Story in New Scientist

This has definitely got to be one of the highlights of my year - a year which began with my short story in science journal Nature ends with my science-inspired short story in science magazine New Scientist's Dec 24th print edition, available worldwide! It's not available online, so if you fancy reading it, I'm sure it's in your local newsagent, or whatever the equivalent is outside the UK. I'm unbelievably excited about this - they asked me for a story, which is something I'd dreamed of for years. Thank you, New Scientist! Happy holidays to all!

ADDENDUM: turns out it is published online too, on the New Scientist blog!

New Scientist & Beat the Dust

I've been waiting years to be able to say this: New Scientist have asked me for a science-inspired short story to run in the December 24th issue! I am very very excited... it's a flash story inspired by my time in the biochemistry lab, we will see what New Scientist readers make of it! The title story of my collection, The White Road, which is inspired by an article from New Scientist, was published in New Scientist online just after the book came out and that provoked some interesting discussion....

I'm also delighted to have a flash story, Move Quickly Now, in the current issue of Beat the Dust, along with a playlist inspired by the story, which was a wonderful thing to be asked to do.  A taster:

She said, “Move quickly now and we'll go together. No, don't look behind. No, don't.” He wondered but followed, only being small and not yet ready for disagreements. Or rather, not yet ready to see if this would be what he decided to be disagreeable about. He was a small boy who chose his battles carefully ....

Read the rest here.

New Scientist Best Books of 2008

I found out yesterday that this morning The White Road and Other Stories was going to be reviewed in New Scientist's Christmas Books Special: Best of 2008. The print edition is in the shops today, it is also online. This is the whole review:

THE title story in this book is everything fiction should be: inspiring, moving, comical, provocative and heartbreaking - and all that in just seven and a half pages. The rest of the stories in this collection are similarly remarkable. Some are also remarkably short: Go Away is, essentially, a well-told joke (and laugh-out-loud funny). Hershman's economy with words cloaks her subtlety and power, though: a second reading uncovers hidden moments in each story. Inspired by scientific progress and science journalism, including articles in New Scientist, and driven by an author dripping with talent, this is as good as modern reading gets.

Those are my italics at the end. I won't rant on here, but this is for me the dream upon the dream coming true. First the book is published, then New Scientist, whose articles inspired half the stories, likes it and decides to reprint the title story. And now... they include it in their Best of 2008! And the reviewer, Michael Brooks, says crazy things like this is as good as modern reading gets.

I don't know what to say.

It is hard to accept that he is talking about my stories. But I will try hard to accept it. Or maybe I shouldn't. As a wise reviewer said to me, read the review, smile, let it go. Because otherwise I might just go wobbly. And how can I hold my (metaphoric) pen and write if I am wobbling??

A learning experience: fiction and science

I have to confess to being a little disappointed that the first few comments on The White Road up on NewScientist.com berated me for my lack of adequate grammar. It seemed as though they had confused writer with character; perhaps because they are unused to reading fiction, or at least fiction in any unfamiliar setting, a popular science magazine, they didn't grasp that this is a story in the first person, and the voice, the grammatical quirks, belong to my main character, Mags. That's how she speaks. Thank you so much to Vanessa, Douglas and Pierre for rushing to explain how fiction is, saving me the task of wading in to defend myself and the entire field of creative writing! Most wonderfully, both of my "critics" have rescinded: Said one:

I apologize for my hastily prepared comments, especially the reference to educated people. I was rather surprised to see that particularly well written article appear in a science journal but happy to see the merging of the arts and sciences. I do appreciate both.

and the other, who sent me a personal email, now admitted to "having second thoughts" about her comment.

After a few days' pause, I realised that it is actually a wonderful thing that people were confused - because it meant that I am reaching an entirely new audience, who is unprepared for this sort of writing, an audience used to reading journalistic articles. I was delighted to find this comment this morning from someone I don't know:

A very intense story perfectly written you can feel the cold , hear the voices, I'll buy the book.

That is, obviously, the reaction I had hoped for. Sometimes it just takes a while, but I do believe this has been a great learning experience, for me and my fellow writers in terms of how our fiction may be mis-read, and for some of New Scientist's readers who have been asked to read a little differently!

Next: Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science...The Virtual Book tour kicks off tomorrow on Keeper of the Snails, and deals, most appropriately, with science in fiction, as well as a with snail-related topics!

The White Road on NewScientist.com

Read it here.

Wow.

The White Road on New Scientist today...and interview in Haaretz

Just had an email from New Scientist, they are putting The White Road short story up in their online edition TODAY, possibly the audio and the text version! Ok, all a little too exciting, things move so fast. Will link when I get the link...Aaaargh!

Also:


I am interviewed today in one of Israel's national newspapers, Haaretz, which has an English edition and a section where they focus on English speakers in Israel. Click here for a scan of the article with pic. Exciting, and odd to be on the other side of the camera, so to speak: interviewee not interviewer. I would have written about me differently, but I need to let go, let go, let go. OK, off for a lovely weekend in a luxury yurt. Pics to follow.

My book and New Scientist

I just got a lovely email from the Opinion and Book Review editor of New Scientist - due to postal glitches, it has taken weeks for them to get a copy of The White Road and Other Stories, and I was biting my nails waiting to see what they'd think of it. I mean, I don't think they'd ever received a collection of short stories inspired by articles from their magazine before, so I knew it had novelty value but beyond that, I wasn't sure.

Well - the good news is that they really like it, and are hoping to mention it in the print magazine and online, where they may even include excerpts from some of the stories alongside the articles which inspired them. This is more than I could have hoped for - I thought they might give it a small mention, but this is excellent. More news as it comes in!

Also: the book is now available from two bookshops in Jerusalem, Rehavia Books and Libretto. The woman in there was so sweet, kept congratulating me. It feels so great that there is now a bookshop in my home town which has my book on its shelves. Now we'll see if they sell any. There is going to be an article about me in the English version of one of the national newspapers, HaAretz, so that might "drive sales", as they say!

More book news: I will be at the prize-giving ceremony for the Momaya Press short story comp at the London Review of Books bookshop and I emailed the bookshop manager, and he's going to get some copies of my book in for that. And Jewish Book Week has agreed to stock my book in their festival bookshop next February in London, which is run by Foyles.

I am getting used to my new role as author/marketer. Today I walked into the branches of two major bookshop chains in Israel brandishing my book, and got the phone numbers of their buyers. I will call them tomorrow. Let's hope they react positively. Will let you know.

Finally: I am now set up as an Amazon Author through AmazonConnect in the US, which means that they show my blog on the book page and other author info. Not sure how to do this in UK, any tips?