Today I talk to Henry Lewi, whose flash ficton collection, 'From the Beginning to the End' has recenlty been released

 

What drew you to writing flash fiction? 

 

I had tried writing something longer, but like most developing writers I kept disappearing down rabbit holes, and the manuscript became unwieldy and didn’t really follow a coherent path; but after attending a short writing course I found that the Flash Fiction/Short Story format suited my style. Its somewhat easier, you don’t have to fully develop characters, and if you add a splash of science into your story you don’t have to fully explain it, a two or three word description is enough. It’s not about being too lazy to write a novel; the short story still needs to be crafted to hold the reader’s attention, but its about being able to be concise and clear in your delivery.

 

What would you say is distinctive about the form? 

 

  You have to be crisp and concise in your story but ensure that there is a beginning, middle and end, but often the ending is a simple short sentence.

The format is ideal to give simple snapshots of life or imagined life.

   I find it perfect for writing stories about time travel – you really really don’t have to explain the mechanisms of time travel – It Just Is, I mean we all accept Dr. Who’s TARDIS without worrying about how it works, so you can just add in some weird sounding particles maybe give them a bolt of radiation, and Hey Presto you have Time Travel! 

  It’s also great for writing stories about the how the old Greek and Scandinavian gods or Celestial Beings such as the Angels and Lucifer with his Demons deal with modern life. You don’t have to explain the whys and wherefores, simply put the old gods never really went away, and the Celestial Beings are always visiting Earth anyway!

You can also expand on any headline, a short news item or any strange stories you come across, there’s always something you can write about.

Essentially you can write anything about everything.

 

Do you write in other forms? 

 

  I write some short stories that are about a department of the secret service called the Committee of Awareness, Knowledge and Enlightenment (The Cake), which I’m combining into a book called “A Slice of Cake”.  All the stories are about 2-3000 words long, but its not really a novel just a series of linked stories that provide snapshots of the Service over an 80 year period (from 1944 to 2024), obviously the central characters change but the overall theme is a constant.

 

 

Have you any advice for anyone who would like to write flash fiction? 

 

 Yes, go on a simple short story writing course to get an idea as to how to structure the story; and definitely join your local writers group or club. It’s always useful to have others to listen and critique your stories, and then submit.

 Feedback is good so is criticism!

Of course there’ll be rejections – it’s a way of life! But persevere, and most of all have fun in your writing.

 

 

Tell us about some of the themes in this collection. 

 

It starts with confusion in the Celestial Office as the Creation plans go awry and essentially ends with the Archangel Michael flying to meet his brother Gabriel at the end of days.

In between I explore the issues of immortality, and ask how did we not know that aliens had influenced warfare in medieval times, whilst asking questions about Time Travel, I mean whose future do we travel to?

Some of the stories were written during the Covid 19 lockdown when the streets were deserted and groceries were delivered, but how did the old gods get their groceries delivered if their postcode was outside the delivery zone?

Find a copy of Henry's flash fiction collection here

 

 

 

 

Sharon Zajdman tell us about her invovlment with 'Good News ....?' and about her writing generally.

  

As a writer often featured in Bridge House’s publications, I was aware of its annual short story anthology.  I’ve had stories published in them twice before. 

            I began writing stories in their short form because I felt intimidated by attempting the longer form of a novel (That has since changed).  Also, for me, writing a story in fictionalized form is a way of telling the truth without running the risk of being hauled into court.

            When I saw the theme of this year’s anthology, I thought I had a story which might fit, and Bridge House’s editors seemed to agree. 

            I never enter writing competitions unless there is no fee to enter.   It is a game of chance, and one has more chances winning a lottery.  Also, in playing a lottery, there is no labour involved.

            The only advice I can offer to anyone who would like to write stories is to read them.

            These days, I feel less of a need to disguise what I want to say.  Mostly I write in the form categorized as creative non-fiction.  I have had two memoirs published; one in England and one in my native Canada.  It has been suggested that my “subject” is the postwar lives of Holocaust survivors.  I hope my repertoire is broader, and the novel I’ve written is a Holocaust-free zone.  But it is true that I keep returning to this theme and re-examining it, as if twisting the knob of a kaleidoscope.  We know what happened during the war to my ancestors and their community, but what happened after?  How did those who survived rebuild their shattered lives?  Did they find peace?  Did they find meaning?  Did they find love?  Did they find joy?  After what they endured, one hopes that they did.

