Roger Underwood: The Author Who Lives on a Boat and Writes His Own Kind of Cornwall
Three books, a boat called Ocean Warden, Cornwall, imagination — and a storyteller who doesn't follow the usual rules
There are authors who sit down at a desk and write.
And then there is Roger Underwood.
Roger lives aboard the Ocean Warden, a familiar presence in Penzance Dock.
And perhaps that tells you something about the man before you have even opened one of his books.
Because Roger's writing doesn't feel like it came from a conventional literary office.
His stories are eccentric.
They are imaginative.
They move between Cornwall, fishing, family, mystery, magic, adventure and ideas that don't always behave themselves.
And at MAPublisher, we have published three books by Roger Underwood.
Two are aimed at children, young people and families.
The third takes Roger's imagination in a very different direction for adult readers.
His work has also gone beyond the printed page.
One of his books became an audiobook, meaning Roger's storytelling can now be experienced not only through the printed word but through the spoken voice as well.
This is the story of Roger Underwood.
The man behind the books
Roger is not the easiest author to put into a conventional biography.
And perhaps we shouldn't try too hard.
He is a Penzance character.
He lives aboard the Ocean Warden, his boat in Penzance Dock.
The boat itself has become part of the landscape — something people see and recognise as they move through the harbour.
And from that unusual home has come an equally unusual collection of stories.
Roger's author website describes his purpose as:
“Awakening The Passion For Reading In Children.”
That is a fitting ambition.
Because his children's books don't simply try to tell children a story.
They invite them into a world.
A world of boats.
Fishing.
Family.
Adventure.
Magic.
Cornwall.
And a little bit of the unexpected.
Meet Smiley and the Acorn
Roger's best-known fictional creation is Smiley and the Acorn.
The first book, Smiley and the Acorn: A Story from Cornwall, takes readers into the world of a magical acorn and the magnificent tree that grows from it.
The story then follows a chain of events involving three generations of a Cornish family.
At the centre is a very special boat — the Acorn — and the adventures surrounding it.
The published description explains that the story connects the tree, a hardworking fisherman, his grandson Denziland Jago and the magical boat.
It is a distinctly Roger Underwood idea.
Nature.
Family.
Fishing.
Boats.
Mystery.
Magic.
And Cornwall.
All brought together in one story.
It isn't just a children's story
One of the most interesting things about the response to Smiley and the Acorn is that adults seem to enjoy it too.
Roger's own author website carries a number of reader responses.
One reader described it as a “magical book for both children & adults alike”, highlighting its setting in the fishing ports of Newlyn and Mousehole, its insight into Cornish fishing life and its mystical elements.
Another reader bought copies for grandchildren after visiting Cornwall and said the children were captivated, particularly because they recognised places they had visited themselves.
Another reviewer said:
“this has to be one of the nicest story’s I have read in sometime”
while another parent said their children adored the book and would read it repeatedly.
Those responses tell us something important.
The books are not relying solely on an adult reading them as a literary exercise.
They are being shared.
Grandparents reading to grandchildren.
Parents buying copies for children.
Children recognising places.
Families connecting the fictional world with places they have actually visited.
That is exactly the kind of relationship with a book that publishers hope to create.
Cornwall is not just a backdrop
For Roger, Cornwall isn't simply somewhere the story happens to be set.
It is part of the story.
Newlyn.
Mousehole.
Fishing.
Boats.
The sea.
The people who work around it.
The families connected to it.
That gives the Smiley and the Acorn books an additional quality.
A child reading them may encounter Cornwall as a place of imagination.
A child who has already visited Cornwall may recognise the landscape.
And an adult may recognise something of the communities and maritime culture behind the fantasy.
Roger's unusual combination of real places and imaginative storytelling is one of the reasons the books have their own character.
And then came the Isles of Scilly
Roger didn't stop with Cornwall.
The next adventure took Smiley and the Acorn to the Isles of Scilly.
Smiley and the Acorn: Treasure on the Isles of Scilly was published by MAPublisher and became part of Roger's growing body of work.
It is also the book that provides one of the most significant pieces of external recognition for Roger's writing.
The Holyer an Gof Publishers' Awards 2023 shortlist placed the book in Class 2b — Books for young adults.
The official Gorsedh Kernow listing names:
“Smiley and the Acorn – Treasure on the Isles of Scilly” — Roger Underwood — MAPublisher (Writer's Champion).
That matters.
Because this wasn't simply Roger, or MAPublisher, saying that the book was good.
The book had reached the shortlist of a recognised Cornish publishing award.
For an independent author and an independent publisher, that is a significant milestone.
From Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly
The second Smiley book demonstrates something else about Roger's writing.
He has created a world that can travel.
The first story is deeply associated with Cornwall.
The second takes that world further west, into the Isles of Scilly.
The result is not simply another children's adventure.
It expands Roger's fictional landscape.
And that matters because Roger's writing is rooted in place.
He isn't creating a generic fantasy world that could be anywhere.
His characters inhabit a world of boats, islands, fishing communities and the sea.
That makes the stories recognisably his.
Then Roger changed direction
And this is where Roger becomes particularly interesting as an author.
After two books aimed towards children, young readers and families, Roger produced:
The Spirit Molecule
Published by MAPublisher in 2023, The Spirit Molecule is an adult-oriented work that takes Roger's imagination in a very different direction.
The published book record identifies it as an 86-page paperback, ISBN 9781915958013.
The premise involves questions of angels, spirit people and ideas that move well beyond the world of Smiley and the Acorn.
In other words, Roger isn't an author who has discovered one formula and decided to repeat it.
He writes according to the story he wants to tell.
