Words and pictures, voices and silence

So, finally, here are a few details about my recent gallivanting around the world. Well, England first. A wonderful time with my great writing friend Vanessa, who, the minute I arrived at her place an hour outside London informed me we were going back to London the next day to check out the venue for her immminent book launch. We had a great day, a private tour of the Foundling Museum, tea in a posh London hotel, drinks with another writer, B, and then back home to peaceful Sussex. Sadly, the photos of it all were on my mobile phone, which was stolen several days later, so you'll have to imagine it for yourselves.

Back to London, and I had a great time at Jewish Book Week with Jacqueline, listening to Shalom Auslander being interviewed by A L Kennedy. His book is Foreskin's Lament, a memoir of how his life was totally screwed up by a bizarre version of Orthodox Judaism in the town in the US where he grew up.



He was astonishingly candid, it was a disturbing event, but fascinating, perhaps in the same way that passing drivers are fascinated by a car crash. On a more positive note, I had a quick chat with A L Kennedy about The Short Review and, fingers crossed, will be interviewing her when her next collection comes out later this year!

Then it was off to Ireland to stay with my Dad and my stepmother, Carole. The usual glorious Irish weather - rainy, windy, very green everywhere.






See what I mean about the weather? I wasn't there to sunbathe, anyhow. A lovely afternoon was spent with Dad at the ridiculously expensive Inchydoney Lodge & Spa hotel, sitting in the lounge in front of a roaring fire, doing the Times crossword, and looking out over stormy seas.

Then to Bristol, a night with another great writing friend, Louise. She brought me along as guest to her writing group, which was lovely, a very warm and welcoming bunch of people. I gave them a little talk about The Short Review and about my book, how it came about etc...And then, as is tradition, we all went to the pub. The next day, Louise and I headed down to Exeter for the launch of the second issue of Riptide magazine. Coffee first with the editors, Ginny and Sally, writers and poets themselves, and Luke Kennard, Salt poet and author of wonderfully wack short stories. The launch was held in Exeter library, complete with a live band.



Sally and Ginny introduce the evening.


Me, reading from North Cold

Eight of us read the beginnings of our stories. I read from North Cold. This was my first proper reading, and it was pretty nerve-wracking (ask poor Louise, who had to keep me calm beforehand). I am going to have to get used to it, though. All the stories read that evening were excellent, very different, highly imaginative, and beautifully read by the authors. I was extremely impressed. If you want a great read, buy a copy of Issue 2 - it's really more of a short story anthology than a lit mag.

Back to London, and the highlight of the end of my trip was the launch of Vanessa's short story collection, Words from A Glass Bubble. The Foundling Museum was packed with friends, family and many of us from the Fiction Workhouse, and Vanessa, who is very proficient at reading her stories, read the title story, in three parts, throughout the evening.


Vanessa reading

I had a wonderful time, taking notes re my own launch (which won't be anything like this, the Foundling Museum is an exceptional place), mingling with writers, some of whom I knew only online.


Elaine, Susannah, Mel and Elizabeth

The next day, I flew to Italy, and romantically met up with James by the baggage carousels in Rome Airport. We headed off to Tuscany for a peaceful week free from cellphones and Internet, an hour's walk from the nearest town, in the gorgeous guest accomodation at La Mandria run by Paul and Renee, who couldn't have been more welcoming. And The Little Herbert, too.

Here are some pictures. Imagine: complete silence, just the rushing of the river in the valley below, and the odd birdsong. Heavenly.








The Little Herbert, who kept us company




(Yes, I did some work!)





What was the most wonderful aspect was that without telephone, Internet, email, I discovered that the stories just started flowing. I could hear my own voice again - and my characters' voices - because nothing was drowning them out. I could walk round with stories in my head, sit and think about them, give them the time and space to develop. I ended one story that had been a little problematic, began another story, started adapting a short story into a play. It was a very productive week. For an eco-perspective, James has blogged about our week on Green Prophet here.

