It has been longer than I anticipated updating this blog. I have been busy – work, family and writing wise.
I have completed (or near completion) a few more short stories: A Pretty Vacant Romance, Daylight Saving, Hanging On and Disciplinary. But mainly I have been preparing my stories for an onslaught on the world of competitions. It is a scary and exhilarating time. It’s still early days, but I was pleased to be Long listed for the prestigious Fish 2014 Short Story prize with Gameshow. I will be disappointed with anything less now and expecting so much more!
However, the main focus has to be completing the current raft of short stories and pulling together in an anthology. At the moment, I am confident of six, with another four in final stages of development and perhaps half a dozen in various stages of under-development. I think that I will need to get to c. 24 in order to whittle them down to the best dozen or so. That’s the task for completion by the end of May.
Both novels are on a bit of a back burner. Trouble-shooter is complete to full first draft stage, but needs some radical surgery in the 2nd draft. The Darkness in Light is virtually 2nd draft complete, but I have hit a bit of a barrier and need to decide whether to shift around the story more radically than I had thought, or hoped. I am leaving both to stew for a while in the hope that the solutions will be clearer, given time.
Michael Crossan, a mate, was honourably mentioned in the Fish competition and will be in the Anthology. I am delighted for him (as well as being massively jealous).