Short story – Page 2

Listen to Blood Red on SoundCloud

Short Story, Blood Red, by FC Malby

I’ve been recording readings of short stories and extracts of my work to SoundCloud. You don’t need an account to listen. I’ve recently added one of my longer and earlier short stories, which you can download as an eBook.

Set in Jaipur, India, this story reveals the hidden tensions in the mind of a young boy as he has to let go of the girl he loves for an unknown young bride, chosen by his parents. As the wedding day approaches, will he be able to follow his parents’ wishes in the face of his passion and quiet desperation?

Reader review:

Top review from United Kingdom

Kindle Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Hearts Broken and Bleeding

“The title of this book is very rich in symbolism, and the story true depth. Two young hearts filled with a love that can never be, left facing a life of emptiness they have not chosen. It is easy to imagine their hearts left broken and bleeding. These two young people have no choice but to be obedient to their families and their traditional ways of life. The first line of the story reads: “Her, sari, the colour of blood, caught the breeze as she turned and walked away”. He knows that is the last memory he will ever have of the love of his life and is prepared to carry it forever. What a stunning start to a story! This story continues so full of emotion and is delicately written. It was very easy to empathize with the character right at the start. It takes a great talent to drag me in so quickly. I felt the pain as he did. This book can turn even the most hardened bachelor into a romantic! The story may be short, but the memory will last on.”

Listen on SoundCloud

Small Sounds Ricochet Through the Darkness by FC Malby

My story, Small Sounds Ricochet Through the Darkness, has been published in Idle Ink today. It was written in memory of Sarah Everard and anyone who has been affected by violence against women.

Don’t walk home alone, not at this time of night, my friends say, waving at me from a table of empty cocktail glasses, flapping like a gaggle of geese. I’ll be fine, I say, I’ll text you when I’m home. Are you sure? they ask, but it’s more a way of allaying their own fears. Yes, I’ll be fine.

I walk out of the bar, keys in hand, each one pushed between my fingers — a miniature Edward Scissorhands — EarPods in, mobile phone clutched in the other hand. I wore flats, because that’s what you do when you might need to run. It’s normal, except that it’s not. Normal is wearing what you like, not thinking about when you might need to run or who you would need to call, it’s not turning the music down in case there’s a Come over here, Love. Oi. You. I’m talking to you.

Normal is a regular heartbeat, a regular pace to your stride. It’s not hovering under a streetlight where people see you before crossing the stretch of darkness. It’s not scanning a route for places to hide, or rounding a corner and sprinting like a triathlete because the footsteps behind are picking up speed.

The girls will go home later in a taxi, but I need to get back for the babysitter, pay her, get into my pyjamas and sleep, having kissed the cherubs on the forehead, checked their breathing. Every parent checks the rise and fall of their child’s torso, especially when it is still.

Like the still of the sea without wind, nights like this make me nervous, nights where I get followed or shouted at with no one around, where the air is thin, where small sounds ricochet through the darkness. These are the nights when men get too close, gaze for too long, howl like a pack of hyenas… continue reading at Idle Ink.

Non Poetry Publication of the Year nomination with Spillwords Press Awards 2021

I am thrilled to announce that my short story, You Bruise Easily, first nominated for Publication of the Month in July 2020 in Spillwords Press, has gone on to be nominated for Non Poetry Publication of the Year in the Spillwords Press 2021 Awards.

“Join us in congratulating the writers whose publications have been nominated for Non-Poetic Publication of The Year 2020!”

If you would like to vote, follow the link to the Spillwords voting page

I’m just going to go and let this sink in.

‘Publication of the Month’ Nomination by Spillwords Readers

I was thrilled to discover that my story, You Bruise Easily, has been nominated by readers of Spillwords Journal for Publication of the Month. Voting is now closed, but I will keep you posted. The nominations are based on readership popularity within the last 30 days. One very happy author!

I have also reached a landmark of 5,000 followers on Twitter. I really value and appreciate all the support of readers. With six short stories published this year, and two more forthcoming in Fully Lit Magazine, it has been a productive year. If you have missed any, there is a list of publications on my website.

Watch this space! I hope you’ve all had a reasonable summer, despite the current circumstances. Stay well.

Four Lit Journal Acceptances This Week And A New Short Story Publication

I hope everyone has survived lockdown. We are not out of the woods yet, but it’s good to have a little more contact with the outside world. I have had a recent flurry of writing and four short story acceptances this week! Stories forthcoming in Burnt Breakfast Magazine (July 2020), Fully Lit Magazine (July 2020), Lunate Fiction (August 2020)

I had a lovely acceptance letter from all of the above journals, but wanted to share the words from Lunate Fiction about my story, A Place of Unfinished Sentences:

“It is a rich and complex story, once that requires focus and attention from a reader in order to bring out the full story, and even then, as the title suggests, we are not given all the pieces of the puzzle! Your use of narrative voice is exceptional in this piece, as is your careful use of minor detail which draws the reader’s attention and acts almost as a smoke-screen for the wider picture. It is a remarkable flash fiction.”

And in other news, my story, Someone Once Told Me That Delia Is Outdated, was published by Reflex Fiction, May 2020. You can read an extract below and follow the link to read the complete story at Reflex Press.

When paranoia sets in, I mentally search for the fire escape. Is it in the hallway? Is it on the second floor? What if I feel the urge to jump from the balcony? A short man with a balding head walks past me and winks. He is holding a book on golf. My stomach turns. I am in the self-help section, looking for something that might fix my mind, but it is not there. There is no book that can erase memories. Maybe the cookery section might help, something from Jamie Oliver or Mary Berry. Someone once told me that Delia is outdated. I have acquired lots of books on how to bake cupcakes and muffins, which I would happily make all day, but sometimes you need to get into the meaty stuff, the grit of life….read more at Reflex Press.