Now that we are home and back into the normal chaos of everyday life, I am trying to preserve some of that inner quiet. For the time being, I have withdrawn from all the online writing groups I was a member of. I love the sense of community they provide, and that wonderful solidarity, the mutual commiseration over rejection and celebration of story acceptance etc... Sharing work is a vital part of being a writer, for me. But the first step must be the writing. And I wasn't writing. Writing has to come before all else - otherwise how am I a writer? So, for the moment, I am focussing on myself and my writing, knowing that when my book comes out in June, that will all probably be put to one side. For the next few months, though, I just want to listen to my characters and see where they take me.

Flash acceptances

Photos of trip coming soon... but in the meantime, some nice news. I have just had three flash stories accepted by the wild and wacky Mad Hatter's Review. And they also want me to record audio versions, which I am thrilled about. I'll have to dust off my acting skills. So, in the next few months, three flashes in Mad Hatter's, two in SouthWord, three in the Ranfurly Review and one in Greatest Uncommon Denominator (which actually pays). Not bad, and great for the flash collection I am assembling.

Another positive aspect is that all of these flash stories ( all under 750 words in length, some much shorter) are very weird indeed, written in my writing group or during the 24-hour flash marathons on the Fiction Workhouse, an uninhibited and wondrous way to let the imagination roam free. I thought of most of these stories - which you could call surreal, magical realism, irreal, speculative fiction, even science fiction - as my odd-looking babies, that only I could love. I never imagined they would find a home, let alone 4 homes. Just shows you that there is always someone out there just as weird - or weirder - than you are. Thank the Lord for that.

BBC NEWS Healthier hearts' for cat owners

I am preparing a lengthy blog about my recent travels around and about - England, Ireland, Italy - but while I wait for the pictures to come back (no, no digital camera) I just had to draw your attention to this:

Healthier hearts' for cat owners

Cat owners appear to have a much lower risk of dying from a heart attack than their feline-spurning counterparts, a study suggests.Researchers looked at nearly 4,500 adults and found that cat ownership was related to a 40% lower risk of suffering a fatal heart attack.The team speculated that having a cat may reduce stress and anxiety, and so protect against cardiovascular disease.

BBC NEWS | Health | 'Healthier hearts' for cat owners

I knew there was a reason we let our lives be controlled by our two terrors, Zac and Cleo. Maybe having two means that we will never die at all? I'll let you know.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Salt wins Innovation award

I am delighted that my publishers, the fabulous Salt Publishing, have won the Nielsen Innovation of the Year award at the 2008 Independent Publishing Awards:

NIELSEN INNOVATION OF THE YEAR-SALT PUBLISHING
Salt Publishing received the Nielsen Innovation of the Year award for its imaginative efforts to increase sales of collections of poetry and short stories despite very challenging market conditions. It impressed with its range of web-based marketing initiatives and partnerships and energetic development of its brand. "Salt is bucking the trend in poetry by growing its sales," said the judges. "Its innovation in lots of small ways adds up to a major achievement."

What wonderful recognition of the amazing job Jen and Chris Hamilton-Emery are doing. They are championing the short story when few "mainstream" publishers will do so, and though their operation is small, their beautifully-designed books - poetry and short stories - are in major bookshops and are constantly being shortlisted for awards. I must also say that, on a personal note, they treat their writers with great care and respect and I am delighted to be among that number.

Well done, Salt!

Well done also to the other winners - click here for more info.

The Millions' Favourite short story collections & Flash stories on cell-phones

(Cross-posted with The Short Review blog)

Book blog, The Millions, just held a Short Story Week. At the conclusion of the week they published their 45 favourite short story collections. The list includes quite a few titles that are new to me. Wonderful to see Aimee Bender, Lorrie Moore, George Saunders and Diane Williams on that list, some of my personal favourites. The ones reviewed on The Short Review are:

* The Collected Stories by Katherine Mansfield
* Self-Help, by Lorrie Moore

So we have at least another 43 we should be reviewing, it seems.

The Millions also has a fascinating interview with short short story writer Barry Yourgrau whose book "Keitai Stories," a collection of flash stories, was released for cell phones by a prominent Japanese publishing house, before making the transition to print.

The Millions: You've been writing short stories for cell phones in Japan. When did you start? How did you come up with the idea?

BY: Got the idea when visiting In Tokyo for the first time in 2002, I saw kids surfing the Internet on cell phones (keitai). I thought my stories, which are generally very short, would be just right for cell-phone reading. Especially if I made 'em even briefer. (Which is an interesting exercise: as Woody Allen says somewhere, a general note to improve any comic writing is, Make It Shorter.)

