It’s Been a While

It’s been a while since I’ve done a meme on here (I think I’ve actually done this one a couple of times before, but that shouldn’t be a cause for worry).

Big thanks to Oscar Windsor-Smith for awarding me a Versatile Blogger Award. Now I must tell you good people 7 things about me that may not be generally known.

Here goes.

1. The first piece of writing I was paid for was written under a pseudonym, the first name of which was Joe. This was, I reckon, a little subconscious nod to Joe Strummer. (It was an article for a county magazine, in case you were wondering. And it featured both Merlin and David Beckham (there was a joke in there about wearing ridiculous robes, from memory).

2. When I started writing I didn’t think I would end up writing fiction.

3. My zodiac sign is Leo, and, from what I’ve read, I sound like a pretty typical one. (And no, I don’t know if there’s a sign that exists that I’m compatible with.)

4. I have a particular aversion to cliques (this will be a separate post, actually) and tend to avoid them at all costs. This can make me seem grumpy and/or not very social.

5. I mostly don’t care what people think about me. Though there’s always a strange desire to be accepted, in some way. Actually, I wonder if that’s why I write.

6. I can’t eat chocolate.

7. I don’t have a university degree. Or A Levels. And I have never attended any writing course, aside from those I’ve run. (Hypocrite, I know.)

So there you go. Now you know a little more about me. Anything else you want to know…?

(I’ll not tag anyone specifically to carry this on, but do let me know if you do it too.)

Flash Mob

First of all, my apologies for being a bit of a crap blogger of late. I’ve been ridiculously busy (and STRESSED!) and quite honestly haven’t had the time (or space in my brain) to post anything vaguely sensible here for a while. But things are better now. I’m almost up to date with things. Everything should improve soon.

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Last Thursday I went along with Caroline Smailes (Caroline is, for those who were asking, the co-author of Freaks! and best selling novelist) to the Flash Mob Literary Salon event in Chorlton, for their Arts Festival. And it was great. I got to hear all of the Flash Mob Writing Comp short listed short, short stories/flash fiction pieces being read out, as well as pieces from various other short fiction writing folk. And, yes it was fab.

I got to meet the brilliant organisers (who’d invited me there as guest of honour, no less), who were all fab – big thanks to Ben, to Clare, and to Fat Roland, who each and all did a splendid job.

It was also a cool thing to be able to meet other writing folk – most notably the very lovely Lynsey, the super Valerie (plus baby!) and, long time online friend, Sarah. Yes, all very cool.

I read a couple of stories (which I think went down okay) from Not So Perfect (for those of you there: apologies for taking a while to get started – I was trying to suppress what felt like a burp of considerable size and volume – a burp that I didn’t want amplified over the mic and forced upon the listeners of Chorlton FM).

And all was good.

I’ll pop some links to photos and to the audio broadcast by Chorlton FM as and when I get them.

Congratulations to all the short listed writers, thank you all for reading good stories so well, and a big thank you for having me there.

Minifiction Interview

And here’s me talking to Jamie at Minifiction, about, well, mini fiction. And short stories Vs novels, stories taking unexpected turns, and the short story scene here in the UK (yes, it could be a little less closed). Amongst other things. Do pop along. And feel free to leave a comment (whether you agree or think I’m spouting rubbish!).

More soon. Until then…

Awesome S. Manchester Short Story Stuff + Me, Reading

I have been VERY busy of late (hence still being in my office at this time) and I meant to post this earlier. But, I’m here, and I’m posting it now (better late than never, and all that!). Mostly, because I think it’s really cool and it’s something I’m really looking forward to (and hoping to see you there too – so let me know if you fancy coming along…).

What is it, you ask? Well, why not let the very lovely, and ace, Clare tell you?

