One Goal Reached, Many More to Conquer

I got excellent news this last week; my offer on a flat was accepted and the process of owning property has begun. But that isn't what this post is about (though it could be - I've been bouncing around in excitement about that for days). No, this post is about another bit of great news. For you are now reading the words of a published writer. That's right, my short story, that I talked about ages ago, has finally been released in an anthology and it's available from a number of sources.

**Shameless self-promotion ALERT**

The book is titled, "Twisted Realities: Of Myth and Monstrosity". It is a collection of short stories that explore what would happen if the old tales and legends were true - but with dark truths we never imagined. My story is called "A Fair Price", and is about a young woman discovering the holiday home her and her husband are staying in might not be so idyllic after all. You can find your very own copy here:

Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com
Smashwords

and here:

CreateSpace

I particularly like the bit on Amazon, where it says "Author" after my name. Squeel!

Now of course I would love it if everyone reading this would go buy their very own copy to keep and treasure forever, and then get all their friends to buy their own copies too, but I'm realistic - and with the property buying, on a tight budget myself now.* But I would be super grateful for the word of mouth, so if you know anyone who likes twisted tales and short stories - or reading in general - pass it on. I will ask Karma to send you something nice. Like cake. Everyone likes cake.


* Really? Is that why you just spent loads of money on your birthday party? And bought yourself that watercolour set? - Internal Editor.** 

**Shut up.

Feeling Thankful

I'm writing this because I realise I don't say thank you often enough for the good things in my life. Maybe it's the hangover (there was much dancing and drinking last night - and on a school night no less), or maybe it's the exhaustion talking, but I wanted to take a post to be grateful for the good things in my life. The Internet is full to bursting with joy-consuming negativity, like a big dark seeping slug on the interweb, so this is me fighting it back, if only a little.

Seeing the positive in things is something I do a lot more now than I ever have before, probably due to seeing first hand how fragile human life is and that it doesn't last forever. Rather than upset me the realisation invigorated me to try new things, to feed my passions and to push myself to achieve the things I want out of life. But it was easy to make that mental transition because of the wonderful people in my life. I owe a huge thanks to all my friends for being so jolly brilliant, encouraging and just generally fabulous. Then there's the wonderful man in my life, who puts up with me tumbling home at silly o'clock and only teasing me a little about it... or a lot, depending how funny it is. And I am immensely fortunate to have not just my parents in my life, but to know them as human beings, rather than simply as entities of authority.

I am very fortunate, and I hope I don't ever take that for granted, especially as not everyone can say the same. But finding the good, in amongst the bad, is definitely the best thing I ever learnt. So thank you guys, one and all, for being my rocks, my co-conspirators, my devil's advocates and the source of a lot of my hangovers...

*Shameless 90s reference alert*

It Never Rains; Instead It Shitstorms you

Howdy wordseekers. I have been a bit quiet on the ol' bloggery for a bit, and even my tweeting has taken a dive. All because I go and get "grown-up" and find myself with far more responsibilities and things to do then is wise for someone with as short an attention span as me. Ooh, look something shiny outside... Sorry. Where was I? Oh yeah, being a "grown-up" and doing everything at once.

Maurice Sendak: Gone Where The Wild Things Are

Maurice Sendak, the author and illustrator, died yesterday and though it's sad to know another great mind has left this mortal realm, it's been wonderful to see his works spoken about in print and on screen. I adored "Where the Wild Things Are" as a child, and only came to appreciate Sendak's works all the more the older I became.

Sendak did something that few children's writers seem to do; he told the painful truth. Being a child is not, in my experience, a purely innocent, tra-la-la through the flowers good time. Bits of childhood suck. Other parts can be terrifying and incredibly distressing; whether it's fearing that spelling test the next morning, with the teacher who shouts at you when you get it wrong, or blaming yourself for other people's problems, or feeling pure fury at your own powerlessness. Sendak understood this and communicated it in the dark fantasy worlds he created.

My imagination has been heavily influenced by Sendak's works, leading me to love the darker side of a "nice" story, which can also be seen in films like The Dark Crystal, Willow, Return to Oz or Labyrinth. They have the same mix of childlike wonder with a terrible darkness lurking on the edges, which occasionally confronts you head on. If you've never sat and read one of his books then I can't recommend them enough. No matter how old you are.

Film Review: Avengers Assemble

Or, as it should be written, "Avengers! Assemble!", in a big booming voice. In America it's just been titled "The Avengers", but someone, somewhere, thought us Brits would get confused between this and the truly dire 1998 film of the same name. Regardless of the name change, the film itself was great fun, and packed to the gills with action, humour and explosions. In other words; prime blockbuster stuff.

The Girl With the Dragon Tatto DVD/Blu-ray Launch

Yesterday I went to the launch party for the DVD and Blu-ray of David Fincher's version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The irony is I haven't seen the film yet (and sadly no freebies were available at the party). It was held in the new Covent Garden based London Film Museum, a place I didn't even know existed until I got the invite, in the appropriately named "Vaults". There was lots of scaffolding outside, making the entrance a bit hard to spot (thank you to the rep with the clip board standing outside in the rain - it was a clue for who we needed to talk to!) Inside were photos of the cast, particularly of Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, as well as a select choice of props from the film. What can I say; sometimes there are perks to my day job.