Seems to be an excellent strategy - 100,000 readers accessed the stories online. What a great thing for the short - and short short - story!

Keep drinking the coffee & buying books

I haven't posted for a while because I have been travelling but now I am settled for a few days and so I thought I would post a quick update. First, it is my opinion, given recent experience, that giving up coffee is a bad idea. I drink one cup a day, real coffee, none of that instant stuff. Last week I decided that perhaps it was affecting my sleep and so I stopped drinking it. On Coffee-Free Day Two I was due to fly to Ireland and a) I got the flight time wrong and nearly missed the flight and b) left my mobile phone on the train to the airport. I would like to point out that I never, ever do either of these things. I am normally very careful to check the flight times and to make sure I haven't dropped anything when getting off public transport. I blame it on the coffee withdrawal. I was too calm. See what happens?

Ok, back to writing talk. Whether it was the coffee or lack of it, I have recovered surprisingly fast from failing to get anywhere either with the Fish short story prize or the new Flosca short story competition. A year ago, I would have moped around, dejected, for days, wondering where I went wrong. Now, I was a little disappointed for an hour or so and then, poof, all gone. I am sure it has something to do with the fact that my book is coming out in 3 months (3 months!!). Nothing can really top the news that someone wants to publish your book. That's really it as far as highs go. Also, ever since the rather unpleasant experience a few weeks ago with the lit mag that I won't go into again, something has switched inside me. It's hard to describe exactly but it is something to do with power, and realizing that I actually have some. I don't have to wait to be "chosen", I don't have to accept publication on any terms, I can initiate my own projects. I did it with The Short Review, and now I have the beginnings of an idea for an anthology, and what's to stop me from just doing it? This is quite a turning point - moving from handing my fate to others to grabbing it back and forging my own path. Some might call it maturity. I don't know what to call it, but it sure feels good.

On that note, my great friend Vanessa's short story collection, Words from A Glass Bubble, is now available from all good book shops!



It's a stunning collection of stories, beautiful and tragic, inspiring and illuminating. I already have my copy. Get it now! Click here for more details.

Can't write, won't write

I can't write today. Nothing. Not a word. I don't think it has anything to do with the unpleasant episode of last week, because thankfully and with exquisite timing it was followed swiftly by the acceptances of four of my flash stories by two different magazines. And when, due to previously mentioned unpleasant episode, I wrote back to make sure I would be able to see the final versions of the stories before being printed or put up on the web, both editors were so understanding (one, the delightful Colin of the Ranfurly Review, making my week by saying that "no, I won't be altering your work. It's too fine to tamper with. :-)") that I immediately realized that what had happened to me was, thankfully, an aberration. That most literary magazines have an ethical code that dictates that a writer will always be asked for approval of edits.

I want to be clear here: I am not saying that my work is untouchable, perfect. I am not saying that it does not need editing, would not benefit from editing. I have had some amazing editors who have suggested edits that most definitely improved the stories. And I have welcomed - and do welcome - this wholeheartedly. But it is, as someone mentioned in a comment below, a partnership, writer and editor together.

Ok, enough. I am trying to put this behind me. But, nevertheless, I can't write right now. I don't get writer's block. Never have. It's just laziness, really. Laziness and Scrabulous. Or the weather - a storm is whipping up outside my window. Or the lack of chocolate. Or many many reasons. Not all beyond my control. So I should pull myself together. I should. OK. I am going to. Yes I am. Here I go. Bye. I'm going now.

Follow-up: Writers' rights?

Following up on my previous post, the first thing is that I discovered that another writer had a similar experience with this publication, so it does seem to be their policy to "copy edit" without sending a writer any proofs or galleys before publication.

I received a private message in response to my blog post from an experienced writer and editor who told me that in fact I am in the wrong, that the journal once I have agreed to publication and despite the fact that I signed no contract, can do what it wants to my story. She suggested I take down my blog post, and apologize to the editors in question.

I decided that I had to look into this further. Can this be the case? And, if so, how many writers know this? If this is the case, why do so many decent and reputable literary magazines send writers proofs to approve if they don't have to? Purely out of respect, not of duty?

