Go out and buy this book!

My writing friend Kuzhali Manickavel has just published her first short story collection, the wonderfully-titled "Insects are just like you and me except some of them have wings". If you like humorous, offbeat, moving and lyrical short stories, then this book is for you. Kuzhali's writing has appeared in Subtropics, CakeTrain, Edifice Wrecked, Smokelong Quarterly, Per Contra and others.


Miranda July, winner of the 2007 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize, said of Kuzhali's collection:

Not merely lyrical and strange, but also deadpan funny. I can't shake the feeling that I know this woman, personally--like we hung out at a party or something. But I don't, and we didn't. She's just that good.

She is. That good. Buy a copy direct from her publishers, Blaft.

Local bookshop gives local girl writer hope

Living, as I do, in a non-English speaking country, one which just doesn't have the bookshop culture that is what makes New York or London far more bearable places to spend time in, I had assumed that I wouldn't really be seeing my book on any shelves around here. Then yesterday I was on my way to a new pottery class (is there no end to this woman's talents? I hear you cry. I am pretty crap at it, but love that Zen feeling of sitting at the wheel with my hands on wet clay) and I was early. So I thought I would pop into the little bookshop next door, which had an interesting bargain bin. I had decided, spurred on by a UK small press asking me whether I knew any good Israeli short story writers apart from Etgar Keret, that I should try and read some short stories in Hebrew. I asked the nice woman behind the desk, timidly, if she had anything to recommend. Her enthusiasm almost knocked me over! Yes! she cried, leaping out from behind the cash register, a new collection had arrived last week, she had taken it home and read it in one sitting! Edna Shemesh, she is the author, and I now have her slim volume to read when I feel strong enough to approach pages and pages of Hebrew text with no pictures (I read the newspaper, but that has pictures, it's just not the same).

As I was paying, I shyly mentioned that I, too, was a writer, and that I, too, had a slim volume appearing soon. Could I...? Might I...? Yes! cried the enthusiastic Rachel, I love short stories, please do bring it in. Perhaps we could do a consignment. She said this all in Hebrew, with the last word in English pronounced with an Israeli accent. A consignment. Blimey. Thrills ran through me. I thanked her profusely and left, clutching my book, besumed and delighted.

This beautifully illustrates the wise saying: Don't ask, don't get. Or something like that. Or, Authors Must Try to Sell Their Own Books. Or all of the above. Wheee!

Proofs of The White Road and Other Stories

They came on Friday, a 145-page PDF file of the proofs of my book, The White Road and Other Stories! As I was printing it out, I nearly cried. Just looking at the title page, and that wonderful page that asserts my rights and has the ISBN number... Very emotional. I have an ISBN number, I join the ranks of thousands, millions, of writers, I join them on shelves, I join them in bookshops, I join them on Amazon. I join them.

I was expecting that it would be hard for me to re-read all my stories and that it would be more of a searching for typos etc..., but what I found, to my surprise, was that I fell in love with all my stories all over again. I read the whole thing through twice, pen in hand, and every time I laughed at the same spots, was moved at the same points, was delighted to be reunited with all these characters again and again. It brought home to me how much I write for myself, and how amazing it is that someone else ever enjoys them, something that it is in some ways so deeply personal to me.

The book won't be in the shops until October, but I should have a copy in my hands before then and I am sure it will unleash a whole new set of emotions. Watch this space!

The Short Review Issue 8 June 2008

(Cross-posted with The Short Review blog)

Issue 8 June 2008 of The Short Review is now up - lots of ideas for summer reading if you're in the northern hemisphere and books to keep you warm in the winter months if you're down south.

This month's issue is brought to you by the numbers 3, 13 and 18. There are phantasms, bodies, apologies and meetings, a bumper seven author interviews, some lies, some truths, some very tiny gems, a little fantasy and a lot of great writing.

New Reviews:

You Have Time for This
a celebration of the richness that can be packed into the brevity of five hundred words or less...
ed Mark Budman

Ryan Seacrest is Famous
A successful blend of pop culture and lad lit.....
by Dave Housley

Balancing on the Edge of the World
A temperament both in control and struggling with private rage, corrosive humour, then a gentle, dry empathy....
by Elizabeth Baines

The Dream Lover
He describes the miserable burdens of humanity, but his approach is humorous, not grim – a bit like Graham Greene with jokes...
by William Boyd

How They Met
Teens fall in and out of love and lust while navigating the minefields of school, parental expectation and sexuality
by David Levithan

13 Phantasms & Other Stories
A smorgasbord of Blaylock's best short fiction
by James P. Blaylock

Apologies Forthcoming A sensual immersion in the Chinese Cultural Revolution, with stories that expose the everyday hardships of citizens...
by Xujun Eberlein

Bodies in Motion
The first collection I read for which the label novel-in-stories felt appropriate.
by Mary Anne Mohanraj

18 Lies and 3 Truths: 2007 StoryQuarterly Annual
An assortment of stories, some of which sparkled more than others, especially those from newer writers whose trajectories are surely on the rise.
ed by Tom Jenks, Carol Edgarian, MMM Hayes

The Cusp of Something
An original and often beautifully written collection, which challenges and occasionally frustrates readers with its lyrical prose and complex characters.
by Jai Clare

Author Interviews:

"I very consciously organized the order of the stories, with the one page fictions teaching the reader that Black Tickets was an unusual book"

Jayne Anne Phillips, Black Tickets

"I chose what I consider my best stories – and those with some kind of thematic development."

Jai Clare, The Cusp of Something

"I constantly worry about boring the reader. I think this psychology helps me developing a more captivating plot and pace"

Xujun Eberlein, Apologies Forthcoming

"When writing Bodies in Motion, my advisor, looking at an early draft, said that I seemed to be writing for white people, because I was doing a lot of explaining of Sri Lankan culture.That really startled me,..."

Mary Anne Mohanraj, Bodies in Motion

"It honestly blows my mind to imagine what my junior-year-of-high-school self would have thought had someone told him the story he was writing would be published twenty years later in a collection by Knopf... and that it would be his eighth book"

David Levithan, How They Met

"Jennifer [the publisher] also strongly encouraged me to make the story Bare the first story, so the first four words of my collection are 'I shaved my balls...'."

Dave Housley, Ryan Seacrest is Famous

"It was interesting to see the different ways in which my stories "talked" to each other according to the order in which I placed the rest of them – creating different rhythms of mood or style or situation.."

Elizabeth Baines, Balancing on the Edge of the World

The Big Day! Nanowrimo and The Short Review

I can't quite believe this day has come. I've had trouble sleeping all week. Who would have thought November 1st would be so auspicious? First, Nanowrimo kicks off today, and all those of us around the world who signed up begin our 2000-words a day towards that 50,000-word target at the end of the month. I got up this morning and didn't do any of the things I usually do. No email, no switching cell phone on. I made tea, I turned the radio to the classical channel, I started up my laptop, and for an hour, I wrote. 2051 words. And NOT a short story. I think I might just be able to do this.

Then, and only then, did I allow myself to do the other Big Thing for today: I launched my new venture, The Short Review. The website is live, it's up now, exposed to the world. What is it? It's my small attempt to redress the balance, and give short story collections the spotlight they deserve - and bringing you something good to read. The site dedicated to reviewing story collections and anthologies. Every month we'll publish original reviews, and much more. Go over there and have a look, and pop into the blog and tell me what you think. I am so excited!

There is a little downside to today. J is going away for 8 weeks, a long, long time. I'll miss him terribly. I will try and keep busy. And I've got a lovely load of friends who will look after me. I hope it will be an interesting month.