Bed rest

Here's a link to one of my stories, Bed Rest which is being showcased on the Poem*Memoir*Story website at the moment.

Love: Terms and Conditions

 My story, 'Love: Terms and Conditions' will shortly be published as an ebook by  Goggle Publishing. 

    See the lovely, wintry cover below.

Good Stuff

I keep promising myself that I will draw a line under short stories; I will stop reading them and no longer allow myself to write them so that I can devote myself to the big thing that begins with an 'n'. But I can't seem to make good on the promise.

While I was on holiday I read four short story collections and a memoir. I've already blogged about Rob Shearman's Everyone's Just So So Special. I also read Alison MacLeod's Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction, reviewed here and here. The collection is essential reading for the fiction module I will be teaching and I hope to blog about it in more detail in the coming weeks.

I also read Balancing on the Edge of the World by Elizabeth Baines, reviewed here, and Tender by Mark Illis, reviewed here. Both collections were extremely enjoyable and memorable, which is a huge compliment as I've read more than thirty short story collections this year and there's only so much space in my head; the really good stuff is the stuff that sticks.

I met Elizabeth at the Edge Hill Prize award ceremony. I'm always especially curious to read the work of writers I've met in real life - perhaps because even though I know quite a lot of writers, they still seem exotic and mysterious, and reading their work is exciting, in the same way that eavesdropping can be (of course I would *never* eavesdrop). Elizabeth's collection is gorgeous, full of lines that make my heart sing. It is also tremendously varied; every story is skillfully executed and the depictions of childhood are unerring. My favourite stories are the funny and brutal Daniel Smith Disappears off the Face of the Earth and the heartbreaking Compass and Torch.

Tender is a collection of linked short stories. I've read quite a few collections of linked stories and there is often something quite unsatisfying about them; individually they are frequently excellent, but collectively there is often something missing: they feel like a novel with holes. Tender is the best linked collection I've read to date. Illis's writing is humourous, intelligent and full of the lovely details that provoke a smiling, head-nodding response. The stories are successful individually and the threads from each are skillfully worked to also provide collective momentum. My favourite stories are There's a Hole in Everything and The Realm of the Possible.

So so special...

While on holiday I was swept away by Rob Shearman's Everyone's Just So So Special; a furious, frantic, whirlwind of a book. I read the majority of So, So Special in the car during a 3,000 mile journey through and around Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana: a much more interesting way to pass the time than driving in straight lines on cruise control for hours on end (sooo glad I left my driving licence in England).

As I read, I had visions of Rob writing the book, sitting at his desk, typing so quickly that smoke rose from his keyboard while shouting 'You liked the cat story in 'Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical'? Here, have another, even more incredible story about cats...ha-ha-ha' (it's important to imagine the ha-ha-ha part in the voice of The Count from Sesame Street). 'You liked what I did with time and history in the title story of 'Tiny Deaths'? Here, watch me tackle the sweep of two thousand years of history (1AD to 2001) while interspersing it with an hilariously insane narrative... ha-ha-ha.'

There is a real sense that Rob has upped the ante in this collection; cumulatively it is even more surprising, horrifying, disturbing and entertaining than his previous collections, (is this possible? It turns out that the answer is Yes) and individually it contains many brilliant and memorable stories that continue to entertain and quite frankly, bother me (I'm still queasy about/appalled by 'Granny's Grinning').

The stories are linked by a crazy and entertaining historical rant (which may require a magnifying glass to read). It often feels as if the history/timeline and the italicized story which is nestled within it is an elaborate joke (I'm pretty sure that it is), but then a particularly searing observation or unnerving comment will illustrate something about the desire we all have to be remembered, to be special, and the reader is suddenly wrong-footed into contemplation; at times like these it is easy to imagine Rob at his keyboard in creative genius mode, a la Willy Wonka:

'I'm joking,' said Mr Wonka, giggling madly behind his beard. I didn't mean it. Forgive me. I'm so sorry!'