I posted queries on all my online writing groups... and of these hundreds of writers, the majority of whom have had many stories published, no-one knew the legal situation, our legal situation. I received another, very lovely, email from another highly experienced writer, artist and editor, who unfortunately said that she too believes that the magazine can do whatever they want to a story once accepted for publication.

Where are the lawyers? I thought to myself. I don't often say this, but we need to hear from a lawyer.

And, as if by magic, here is a lawyer, posting in response to my query, to say:

They absolutely do not have the right to change your work without your permission. When I was a first-year law student we read an appellate decision about a case brought by Monty Python against a tv network. The tv network had acquired the rights to broadcast some Monty Python footage, then "edited" the footage in significant ways without even telling Monty Python in advance. The network was liable for damages, because they had altered the work without the author's consent. Don't remember if it was a copyright violation, tort, breach of contract, or what, but the bottom line is they can't do that.

The actual case is here. And it says:

Although American copyright law did not recognize a cause of action for violation of artists' moral rights, the Lanham Act protected against mutilation of artistic works as a false designation of origin of goods.

My questions now are: does this apply across the Arts? And outside the US? And how is "mutilation" defined?

If anyone can clarify this situation, please post a comment here. If I know that a magazine has the right to "mutilate" my work, I will stop submitting anywhere. And I would really rather that wasn't the case!

A cautionary tale for all writers

The following is a cautionary tale for all writers, a true story that I hope, without naming names, will serve as a warning to all of us who trust editors with our words and expect them to handle our writing with the same care and attention that we do.

A new print magazine accepted two of my (250 word) flash stories for its second issue, due out in late Feb. There was no contract that I signed, only an invoice for payment. The only correspondence from them said:

I am pleased to inform you that your story xxx, has been short listed for the second issue of @&*T. Could you please send us your story with final edits in our house style (details attached) as soon as possible but no later than Friday 21st December. We also need a biography of no longer than 100 words.

What should a (perhaps naive) writer assume in all good faith? That when they have put in the paragraph breaks that the house style demands (which, in my mind, already alters the piece slightly), that this is EXACTLY how the story will appear - given the words "final edits".

I was then invited to the launch party and when they heard I was planning to come from Israel, they asked me to read both flashes at the launch. I was delighted.

Then, yesterday, having heard nothing from them since I did as they asked, in late December, I receive this email:

Hi Tania,

This is just to let you have the copy-edited version
of xxx for the launch reading.

Can't copy and paste from the PDF, so here is the
whole second issue!

See you soon,

So, thinking that perhaps they added a few commas, I open the PDF.... and discover to my total HORROR that they have:

a) Changed the TENSE of the story from Past and Present to all Past tense
b) Removed a word from the second sentence, replacing it with another with a different meaning
c) Broken one sentence up into two sentences, thus changing the rhythm entirely.
c) Deleted a whole phrase.

ALL THIS WITHOUT ASKING FOR MY APPROVAL.

I was so stunned I couldn't speak. I felt sick. I thought, Wait a while, maybe you will discover that they improved it. Then I decided, since I was supposed to be reading this at the launch event, to read both versions out to J.

I read MY version.

Great.

Then I started to read THEIR version. And I stopped. I couldn't. I got to the part where they chopped one sentence in two, and it was completely different. I nearly cried.

OK, so, without getting angry, I enquire politely if it is too late to undo certain changes because I feel they significantly changed the story. This is the (cheery) reply:

Sorry Tania it is too late!
You might like to add the missing line in performance
but 'xxx yyy makes it sound sentimental and detracts from it, I think.
Best

Note the "!" as if this is FUNNY!

And a follow up email from her, as if this wasn't enough:

Hi Tania,
Just to add that it was either copy-edit or no
publication. The copy editor was very ambivalent
about xxx and I had to fight for it!
I do believe though that the edit sharpened it.
All the Best

So, after accepting my story, I am supposed to thank the Editor for fighting for it with the copy editor (who seems to wield disproportionate power here) and be extremely grateful that it is published at all, despite the fact that it is now a completely different story, with my name attached?

I call this arrogance of the highest degree.