            Recently I was approached by a foundation to work with them in creating a presentation which will tour high schools.  Through the telling of my mother’s story, students will learn and be alerted to the signs of hate which lead to genocide.  I was ambivalent about taking this on, but ultimately accepted because I recognized the assignment as worthwhile.  With a prepared text illustrated by photographs and film clips, come the next school year I will be speaking to high school audiences throughout my native province of Quebec. 

            My mum dubbed me her “memory keeper.”  Eleven years after her death, it turns out to be true.  

 

Find your copy of the anthology here 

Mike Wilson talks to us about his involvement with 'Good news ...?'

 

How did you hear about the Good News...?  anthology? 

I heard about the anthology through Duotrope.

 

How did you become interested in writing short stories?

 

I like the process of creating a world that is largely inferred from details in a narrative.

The constraints of doing so in a short story is different than doing it in a novel or in poetry.

 

How did you interpret our theme?

What appears to be good news has a hidden surprise.

 

Do you often  enter writing competitions?

I send work out for publication often, and have been fortunate in placing most of my stories, but

I don't enter contests that often.

 

Do you have any advice for those who would like to write short stories?

Write them. Ray Bradbury said you should write a story a week because nobody can write

52 bad stories in a row. You learn a lot about writing just from writing.

 

The other advice, which all the successful writers recommend, is read other people's writing.

It costs too much to buy all the collections of stories that are published, but you can access a lot

through public libraries. In terms of who to read, research what's recommended in new publications

or read collections from writers who win awards. As you read, notice what you like, what works, 

and figure out why. Writing is a craft and we can learn from how other people write, even if the

subject matter or genre is not one we think we're drawn to. 

 

 

Do you write in other genres?

Yes. I write novels, a lot of poetry, and memoir, as well as stories. 

 

Are you working on a projects at the moment?

I have a novella I need to finish. 

 

Do you have any events planned?

Not at the moment. I have a collection of poetry, Arranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic,

that I sometimes plug at local events. I have some prose manuscripts under consideration.

I probably won't have an event just about me until I have another book to promot.

 

Grab your copy of the book here  

Tom Kirkbright, one of our 'Good News....?' writers, chats to us today

 

How did you hear about the Good News...?  anthology? 

I can't remember exactly, but it would either have been via the writing contest calendar hosted by Chill Subs, or in the monthly Writers Magazine.

 

How did you become interested in writing short stories?

I've been writing in my spare time since I was a teenager, and had always focused more on long form, but since taking a Creative Writing course I was encouraged by my tutor to try short form and to submit frequently to contests as a "best practice" for creating a body of work and gaining industry experience. I've found that it also makes a great way to explore themes or ideas that may not be suitable or realised enough for long form, but perfect for shorter works. 

 

How did you interpret our theme?

As I read the brief the idea began forming in my mind immediately. I have quite a cynical and morbid disposition, so I tend to see the cloud to every silver lining anyway, but I think the ellipses followed by the question mark cemented in my mind that the good news might not be quite so good at all. The story I ended up submitting was based on an idea I had based upon holidays my grandmother used to take with my great-grandmother (her mother-in-law), despite their mutual disdain for one another, which seemed like a perfect set-up.

Do you often enter writing competitions?

Yes! I try to enter at least five o ten a year, if my time permits and I find a competition that piques my interest. I could do more but I fear I'd be phoning it in. It's more important to me that the theme resonates and an idea comes organically; that way I know I'll be putting my best foot forward with it.

 

Do you have any advice for those who would like to write short stories?

The only thing scarier than a blank page is unrealised potential (and maybe spiders). But seriously, there is no real failure when it comes to writing, only trying. So give yourself permission to try, be rejected, and to succeed, because to do any then you must do all. And remember, nobody writes a perfect first draft - editing is where the magic happens. As the saying goes, get it written, then get it right. 

Do you write in other genres?

I do - I write crime fiction under the pen name Billy Brightburn, and my debut novel is due to be independently published in the spring of 2025. 

Are you working on a project at the moment?

I'm working on the edits for my debut crime novel, as well as plotting the following book in the series. I'm also considering expanding on the short story featured in Good News...? - perhaps as a novella-in-flash, to maintain the snapshot style of the original story. We will see, watch this space.

 

Find your copy of Good News ....? here 

Steven John talks to me about his short story collection, 'Blood and Electricity'

 

How did you come to write short stories?