My favourite stories are 'Cold Snap,' a frightening and funny take on Santa (who is quite a scary character if you take the time think about it) 'Restoration,' a beautiful and inventive story about history and memory, 'Without You, I Wouldn't Be Alive' guaranteed to make book lovers' hearts sing, 'Endangered Species,' the aforementioned cat story, and 'Acronyms' which I promise will make you crave a BLT made in exactly the way described (also included are MI5, GPS, AKA and PS).

I haven't done the book justice - it's hard to capture the work of a writer whose stories are 'as light as souffles and nourishing as steak' (Jack Dann) but it's been a pleasure to try.

P.S For people who love Rob's writing, follow his progress here as he writes 100 short stories to accompany the leather-bound issues of So, So Special. 

Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2011 - the winners

Last night the 2011 Edge Hill Short Story Prize was awarded in Blackwell's Charing Cross bookshop.

Graham Mort won the main prize for his collection 'Touch'.



Tom Vowler won the readers' prize for his collection 'The Method and Other Stories'.

Avril Scott won the MA prize for her story 'The Limitless Possibilities of Life'. And Claire Massey's story 'Marionettes' which will be published by Nightjar Press in 2012, was commended by the judges

It was a lovely evening. All of the shortlisted authors were present except for Graham who was teaching writing in Uganda. I met writers Michele Roberts, Polly Samson, Tom Vowler, Elizabeth Baines and Alison MacLeod for the first time. Jeremy Dyson who won the main prize last year announced the 2011 winners, and Helen Simpson was there too, but I didn't get chance to speak to her which may have been a good thing considering how star-struck I was last time I met her.

I also met two of my favourite short story writers again: Adam Marek and Rob Shearman. I was extremely excited to hear that Adam is working on short stories for the rest of 2011 following his Arts Foundation Fellowship and during the course of the evening I somehow managed to separate Rob from a copy of his brand new collection 'Everyone's Just So So Special' (actually, he gave it to me because he is lovely and I grasped it tightly in case he changed his mind). I can't wait to begin reading it.

After the award ceremony I stayed up until the early hours reading the final chapters of my friend Jenn Ashworth's new novel 'Cold Light' (fantastic story-telling and characterization; well worth the tiredness today). This morning I had a look around the British Museum's Treasures of Heaven exhibition which was delightfully macabre and resulted in dozens of scribbled notes on my tube timetable. Before Ailsa Cox and I caught the train back to Southport I bought a huge box of Krispy Kreme donuts which means that my children love me tonight and a couple of other things are also making me smile: I had my PhD admission viva on Thursday and I'm in! I was also successful in my application to be an Associate Creative Writing Tutor at Edge Hill; I start in the autumn.


Photographs of Tom, Avril and Jeremy are from the Edge Hill website.

July stories

I've got a story called 'The Countdown' in the current issue of Mslexia. Guest editor Salley Vickers selected the poetry and prose in this issue and in her introduction she said the following about my story:

‘The countdown’ was the only OCD story I truly liked, maybe because it used a male voice and I think the ability to cross gender is the mark of a real writer. As with ‘Ego, me’ (also a male narrative voice), the author knew her stuff – the mounting parental anxiety of the father-to-be was keenly observed and conveyed, very authentically, the appalling and perpetual torment of irrational fear.

I'm really pleased by Salley's comments, especially as I'm researching a particular strain of OCD for my PhD project (admission viva is on Wednesday 6th) and 'The Countdown' was very much an exercise in practice based research.


I've also got a very short story called 'What it's Like' at The Pygmy Giant which is a great place to read flash fiction: click on the link to select a FREE short story to accompany your mid-morning cup of tea/coffee; you'll be entertained and it's healthier than a biscuit!

Andrew Oldham Publishing: Goggle

Fourteen years of bedtime story telling has left me with an inability to read without also doing the faces, as is evidenced below in a couple of short story extracts on Andrew Oldham Publishing's YouTube channel:





At Gogglepublishing you can also listen to story extracts and poems from Ailsa Cox, Robert Sheppard, Ian Parks, Andrew Oldham and others.

Strictly Writing Award

Yesterday I found out that I have won the Strictly Writing Award which is lovely.

My winning story, 'My Burglar' can be read here.

I will be doing a guest post at the Strictly Writing Blog shortly.