Flash Fiction Challenge - "Death is on the Table"

I was thinking I needed to do a bit more fiction on this ol' blogshere shaped thought translator and waddyaknow (that is so a word) - my favourite foul-mouthed pen-monkey, Chuck Wendig, went and issued a challenge on his blog. The theme is death, where it is a main feature of a 1000 word story. To that I say;

Death Of Rats by Paul Kidby

"Challenge accepted, sir. Even if it's, you know, a bit bleak."

Then I thought, does it have to be bleak? Can I make a story where death is a main element, the raisin dental of the story, but not be depressing about it? It's worth a go anyway, so keep reading to see my entry, coming in at 999 words. (It was very hard not to write my own ode to the Death of Rats, of Discworld fame. I love the Death of Rats. With his little scythe and his little cloak.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Death Duty - Apply Within

Some people think that dying is the worst thing that will ever happen to them. It isn't; filling in your forms so your spirit goes to the right place is the worst thing that can ever happen to anyone. I should know. I do it for a living. I'm an "Afterlife Co-Ordinator".

You see, there isn't a natural ascendance into heavenly space - death is complicated. Everyone has to be checked and assessed, before being assigned to their next life. Oh, did I not mention that? Yeah, you gotta do the whole thing again. And again. Once more around the merry go round. But next time you might be a cockroach, if you didn't behave yourself in your mortal coil. There's rumours of a next level, a higher state, but I've never seen it or known anyone to vanish into it. Likely a ruse to keep us keen.

It's a pretty dull job most of the time. The netherworld isn't the most glamorous (no nightclubs, no restaurants, no night for that matter) and those of us assigned this "honour" have to do it every day, hour after hour. It's not even as if we can simply stamp the form and send the floating essence on its way. Oh no, we have to interview them too, work out what their perspective is. Not everyone, just the "edge cases", the people who did some pretty bad things but may have had a reason, or seemed to accidentally do good things. Personally I envy those who only handle small furry mammals, or fish. How easy must that be? Oh, you were a fish? You bobbed about in the ocean until a bigger fish ate you? Let me stamp that form for you. Jeesh... some people don't even know how good their afterlife is.

I've been here for... well a long time. I can't honestly remember anymore. And, even though my head hurts at the thought of work, when I'm processing the latest form I always try to remember that the spirit before me is still getting used to this. Most are surprised they get to go back. And even more surprised when they find out they get to go back as a lion. Or a polar bear. Or an ant. That happens to more people then you might think, but then a lot more insects get to go back as humans then you might expect too.

I was starting another day, tidying my desk, when in came my first essence of the morning. I don't like to think of them as spirits; too spooky. But this one was different. It had a glow about it as it hovered between the filing cabinet and the Palm plant in the pink pot. Most of them have at least some features, the residue of the person they were, but this one had no face, no arms, nothing. Just a big glob of faintly glowing white-blueish mist. Then it spoke.

"What now?"

Short and to the point. I liked it already. I opened my drawer to pull out it's file, which normally materialise out of no where in there, as you need them. Oh, how I wish they would magically file themselves, but alas. This time though, there was no file. So I looked in my inbox tray. Nothing. I looked through the papers on my desk. Nothing. I began to feel a dread come over me. I'd lost a bloody essence's file. That's never happened before. I'd never even heard of it happening before. If I could have, I would have been sweating by now, but as it was I tried to act calmly in front of the client and looked through the filing cabinet. It floated over my shoulder, watching my movements as I again failed to find its file. I had to stall.

"So, where are you from?"

The essence bobbed up and down a couple of times, its confusion obvious, before it responded. "I remember a boat?"

"Really? A boat?" I asked, rummaging under my desk now in desperation, "so were you a fisher... man?"
Again the shape was silent for a time, giving me a moment to curse under my breathe when the damned file still hadn't materialised in any place I could think of. Then it glowed a little brighter and said, "I was told to come here."

None of them had ever said that before. I looked at it puzzled for a moment before asking what it meant.
"I... yes, it's coming back to me. I went to another office before this. They were very nice. They said I was to come and relieve you. That you're free to go."

For a moment I was the one who hung there, silently. With a shake of my head I gave a nervous laugh and answered, "That can't be right. There is no where to go. This is my job."

The globule moved about on the spot, like a dog shaking itself.

"No, there's another place above this one. They said, you just need to go up the stairs and turn to the right. And to not worry. I'll be taking over and will be fully trained on the job, just like you were."

I honestly felt like I was going to be sick, which considering I don't technically have a stomach anymore, is impressive. I walked to the door and opened it. There, despite never being there before, was a staircase, leading upwards, with a blazing glow at the top of it. I turned to the essence, which was beginning to take on the shape of a woman.

"Thank you. I think."

"Not a problem. Apparently you've been very good at what you do here. I hope I get to join you one day," she said.

"Yeah." I couldn't think of anything else to say. I turned to those stairs, which had a golden hue to them and took a step towards the light and a totally unexpected future.