The Rat-catcher, published in Paraxis

My short story, The Rat-catcher, has been published by Paraxis in the journal’s, “Mirrors, windows and walls” volume. Many thanks to the editorial team – Claire, Andy and Carys – for choosing to publish the story, and for the kind introduction given to it:

“Walls aren’t a foregrounded element in Lorrie Hartshorn’s ‘The Rat-catcher’, but they do play a significant role as symbolic parentheses. The story follows in the footsteps of Browning, Goethe and the brothers Grimm with its reimagining of Rattenfänger von Hameln. There is, of course, no shortage of riffs on the pied piper theme in film, radio and print, but we think you’ll be compelled and absorbed by the subtlety and confidence of Hartshorn’s in this urban retelling of a disturbing and perennially popular tale.”

You can read The Rat-catcher on Paraxis here.

A Note Unsaid – on 1000words

Published today on 1000words – my flash fiction piece, A Note Unsaid. If you’re too lazy to click (and, let’s face it, we’re all winding down…), see below.

A Note Unsaid

It never got properly dark there, not with the works so close by. Sometimes, as she waited in the kitchen for John to come home, she’d turn the humming strip light off and prepare the food by the glow of the quarry instead, judging how much to cut from each vegetable from the size of its long shadow on the chopping board. She didn’t even need to look at them any more – just the shade they cast in the half-dark.

She worked without thinking most of the time, chopping and dressing a salad, cutting thick slices of bread from a loaf, arranging the food on a plate so John could take what he wanted. Sometimes, after a long night shift, he was ravenous; other times, he’d come home grey and exhausted, and wanting nothing at all. She always made it as easy as possible for him, feeling a sting of pleasure as she watched him ponder and choose, his rough fingers hovering over each component of the meal.

By the time the night had started to lift, the indigo sky lifting over silken orange clouds, she remembered John wasn’t coming home. Lifting her head, she suddenly felt very tired. Across the water, the cranes reached towards the sky like ancient creatures stretching their long necks, the factory sending plumes of steam upwards like heavy breath warmed deep within some living thing.

The lights set high on the chimneys would go out soon, and the sharp, fickle ribbons of gold that reached across the water towards the house would be gone. In the months since the accident, she’d felt bitter anger at those lights, turning out when every new morning rose. Those were the lights that had connected her to John during the hours he spent over the water. They were the lights that should have guided John home.

Leaving the food on the table, she turned her back on the window and left the room. The cranes, with their slender necks, stood tall, and the tarnished water reflected the beauty of another nascent day.

Published on 1,000 Words

I’m pleased to say that I one of my new short pieces of flash fiction, entitled A Note Unsaid, will be published on 1000words in the next few days. I’ve got a fancy new badge to prove it (oooh!) and would like to thank editor Natalie Bowers for choosing to publish my work. I’ll share the story on here once it’s been published at 1000words.

For anyone interested in submitting their own fiction to 1000words, each piece of flash fiction must be <1,000 words (the shorter, the better) and based on one of the site’s photo writing prompts.

Published in Paraxis!

Pleased (somewhere in this work-fugged and sleepy mind!) to announce that one of my short stories will be published in Issue Four of Paraxis, due out in late November or early December!

Thank you to the editors – Claire, Andy and Carys – for the opportunity!

Published!

Really pleased to find out that my creepy short story, Spinning Swings, is going to be published in the next edition of Six Words magazine!

I’m starting to recognise the names of some of the authors in the online flash fiction community, and I’m very flattered to see some of my favourites in the shortlist – I’m in good company and I’m very grateful to the editorial team for the placement :)

And here’s borlotti in its new home from home!

As previously mentioned, my short story Borlotti has found a new home over at The Pygmy Giant!

Go and have a read if you haven’t already – and check out some of the other wonderful UK short fiction that the site has to offer!

Many thanks to Sarah and Mel at TPG for publishing me!

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Borlotti to be published on The Pygmy Giant – and other news

Today’s been a mixed bag but there are a few lovely cherries on top of it – the first being that my short story, Borlotti, is going to be published on lovely UK short fiction blog, The Pygmy Giant, this Sunday.

Borlotti is one of my favourite pieces of flash on here, so I’m glad that it’s being published on a little gem of a site that aims to support British writers of short fiction (not that all you Americans aren’t lovely!).

Another piece of news that’s probably only exciting to me (but I’ll share it anyway – I’m generous like that): I finally got a copy of Jacques-Pierre Amette’s Le Lac d’Or from Amazon today! I was moaning earlier than it was taking forever, but it finally came. Good news - not only because I’m dying to read it, but because I’m going to have a pop at translating it as well. It hasn’t been translated before (whereas some of Amette’s other work has – and has won awards) so it’s new territory!

I might publish some excerpts of my translation on here as time goes on – if anyone’s interested in seeing a few snippets?

Really looking forward to this as a new project!

Published!

“OMG, it’s that gal from Circles Under Streetlights!”

Good news has come in the form of an email: two of my short stories, The Red Butterfly and Sleeping, are going to be published in Vagabonds, a non-profit literary and arts anthology that’s published annually.

I’m ridiculously (and perhaps disproportionately) pleased about the whole thing. When I set up this blog, I didn’t think that I would go out of my way to get other people to read my work. Now, I find that I look foward to – rather than dread – pressing the ‘publish’ button on here, not because I crave validation and adoration (feel free, however) but because being read brings writing to life.

I’ve been surprised and pleased to find that having people enjoy your writing is a lovely thing. I find that I can genuinely appreciate constructive feedback without feeling a sting of disappointment (don’t go trolling me, now!) because I want to improve and I want people to enjoy more of what I write.

And so, yes, I’m pleased to be featured in Vagabonds. The anthology is set to be published on August 6th, so watch this space!

Six sentences…

Well, the evening has taken a turn for the better. I’ve had an email from the editor at Six Sentences to say that my first submission to the site will be published on June 13th. That’s the same day as the MRI scan on my knee. Maybe it’s a good sign?!

Anyway, my piece is entitled Leaving Alex and I look forward to posting it here after the 13th.

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