Over to said Clare!…

“On Thursday at 7.30pm, the Flash Mob Literary Salon pops up in Dulcimer bar as part of Chorlton Arts Festival. This spoken word event and glittering awards ceremony is the culmination of the flash fiction writing competition myself and four other writer types launched back in March.
The shindig will have it all. There will be readings by the 12 writers we shortlisted from a pretty much astounding 88 entries. There will be a guest slot by the lovely Nik Perring, who has invited me here today to give you the skinny on the whole shebang. There will be some brand-new creations from the five judges. There will also be surreal story-making, fabulous fun and even the promise of dancing girls. We don’t like to take things too seriously…
So who’s we? We are Sarah-Clare Conlon, Ian Carrington, David Hartley, Benjamin Judge and Tom Mason. We are short-short story writers who regularly read at literary get-togethers and open mic nights in Manchester. We’ve performed as part of Manchester Literature Festival and appeared as a pop-up literary salon at Manchester Twestival 2011. As well as working on stories and reading together, the Flash Mob writing collective members are partial to the odd pub quiz, and we’re collaborating with Bad Language to run a literary quiz for the Not Part Of fringe to Manchester International Festival in July.
The Flash Mob Writing Competition and Literary Salon is a first for Chorlton Arts Festival. We came up with the idea because we wanted to introduce a new kind of spoken word event to the 11-year-old festival – something that would be open to everyone and that would promote flash fiction writing, because that’s our shizzle. We set an upper limit of 500 words but no theme in order to encourage as much diversity as possible, and that we definitely got! The 12 shortlisted stories are all very different in style and content, and even length, so it promises to be a varied and entertaining soirée.
Proceedings will be broadcast live on Chorlton FM (87.7 FM across South Manchester and online), so even if you can’t come down in person, you have no excuse not to still listen in. The shortlist will also be published in an ebook available via our website once the winners have been announced. Enjoy!
Sarah-Clare Conlon http://wordsandfixtures.blogspot.com/

Flash Mob Literary Salon takes place on Thursday 26 May at 7.30pm, upstairs at Chorlton’s Dulcimer (free). See http://flashmobmcr.wordpress.com/ for more.”

Free Books and an ISBN

I love this idea (explained by Fiction Writers Review here) of giving away a collection of stories for Short Story Month (May) and it’s something I’m going to try to do (I just need to decide which collection to give away).

Two people are offering you the chance to get your mits on a free copy of Not So Perfect – Dan Powell’s one (and there’s a chance of winning a copy of E.J. Newman‘s ‘From Dark Places’ too), and Downith is another. Needless to say, I’m flattered and I thank them both very much. So, if you’d like a free book, off you go…

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I was made aware of this the other day too – Freaks! now has its own Amazon page, with an ISBN and everything. That makes me happy.

As you were.

(I’ll be back soon, when I have more time to say more. But at the moment I’m eye-deep in emails and edits and time seems to be at a premium!)

Alan McCormick Interview

It’s a real pleasure to welcome Alan McCormick to the blog today, to talk to me about his book, ‘Dogsbodies and Scumsters‘ published by the utterly wonderful Roastbooks.

It’s a collection of flash fiction. It’s illustrated. And, as I said, it’s published by Roastbooks. Interesting? I thought so.