After asking for advice from my writing forums, checking that I wasn't overreacting, I wrote a short email asking that the stories be withdrawn and stating that I did not want to be associated with a publication that behaves in such as "despicable" manner.

It is then I am informed that the magazine has been printed. And the editor (apparently an "award-winning writer" herself) is "amazed" at my "outburst". Has no idea what "despicable" behaviour I am referring to.

Unfortunately, when I post this in my writing forums, I find I am far from unique here. This has happened to so many people - with flash fiction, with poetry, short stories, even with novels! It seems as though we have been extraordinarily naive in assuming that someone who wishes to publish our work is doing it because they love our writing, our voice and our style.

What upsets me is that, firstly, this is a new magazine, setting out to create a reputation for itself, and this is how it is proceeding to do that? A literary journal, I had assumed, is founded not with any notion of profit but for sheer love of good writing and to provide a new platform for writers of fiction. Surely, then, the editor must have some feeling for what a piece of writing means to the writer? That it is not something dashed off in a quick free moment, posted in to a lit mag without much thought of what may occur. Everything I write - everything - is a piece of me. It has something of me in it. As I write this, I am getting quite emotional because that is what this is, an emotional issue.

I used to be a journalist and having articles altered by editors was a common occurrence and one that I learned not to take personally. Because it wasn't personal. I was reporting about something someone else had done. But my short stories? They are about words, sentences, paragraphs, beats, rhythms, flow. You want to change a comma? You ask me first.

The second reason this upset me is this: what if I was a beginning writer, what if this was my first publication? I might feel that I had to accept what this magazine has done. I might feel that maybe they're right, maybe the story is better. I might lose confidence in my ability to write. This kind of thing might have seriously damaged my sense of my own voice. That may sound precious, but I think it's true. Fortunately, I am experienced and confident enough to be able to protest, to demand my stories be withdrawn, to object to being made to feel grateful they are being published at all.

In the end, I went over the head of the editor to the managing editor, to see whether this was in line with the magazine's policy, to ask if this was really the way the magazine treated its writers. I received an apology, but undermined somewhat by the claim that the edits had been sent to me for approval but must have got lost in transit, so the editor "assumed" I was "okay" with them. Of course. Assume all is well, and it follows naturally that the said editor would then send me the edited version when it is too late to do anything about it, but before the launch - because the editor knows that I am totally happy with the edits, is not concerned at all that, should I see the final printed version at the launch I will notice that it isn't my story, I will react, I will make a scene. Ah yes, that makes total sense.

The managing editor agreed to my request to print an apology in the following issue. Fine. Too little too late. The damage has been done.

This is a wake-up call: do not assume any editor treasures your work. Demand to see the final edits before it is too late. Treat everyone with suspicion. I hate to write this but from my experience and those of my fellow writers everywhere, we can't be naive about this. I apologise to the publications that in the past have treated me decently, sent me proofs, asked for my approval. I didn't realize how much I should have appreciated that and not taken it for granted.

I've certainly lost my innocence. I will think twice before submitting any story to any publication. I am afraid to say that I think we all should.

Author interviews, fascinating and inspiring

(Cross posted with The Short Review blog)

I have just added a new section to The Short Review: Author Interviews. This is turning into a very popular feature on the site, and for me personally, as a writer, these interviews with authors about how they write, how they put their collections together, what they are working on now, are fascinating and illuminating. A few excerpts:

Rusty Barnes, author of the flash fiction collection Breaking it Down, says:
"I write to be read, yes — I love to be read above all things now — but I write only to please myself. I mean, I have my obsessions, my concerns, and a good sense of what's out there in the world being written, and I think what I write has a place in that world, and it's up to me to figure out ways to get it out there, to get it to readers."

Nona Caspers, author of Heavier than Air, introduced me to the concept of MA: "I love how stories use MA space, MA being a Japanese word for the space between things that seems empty but is actually full and creates harmony. The space between the individual stories also allows for that feeling of MA."

For Sarah Salway, author of Leading the Dance, knowing that people were reading her book made her feel sick "in case they didn’t like it, or thought I was ‘odd’. But now I’ve come to terms with the fact that there will always be some people who won’t like my stuff and also that I am definitely ‘odd’ ! There’s not much I can do about it, so am just happy when people tell me they’ve enjoyed and/or got something out of reading my stories."

