A lot has happened recently. To start with writing news: my story ‘A Stray Cat in the Mountain of the Dead’ was featured in issue 290/291 of Interzone. As stories go, this one was particularly close to my heart. Like many others, it started out as a collage of bits and pieces, scavenged and polished from memories; but more than that, part of it is a tribute to my great-uncle, a former WW2 resistant who spent part of the war ferrying Jewish children across the border into Switzerland (though Jewish himself, he remained in France throughout, lending his help wherever he could). I’m glad this story found a home. Some people have lived lives that need to be remembered.
Another story found a home in ParSec, PS Publishing’s new magazine, edited by Ian Whates. I had challenged myself to write an optimistic pandemic story last year, and the result was a retelling of the Obasute and Urashima Taro legends, set in the Mediterranean (on a fictional version of Porquerolles Island, which happens to be the island you can glimpse in the background of this site’s header!).
In the meanwhile, Stupefying Stories published two drabbles of mine, here and here! A fun challenge, since I’m not usually comfortable with very short forms…
And finally… my daughter was born in June! Writing time has been sparser, and there’s little I could write now that wouldn’t sound abysmally trite, so let’s just say I’m happy. Extremely so.
Stay where people sing. Bad people don't usually sing. 