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ÌýSimply that...

I had a dream

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It's October and this Halloween month sees the publication of my story LIESEL in . I have a wealth of rejections from this fabulous magazine, which is edited by John Benson. A real motto of never give up.Ìý
That last sentence is ironic, as I've pretty much given up writing at the moment. The pandemic? A broken brain? A seeing no point to it all? Who knows, I certainly don't. Maybe you'll see more stories from me and maybe you won't, but in the meantime, please support Not One of Us and buy a copy of the magazine.Ìý

As I sit at my kitchen table, leg jitterbugging with its usual anxiety, trying to work on a short story about giant typewriters and rotting meat, and despairing, I am proud to have at least accomplished the nurture and growth of this gorgeous flower.

Finally living up to my name.

Regular readers (hello, Bestwick) will know I've posted about all of the books I've read this year. As I was ahead with my blog posts, you may not have noticed (but I did tell you about it, Bestwick) that I haven't been adding new blogs. I lost the joy. First off, I read two books that I really enjoyed (The Fears of Life & Death by Belinda Bauer and Kiss Me Softly, Amy Turtle by Paul McDonald), then I read a piece of classic science fiction (The Changeling by AE Van Vogt) which didn't really work for me, and finally I got stuck with three books (which, I'm not going to name). Then I lost the joy of listing the books I was reading and it all became a chore.

Reading should never become a chore.

I'm probably, possibly, who the hell knows, not going to continue with reviewing each book I read. I might mention ones I really like, or I might cobweb everything. I am going to mention what I'm reading at the moment - The Ballad of Songbirds and SnakesÌýby Suzanne Collins. I'm a huge Hunger Games fan. This is an event book for me. An eagerly anticipated, must savour book. I've only 5 chapters in and I already love it.

While savouring it, I also need to finish it within the week (oxymoron - hey, I'm the only moron here), as I'm back in the office on Monday July 6th and don't want to cart a heavy book with me. I'm not certain I'll be able to cart the heavy weight that is me. Thankfully, I'm only in the actual office (I've been working from home since mid March) for two days each week in July, no word on the beast that is August yet. The company are providing parking spaces so people don't have to use public transport (only a handful of the 300 staff are going back - aren't I the lucky one!), which is great only I don't have access to a car. Of all the things I regret in my life, it's not learning to drive. Well, I tried but it was disastrous and I didn't continue. If you're reading this, if you can't drive and your nerves aren't shot, please take lessons. If you can afford them. Don't steal a car and practice because that is frowned upon.

Catch you later, I'm heading back to Coriolanus Snow and the tenth annual Hunger Games.

InterzoneÌý#278, Nov-Dec 2018

Bit behind with this issue - she understates.

There's an excellent editorial by Tim Lees about how we need true voices in fiction. The first story in the issue, Soldier's ThingsÌýis also by Tim Lees.ÌýThe landmarks were familiar, but I'd no sense of geography, how one place fitted with another.ÌýA soldier returned from a war that he may or may not have experienced, returned to a world that isn't quite what he remembers. A clever look at how we cannot always trust our own memories.

Xenophobia is the undercurrent in Doomed YouthÌýby Fiona Moore, in a story about a giant ant invasion. "Oh her again. ANT-THEM! for Doomed Youth). As it turns out, the ants aren't really the threat here.

A car's memory is transplanted into a human body in Eliza Ruslander's decidedly weird Heart of an Awl.

Now I need to check on the gammon, which is slowly boiling on the stove and is probably the size of a pea by now.

I worried that whatever book followed Frances Hardinge's 'A Skinful of Shadows' was going to struggle after the memory of that book. I needn't have worried. I very much enjoyed the intriguing The PretenceÌýby Ramsey Campbell, a novella published by PS Publishing back in 2013. We probably picked this copy up at World Fantasy Con where it was released in 2013. It is shameful how long books have remained on my to-read-list.

The world was supposed to end at midnight. Only it didn't. Did it?

At first read, I thought The PretenceÌýan Invasion of the Body Snatchers deal, but it was more about how real are we, and is all of this an illusion. It kept me intrigued throughout, there was a claustrophobic atmosphere to it. Highly recommend.

I am delighted to announce that my short story, Liesel, has been accepted by John Benson of Ìýfor a future issue, possibly October 2020.

Here be an extract:


Liesel Jane. A chorus calling her name as the local kids, her friends, tried to keep up with her sprint, with the rush and joy of the girl with flame-red hair and freckles, the girl who used up seventy-years of energy by her thirteenth year.
No one sang her name now. Those who remembered it whispered Liesel Jane then looked over their shoulders as if a demon waited to suck the life from their bones.Ìý

Oh my! Frances Hardinge is one of the best writers working today. She is also an absolutely delightful person and I declared, after finishing A Skinful of ShadowsÌýthat I'd like to live under her hat. I'm aware that I wouldn't actually fit. This beautiful hardback is going on my forever shelf - most of my books either go to dust-hell ie the Bestwick's study or to the charity shop. This was a Christmas present from my Bestwick.

Lord Fellmotte was not a man. He was an ancient committee. A parliament of deathly rooks in a dying tree.

Sent to live with her father's family as a servant, a house haunted by the Fellmotte ancestors, Makepiece finds she has a half-brother, James, and over the years they try to escape the family and its estate. This is a richly beautiful book full of intrigue and danger, adventure and plots and both nasty and loving ghosts. Most of all we have Bear. By page 26, Hardinge had already broken my heart.

Read it.

Five million stars.

We have another two books for your delight, this time ones I read (see previous post - or don't). I'm counting them as one as the first was #98 in the mini set of chapbooks, We all here stories in the dark, this time the story was The Curtain Falls. I can't really class one story as a whole book read - well certainly not when I am racing through books this year. Other years and I would totally class it. This time Shearman visits the death of an old actor.

The other book - a magazine - is Black SaticÌý#71, published in Sept 2019, so I'm not so far behind with this one.

Linda Rucker's column proved topical. Is it just me, or does the world seem more cosmically horrifying than usual?ÌýOh, you sweet summer child. Ralph Robert Moore's column featured sequels and dentists.

This issue offered my second Sarah Read story of recent weeks (the other one mentioned in the post before last). Diamond SawÌýoffered shades of Alice Lowe's Prevenge. Excellent read. Steven Shiel offered the incredibly creepy Residue. I almost left this story at the mention of a thumbnail. I was eating breakfast. After the death of her brother, Angie has to clean out his flat, but it is full of the stains of him.

I knew that I had not 'settled him in'. I had never seen someone look so unsettled in my life.ÌýSean Padriac Birnie'sÌýÌýOther HousesÌýis a trippy tale of a house, of a family's ghosts and their history, of life after the death of a father.

This is a sad post.

This is a post about books that I couldn't get into.

This doesn't mean the books were bad, far from it I'm sure, but they didn't hook me, my mind wandered too much, and we failed to connect with each other.

The first was the above collection, a beautiful looking hardback, that I am sure is well worth your time. It's surreal. Very surreal. I'll the passing it onto a charity shop and hopefully it will find an owner who loves it.

The second book was a steampunk novel. I'd tried to read it once before and failed. We were not meant to be friends. I'm also not a big steampunk fan.