I’ve really been relishing the wildlife in my garden and surrounding area over the difficult months of lockdown. My short tale ‘Wild Times‘ takes this thought, exaggerates it and blends in a splash of curiosity about human nature,
I’m thrilled to share the news that ‘Wild Times‘ has been published as part of MIR’s Stories in the Time of Covid 19 project. A meditation on nature, both human and other…
You can read ‘Wild Times‘ in full here: http://mironline.org/wildtimes/
I’m so happy to have two stories in issue 34 of the wonderful The Cabinet Of Heed literary journal.
Firstly, a lockdown inspired story titled ‘The Rules of Contagion’ at https://cabinetofheed.com/2020/06/10/one-word-prompts
Secondly, a story inspired by a visit to Thai elephant sanctuary, titled ‘Sanctuary’, under https://cabinetofheed.com/2020/06/10/photo-prompts/… (scroll down to the elephant).
There are drawers full of fabulous tales to distract you in this fine issue!
I’m delighted that my short story ‘The ebb and flow of tides‘, in which a couple separated by lockdown enjoy a two-person remote carnival, has been published in issue 1 of Perhappened Magazine.
In solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement currently rocking the Globe, Perhappened’s excellent editors are password-protecting the first issue upon its release and asking you to either show evidence of a donation of ANY AMOUNT to a BLM/bail fund-related cause, or proof of signed petition(s), and/or email templates for justice.
Here’s how The ebb and flow of tides begins:
For my lover’s lockdown birthday, we devise carnival costumes to cheer ourselves up.
My mask will be the sun, to represent my fiery temperament. Hers will be the moon:
calm, cool, reflective.
We live in different households, so there’s no chance of holding hands.
I must have water on the brain at the moment, as on Saturday 6th June, National Flash Fiction Day, I wrote a short tale prompted by the photo of a stormy sea. My story is called ‘Why rivers run to the sea‘, and explains exactly that in the words of the River Frome which rushes through Bristol. Happily, this story is now live at The Write-In.
Here’s a taste of the tale:
I hunger for salt. I call to the gulls to follow me. I ripple with the anticipation of
spider crabs, squat lobsters, cuttlefish, cup coral and squirts.
I crave the North Atlantic.
My spine shivers with the instinct to surge in peaks.
This story has since been played on BBC Radio Bristol.
My teeny story ‘Ruby‘ is now live at https://thedrabble.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/ruby/ Interestingly, in my head the characters are both female, but the pic they chose seems to show a man and a woman. What do you think?
Tomorrow, Saturday 6th June 2020, marks National Flash Fiction Day UK, and I’m thrilled to have one of my stories take part. All day long, flash fiction stories will be published in the Flash Flood, and my tale Weaving Wings, a favourite of mine from my collection Sky Light Rain, will appear at around 8.40am BST.
I’m particularly thrilled as this year, thanks to lockdown, the hard-working team at NFFD headquarters received an unprecedented number of high quality submissions – 1,650 in total!
You can pop in at any time from 00:01 BST on 6th June to dip a toe in the torrent. From the chatter on Twitter it looks like there will be some shining examples of the flash fiction form to sweep you along.
You’re also invited to take part in the The Write-In this year. Throughout Saturday 6th June, the team will publish 24 flash prompts — one every hour from 00:01 to 23:59 BST.
“Submit your responses by 23:59 BST on Sunday 7th June for a chance to be published at The Write-In. Writers of all levels of experience welcome!”
I’m thrilled that my flash fiction story ‘Shadows and Shine’ has been published in The Beautifullest: Pure Slush Vol. 17. It’s a slightly twisted tale of sibling rivalry between two brothers.
Here’s a line from my story:
‘A spare key to the woman’s house hangs in their hallway. He wants to see what happens if he enters while she’s out.’
My short story The Go-Get-Gone, about a teen trying to enjoy a night out despite the best efforts of her dissociative identity disorder symptoms, has been published on the Lucy Writers’ Platform. I’m thrilled!
I’m delighted to see Amanda and her so-called friends coaxed out of the shadows!
This story has taken a long while to grow strong enough to fumble its way into the light. I believed in it from the start but needed to translate the story in my mind from its nebulae state into something other people could understand. Somehow that seems really apt, given the topic, and now I’m cheering for Amanda and Bim for remaining resolute throughout.
My editor Hannah at the Lucy Writers’ Platform introduces my story with the following words:
I’m chuffed to bits that my mini myth Rocked Awake has been published as part of Dear Damsels‘ nature theme.
This morning, it was an earthworm, fleshy and pale, curled into a shape like a shepherd’s crook.Sometimes it wasn’t even a creature that breathed – last week my daughter had been usurped by an acorn.
You can read my full story, and the other fabulous words published by Dear Damsels, here.
My 75-word story ‘Other residents’ symptoms confine you’ is the story of the day on the excellent Paragraph Planet.
I often use writing to soothe myself, and this small piece is a response to my worries about my dad, now confined to his room in his care home due to other residents’ Coronavirus symptoms, with no way of understanding why. It’s a situation that makes me feel powerless, so all I can do is wish him memories of tree branches and leaves, and transform his four-wall cell into a forest.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I’m writing rather a lot of Coronavirus fiction at the moment.
Stories published by Paragraph Planet are live for just 24 hours. In case you missed mine, here it is:
My second guided visualisation has been published by Planet Mindful as part of their issue 11, aka Planet Mindful 2020 issue 3.
The print magazine industry is being hit hard by the coronavirus, as in the UK most people still prefer to buy from newsstands. As a result, publishing companies across the country have cancelled freelance contracts. It’s understandable, but difficult! I’ve only recently returned to freelancing so am unlikely to benefit from government measures to keep the self-employed afloat.
On the upside, you can help by buying magazines online, and have some sunshine delivered to your door. Planet Mindful is a gorgeously positive magazine, and my guided visualisation in 2020 issue 3 will hopefully give you a few moment’s respite and serenity. It’s set in a Japanese garden and accompanied by one of my original paintings, pictured above.
‘The path guides you towards a pool shaded by cherry blossom trees. As you stroll amidst the trees, petals fall and alight on your skin.’
I’m pleased to say that writing and painting these guided visualisations is a pleasure I’m able to continue.
My short story The Tempered Lake has been published as part of Ayaskala‘s beautiful March 2020 issue. Based in India, the online publication led by editor-in-chief Vaishnavi Sharma has a focus on mental health. As a writer with a preoccupation for the fallibilities of the human mind, I’m thrilled to have my story featured.
The Tempered Lake is part of my novel-in-progress Lake Glas, which explores a sister’s growing obsession with her brother, who removed himself from her life when she prevented him making a dangerous decision.
If you fancy a read, you can buy and download Ayaskala’s March 2020 digital issue here. It’s packed full of inspiring and moving writing and art.