Fiction – F C MALBY

Wild Seas, Wilder Cities raises £5,500 for Solent Seagrass Restoration Project

EXCITING NEWS!

My short fiction piece, ‘Prolific,’ was published in the Pens of the Earth Anthology, Wild Seas, Wilder Cities, alongside some wonderful authors in 2025. Since then, a whopping £5,500 has been raised for the Solent Seagrass Restoration Project. The money raised comes both from book sales and related activities. Find out more about the collection.

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Wild Seas, Wilder Cities is a “wild-seeded” collection of short stories, poems, memoirs, environmental articles and illustrations from 54 unique contributors, all concerned with showing the positive side of our relationship with the earth.

Wild Seas, Wilder Cities is a “wild-seeded” collection of short stories, poems, memoirs, environmental articles and illustrations from 54 unique contributors, all concerned with showing the positive side of our relationship with the earth.

Dive into the depths of Wild Seas, Wilder Cities and let your imagination be fired by the many wonderful projects already making a difference to our world, by stories of hope, celebrations of nature, inspirational people (both real and fictional) and by the local action that every one of us can undertake. A few small differences in your life will ensure you are part of the ever-growing global community dedicated to protecting our precious planet. Let us inspire you!

RESTORATION PROJECT

“The many writers and poets represented in this book have all given their work freely to support the vital work of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust in its repair and maintenance of the Solent seagrass meadows.” Pens of the Earth

The Restoration Project is working towards a vision of a wilder future and 30% of land and sea restored for nature. Seagrasses do as much to keep the planet cool as rainforests, so raise your spirits and help us plant the seeds of change.

All profits from this book are donated to the Solent Seagrass Restoration Project.

REVIEWS

‘Bursting with inspiring and hopeful visions’ Carys Bray, author of A Song for Issy Bradley

‘A lyrical force for change’ Nicola Chester, writer for The Guardian

‘Full of love, enlightenment, practicality and poetry’ Toby Litt, author of Patience

‘This collection, evolved from the inspirational Pens of the Earth, shows how meaningful, themed narratives can make a shift towards change’ The London Magazine Review, by Judy Waite, Award-winning author and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Winchester.

‘We bear witness to the natural world in many ways, and the pieces come in all shapes and sizes, carrying messages of determination, love for nature, positive actions and the power of community.’ Sarah Jane Butler, author of Starling

‘A delightfully encouraging collection of writings on the ways we can help make the world wilder again, how we can change the narrative on climate change. Vibrant and alive, these are wonderful tales told of renaturing – of striving to support life in all its glorious forms on the earth, of restoring hope for the future.’ Dr James Canton, Director of Wild Writing, University of Essex

Pens of the Earth have a number of activities coming up this year, including online and in-person workshops (check out Tamsin’s Mar 2nd Portsmouth BookFest workshop), the launch of an audiobook, and further book sales, to continue to raise money.

In the meantime, listen to Pens of the Earth in conversation on Radio Victory‘s Between the Lines, this Sunday, at 6pm. Rachel Birchley will be chatting with Loree and Matt about environmental writing, Tamsin’s forthcoming BookFest workshop and what it takes to put a good anthology together. It will also be available on catch up: https://radiovictory.co.uk/betweenthelines.

The Power of Character-Driven Stories

One of the questions I’m most frequently asked as a writer is, ‘do you focus on plot or character?’ I predominantly write thrillers, so character is particularly important and often drives the story line (the plot). Jana in Take Me to the Castle and Leisl in Dead Drop are strong female protagonists. Their thoughts, lives and actions drive the plot.

It works well for short stories, particularly given the brevity of the craft and the constraints of needing to hook a reader quickly, drawing them into a story. When the reader is engaged with the character, they are more likely to engage with the story and understand the motives driving the character’s decisions and actions.

When a reader knows what a character has experienced and understands their weaknesses and specific character traits, the story makes more sense and the reader wants to go on the journey with them.

Who your characters are is much more intriguing than what they do in a character driven story. We don’t engage with perfection as readers, we engage with vulnerability. Vulnerability leads to trust and connection.

It works with fictional characters in the same way as in real life. The writer’s job is to make the reader care, and the most effective way to do this is to highlight a character’s fears, vulnerabilities, and internal conflicts. I’ve written more about this in other posts on plot writing here and here, as well as on the narrative arc.

