Tag archives for Fiction
Flower – [Short Story] [Write Club]
I wrote Flower for September's Write Club session. The prompt was to write something that was about what happened either before or just after the passage in Tess of the d'Urbevilles where Mrs Brooks (their landlady) spots a red spot flowering on the ceiling, and is suspicious about what has gone on upstairs. This is towards the end of the book, and marks the point where the narrative viewpoint changes from Tess to Mrs Brooks. Flower The crimson red spot on the ceiling had grown and darkened into a burgundy flower in the silence of the morning. No sound came from the apartment above, not since the shouting had ended half an hour after the mysterious visitor had left late yesterday evening. The silence was so unnatural that I dared not break it. It felt sacred, like the silence of…
Bargain [Fiction] [Write Club]
Back at the end of January I wrote The Bargain for February's Write Club. In genre it's closest to urban fantasy, although it's set in a small central European village sometime in the early to mid-nineteenth century. The sort of place where traditions are still important, but where the outside world is still there. February's Write Club had a change in the weather as the theme. Bargain Tomas strode towards the Baron's house. He wore his best clothes, a dark green wool suit with yellow braid. He'd had it ready for the midsummer celebrations. The Baron's house was off the village green, near the inn. Before Tomas got there, the front door swung open. Rupert, the steward, beckoned him in. 'What's going on, Rupert?' 'His Lordship was insistent you come in the front.' 'Well best I come in then.' 'Let…
The Mother’s Dream [Write Club] [Fantasy]
The Mother's Dream is my story for the January 2021 meeting of Write Club Surrey, which had dreams as its theme. I chose to write a creation myth for Skyss, the world that I've my fantasy novel is set in. One inspiration for The Mother's Dream is my love as a child of a book of Australian aborigine myths called Dreamtime Heritage. The stories are how the world was formed and shaped in the dreams of the early people. The idea has stuck with me, even if I can no longer find the book on my shelves. Troll head and fist in the woods atop Mount Floyen, Bergen, Norway. An inspiration for The Mother's Dream. (Photo: James Kemp) Another source of inspiration for The Mother's Dream was me thinking about how to describe the trolls in Fierce. I read quite…
Sonny’s Gift [Write Club]
Sonny's Gift was written for the September meeting of Write Club Surrey. The theme was mysteries, and I drew on some African folklore and religion, and also riffed off Neil Gaiman's American Gods. There was also a little bit of inspiration from the Black Lives Matter protests too. Shipping container being unloaded (Image by Hessel Visser from Pixabay) The mystery in the story revolves around a shipping container, which has been delivered to the front door of the local police station. There's a couple of competing points of view in Sonny's Gift, and perhaps the real mystery of Sonny's Gift is not who sent it, but how they knew what was needed months before Sonny even had his epiphany! The title character of Sonny's Gift is a black ex-cop. He rescued a woman from drowning when on patrol, and as…
Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow [Book Review]
Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow My rating: 4 of 5 stars Attack Surface is the third in a loose trilogy that started with Little Brother. I've only read the first, Homeland passed me by. Attack Surface was readable and it stood well on its own as a story. Like the others, Attack Surface is a cautionary tale on how technology is being misused. Attack Surface The protagonist is Masha, a tech savvy woman from the bay area. She sold out and joined the DHS in Little Brother. Since then she's worked for private contractors providing surveillance know-how for governments. When we first meet her she's working both ends in Slovstakia, a semi-fictional former Soviet satellite state with a repressive regime. Her employer is giving the government technology to spy on its protesting citizens. Masha has adopted some of the protestors…