My collection of stories is ready!

I await peer feedback on my last two short stories. 'Coming of Age' is the least satirical of my pieces. It contrasts the life of Eliza Augusta with Kathryn, her great-niece. Eliza Augusta is a master butcher and enjoys having the 'married women's vote' aged thirty in 1918, about a month after the end of WWI. Much later in the story we meet  Kathryn, who is entitled to vote at the age of eighteen in 1979, just as Margaret Thatcher is about to lead the country. The two women have very different educational opportunities. Both are successful but only one knows how to cook a shoulder of lamb!

My final story 'Some have Entertained Angels' is based on the biblical verse '.. be kind to strangers for some have entertained strangers unawares.' It considers the reaction of a comfortably well off educational psychologist, Rachel, towards her friend and one-time neighbour, Angie. Angie falls on very hard times, takes antidepressants and suffers a fatal accident because she can no longer afford electricity in her tiny bedside - a far cry from the three bedroom house she rented next door to Rachel's comfortable Victorian villa. Rachel is full of remorse that she failed to help Angie when she needed it most. But her concern is, of course, too late.

Short stories - getting all my ducks in a row!

My three short pieces, which received distinctions or good reviews from readers,
All the Responsibility-None of the Power, The Inspection and Single File  seem strong stories to form the equivalent of the first three chapters of Austerity and Other Cuts.

They all link with each other through the theme of education.

Medical Mayhem is a group of short stories which satirise government diktats on the NHS and they make up another six stories.

My novella is The Climate King. Sylvester is a profiteer who becomes a millionaire during a frightening heat wave. He rubs salt in the wound when the floods come and he is still 'on the make' selling expensive sand bags to vulnerable people suffering the effects of torrential rain. It is no comfort to me that this story was written last spring - long before the heatwave and certainly well in advance of the recent floods which have upset so many lives. Fay Weldon said I must be psychic or be with the zeigeist. My plan is that The Climate King will form the middle third of my collection.

A longer story, Coming of Age, which spans the years 1918 - 1978 begins the last third of the collection. It is less satirical but is a comment on how women's lives have changed, such that some don't realise how important it is to vote, despite the married women's vote having been so hard fought for, and won, in 1918.

Finally two very short pieces Gardening Leave and Some have Entertained Angels end the collection with another more sombre piece, about real poverty in Sierra Leone, which is simply called Austerity.

September to now

Looking back I now see that it wasn't until December 6th that I finally got my marks for the MA Creative Writing. That was the day I visited Fay Weldon - the day after Mandela died - and we discussed the editing I should now do. In essence she feels my longer short stories could have 2-3 chapters each as they are full of material. Good to know!
We have had a few meetings to discuss the MA Anthology - title, layout, house style, cover design and the editing team are working through forty one submissions. I had just four submissions to edit. The bios are very interesting. Many people have been published, many more haven't, it seems. At the first anthology meeting we met the BSU publisher and discussed the timing and role of the copy editor too. All good stuff.

I am now preparing three short stories for the Janklow and Nesbit prize - that's a great opportunity to be directly in contact with publishers again. All my pieces have been workshopped and Fay has read them all and made her suggestions. As Julia King says - this is the time for editing. My story 'Migrants' will have to be put on hold, but am re-reading Rose Tremain's 'The Road Home' and other pieces about migrant workers. My piece, simply called 'Migrants', will include dialogue in Latvian (thanks Ieva!) and  is a learning experience - a Damascene moment - for the well-to-do of Bath and Wells - who realise, finally, what life is like for the migrant worker. This realisation changes and enriches their lives too.

Happy New Year : radical editing!

Happy 2014!

So pleased Fay Weldon thought my manuscript worthy of a distinction. Sadly a second marker wasn't so enthusiastic!  Julia Green, who lives nearby, thinks this is a time for radical editing. The MA is over but the Anthology beckons, as does the Janklow and Nesbit prize. We are no longer student writers!

Thank you

Thank you everyone- especially those of you who enjoyed the reading of my story 'Coming of Age' on Wednesday evening. The Museum of Bath at Work have been excellent hosts for visitors and student writers alike. I am grateful for all your positive comments about my work.  It is the centenary of the death of Emily Davison and as many of you know 'Coming of Age' opens with VOTES for WOMEN.

Camden Works Museum exhibition opens 5th June 2013 in Bath

TOMORROW- June 5th- sees the opening of the 'Creative Process' exhibition at Bath Camden Works Museum.  I am one of seven MA student writers who are exhibiting. We aim to visualise the processes involved in Creative Writing. It is part of the Bath Festival and continues until Sunday evening.
   My story about my great aunt in 'Coming of Age' is depicted in my display. I also invite visitors to take part in a quiz. Comments are gratefully received and I hope viistors enjoy doing the quiz!

In-keeping with the Austerity theme my short story 'Coming of Age' focuses on my great aunt - suitably named Eliza Augusta - who confonts austerity during rationing. As a Master Butcher she had meagre portions to sell.
  It is a timely story as it begins in 1918 when Eliza Augusta joined 8 miliion married woman to vote in the first peace time General Election after the Great War. She got the vote! It is also the anniversary of the death of Emily Davison who was fatally injured falling under the King's horse in June 1913.