I write the most depressing stories in the world.

My story 'Bed Rest' is in the new issue of PoemMemoirStory. There is a Publication Party tonight, but as it is in Birmingham Alabama, I've had to give it a miss.

At bedtime this evening, I told my children that I'd just had another story published. My oldest son asked me what the story is about. Before I could answer, he asked me if someone dies in it. I gave him a cagey 'probably' (which doesn't spoil the story). He started to laugh. 'What else happens?' he asked. I revealed some more details of the story and he laughed again. 'You write the most depressing stories in the world, Mum,' he said. What a great tagline that would be for my blog and website, I thought: Carys Bray: I write the most depressing stories in the world, or maybe not.

My oldest son is too young to realise that sad stories do not have to be depressing. I'd like to do a longer post about this some time soon; perhaps its title will be 'In Defense of Sad Stories' or something similar. In the meantime, I've got approximately 60,000 words of fiction assignments to grade, the first of this year's Edge Hill Prize collections to read, and then there's the small matter of my novel to consider. Before I get stuck in to all that lovely work, I'd like to recommend a very sad (and not at all depressing) piece by Sue Stout which won the GQ Norman Mailer Prize and can be read here.