"I used to try to write for agents, or certain readers I imagined impressing," says Claudia Smith, author of the flash collection The Sky is A Well, "and I think that got in the way. I write for the story, for what feels true to me as I am writing it. I think my work improved once I learned to do that, and it took me years to find my voice. I do workshop many of my short-shorts with an online writing group, and I know that has influenced them immensely. I have written with these writers for years, so I trust them."

There are more interviews up on the site, and more coming soon: Carys Davies, Kim Newman, Roy Kesey.... Stay tuned!

New issue of The Short Review

(Cross posted with The Short Review Blog)

Issue 4 Feb 08 of The Short Review is now available with reviews of debut collections:

Rebecca Barry's Later At the Bar - interconnected stories set in a small American town;

Comedian and writer Alexei Sayle's Barcelona Plates;

Courttia Newland's Music for the Off-Key: 12 Macabre Short Stories;

Sarah Salway's Leading the Dance from small, vibrant UK press Bluechrome;

Highly-acclaimed Irish writer Roddy Doyle's first short fiction collection, The Deportees

as well as reviews of the Norton Book of Science Fiction, the Best American Mystery Stories of 2007, David Gaffney's second collection, Aromabingo, Ali Smith's classic collection, Other Stories and Other Stories, and our Valentine's special: My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead: Great Love Stories from Chekhov to Munro, edited by Jeffrey Eugenides.

The author interviews section of the site is blossoming too, with writers talking about their collections, how they came about, how it feels to know that people are reading your book, and how they approach the writing process.

"I’m drawn to writing about life’s essential forces" says Alison MacLeod, author of Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction.

"I write for the story, for what feels true to me", says Claudia Smith, whose flash collection, The Sky is a Well, won the Rose Metal Press chapbook contest.

"I tend to write in clusters.. so there will be groups of themes" says David Gaffney, whose second collection, Aromabingo, has just been published by UK small press Salt Publishing.

"My best writing comes out of love or grief," says Nona Caspers, author of Heavier Than Air.

"For a while I was just writing for people I drank with" says Rebecca Barry, whose debut collection, Later At the Bar, our review described as "a clear-eyed look at a boozy world".

"I’ve come to terms with the fact that there will always be some people who won’t like my stuff and also that I am definitely ‘odd’ ! " says Sarah Salway, author of Leading the Dance.

Come and browse the newly added reviews and interviews, check out our list of collections forthcoming this year, and follow the links to more review sites, blogs and articles about short stories.

Happy reading!


Tania

The New Year of Writing Starts Today

I've decided to take myself in hand, because I have been drifting. I've been drifting away from my own writing, letting so many other things take over. And I don't mean editing The Short Review, because that is something I love, which involves reading short stories, reading reviews of short story collections, interviewing authors of short story collections - heaven, in other words.

No, what has been causing (or I should say, what I have been doing to cause) the drift is a building obsession with submissions. I have been spending more and more time looking for places to send stories, looking at details of competitions, sending stories off and then waiting, clicking, re-loading, emailing, to see if the results are in, to see if my story has been accepted. I keep a spreadsheet-like document to track all my submissions and also to remind myself of upcoming deadlines. But now I have been thinking of what I can write to submit to themed issues of magazines, which of my stories might be good to send to competitions...and I realised that I was trying to write FOR someone, FOR something. And I had completely lost that joyous feeling of writing just for me.

This actually has been put in perspective by the responses I have been getting by authors to my interview questions for The Short Review. Did you have a collection in mind when you were writing, I asked. And almost everyone said, No. And that's when I realised that I had lost this path.... Ever since my book deal (maybe even before) I had begun to write with specific ends in mind: publication, success. And now I can barely write at all. I write flashes for the weekly challenges in my online writing groups, but this is not supposed (for me) to be all the writing I am doing. That's mainly supposed to be something enormously fun, something that binds me to a community, and something that keeps my fingers moving.

But where are my new stories? Nowhere. I haven't written any. What have I been sending off to magazines and competitions? Old stories, older stories - Yes, the ones that will be published in my collection in June, that are guaranteed publication. Why am I still sending them out? Because I don't have anything else. And that has got to change.

