckers of Dunraven’ and ‘Elidyr’.In a cryptic forewarning the reader is advised not to sit in the perilous ‘Wild Chair’:‘The pictures in your mind will be too clear,the voices in your head will stay too long….’And that, of course, is the very reason why this ‘different’, sparky project deserves our attention."Hywel Teifi Edwards‘Paid ag eistedd yn y Gadair Wyllt; mae’n beryglus.Paid ag eistedd yn y Gadair Wyllt; mae’n ddanjerus.Mae’n enbyd.Bydd y lluniau yn dy feddwl yn rhy glir, bydd y lleisiau yn dy ben yn rhy hir... felly paid gyfaill er mwyn Duw......paid.’‘Don’t sit in the Wild Chair, it’s dangerous.Don’t sit in the Wild Chair, it’s dangerous.The pictures in your mind will be too clear,the voices in your head will stay too long...so don’t friend for God’s sake... ...don’t.’Includes;Y Gadair Wyllt - The Wild ChairDyn y Fari - The Mari Lwyd ManLlongddryllwyr Dwn-Rhefn - The Shipwreckers of DunravenCantre’r Gwaelod - The LowlandsElidyrY Ferch o Gefn Ydfa - The Maid of Cefn YdfaArthur

Other Formats: Paperback

Elastic Black Dog: An Oddity of Delights Sep 11, 2019

by Colin Jones , William Brown , Carys Brown

$7.00

"I warn you now, my furry friend , there are no dreams in Dogtown. Only the half-remembered reflections of the stars through the rainy haze over Paternity Hill on Mediocrity Day."Written by Colin Jones, illustrated by renowned artist William Brown. From an original nightmare by Carys Brown. This is a large-format art edition full of humour, surrealism and hipster denial.

Other Formats: Paperback

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