Things to read

I spent most of yesterday editing my PhD proposal, part of which will involve examining depictions of religious families in fiction. I have piles of books to read (dining room pile pictured) and an enormous list of books to reserve from the library. It's so exciting to think that I absolutely HAVE to read all of these books because it is actually work. I can't wait to slope around the house, book in hand: 'Sorry, I'm working at the moment.'



Following the Once Upon a Time Modern Fairytale Competition, I received a letter, forwarded by the Chapel Gallery, from someone who had read my story and really enjoyed it. In these days of email, texting and skype, it was lovely to open an old-fashioned, unanticipated, letter.

Flax Profile

I went to Lancaster a couple of weeks ago to record my flash fiction piece 'Dancing in the Kitchen'. Afterwards, I chatted to Sarah Hymas as Jonathan Bean took photographs for my Flax profile which can be seen here.

I hate having my picture taken. I am designated photographer at home. I'm consequently much more comfortable on the other side of the camera, pursuing the children, ready to snap if they happen to smile. However, Jonathan took some photographs that I actually quite like - that, and news of a forthcoming publication in an American print journal, has given me something to smile about today.

Rejected

I received my first rejection letter on 23rd December 2009. If I'm honest, I was a bit gutted and more than a little worried that I had been presumptuous in sending the story off in the first place. What if the person who read it gave up after the first paragraph because it was so bad? What if it was a textbook example of how not to write a short story and I was delusional for thinking that anyone would want to read it? I believe I ate the best part of a box of Christmas biscuits while commiserating with myself (there aren't any other writers in the house to commiserate with).

I'm now a veteran of rejection; I've received all sort of rejection letters and emails. I tend to divide them into three categories: condescending, form and encouraging. My favourite condescending rejection begins with the comment, 'Your story has not met with success because we feel the storyline was too downbeat to entertain our readers' - I swear that my Dad somehow infiltrated the editor's office in order to write it. Form rejections are boring and disappointing because they indicate that my writing didn't stand out at all. Recently though, I've been getting encouraging rejections (*oxymoron alert*). Earlier this month I received a long letter, explaining that the story in question made it to the last round of the selection stage, but missed the final cut because the editors couldn't warm to one of the characters. Such rejections are frustrating because of the 'so near, yet so far' feelings that they engender while being simultaneously encouraging due to the constructive feedback which they contain.

I suppose the point of this post is to remind me to keep going. Along with the many rejections I've received, I've had acceptances too, but while the rejections are now just a part of everyday life, they still significantly outnumber the acceptances: if I ate a whole tin of biscuits every time I got one I'd be headed for a heart attack. I have to remember this: the story that was rejected on 23rd December 2009 was an early draft of a story that was also rejected by Mslexia, although it was mentioned in the magazine by their editor as a story she especially liked. I redrafted again and it went on to win the Edge Hill MA Prize.

Here's a link to a blog that makes my rejection letters look boring. 

Flash Mob: Flax 026

Flash Mob is a collection of flash fiction and it will be launched on 11th June. Each of the authors will be reading at the launch and Claire Massey's fairytale 'The Word Dress' will also be launched as an e-book on the same day.

My story is called 'Dancing in the Kitchen' and I'm really pleased that it has been included in the anthology.

Bonanza Flax Launch   Saturday 11th June, 3.00pm at The Storey Free entry Join us to launch Flash Mob, Flax026 - a dizzy, dazzling anthology of flash fictions from Mollie Baxter, Carys Bray, Jane Eagland, Norman Hadley, David Hartley, Benjamin Judge, Clare Kirwan, Claire Massey, Kevin McCann, Carla Scarano and Stephen Waling. Also The Word Dress, Flax027 - Claire Massey's contemporary fairytale becomes an e-book, and the digital flipbook Flax028.http://www.thestorey.co.uk/

'Sweet Home'

My fairy tale, 'Sweet Home' came second in the national, Once Upon a Time ~ Modern Fairy Tale Competition.

I read it last night at a prize-giving event and, after some discussion on facebook, even managed to pronounce ganache correctly!