So today I took myself in hand - I cancelled all subscriptions to email lists with calls for submissions, contest guidelines. I deleted my RSS feeds with more of the same. I don't want to know. Not now. I don't want anything tugging at me now except my desire to write, to get to know new characters and find out what happens to them. I have a huge headache today, don't know what it is... but I can only hope it is because my head is so full of voices that I am not listening to, whose stories want to be told, that finally they started knocking and insisting I let them out.

The New Year of writing starts now!

Snow in Jerusalem

We get so excited because it happens for one day a year, lasts for a few hours or a day, and then it's gone. Here's the Holy City in white:

The Liar's Diary by Patry Francis

Blogging is not just about unburdening our feelings and whinging. It can also be for a noble purpose, and this is one of those. Author Patry Francis, whose debut novel The Liar’s Diary came out in hardcover from Dutton last spring, was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. After undergoing several surgeries, her prognosis is good. Today sees the trade paperback release of The Liar's Diary, but, since Patry won't have much energy to promote the release, a large number of blogging authors across the globe are getting together to do it for her. This is the blogsphere at its best! Read more about it on Maryanne Stahl's blog.

And the good folk at Penguin are supporting this initiative: Penguin Group USA would like to offer 15% off the paperback edition of The Liar’s Diary when purchased online from us.penguingroup.com until 2/15/2008. On the shopping cart page, enter PATRY in the ‘coupon code’ field and click ‘update cart’ to activate it.

The Sunday Salon: All Over by Roy Kesey

(Cross posted with The Short Review blog)


It's been a while since I blogged for The Sunday Salon, mainly because Sunday isn't a day of rest over here, it's the first day of the working week. But I have found a few minutes to mention the stunning short story collection I am reading right now, All Over, by Roy Kesey, published by Dzanc Books.



I was sent a review copy of this book and am reviewing it for The Short Review. I have never having read anything by Kesey, but I knew from the opening lines of the first story that he is a writer after my own heart. He loves playing with words and with language. There are quite a few words I have never heard before - I don't know if he has made them up or if I should get the dictionary out and expand my vocabulary! And some of the stories have Spanish titles, and there are characters of so many nationalities in this book, it is wondrous.

I would say that Kesey falls into the quirky/magical realist camp, for the most part. A reader can't assume that he or she is in the real world when embarking on these stories, but they are so beautifully written, their worlds are so consistent and compelling, that I willingly suspended disbelief and dove in.

I have read the whole collection first as a reader and am now re-reading it with my reviewer's hat on, and seeing things I didn't see the first time through - certain themes, the way endings are both shocking and satisying, a lack of names and places. Several of the stories seem totally nonsensical, yet they also manage to be poignant and sharp.

There are several stories that just didn't speak to me, as is the case with most collections. I didn't "get" what was going on, I was left too confused. But for the most part, I highly recommend this to all lovers of language and fantastic - and fantastical - writing.

Storytellers Cafe

The Storytellers' Cafe is a wonderful intiative from my writing friend Felicity Cowie. Here is how she describes it:

You have to bring your own cup of tea or coffee but come inside and take part in Cafe Improv where you can write the next installment of a group story. Or heckle.

You are also very welcome to submit your own new fiction writing to the site. Or advice about writing. The cafe is also keen to showcase bands, comedians and still or moving pictures. Work is published regularly. Guidelines are available by clicking on the Submit work button.

If you visit Chatter you can post and read any messages asking for or offering help or work. You can post whatever you like although The Management will frown on anything including the words 'bigger', 'satisfied', 'left to you in a will', 'just days to go'.

You can also browse work by the cafe's current writers. Some of it has already been published or won prizes and much of it is premiering here. If you are spectacularly impressed with something you read please do contact the writers directly or visit their own weblinks. Those details should be presented with their work. All copyrights belong to the artists and not this site so you will need to approach them for any permissions.

Private 'rooms' are available, for free of course, for any writing groups wanting a place to meet and workshop ideas but whose members don't want their work plastered all over the web, yet. For technical reasons this will be administered by the cafe but otherwise only members using a password will be able to enter.

I, for one, am going for it: here is my showcase page. A great thing for any writer, I wish her loads of luck with it!