Here we go…

Welcome to the blog, Alan. I’m delighted to have you here. How are you?
Hi Nik, I’m delighted to be here; also excited to have a book coming out.  I loved ‘Not So Perfect’, and Shark Boy seemed pretty close to perfection to me.                                     
So, your book, ‘Dogsbodies and Scumsters’ – what’s it about? Who’s it for?
Not sure who it’s for. Most of the stories started with character, people I’ve met, seen (more accurately glimpsed) and imagined. They’re normally people on the edge, which in some way reflects places I’ve lived – a council block in Vauxhall for sixteen years – and places I’ve worked. A key place I think was a Victorian Asylum on the edge of a small Sussex town where I worked in the early eighties. I once tried to start a novel drawing on actual patients I met but it didn’t work, but the feeling and sense of the place and the people, rather than anyone in particular, has fed into some of my stories in the book.
Why short stories?
They suit my energy and the time I have to write. I don’t have the stamina for the long haul though I’d like to in some way piece together  something longer like a novel in the future. Also I once suffered long-term health effects from a serious viral illness and short stories were what I could read and absorb, they entered my DNA and gradually became the preferred way for me to communicate my ideas and thoughts. A good short story is unique: enjoyment, inspiration and a little magic all in one sitting; I love them.
And why Roast Books (like I need to ask!).
I sent Faye Dayan at Roast Books a collection of my stories and the illustrated writing with Jonny Voss, and she liked them. Faye also had the idea of putting together the stories and the illustrated writing in one collection which was very exciting. Faye has been very easy to work with and though she has a clear vision of how things might go – she decided the order of the stories much better than I could have done – she also listens and is open to ideas and change. Working with an independent publisher with a unique take on things has meant Jonny and I have been creatively involved in putting the book together and getting it out more than perhaps we would have been with a larger, more corporate publisher, it’s been a really enjoyable learning experience.
Many of the stories in the book have been illustrated (excellently!) by Jonny Voss. Could you tell us a little about that? What’s the process? How much are the stories collaborations?
Jonny and I are friends. We started drawing and writing for each other about five years ago. Our work was never intended for publication when we started but over the years we have collected hundreds of collaborative pieces. We began by walking in our local area each morning – me in Vauxhall, Jonny near the Rive Lea in Walthamstow – and I would write and Jonny would quickly draw the first interesting thing we saw and then email it to each other for the other to respond to. Pretty soon it became apparent that it worked best when Jonny drew first and I reacted by writing. I love Jonny’s energy, originality  and imagination, and I always write the first thing that comes into my head once I’ve looked at his picture – this has inspired and freed me to write in a way I probably couldn’t otherwise do.  It’s a fun and instinctive way for us to work and I hope, even when the work gets dark, that some of this enjoyment and energy comes across.
Where do good stories come from?
I don’t know – strong characters, some craft, and conviction in purpose perhaps? Sometimes stories break all the so-called rules or conventions and just work.
And what do you think makes a story great?
When a story is ‘great’ it absorbs me completely, and often continually surprises (perhaps even unsettles) me as I read it, and then when I’ve finished it, even if I may not quite know why it worked so well,  the feeling of the story stays with me long after. For me that’s why good short stories are exciting and great ones are powerful and sometimes even miraculous.
Could you tell us a little about Simon Please, please? He’s one of my favourite characters from the book.
Thanks, I’m glad you like him. In the book, Faye very cleverly placed Simon Please next to another neighbourhood nutcase in the story, Meet the Builder. I like the idea that someone like Simon Please might control his emotions to be seemingly placid and pleasant through the day, and then lose the fight to control things and turn into a rampaging madman like Mad Mike at night. Replying now, though I’m pretty sure it wasn’t in my mind when I wrote it, a  couple of lines from a favourite Nick Lowe song (made famous by Johnny Cash), ‘The Beast in Me’, keep popping into my head:  ‘The beast in me is caged by frail and fragile bars. Restless by day and by night rants and rages at he stars. God help the beast in me.’
What’s next for you?
I’m going to enjoy the book coming out. Jonny and I are also completing a children’s illustrated book. This time we’ve reversed the collaborative process; I’ve already written the second draft and Jonny is reacting with pictures. We also hope to bring out a small collection of Scumsters – perhaps weirder and darker ones.

Anything you’d like to add?
I’d like to thank you for asking the questions and for giving some exposure for our book. I hope our paths cross sometime soon – it would be good to know about your writing plans and to hear about how the collaboration with Caroline Smailes is going.
Alan McCormick lives with his family in sleepy West London suburbia. He has been a political researcher, trainee nurse, porter in a psychiatric hospital, writing tutor and unsuccessful comedian. Dogsbodies started life on the Writing MA at Middlesex University and was later developed with the assistance of an Arts Council Writer’s Award. He was recently Writer in Residence for the Stroke charity, InterAct Reading Service. His short stories have won numerous prizes and have been widely published and performed.

Us

Michael Kimball’s ‘Us’ has just been published in the US. I read it (under its UK banner) last year and utterly loved it.
Here’s what I said about it at the time:
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How Much of Us There Was by Michael Kimball, broke my heart. There’s not much else to say about it. It is, as I expected, utterly brilliant and incredibly affecting.
An elderly man wakes up one morning to find his wife having a seizure and then slipping into a coma. What follows is the story of the man’s wife’s death. It’s honest and moving and real and it’s written in such a sensitive and tender way that it’s almost impossible not to have your heart broken by it.
I wanted to describe How Much Of Us There Was as someone coming to terms with losing their partner, but that, I think would be wrong, because, like the man in the book, I don’t think many people are able to come to terms with such a tragic event.
An incredible book and one which I was delighted to discover was just as good as Dear Everybody.
It also made me think of my late grandparents, and made me happy that I’ve dedicated my book to them.
Read it. You will thank me for it.