Children.
Family.
Cornwall.
Magic.
Adventure.
And then something altogether different.
That is part of what makes him eccentric as a writer.
Three books — three ways into Roger Underwood
You can almost see Roger's publishing journey as three doors.
Door One: Cornwall
Smiley and the Acorn: A Story from Cornwall
A magical family story rooted in Cornwall, fishing and the sea.
Door Two: Adventure
Smiley and the Acorn: Treasure on the Isles of Scilly
The story expands into an island adventure and was shortlisted for the 2023 Holyer an Gof Publishers' Awards in the young-adult category.
Door Three: The unexpected
The Spirit Molecule
A very different book, aimed at an adult readership and exploring Roger's more unusual ideas.
Three books.
Three different experiences.
One author.
Roger's stories have escaped the bookshelf
There is another important development in Roger's publishing journey.
Audio.
Smiley and the Acorn: A Story from Cornwall was turned into an unabridged audiobook, narrated by Jamie Martin.
The audiobook is listed at Apple Books at 3 hours 13 minutes and is also presented through Audible.
That means Roger's story has taken another step.
It began as an idea.
It became a manuscript.
It became a printed book.
It became a book available through the wider bookselling system.
And then it became something people could listen to.
That is quite an achievement for an independent author.
Roger and MAPublisher
Roger's relationship with MAPublisher goes back to the point where he needed somebody to help turn his writing into published books.
MAPublisher's own website records Roger's testimonial.
He explains that his work was introduced to Mayar Akash by a mutual friend, after which Mayar offered to help him publish through MAPublishing.
Roger specifically says that he was kept informed throughout the publishing process, that support and guidance were first class, and that MAPublisher worked hard to promote his work. He wrote the testimonial in June 2022, following publication of his second book.
That is important to include because it shows the relationship from the author's side.
This isn't simply MAPublisher saying:
“Look at our author.”
Roger himself has publicly described what the publishing relationship meant to him.
A Penzance author with an unusual address
There is something else that makes Roger's story particularly Penzance.
His home is not simply in Penzance.
His home is on the water.
The Ocean Warden is part of the physical environment of Penzance Dock.
And that creates an almost perfect connection between the author and his books.
His stories are concerned with boats and the sea.
He lives aboard a boat.
His characters move through maritime landscapes.
His real life and fictional world aren't completely separate.
They overlap.
That gives Roger a very distinctive identity as a local author.
You don't have to manufacture a marketing story around him.
The story is already there.
The eccentricity is part of the appeal
I think it would be a mistake to try to make Roger sound like a conventional literary author.
He isn't.
And that's a strength.
His ideas are unusual.
His storytelling can be unexpected.
His subject matter can move from children's adventure into adult spiritual and speculative territory.
His home is a boat.
His stories are connected to Cornwall.
His characters encounter magical and mysterious things.
And his writing doesn't seem particularly interested in asking permission to fit neatly into one category.
That makes Roger Roger.
And readers who enjoy discovering something different may find that very appealing.
What makes these books worth owning?
There is a practical reason to buy Roger's books.
They are stories that can be shared.
A parent can read Smiley and the Acorn to a child.
A grandparent can read it to grandchildren.
A family who has visited Cornwall can recognise the places.
A child interested in boats can enter a maritime world.
A reader interested in the Isles of Scilly can follow Smiley there.
And someone who wants something completely different can pick up The Spirit Molecule.
The books therefore have value beyond simply being “local books”.
They create an imaginative connection between place, family and storytelling.
And there is a little piece of Cornwall in every one
That may ultimately be Roger's greatest strength.
He doesn't have to tell you that his stories are Cornish.
You can feel it in the settings.
The fishing ports.
The boats.
The sea.
The islands.
The family connections.
The local character.
And, of course, the fact that their author is himself part of the Penzance landscape.
Roger Underwood's books are now part of a bigger story
At MAPublisher, we have published three books by Roger Underwood.
But the three books are only part of the story.
There is Roger himself.
There is the Ocean Warden.
There is Penzance Dock.
There are the readers who have shared the stories with children.
There is the Holyer an Gof shortlist.
There is the audiobook.
And there is the possibility that more stories will come.
That's the wonderful thing about independent authors.
You never quite know what comes next.
Especially when the author lives on a boat.
Why MAPublisher is proud to have published Roger Underwood
MAPublisher is not interested only in authors who fit neatly into established publishing categories.
We are interested in voices.
Ideas.
Local stories.
Unusual perspectives.
People who have something inside them that wants to come out.
Roger Underwood certainly has that.
His three books demonstrate that an independent author doesn't have to stay in one lane.
He can write for children.
He can write for families.
He can write for adults.
He can take his story into audio.
He can build a readership.
And he can do it while living aboard a boat in Penzance Dock.
That's Roger Underwood.
And that is precisely why we wanted to help give his work a published life.
Discover Roger Underwood
Smiley and the Acorn: A Story from Cornwall
A magical Cornish family adventure involving fishing, family, a remarkable tree and the boat called the Acorn.
Smiley and the Acorn: Treasure on the Isles of Scilly
The next adventure — and a title shortlisted in the 2023 Holyer an Gof Publishers' Awards, Class 2b for books for young adults.
The Spirit Molecule
Roger's very different adult work — taking his imagination beyond the world of Smiley and into questions of spirits, angels and the unknown.
And for those who prefer to listen, Smiley and the Acorn: A Story from Cornwall is also available as an unabridged audiobook, narrated by Jamie Martin.
Three books. One very individual author. One boat in Penzance Dock. And a whole lot of imagination.
Published by MAPublisher.
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