I cut my writing teeth on short stories. To a newbie, a 2000 word short story isn’t quite as intimidating as an 80,000 word novel. It’s only later we learn that in many ways, short stories are more difficult!
I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few short stories published alongside some excellent fellow writers. Here is a selection of anthologies I’ve contributed to.
HWA Historical Short Story Collection
Those who enjoyed my King’s Knight historical novels may well like this one. It’s a collection of medieval set short stories and features one of Gregory Maudesley’s adventures. In the short story Guile, Maudesley finally meets his father-in-law. Of course, nothing ever goes to plan so there’s still a fair bit of bloodshed and unorthodox (for the time) behaviour for a knight and a baron. Set between Revolt and Treason, this one is a lot of fun.
Hell’s Empire
This was one of my favourite projects to work on. No exaggeration. It was the first time I was asked, nay encouraged to delve into folk horror and I loved it. The set up for the anthology is simple: what if in the later days of the Empire, Victorian Britain and Ireland are invaded, not by martians (a la H. G. Wells)but by demons. Each story is written by a different author and yet desperate acts of courage both large and small all feed into the overall narrative. It’s ingeniously well done and I’m so proud to have been part of it. My story – Yahn Tahn Tethera – is set in the border country between England and Wales, where a young shepherdess is about to save a different kind of flock.
The Random Writers
I’m one of the founders of the Random Writers and quite frankly, I would not have got as far as I have without the support of this group of diverse and talented writers. We mostly focus on speculative fiction but we also boast crime and thriller writers, literary writers and fellow writers of historical fiction. Short stories brought us all together – to the point where we created three anthologies – but many of us have gone on to sell novels and enter traditional publishing contracts. Writing is absolutely something you can do alone, but the right group of writing friends will get you a lot further.
A Chimerical World: Unseelie
Edited by Scott Sandridge, Seventh Star Press
‘The Yielding’ was picked up by Seventh Star Press for inclusion in their anthology
‘A Chimerical World – tales of The Unseelie Court.’ Think all Faeries are like Tinkerbell? Guess again. Nineteen stories about the bad folk who live under the hill. They don’t think like humans… Available in ebook and paperback.
Stories for Homes – Volume One
Edited by Sally Swingewood and Debi Alper
My short story ‘Mayflies’ appears in the anthology ‘Stories for Homes’, all proceeds of which go to the housing the homeless charity, Shelter. Available in ebook and paperback, this is a 500 page bargain featuring some great literary talent, from established and up-and-coming writers. And that short story cannot be read anywhere else 😉
Stories for Homes – Volume Two
“Stories give our imaginations a home. It’s good to see them helping to give people shelter in the real world, too…”
– Joanne Harris, author of ‘Chocolat’
“A cornucopia of witty, tragic, elegant, raw, heart-warming and terrifying stories that take the idea of Home, play with it as only truly talented writers can, and all to help those who have no home at all.”
– Emma Darwin, author of ‘The Mathematics of Love’
A home is something most of us have the luxury of taking for granted but for many it is a grim struggle to obtain what should be a basic necessity. Stories for Homes is a collection of witty, poignant, funny and heartbreaking short stories by fifty five authors, both established and emerging, reflecting the connection between the immediacy of housing crisis and the stories people tell about their lives around and within it. Volume Two of the anthology includes stories, poems and flash fiction and again all proceeds will be donated to Shelter, the charity for housing and homelessness.
My story ‘Born at Ashfall‘ is in excellent company here and once again all proceeds go to the homelessness charity, Shelter.