and Non-Fiction
There’s nothing like a short story to accompany coffee and cake; to lighten a tedious train journey; to fill the space between tasks; to read under the duvet until eyelids droop.
Over years of working with creative writing groups I have come across many examples of outstanding short fiction – from flash fiction under 500 words, to short stories of 10,000 words or more. I confess it’s not my strong point. My inclination is to write longer pieces, but I do admire those writers who excel at the short form.
This section of my website contains examples of short fiction (and non-fiction) from author friends, plus a few of my own. I hope you enjoy some of them.
LATEST POSTS
The Woman with the Suitcase
By Elizabeth Barber Listen to an audio of this short story:
Keep reading
Close Encounters of the Desperate Kind
By Len Maynard Have I ever recounted the story of my one and only meeting with Hollywood legend Stephen Spielberg? I don’t think so. As a working writer over the best part of half a century, I suppose the meeting of two giants of their respective artistic fields was almost inevitable. But I’m getting ahead…
Keep reading
Mud Slide Slim
Vinyl. At first, I thought it was just a man thing – an extension of engines and steam trains. Why would I bother? I had my iPhone and ear buds: music and podcasts on demand. Revelation for me came during an afternoon early in the first pandemic lockdown when I helped him tidy the loft.…
Keep reading
The Paper Chase
By Keith Wadsworth The Envelope Jess leaned forward and, with elbows on knees, she rested her chin on her clenched fists. It was her favourite sulking pose. If it was for public consumption she would add a good loud sigh as she did it. Here in the park the sigh would have been wasted so…
Keep reading
A JOURNEY
By Joan Whicher It was Paris 1962 and I was visiting my boyfriend who would later become my husband. He was staying at his aunt’s flat in Boulogne sur Seine, while working as an intern at a French insurance company in the centre of Paris. The previous year he’d attended a business studies course in…
Keep reading
ORFORD
By Joan Whicher Orford in Suffolk is where we would spend a long weekend in August for many years. We’d normally arrive by way of Lavenham and Woodbridge. This was something of a ritual and was looked forward to hugely, as it was, during those years the sum total of our annual holiday, short but…
Keep readingLoading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.