Authors Electric

  As usual, I had not a thought in my head as the Day of the Blog came round. Then there was a quote on Facebook – something like ‘be nice to writers or they’ll put you in a book and kill you.’ Then there was Bill Kirton’s last delightful blog. Some threads from both began to knit, albeit loosely and with knots. Something about whether what we write reflects our true feelings and beliefs or not – and more to the point, what do readers make of US and attribute to us when they read what we’ve written? Once, in the long-ago-now days of school visits, I read Nobody, Him and Me to a class of primary school children. It features an evil moggie called Biter the Fighter, who is defeated by a trio of ingenious mice.   At the break, I was approached by a teacher with a look in her eye that made me glad she wasn’t holding a knife. ‘So,’ she growled, ‘you don’t like cats.’ I protested, of course, and referred her to my other cat stories, The Hob and Miss Minkin, which feature –or rather...

I’m a flash fiction writer with two collections out with Chapeltown Books but I discovered the form by accident. I hadn’t heard of flash when I began writing seriously. I was happily writing short stories for CafeLit and Bridge House Publishing when the former issued a 100-word challenge.  My first thought was you must be kidding me, how can you tell a proper story in such a tight word count?   My second thought was they wouldn’t have issued the challenge if it was impossible. Try it.  I went with my second thought! Mind you, this is the writing accident to have, isn’t it? Discover a form new to you and be published in it. What I love about flash is setting characters anywhere and everywhere in genre and time. Pixabay image.   What I love about flash is, due to the restricted word count, it must be character led. Inventing people (or alternative species - I’ve written from a dragon’s viewpoint!) has always been my favourite aspect of storytelling.  The other ...

 C.S.Lewis said that food was really important in a children’s book, as important as sex in an adult novel. It’s also important in adult novels, as it defines your character in all sorts of ways. Are they vegetarian? Vegan? Paleo? Fruitarian? Do they have allergies, intolerances, real dislikes? Do the dislikes stem from any particular incident in their childhood? The possibilities are endless; they can be very funny, really tragic, and the plot can turn on a mushroom…   “We know you did it, Denise,” said Inspector Mortlake, checking that the tape recorder was working properly. DC Amy Parry folded her hands primly in her lap, and tried to look as though she were just as certain.             “I don’t think you do,” said Denise.             “Your sister died from…” Mortlake hesitated. “Mycetismus.”            ...