Niall Crowley
How did you come across CafeLit in the first place?
I met up with CafeLit during COVID, when I returned to writing fiction, short stories in particular. I joined an online writing group which led to significant improvement in my writing. One of the members was a fan of CafeLit, with published work to prove it. I followed his recommendation and ‘Christmas Dip’ was published in December 2021. Since then I have had three further stories published by CafeLit. Even better, this year I was delighted to make the cut for CafeLit 14 with my story ‘On the Spur’.
Tell us something about your contribution to this year’s book.
‘On the Spur’ is about memory, in all its distortions, and the precious stories, both warming and disturbing, that we hold in memory. It is about train travel in all its disconcerting splendour, with the freedom it offers and the encounters it involves. It is about ageing and the challenges in a society that fears age and disempowers older people.
How did you choose the drink to go with your contribution?
‘Instant Coffee’ is of the past, with such a diversity of coffee drinks and coffee machinery now on offer. It can be thrown together ‘on the spur’. It relaxes and eases the pressures of the day to day. Perfect for this story!
What do you like about writing short stories / and /or flash fiction?
Short stories capture an instant or an angle that has something to tell us… about people and how we relate, about places and how we interact, about issues and how we engage. The writing of the short story involves satisfying hours of exploration of language and how it might best give effect and impact to the story, and how it might best attract and draw in the reader.
What else do you write?
I write on issues of equality and human rights, with three books published on the trials and travails of pursing social justice and way too many articles and reports on the topic. There is a novel in there too seeking an author, but for now short stories hold sway for me, with a touch of flash fiction when the mood takes hold.
Tell us a little about your life as a writer.
As a child I would write short stories or snippets of fiction in any spare moment, never showing them to anyone and, sadly, keeping none. As an adult I work too intensely, in the field of equality and human rights, which has limited my opportunities to write. Abruptly in 2009 I was unemployed for a period, did a writing course and found fellow strugglers. Over four years, I wrote a novel. I loved every minute spent on it, but never found a publisher. Work took over again with its fascinations, until the calm and isolation of COVID opened up a new space and a new focus. I discovered the short story, which has been my focus and passion since.
Are you working on any interesting projects at the moment?
Short stories, and then more short stories are my current project. My dream is to create the conditions and the body of work to have a collection published. That would be more than interesting for me, and, the key challenge, hopefully for others too!
A presence in CafeLit 14 was a big boost in this… so hoping you buy the book and like the story!
Do you have any events planned?
Nothing in particular, but ever open to opportunity and ideas.
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