Examples of character driven stories…

Of Mice and Men

Crime and Punishment

Brooklyn

A Man Called Ove

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Using Photographs as Writing Prompts for Short Fiction

Lots of people ask me where I get my ideas from when writing fiction. The answer remains elusive. As a photographer, I find much inspiration from snippets of every day life that are captured in photographs. Scenes from life, interactions, a moment in time. These all form the seeds of an idea.

I find black and white images particularly striking. Ted Grant famously said, “When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!”

I use Pinterest to collect and find ideas. You can read about it in this post. I’ve gathered together a few of my favourite recent photographs from other photographers into a board of writing prompts. You can see a few of them below, but go to the board for the full range.

All photo credits: Unsplash (see my Pinterest Board for individual photographers)

There is something about a visual stimulus which can spark an idea. It also makes the writing process less daunting, particularly if you’re struggling with writer’s block.

Do you use images for inspiration in art or writing? Let me know in the comments. If you find inspiration from any of these writing prompts, I’d love to hear from you.

Celebrating 100,000 Blog Views with Writers and their Creative Spaces

To celebrate reaching a blogging milestone of over 100,000, I thought I’d share more of what you’ve enjoyed recently. One of my most viewed posts over the past month has been Writers and Their Creative Spaces. So, here are some of the creative spaces of other writers.

Hemingway’s writing space at his home in Florida Keys. He wrote whilst on his boat or at his Key West home. Here, he wrote The Old Man and the Sea.

In celebration of hitting a blogging milestone of over 100,000 views

Michael Pollan built this small writing hut in the woods by his house in Connecticut. Pollan was inspired by French writer, Gaston Bachelard, who wrote in The Poetics Of Space, ‘I should say: the house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.’

“The house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.”

Neil Gaiman built a gazebo almost 30 years ago in his garden. He says, “I can look out of the window and some wildlife will occasionally look back…There are heaters down there, because it gets cold here in winter, and blankets on the chairs, ditto, and I have to try and remember not to leave bottles of ink on the table as they freeze. It’s just out of reach of the house Wifi, too, which is a good thing.”

It’s just out of reach of the house Wifi, too, which is a good thing.

Roald Dahl wrote in a shed in Buckinghamshire, which he called his Gipsy House. Everything was within reach of his chair, according to illustrator, Quentin Blake. He also wrote with his favourite pencils on yellow paper.

Inspired by Dylan Thomas, who found writing at home difficult with young children, Dahl built his Gipsy House – a sanctuary, somewhere where he could work without any interruptions.

A sanctuary, somewhere where he could work without any interruptions.

Poems Published in Cable Street Press: Issue 9

Four of my poems have been published in the marvellous Summer Edition of Cable Street Press, Issue 9.

A word from the editor on Issue 9:

**Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Sage Flowers, Marigolds.**

Bastille Day has come and with it, the explosion of writing and art that is the latest Cable Street Issue. I’ll be frank with you—every issue blows my mind. I see all the pieces one by one and they are surprising, delightful, shocking, thought provoking. But then they all come together, and each and every time, I’m moved by the web of art in conversation that is created...And these are only some of the many treasures of this issue. Storm into this tower at your own speed, making sure to check out the poetry of F.C. Malby and Roberta Schultz…There is plenty to enjoy on this Bastille Day weekend.

— Hardy Griffin for the editors

Poems by F C Malby

My poems, Crossing, I Have Already Gone, Moths, and Where Have All the Birds Gone feature a range of themes, including the contentious issue of immigration. Through Crossing, I wanted to give a voice to the voiceless; this is a particularly exigent issue.

Crossing

I line up with other bedraggled bodies,
some look as though they might be dying,

others carry the weight of grief. I watched
a child slip away while we waited yesterday,

saw the life leave its lungs, the mother clung
to its body, tears wet the child’s face. It’s not

pretty, it’s worse than they tell you. I don’t
know whether we will make it or whether

we might be taken back. I don’t speak
the language, few of us do. It matters.

The look on the guard’s faces is difficult
to read, tells me they’ve seen so much

of this. None of us know what to do or
what’s next. Clothes dry on a makeshift

line between tents, next to plastic bags
of what we have left after the police take

anything else. Some of us camp under
bridges, avoiding the boulders that stop

us settling on softer ground. We wait for
the next boat, for a better life. The

mother is still holding the child. We
wait. Some of us won’t make it.

Read my other three poems here.