In the mornings I’m a Nursery Cook, the rest of the time a Writer. Been writing for decades: short stories, plays, poems, a sitcom and more recently flash fiction, Creative Writing MA at Lancaster Uni and now several novels. Been placed in competitions (Woman’s Own, Greenacre Writers and flashtagmanchester) and shortlisted in others (Fish, Calderdale, Short Fiction Journal). I won the Calderdale Prize 2011, was runner-up in the Ink Tears Flash Fiction Comp & won the Greenacre Writer Short Story Comp 2013. I have stories in Jawbreakers, Eating My Words, Flash Dogs Anthologies 1-3, 100 RPM and the Stories for Homes anthology. My work’s often described as ‘sweet’ but there’s usually something darker and more sinister beneath the sweetness. I love magical realism and a comedy-tragedy combination. My first novel, Queen of the World, is about a woman who believes she can influence the weather. I’m currently working on a 3rd: Priscilla Parker Reluctant Celebrity Chef. Originally from West Midlands, I love living by the sea in Morecambe, swimming, cycling, theatre, books, food, weather, sitcoms and LBBNML … SQUEEZE!
This is the flash I got a 'highly commended' for in the Poised Pen Another Place competition.
First, the picture prompt ...
Photo by AJ Walker
My Ladies
He
watches himself at the water’s edge. The sky’s heavy, the grey blanket sea breathing
at his feet. Standing upright feels like too much effort. It would be easy to
sink beneath the damp sand or be swept out to sea on the tide.
Tim observes himself from a distance these days. It’s
easier. Safer. It wasn’t worth going anywhere or talking to anyone. He always
messed up. He lives mainly in his head. Free. Protected from embarrassment.
Mum says he made friends easily as a child. There’s a
photo of him in her album. Early eighties. Three year old Tim on the promenade
hand in hand with two teenaged girls. Sisters who stayed for a week.
‘They fell for my little Timmy. You called them ‘my
ladies’. You cried when they went home.’
Of course Tim didn’t remember. He stares hard at the
photo, willing himself there again. The girls are laughing. Big hair, leggings,
fluorescent lime green and orange tops, fingerless gloves. Tim’s in shorts and
stripy t-shirt, swinging between them with an expression of pure delight. Carefree
and happy.
Within a decade he’d found himself unable to look at
or talk to the guests. Mum would push him into the dining room with a teapot, a
loaded toast rack and a prompt. He would mumble, making a fool of him
He watches a ship pass, experiencing a surge of anger towards
the folk on board, folk who always said and did the right thing, who talked,
laughed, lived, made love, did everything casually without thought.
There’s another vessel close by. A dingy with two women
in. One of them gives a cheery wave. Tim sees himself turn.
No! What if they aren’t waving at him?
But there’s no one else on the beach.
They’re giggling and calling out words he can’t catch.
He stares at them. They’re alike, mid-forties maybe.
They are
waving at him.
Could they really be back after all these years? How
did they recognise him?
He watches himself run into the water to greet them
and, without giving it a moment’s thought, follows.
My certificate!
Me reading 'My Ladies' at the Poised Pen event on Friday 4th December. I also read 'Hot and Sweet', 'Tiswas' and 'To Do List' in the open mic. Thanks to judge Nik Perring for choosing my flash, to AJ Walker for the photos and to the Poised Pen Writers Group for the competition and the reading opportunity ...
First of all, a massive thank you
to all who entered. Never imagined I’d get as many as twenty-three entries.
More thanks go to Faith Cobaine,
who supplied the photograph and the inspiration, and to Stella Turner for
keeping me informed of progress, posting the flashes for those who couldn’t and
for sending me them to judge.
The Masterpiece by Cathy Lennon
has been removed from the competition, due to me being lucky enough to hear her
read it on the 14th November at the Write Now story slam in Chorley. She won
that competition, reading a slightly longer version of The Masterpiece in the
final and receiving a cash prize.
It was hard to decide on my
shortlist of seven – I found things to like and admire in all the entries - and
even harder to pick the final order. All seven will be mentioned here.