I started my writing life in poetry. I'd scribbled a few for close friends since adulthood, but after attending a poetry workshop at a local night-school, I was hooked. I started winning poetry competitions and having some work published in online poetry magazines, then I discovered very short fiction, or 'microfiction', which for me is the sibling of 'prose poetry'. My prose poetry morphed into longer flash fiction, and now my writing is more classic 'short story' length. Do I see myself ever writing a full-length novel? Probably not - the short story is my natural habitat.

 

What’s behind the title? 

'Blood and Electricity' is the title of one of the short stories in my collection. I was present at the 'birth' of Punk Rock in Oxford in the 1970s and the story recounts the colours streaming from the windows of the punk music pubs as being of 'blood and electricity'. But the term 'blood and electricity' also worked as a title because it resonates as being the two 'life forces' that keep us alive. Of them biologically, the other now dominating every minute of our lives on Earth. The two life 'forces' also induce a separateness and loneliness within us - a theme of many of my short stories.

 

Do you write in other forms?

I have written a roman-a-clef in novella-in-flash form i.e. linked, short chapters of less than one thousand words each, and will be looking for a publisher in 2025. Novella-in-flash has become a popular form in recent years. Perhaps one of the most highly regarded forerunners of the form is 'The House on Mango Street' by Sandra Cisneros. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys their reading in small bite-size pieces, and a longer story - the best of both worlds!

 

Can you tell us a little about the cover?

With the help of Bridge House designers, I found an image that perfectly mirrored the title, while at the same time reminding me of the bright and flashing lights of my misspent University student days!

 

Are there writers of short stories that you admire?

Two from the past; William Trevor - a master of the English short story, and Raymond Carver - the father of the modern American short story, (some say Hemingway's inheritor). I recommend anyone interested in the craft of the modern short story to study both. Finally, the living Irish writer Kevin Barry, who brings the richness of the Irish vernacular to the short form. I find his work intoxicating.

 

What advice would you give a new writer about the short story form?

Learn how to edit, edit, edit your work. I've never written a story that didn't benefit from a lower word count!

 

Are you working on any other projects?

During 2025 I'm hoping to make headway on a collection of longer short stories, 3k words and above. I'm also enjoying the organisation and leading of creative writing workshops in my local community in Gloucestershire. I've found some amazingly gifted writers who it's been my pleasure to coach and encourage. Helping writers hone their innate talent is immensely rewarding.

 

Do you have any events planned?

We have some excellent literary and book festivals in my part of the world, including Cheltenham, Stroud, Evesham, and of course Hay-on-Wye. I will be working hard on finding some reading opportunities to promote the sales of 'Blood and Electricity'.

 

The photo above is  of me at the recent Stroud Short Stories event reading 'Blueberry Muffins', one of the stories in my collection. I am the record-holder for the number of times invited to read at this popular south-west literary event.

 

Find your copy of Steven's book here 

 

Jeanette Greaves tells me how she works on LAA competitions

 

I usually try to enter all the LAA competitions every year, and it's always a very last minute thing. Most of my submissions are written specifically for the LAA competitions. I also enter the National Flash Fiction competitions every year, if I have time and I remember. Again, I write something new each year. I love writing short stories, poems and flash fiction; they're a chance to unleash my imagination and do something different. 

 

The LAA competitions are fun because I've met and got to know a fair few of the other entrants, so I know that if I don't win, I still get to read a great piece from whoever did win. When you know the standard of the entries, it's easier to deal with not winning. That doesn't mean I don't try though. 

 

I'm hoping to enter more competitions in 2025, especially themed short story and flash fiction ones. Social media is a good place to find out about comps, but there are a lot of scammers and chancers out there, and it's wise to check competitions out before sending them your work, especially if there's an entry fee. I'm on the lookout for themed anthologies to submit to, they're the kind of thing I like to read when I'm looking for a new author, so they're probably a good way to find new readers for my work. 

Going back to the LAA competition, my contribution, 'Cherry Tree', came from something I'd wanted to write about for a few months, but hadn't quite found the medium for it. It's about a tree that my grandfather planted in the corner of the front garden of his council house. I was a little girl at the time, so the tree will be over fifty years old. I wanted to celebrate it because it's something that I love but have no control over, and no right to. The house is derelict now, subsidence, they reckon. The house opposite has already been demolished. A year or so ago I walked up the familiar path, taking in the metal shutters on the windows and doors, the way the fences have been moved since my widowed grandma moved out decades ago. I stepped over broken glass and crockery, and thought about the clean, organised, neat home that was so important to my family, about the vegetable garden, the greenhouse for tomatoes, the rose bed and the rockery full of alpine plants. I picked my way over tussocks of grass that used to be a front lawn, and stood under the spreading boughs of a tree that I remembered as a sapling. Everything changes. If I can pass on that memory in a poem, I'm happy. 

