For Lovers Of Small Handbags

Thrilled to see the lovely WritersLittleHelper’s review of Not So Perfect on her blog today. Big thanks to her, and to Dan Powell whose blog she won the copy from.

She said ‘In a few carefully chosen words, Perring can make the reader care for a character who vomits lemurs.‘ which made me smile and happy.

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In other news, it was very hot yesterday and it is very hot today. I have been working in shorts. I’m not sure how long I want this to continue for.

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And in other, other news, I’ve been writing, which has felt good. I think that little break I had was needed.

One Year Ago Today

I was getting ready to do this.

Yep, I launched Not So Perfect this time last year. It has FLOWN! And it has, mostly, been a great twelve months.

I wanted to take the time here to thank everyone who’s bought a copy, everyone who’s taken the time to review it (feel free to continue, folks!), everyone who’s emailed me to say nice things about it and everyone who’s supported me. Thanks also to those who helped out with the blog tour and to those wonderful people at Roast Books, who made the book a pleasure to hold and to look at (and for all the other bits of hard work they’ve done, and continue to do too).

Yes, thank you, folks. I really, really appreciate it.

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Also, big thanks to the lovely and talented Lynsey May, who gave me, Not So Perfect and the reading last week a mention on here blog. 

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…

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!)

Order!

I remember (very clearly!) how much hard work it was putting the stories of Not So Perfect in order. We (me and the wonderful Roast Books people) knew which story we wanted to start with and which we wanted to end with, and that was about it. Making sure what went between them flowed (for those who would read it in order) and making sure it was balanced and sensible was, well, it was not easy and it took an awful lot of time getting it right. (And I DO think we got it right, which is good.)

So. Not So Perfect has 22 stories in it.

Freaks!, the next book has 50. And they’ve been written with Someone Else, ie (should that not really be elle est??) the very lovely and superbly talented Caroline Smailes (more on that, and the process, to come I imagine).

50.

50 stories that needed putting in order.

We tackled the problem head on. We met yesterday morning and spent pretty much the whole day frowning, umming, arring, laying stories on the floor, arranging them, rearranging them, sometimes scratching our heads, and occasionally swearing. It was hard work. But we did it. In the end. Caroline didn’t even need to shout at me once. (Huge thanks must go to the brilliant and generous Fabri, who let us borrow the upstairs of the cafe he runs where we had sufficient space to have fifty stories and their illustrations on the floor – it made things SO much easier. The lemonade helped too.)

So, Freaks! is nearly totally finished. There are still bits to do, illustrations to come in, edits to complete and things but, yesterday, for the first time, we got a proper idea of how the book will look. And I’ve got to say, I’m really, really excited about it.

And some pics…

The manuscript.

Pretty thick.
Scattered Stories
FINALLY! The stories in order! Go, us!

Sorry and Funny

Only a little post today to assure you all that I am still alive and that I’ve just been a bit rubbish at blogging of late – mostly because I’ve not been very well (I have been bust writing too). But today is my last day of antibiotics (which, although they clearly help, are bloody ‘orrible things), which is, as far as I’m concerned, a Very Good thing.

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A massive thanks to those who’ve posted reviews of Not So Perfect on Amazon and Goodreads (et al), following my Twitter plea the other day. If anyone else would like to add them I would be eternally grateful. Seriously, if you’ve read and enjoyed Not So Perfect, please do spread the word – it really helps.

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And, to sign off on an amusing note – I give you this: when collaborations in writing don’t go exactly to plan.
It’s an old one, but that doesn’t make it any less funny.

Ultimately Satisfying

Really pleased to see Not So Perfect getting a lovely mention by Carys on her blog – she’s reading and reviewing all the collections long listed for the Edge Hill Prize.

And that brings me to another thing. A cool thing. You know, we hear often that short story collections don’t sell, and that no-one publishes them. The long list would suggest otherwise though, and that, for me, is a wonderful and encouraging thing.

Have a look. There are collections there from Tindal Street Press, Biscuit, Pewter Rose Press, Impress Books, Penguin, Salt, Seren, Bloomsbury, Virago, Random House, Parthian and, of course the brilliant Roast Books. 

So short story collections are being published. I suppose maybe the trick is knowing where to look for them. So go on folks – look! And once you’ve looked, buy!