Here's a small extract of the story:

Sweet Home

... The old woman built her house around the stove. She dug out foundations with a shovel and filled the trenches with slow-baked slabs of salt dough and buckets of oozy sugar paste. She cooked thick gingerbread bricks and glazed them with glacé icing which set hard during the cool, wood-shaded evenings. Paper-thin slices of gelatine were latticed into windows, crisscrossed by steady chords of ganache. She constructed a roof out of Linzertorte squares and piped meringue along every join. The midday sun hardened the egg-white mortar into stiff, crispy peaks. When she had finished, she sat on her gingerbread porch modelling tiny flowers out of fondant. She dyed them using wild onion skins, beetroot and hollyhock petals and placed them in gingerbread window boxes.

It was only when the postman had to deliver a package addressed to The Gingerbread House using a postcode which indicated the wood at the margin of the village that people heard about what the old woman had done. People chatted about it in the Post Office, discussed it in the pub and then sauntered down the B road on the pretext of getting some fresh air.

            The gingerbread house was set back from the road by several hundred feet, but was just about visible from the path through the criss-cross of foliage and branches. A crowd gathered at the edge of the wood, their exclamations rising in a whip-swirl of disquiet...

Back to writing.

I've spent hours reading and reviewing short story collections in recent weeks. I've also started to think about my PhD proposal; I've got eighteen novels to read as part of my preparation - I think I'm singlehandedly keeping my local library's reservation service going at the moment. There hasn't been much time for fiction writing and the enormous spring break/Easter holiday/month off for kids hasn't helped much either. However, I've managed to finish a short story and I've had good news about some older stories:


I've been placed in the 'Once Upon a Time' short story competition. There will be an award ceremony on 27th April at the Chapel Gallery in Ormskirk. The story can be read here until 30th April, after which I'll just post it on the blog.



I was shortlisted for the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook short story competition. The shortlist can be seen here and the winning story by Samuel Wright can be read here.



Additionally, I've got a short story and a piece of flash fiction scheduled for publication soon.

Now back to writing...

'In-Flight Entertainment', Helen Simpson

In-Flight Entertainment, Helen Simpson
Simpson's fifth collection begins with 'Up at a Villa' in which four teenagers observe a couple struggling to come to terms with parenthood. As ever, Simpson's sumptuous language surprises and delights: 'they gasped and gaped in fascination as she uncovered huge brown nipples on breasts like wheels of Camembert', 'they came up fighting in a chlorinated spume of diamonds', 'the warm soup of the Mediterranean, its filmy surface bobbing with polystyrene shards and other unsavory orts'.
The theme of climate change runs through this collection, from casual references, such as Lara's comment in 'Squirrel': 'My children will fry thanks to your mini-breaks' to the more serious dystopian nightmare portrayed in 'Diary of an Interesting Year'. However, Simpson isn't preachy and her references are never contrived. My favourite stories are 'Homework', a touching and funny exchange between a mother and son, and the entertaining, tongue-in-cheek, 'The Festival of the Immortals'.
Read reviews of 'In-Flight Entertainment' here and here.
Read an interview with Simpson here.

'True North', Andre Mangeot

'True North' Andre Mangeot
Chris Beckett has described the stories in this collection as 'pacy, eventful, sometimes violent, their settings unusually varied and colourful.' The seven stories are set in Thailand, France, Indonesia, Canada, Romania, Miami and the Sahara. The opening story, 'Rain' is set in Romania and follows Lucas' progress as he tries to 'set the seal on his father's approval.' A chance encounter with stranger Katya ultimately reveals that perhaps Lucas doesn't have what it takes to 'steward himself, never mind the company, a wife.' My favourite story of the collection is the title story 'True North', the story of a friendship that spans seven decades. It's a contemplative, sad story, about the way in which friends both reveal and conceal themselves; it's beautifully written, full of nostalgia and regret. Mangeot reveals information judiciously leading the reader to a conclusion in which the narrator, Paul is asked of his friend Glenn, 'Did you...did you know him?' and Paul surprises himself by replying 'I can't say I did, not really.'
Read an excerpt from 'True North' here. 