Poetry and competitions, daydreams and reminiscences aside, I've had a busy 2024, with the publication of the last two books of my four book 'Ransomed Hearts' series. It's set mostly in Lancashire, with side trips to Paris, London, Whitby and the Alps, and is the story of a family of shapeshifters, told over three generations beginning in the early 1960s and coming to a conclusion in the mid 2010s. Book 4, Silverwood Rising, is out on Friday December 20th on Amazon, and I'm hoping to have paperback copies available by early January 2025. 

 

What's next? Well, the LAA competitions and the National Flash Fiction comp beckon, and after publishing out two novels in the space of six months, the short form will be a welcome change. 

 

Find your copy of Lancashire Writers of Today 2024 here   

Find out about the LAA and competitions here. 

 

Hannah Retallick chats to me about her writing and her recently published book

 

What made you start writing short stories?

I suppose I’ve always written and read short stories. When I was little, they were children’s stories, of course, and even though the reading age, topics, and themes have changed as I’ve got older, my preferred story lengths have remained similar. My university Creative Writing assignments were 2000 words, so I become used to what could be achieved within them. Then I started to get into even shorter pieces, inspired by CaféLit, Potato Soup Journal, and Friday Flash Fiction. Now, most of my stories are between 100 and 500 words.

 

I notice you have an MA in Creative Writing. How helpful has that been in your journey as a writer?

Yes, I did an MA with the Open University, for two years. It was the first time they had run the course and so, understandably, there were a few teething problems, but I learnt a lot and met some great people. My tutor, Mark McNay, seemed to understand and appreciate my writing style and knew the right things to say to get the best out of me.

The MA was a great catalyst for autonomous study. In the summer between the two years, I read voraciously and possibly improved more in that time than at any other.

My OU experience was helpful for validation too; it gave me ‘permission’ to focus on my writing and showed me I was starting to become good at it.

 

How did you decide which stories to include in this collection?

The stories in Something Very Human were written during the past six years. There were a lot to choose from and they all remind me of specific times in my life.

It’s difficult to be objective when ‘choosing between your children’! Which stories are best? Which work well together? Which are most important to me at this point? Should I favour ones that have more sentimental value or technical ability? Is there a good balance of tone and subject? Do I need to write any new stories to ‘fill in the gaps’? etc. 

I had to think of the collection as its own entity. Some stories were discarded purely because they had too many similarities to others and would feel repetitive. Some seemed weaker technically when placed side by side with others. There were ones I was certain would be incorporated that ended up falling by the wayside; I loved them individually but didn’t feel they fitted into the book as a whole. Once the book started to form its own identity, the process become easier and I knew what it needed.

 

What is your experience of entering competitions?

I’ve been entering competitions since 2018 – tentatively, at first, and easily discouraged by the many rejections. In 2019, I made it onto a couple of shortlists and progressed from there. I find it useful to have the external deadlines and constraint of word limits, because they seem to make me more creative. It can be disheartening at times though; most of my submissions are still rejected. On the flip side, it gives me a big boost whenever I reach the shortlist/longlist stages, or I’m placed, which I’m happy to say has happened increasingly over the years. My highlight so far is winning the £2000 Edinburgh Prize for Flash Fiction 2024. Competition successes give me extra confidence to keep going with my writing. (Actually, I think I’d persist regardless, due to a stubborn streak and a healthy level of delusion!) I know not everyone likes to enter writing competitions, or even approves of them, and that’s fine. It’s highly subjective.

 

Do you have any advice for those people just starting to write?

Firstly, absorb as much wisdom as you can from other writers. This means reading widely and deeply, seeing what works well and what doesn’t. Try reading some how-to guides too. Having perused ninety-one of them over the years, I’ve collated my favourite twelve in this blogpost (https://ihaveanideablog.wordpress.com/2024/04/10/the-12-best-writing-advice-books-ive-ever-read/), which might be a good starting point.

                  Secondly, protect yourself in the early days. This means being careful who you let read your work initially, because badly expressed feedback can be completely crushing. However, I do think it’s important to develop good coping mechanisms; after all, we can’t control how people express themselves, but we can work on how we deal with it. On that topic… I’ve just read a book called Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well, by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, and recommend it.

Thirdly, write. A lot. Try different things. There are no shortcuts to learning a craft. Even when challenging, writing can be so joyful. All the best!