Special mention for ‘Shakespearean
Sonnet for a Seaside Statue’ by Sue Denim (No Twitter name. Who is this?)
On the one hand, this is not a
flash, on the other hand, I’ve tried and failed at writing a sonnet in the past
so I take my hat off to the author. It looks and feels authentic, though I’m
no Shakespeare expert. I like the Eric statue in a way
I never did like Morecambe & Wise themselves (preferred The Two Ronnies). I
see the statue as a separate character, the one who was left just as a foot
when someone tried to steal him, the one folk ask for as a stop on the bus and the
character I put in my story ‘Eric’s Grand Day Off’, seeing the light very soon.
So I recognise the references in
this, which are built into our culture like words running through a stick of
rock. It’s cleverly done. I particularly enjoyed the lines …
‘The notes that sounded when a
tune thou played
Were all correct, thou said, but
might belong
In some order more fittingly
arrayed.’
Eric and Stella
Eric's Foot
Special mention for Mum by Ed
Broom
For most original take on the prompt. Of course that’s a municipal Christmas tree! For being funny and for a character who's a very tall woman.
Wondering what size feet she has. But she is ‘amazing’ and has totally shown
Ryan’s doubting friends.
Honourable Mention for Soul Mates
by @firdausp
This is lovely. The idea of
hearing your shadow’s smile as ‘a little swish of the lips’ and of it ‘pooling
around my feet’. This shadow is perfect, ‘more fluid and graceful’ than its
owner, if that’s the right word. The ending is very touching, the shadow
‘spooning me from behind, a reminder that I’m never alone’, and yet, it seems
this character is.
Honourable Mention for Woman at
Work by Liz Hedgecock
Not always keen on writers in
stories but this works rather well. It uses the prompt so effectively and I
love the idea of an umbrella being this woman’s – and everybody’s – work.
In Third Place … Squeeze Me I’m
Yours by FE Clarke
A flash made up of THIRTY TWO (tell
me I’ve got that right!) Squeeze songs is really quite something. Talk about
writing for the judge. Because I THINK I may have mentioned Squeeze on Twitter
recently. Once or twice. This gets its placing for the research that's
clearly been done, (though if I was being Miss Picky I’d say its Last
Time Forever not Last Thing Forever), for the utter cheek of it (most of these words were written years ago by Chris Difford), and for ‘Where
is my black coffee in bed, labelled with love; where is my slap and tickle?’, which
is where I began to laugh out loud.
Me and Squeeze and Slap and Tickle and now a Squeeze flash ... who knew?
In Second Place … The Feel of
Rain by Voima Oy
Lovely take on the prompt, with
the double meaning of the title. The character comes across brilliantly. Great
idea to make her a private detective. The second person point of view works
well, like an imaginary conversation with someone you’re watching but can’t
show yourself to. Suggestions of backstory though we never find out why she
left him.
In First Place … Me and My Shadow
by Jacki Donnelan
An original take on the prompt,
beautifully written without a single wasted word. I love the concept of sending
your ‘bold and poster-sized’ shadow out on a’ first date in real life’ then
becoming jealous, changing your mind and lashing out at her and her ‘charcoal
perfection’. The denouement is fantastic, as we are left wondering at the
nature of that final gasp, pondering what happens next.
Thank you all once again. I am in
awe of people who run a comp every week. I know I couldn’t and don’t want to.
Just remember, without the three recently lost comps, you can all find flash (and short story and
novel) fodder wherever you look. You can write it and submit or enter in any
one of a number of comps, possibly winning money and the glory. Many of you can
write in genres I cannot begin to understand. Speculative, fantasy, sci-fi and
steam punk, whatever that is. Some of you have a miraculous ability to churn
out a first draft of 50k in a single month, while doing all the other things
you do. Most of you are there congratulating the moment anyone wins something,
a thing I struggle to do. And one of you writes and performs very funny poetry,
as I discovered recently.
I know it’s good to have short
deadlines forced upon you and the instant gratification of comments and
placings within a few days and I’ll be the first to admit I have been seduced
by this myself in the past couple of years. But flash prompts are EVERYWHERE
and YOU have the drive, commitment and ideas to go it alone whenever you have
to.