'The Secret's in the Folding', Fiona Thackeray

'The Secret's in the Folding' Fiona Thackeray
All but one of the nineteen stories in this collection are set in Brazil. The title story, 'The Secret's in the Folding' describes the arrival of newcomer Dona Celestina to town, wearing ill-fitting shoes and carrying a perpetually folded parasol. Curiosity leads to the opening of the parasol by the town shop-keeper's daughter and what has been a symbol of Dona Celestina's freedom, suddenly becomes something else, exposing her to potential ridicule. However, Thackeray resists a premature ending and the story concludes tenderly after Dona Celestina's hurt has been somewhat assuaged. 'The Darling of Brazil' is the story of journalist Kramer's relationship with Brazilian celebrity Leila Camargo. Kramer is writing a biography of Leila when she has to leave Brazil 'for the crime of loving the wrong person.' My favourite story was 'The Celestine Recipe', a story about culinary alchemy that is linked to the opening story, but told from an entirely different perspective and from the other side of town. It is a satisfying story of rivalry, jealousy and ultimately friendship.
Read about Thackeray's latest visit to Brazil here.

'Storm Warning: Echoes of conflict', Vanessa Gebbie

'Storm Warning: Echoes of Conflict', Vanessa Gebbie
This collection of twenty one short stories and flash fictions is an impressive exploration of human conflict, revealing the effects of war on ordinary people. Many of the stories are moving; some are uncomfortable and shocking. The opening story 'The Return of the Baker, Edwin Tregar' sees Edwin returning from the First World War to a hero's welcome in St. Just, Cornwall. Things are not as they seem however and Edwin is soon confronted by miner Jarvis, who claims, 'Edwin Tregar, he's a murderer.' Gebbie tells the story with economy and deftness - it's an excellent opening to the collection. 'The Salt Box' is a snapshot of a life lived on constant alert and 'Lay-By' sees Frank wheeling himself down an unfinished ramp to write 'a message to the world on the back of a dirty lorry.' My favourite stories are 'Road Kill', the story of animal rescuing old soldier George 'Sparks' Faraday, and 'Letters from Kilburn', a funny, touching and ultimately desperate series of letters exchanged between illegal immigrant Karim Hussien and the Queen's Deputy Secretary Sarah Williams.
Read reviews of 'Storm Warning: Echoes of Conflict' here and here.
Read interviews with Gebbie here and here.  

'Touch', Graham Mort

'Touch' Graham Mort
Mort's lush collection of short stories is replete with poetic language and beautiful imagery. The collection sweeps from Iraq, Africa and France, to snowy northern England. Mort writes with dark humour in 'The Caretaker' and 'Ducklings', poetically in 'A Walk in the Snow', humorously in 'Smokehouse' and 'Friday Night' and with expert lightness of touch in Bridport Prize Winning 'The Prince'. The range of this collection is impressive.
In 'Mud Bastard', boys mindlessly torture a frog, while in 'Daniel' a hill farmer thinks about the meaning of life: 'Everything came together in the end. Everything meant something though you couldn't say what or why.' My favourite story was probably 'The Prince' which Tracey Chevalier described as a 'word perfect' description of how 'something out of the ordinary both does and doesn't affect daily life' - the same can be said for many of the stories in this collection.
Read a review of 'Touch' here.  

'Skylight and other stories', Peter Bromley

'Skylight and other stories' Peter Bromley
Biscuit Prize winning 'Skylight and other stories' is an understated, carefully observed collection of eleven stories. Bromley has a talent for capturing the ordinary, the mundane, and holding it up for closer inspection, exposing the layers beneath. This can be seen in 'Orion, The Hunter', a story about Richard's invitation to his ambitious colleague Ray's house for dinner. The awkward dialogue exposes Ray's lack of likeability and as the story ends Richard feels as if 'each step of their day folded in on itself; the remaining possibilities of the evening imploding like a spent star.'
The concluding story of the collection 'A Pure Note' sees Davey, who has a job stacking pallets, reluctantly involved in industrial action while trying to take care of the elderly Mrs Rae. He finds unlikely solace in the house of a violin maker. My favourite story was 'Exile' which opens with the line, 'George West hit his daughter' and concludes as George recognizes 'again the deep loneliness to be found in families.'
Read about the Biscuit Prize here.