Get Real: writers and editors on...

On her marvellous site and blog, which are a must for any writer, Kelly Spitzer has begun a series called Get Real, where she asks writers and editors to talk about different aspects of writing and publishing. The first round was "Get Real: Writers and Editors discuss the Publishing Process", more specifically, The Rejection Letter. The second Get Real round has just gone up, a fascinating look at writers' views on Online vs. Print Publishing. I am one of the writers participating in this, and it's been interesting to examine the process, as well as to read what everyone else has to say. Check it out.

Mslexia cites The Short Review

Mslexia, the magazine for women writers which I have found to be an invaluable resource since it began, several years ago, has highlighted The Short Review in its On the Net section, saying:

Created to make up for the lack of reviews currently allocated to the short story genre, this user-friendly site provides a much needed platform for original reviews of story collections and anthologies. New as well as classic collections are covered, giving those who aren't overly familiar with the genre recommendations with which to catch up. Reviews are written by short story writers with many including links to reviews by other publications, for quick, easy access to more opinions. The simple, clean design makes navigating your way around the site very easy and the "if you liked this you might also like' link attached to each review is a helpful addition. The browse feature also gives you several ways to search for something to read. Follow the links to the site's founder and editor Tania Hershman's blog for more reviews - and your chance to comment.

This is a wonderful endorsement and should, I hope, draw more people to The Short Review and give short story collections more exposure. Thank you, Mslexia!

Creativity in order to spread creativity

A quick blog to praise a small and extremely worthy spark of creativity I have come across: The Tin Parachute Postcard Review. The wonderful folk at Tin Parachute decided to be neither an online magazine nor a print magazine, but instead use gloriously-designed postcards on which to publish flash fiction, under 500 words. As they say:

"Each issue combines the work of a different flash fiction writer with art specifically created or selected for that story."

Three such postcards just arrived in my mailbox, which for me is a double treat: real mail, which hardly ever arrives any more, coupled with a short story, beautifully-presented. $20 gets you a one-year subscription, wherever you happen to be in the world, and, displaying even greater ingenuity, they are offering a framed issue for $10. Can you tell how impressed I am? The stories are great, too, by the way.

Podcasts, the gym, and other distractions

Why am I not writing as much as I want to? Well, here are a few reasons:

Podcasts

Yes, I may be the last person in the Western World, but finally I too am the proud owner of a cute little just-bigger-than-an-aspirin iPod Nano 3G. I resisted for so long, but then succumbed because I realised that working out in the new gym I just joined (more on that later) would be a lot more bearable with my own music rather than the booming soundtrack the gym favours. Little did I know that it wouldn't be music that I would be listening to but... Podcasts. How amazing they are! In a few days I have found the BBC Radio 5 Book Panel with Simon Mayo, Guardian Books Podcast, the NewYorker Fiction podcasts, Radio 4 Front Row Highlights,, the NY Times Book update, the NewScientist podcast,
, Ny Times Talks, and the The BBC World service World Book Club!

Heaven... There I am on the treadmill, pounding away, an interview with Phillip Pullman going on in my head, or giggling to Simon Mayo and friends reviewing a book about Genghis Khan, or Jumpa Lahiri reading and discussing a William Trevor short story that was published in the NewYorker thirty years ago.

The thing is, I pretend that this is all research. It's book talk, isn't it? Writers, readers, reviews.... But when does it become all research and no writing? This is dangerous stuff, this podcasting business. Will the novelty wear off?

The Gym

This is also dangerous, and not because I might pull something. No... it's dangerous because that little voice in my head says, Oh no, you can't write now, you have to go and get fit, nothing more important than that. Well, actually, there is something that is just as important to me. Going to the gym might make me feel good, boost my mood, take a few cms off the hips, but it wears me out, doesn't exactly ready me for a good hour or two's writing. It's distraction, wrapped up as something else.

Yes, writing this blog is also distraction, but I only allowed myself to do it after I had written the beginning of something new (that I then deleted by mistake but actually was quite happy about, since it wasn't going anywhere, but it served its purpose by getting the juices flowing), edited one story and submitted it, and started rewriting another story as a flash (love doing this... it really helps). Discipline. I need more of it.

What stops you from writing?

OK, back to it.