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Showing posts from May, 2015

May 2015: Literary Links

Bookish reading and the like... Korean Artist Beautifully Illustrates What Real Love Looks Like Marketing yourself as an author On 13th May 1888, Beatrix Potter, aged 22, recorded a trip to Machynlleth in her diary;  "May 13: Went with Mamma and Papa to Machynlleth, Merioneth.  From Euston to Stafford by Holyhead Mail all very well, but the Welsh Railways are past description. Four hours to go sixty miles between Shrewsbury and Machynlleth. When mushrooms are in season the guard goes out to pick them. Machynlleth, wretched town, hardly a person could speak English. Wynnstay Arms, to which we were directed, closed these two years. Lion, only other, a singular place." "Countryside most beautiful, but on rather a large scale for getting about." "Welsh seem a pleasant intelligent race but I should think awkward to live with. The children exceedingly pretty, black or red, with clear complexions and bright blue eyes. The middle-aged

May 2015: Life Happenings Happened

Photo Highlights Book Research Running away with circus Reading for Fun Nom Nom, new vegan shop at castle emporium has these gf beauties Emotions, post-election Flowers and sunny celebration £1 charity shop sale haul

May 2015: Parthian Happenings That Happened

Bye Bye May, You were a busy one. Here are the highlights... Tyler Keevil was shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year (again) for his short story collection Burrard Inlet and won the Silver Medal in the Independent Publisher Books Awards . You can read my author of the month piece on him here:  http://www.parthianbooks.com/content/author-month-tyler-keevil-interview Georgia Carys Williams was shortlisted for the Saboteur Awards  2015 for best short story collection for her debut Second-hand Rain. Carole Burns read from The Missing Woman and Other Stories at First Thursday in Chapter, Cardiff on May 7th We launched Richard Owain Robert's debut short story collection All The Places We Lived at Chapter in Cardiff on Thursday 14th May and lots of people came along... See the full Parthian photo blog Read a story from All The Places We Lived on The Quietus website. And then, at the Southbank Centre in London, Half Plus Seven novelist  Dan Tyte  batt

The Lonely Crowd: JACK-IN-THE-BOX

I have a new short story up on The Lonely Crowd today. It is called 'Jack-in-the-box' and you can read it here . Here's the first paragraph... You did not expect him to return to you on the bendy bus, but that is where he finds you. Something about its rubber innards – the accordion ribcage inhaling and exhaling – reminds you of his concertina demeanour. Your squeezebox: he was always stretching, always reaching for something higher. Books from the top shelf; imaginary basketball hoops. Always jumping up to tap at signs and street furniture, swinging from bars and branches as you passed, monkeying down the high street with a spring in his step. As if he wasn’t tall enough already, but he was, two heads above you; so that you’d need ballerina point work to tippy-toe up for a kiss, hand stretched skywards for balance. Up uP UP and he’d lift you; dangle you, a puppet, from his arms. He filled every space with his bouncing and fidgeting and talking but now it is your tur