My poem, She Laughs with the Breeze, has been published today at Fifty Word Stories:
You can read the rest of the poem over at Fifty Words. Leave a comment and let me know if this inspires you.
This morning, I’m dipping into some poetry and short stories from a few of my favourite authors. The advice I was given when I began writing was, read as much has you write. Over the years I’ve come to see the importance of this and the need for balance.
Ian McEwan, in an interview, said that he reads for several hours a day and it’s good to read a range of fiction, especially outside your genre. Although, today I’m focusing on poetry and short fiction. I’ve written quite a bit of both, recently, but I haven’t had time for much reading. I’m currently studying for a Masters in Theology, so it’s a juggling act. I finished ‘Reservoir 13’ by Jon McGregor this week. I need some time before I review it, as I have so many thoughts on it.
Today, I’m looking at these beauties by Claire Keegan, whose book, ‘Small Things Like These,’ was my favourite read of 2022. I then read ‘Foster,’ which was also an intensely beautiful, if a little melancholic, read. I’ve reviewed it on this blog. These are stand alone short stories, The Forester’s Daughter and So Late in the Day. I also want to read Alison Moore’s Eastmouth and Other Stories. I really enjoy her short fiction and her novels. One of my favourite stories for sheer tension and beautiful writing was ‘When the Door Closed, It Was Dark,’ originally published by Nightjar Press and in the collection, Pre-War House and other Stories, but Salt Publishing.
Wendell Berry’s poems are meditations on relationships and belonging, and Daunisha Laméris’ poetry is vibrant and atmospheric. I haven’t started Homesickness by Colin Barrett, but I enjoy his short fiction. His newest book, Wild Houses, will be published by Jonathan Cape in 2024. Now, time to read…..
Dead Drop was published a year ago today by Linen Press. To celebrate the one year anniversary of its publication, I’m giving away 3 free copies. Leave a comment on why you like to read thrillers and names will be drawn at random. #thrillers #thrillerbooks #amreading
A lyrical, daring thriller that hurls you into the dark world of art theft with unexpected insights. Stephanie Carty, author of Shattered
Malby’s novel proves once and for all that thrillers can be both hugely compelling and beautifully written. This is virtuosic storytelling, as vibrant as a Klimt painting, as lyrical as a Viennese waltz, as atmospheric as a Carol Reed film. I loved it. Jonathan P Taylor, author and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Leicester
An exquisitely written, poetic journey through the underbelly of Vienna’s artworld, Dead Drop is littered with secrets and laced with tension. F C Malby is a writer to watch! Jane Isaac, best-selling author of crime thrillers
Five Minutes features micro-memoirs, hundred-word pieces about five minutes in a life. I’m thrilled to share the wonderful news that my short story, ‘Cellophane Wrapped,’ about the controversy and conscience around eating meat, has been accepted by Five Minute Lit and will be published in February 2024.
They have also invited me to be an editorial reader for future submissions in 2024. I will share the publication once it is published at Five Minute Lit. You can read some of their micro stories online and read Karen Zey’s useful article, The Art and Craft of Writing Micro.
There has been much in the news in recent years regarding Nazi looted art from Europe during the Holocaust. It is also the subject of my thriller, DEAD DROP, published by Linen Press in October 2022. You can find out more in a conversation and Q&A with my publisher. Over 600,000 pieces were stollen from Jewish families, collectors and museums in countries that were occupied. It began in 1933 in Germany with the seizure of Jewish property and belongings and continued on during the Anschluss, where Austria was annexed by the Nazis in 1938. Around twenty percent of the art in Europe was looted by Nazi soldiers and, today, more than 100,000 pieces are still missing and have not been returned to their owners, or families. Efforts to recover paintings and other items have been stepped up through new art restitution laws.
Last night, the BBC aired the 2015 film, Woman in Gold, which follows the true story of Maria Altman, the niece of Adele Block-Bauer, who is the subject of Gustav Klimt’s portrait, Woman in Gold, which hung in the Belvedere Palace Gallery in Vienna, Austria. Altman fled to America with her husband, forced to leaving her parents behind, and the film depicts flashbacks to the arrival of Nazi soldiers in Vienna and the looting of art and property. The details, like her father playing the cello and the memory of Maria being given her aunt’s favourite necklace (also worn in the portrait), makes the film all the more poignant. Maria and her young lawyer fight for ten years for the paining to be returned, taking their case to the Supreme Court in America.
F C MALBY 
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