 

Do you have any more projects or events planned? Do feel free to provide any links here.

I’m working on a novel and a microfiction collection. If you would like updates, please follow me on my FB author’s page, my blog, and my website!

Short Story Collection, Something Very Human: https://www.thebridgetowncafebooksshop.co.uk/2024/10/something-very-human-by-hannah-retallick.html

Website: https://www.hannahretallick.co.uk/about

Blog: https://ihaveanideablog.wordpress.com

Facebook author’s page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063092716530

 

 

Peter Foster tells of his experience of being an LAA competiton winner

 

Yes, I’ve enjoyed some success with Lancashire Authors this year. First my villanelle, Lancashire Cheese, was awarded the Pomfret Trophy. I’d entered two poems in this category and one in free verse for the Batty Trophy.

Lancashire Cheese came about through a fellow LAA member setting a challenge to write a villanelle with a happier subject than is usually the case. I find the villanelle a pleasant form to write in, with there being only two rhyming sounds to worry about. The tricky part is to then have it make grammatical sense.

I tend not to be an avid participant of writing competitions as I’m not really all that prolific but I enjoy supporting LAA, especially since the re-introduction of a dialect category, which can be both fun and challenging to write. When I find that I have a poem or some prose that I consider good enough to enter I tend to try to forget about it for a few weeks and then re-read and, if I still like it, edit it a little until it’s good to go.

Later in the year I was thrilled to have my photograph of the Singing Ringing Tree chosen for the cover of this year’s LAA anthology. The suggestion for the subject came from my son in law. My first visit to the site didn’t result in photos that I was happy with so I returned after two days when the sun was in more favourable position. Ideally I would have preferred to have included Pendle Hill in the frame but the day was too hazy. The winning shot was one of 34.

I also had the privilege to take part in one of the Telling Tales events that had been held at Chorley Theatre through the year, I’d heard about the events via LAA; it was the Halloween event and I read ‘A Boggart in Blackpool’, a dialect poem from my collection, The Dream and the Flowers.

I’m currently putting together a collection of poems with the intention of publication, and I will certainly be entering LAA competitions in 2025.

Find your copy of the collection here 

 

 

Celebration Event 7 December 2024 Theodore Bullfrog

 

As ever the Theodore Bullfrog did us proud. The Villiers room upstairs has a lovely atmosphere. Slightly mismatched furniture alongside some elegant seats, and windows that let in plenty of light, really make it cosy. 

 

We’d booked for twenty-six and had twenty-one turned up. As ever unforeseen circumstances prevented people attending at the last minute.

Storm Darragh did its best but although some journeys were a little disrupted most people managed to get there on time.  Odd, if you look at the reports and predictions about Darragh. Were we in some sort of bubble? Unfortunately, though, those travelling from North Wales didn’t stand a chance.

It was lovely to meet up with old friends and see some people for the first time.  Good to put faces to names.

The buzz of conversation told me that everyone was having a good time. Even though there are wooden floors there and only a few soft furnishings we could all hear each other.

We had a good half hour at the beginning to mingle, look at books people had brought along to sell and enjoy a glass of prosecco of orange juice.   

 

The meal was enjoyable though my seating plan went to pot. 

 

An innovation this year was that I gave every delegate a ‘secret Santa’ – one of the books published this year, wrapped up in pages from my colouring books. In the past I’ve lugged along copies of the annual anthology and The Best of  CaféLit and I’ve always had to take more home than I’d wanted to. It’s a dilemma – people don’t want to carry books home but then are surprised if there aren’t any to buy there. I matched the books to people as best I could. Hopefully they’ll all enjoy the books and write reviews!

One member of the Scribblers Group suggested I take along order forms instead of books.  I did that and a few people took them home. Maybe we’ll get a few orders.   

Several people read from their work: Penny Dale, Henry Lewi, Allison Symes, Madeleine McDonald, June Webber, Alicia Rouverol, Lynn Clement, Georgina Wright and Debz Hobbs-Wyatt. We didn’t discuss who was going to read what but by some miracle there was a very good balance. We had some light-hearted stories, some darker ones, and a few that made you think quietly.    

And of course we announced the theme for next year: Magi. You can tell or retell the normal story of the three kings. Maybe you can give it a twist. Could the Magi have been women? Could you tell an alternative story? Perhaps they didn’t visit Herod first? Magi will be a collection of stories about wise people perhaps? So you could even have a story about one wise person. Or can you think of a really clever twist?

And then shall we see you at the Theodore Bullfrog on 6 December next year?  Already booked!