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Yorkshire author holds book launch underground in Crackpot Cave
An intrepid author held the first known underground book signing this week in Crackpot Cave in the Yorkshire Dales.
Emmy Hoyes, who volunteers with Swaledale Mountain and Cave Rescue Team, signed copies of her third book, Rescued?, for cavers on Monday night.
Hoyes told The Bookseller: "It was an idea I had on Monday morning while walking my dog. I had a box of books to distribute to local shops and I thought it might be nice to do a signing. My partner is very into caving and he usually goes down Crackpot on a Monday night, and he said a bunch of people were going.
"So I turned up with my sign and when we reached this chamber called the Turnip Field, because of the stalactites and stalagmites, I offered anyone who donated £10 to the mountain rescue team a signed copy of my book."
Rescued? is Hoyes’ third self-published title and is a collection of short stories that are fictionalised accounts of real mountain rescues. "There’s a grain of truth in each story, and of course the situations are serious, but there are funny moments, too," Hoyes said.
Hoyes started caving when she moved to Swaledale from Manchester 10 years ago. She has been volunteering as part of Swaledale Mountain and Cave Rescue Team since she moved to her current home six years ago. "All my neighbours were doing it, it was social at first," she said.
In response to the interest generated by her first cave-based book-signing, Hoyes is planning another later in the month but this time you don’t need to be an experienced caver. "I’m holding my next signing in this tiny cave with the waterfalls in Swinner Gill Kirk. It’s absolutely, probably one of the prettiest places in the Dales. The Kirk is a natural formation in the gorge with a waterfall and a small cave opening suitable for well-equipped walkers," she said.
Rescued? is available via Amazon with £1 from every sale going to Swaledale Mountain and Cave Rescue team.
Join Emmy Hoyes at the signing at Swinner Gill Kirk in Swaledale on Sunday 25th August between 1pm-2pm (OS map grid reference: NY 91154 01335).
