Category Archives: Writing

Short Story Highly Commended in TSS Publishing Competition

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I’m thrilled to share the news that my story, I Wonder about the Gun, has won HIGHLY COMMENDED in The Short Story microfiction competition by TSS Publishing, home to the Cambridge Short Story Prize. Squeals of delight this end. I discovered when I received congratulations from fellow authors on Twitter.

The story hasn’t been published on the site but you can read it by signing up to the mailing list.

Below is the Judge’s Report:

In other news, there is a fabulous new Literary Magazine, Barren Magazine, which has just published it’s third issue. The stories are deep, rich, often painful. In Vain, by Aaron Housholder, Editor’s pic in Essays, is one of the single most powerful stories I have ever read.

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TBR – The To Be Read Pile

I was chatting to another author earlier about the books that I want to read. I thought I would share with you what’s on my list, and maybe you can share your wish list. I like reading blog book reviews, sometimes feeling disappointed, on other occasions I am pleasantly surprised. As ever, books remain entirely subjective.

Some of these are more recently published than others. As much as I try not to judge a book by it’s cover – these are beautiful – it’s difficult for the aesthetics not to enter into the equation.

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes With Death

I have actually started O’Farrell’s, I Am I Am I Am, and it’s had quite an impact already, so I shall be blogging a review when I have finished. I suspect it won’t be long. Autobiographical in nature, it is an entirely different creature to her novels, delving into a string of near death experiences that will startle the reader and induce a sense of gratitude for what we have, and who we have in our lives. I have only delved into the first few chapters, but this book is promising.

Putney

This book came to my attention through an editor and an author on Twitter, both of whom I respect. In other words, if they liked the book, I think I may enjoy it. Set in the 1970s, the book tells the story of an up-and-coming composer, Ralph, who is visiting a composer at his home in Putney to discuss a collaboration. There, he meets nine year old Daphne and he becomes determined to be with her. Ralph, is an adult and their blooming relationship must be kept hidden. It is pitched as a ‘bold, thought-provoking novel about the moral lines we tread, the stories we tell ourselves and the memories that play themselves out again and again, like snatches of song.’

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Arundhati Roy’s writing is descriptive and lyrical. Having enjoyed The God of Small Things, I want to read this book, described by The Guardian as a, ‘sprawling kaleidoscopic fable.’ A follow-up to her previous book, this story explores the life of Old Delhi guesthouse owner, Anjum. She gathers the lost and the outcasts and crosses paths with an architect, Tilo, who claims an abandoned baby as hers. The tale covers the years and a continent. From the reviews, this looks to be as good as I would expect from a writer I really enjoy.

Imagine: How Creativity Works

I watched neuroscientist, Jonah Lehrer’s, video on how new research is deepening our understanding of the human imagination and considers how this new science can make us happier. It piqued my interest and led me to his book about creativity. As a writer, I’m fascinated by the creative process. He talks about the ‘grit’ needed to keep going and succeed.

The book asks the did you know questions: ‘Did you know that the most creative companies have centralised bathrooms? That brainstorming meetings are a terrible idea? That the color blue can help you double your creative output?’ Here, Lehrer looks at the new science of creativity. He crushes the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative “types,” suggesting that creativity is learned, rather than a natural gift (although I’m not sure that I will entirely agree with his theory).

He endorses daydreaming and travel, and explains why criticism is essential, illustrating ways in which we can make neighbourhoods more vibrant, companies more productive, and schools more effective. The book discusses Bob Dylan’’s writing habits and the drug addictions of poets. It explores why Elizabethan England experienced a creative explosion, and how Pixar’’s office space is designed to boost creativity.

I look forward to reading this! Let me know in the comments what’s on your TBR pile. It’s good to hear what people are reading.

Trinket

I have another flash fiction piece published in the journal, 121 Words….

It was a trinket of sorts. I found the locket in the attic while looking for Papa’s photos. The clasp was broken and flung open as though wanting to be seen. The portrait on the left of the hinge looked like Mama, but the hair was shorter, neater. Mama had the air of a bohemian Parisian artist about her, a vague eccentricity, endearing her to some and infuriating others.

The man in the frame to the right also looked like Mama. The nose was larger, the eyes, piercing. I wondered if these were my grandparents. We had never gone through old photos. Maybe they thought we would have more time. We make the mistake of thinking there will be a tomorrow.

Friend

I have a flash fiction piece published in  Fiction  by F.C. Malby

You used to listen to my questions, your mind racing faster than life itself. Your thoughts were sharp and fast. You asked questions: Thoughts about life, and God, and justice. You cared and you worked to help others. I used to look into your green eyes and wonder how we became friends; I, almost three years your junior, and far less cool and together; you, slim, sophisticated and ‘on point’ when it came to fashion. It was the eighties, then. I remember talking to you about school buses and timetables at the Girls’ Grammar. You wore a pale pink shirt pulled out over a slim belt, and a white, flowing skirt. Your lips were glossed and you sparkled. You were beautiful…. read more