I got a personalised rejection letter with feedback for a short story I submitted to a mag, and I’m not sure I’m brave enough to read it.
short story
Bitch-Space: 30 April 2024
I wrote and submitted a short story all in the same day. It’s fucking scary. I’m still firmly in the “the story fucking sucks” phase of the writing process, which is not conducive to confidence when sending a story to a paying market… for other people to judge. But hey, I did it. As well, … Read more
Bitch-space: 1 Feb 2024
I’m looking at the reminder to write So Long and Thanks for all the Diamonds stuck to the bottom of my monitor and wondering, why am I hesitate to unleash this new Type Type Type method on an existing/half-finished work? What is it about TTT or an unfinished shorty that, dare I saw it, scares … Read more
Challenge: 8 Shorties in 8 Weeks, 2024
I’m doing it again, challenging myself to write eight short stories in eight weeks. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons, but mostly I want to push myself to write more (Soooo many books! So little time) and to squash my inner bitch critic, and there’s the added benefit of having stories to put … Read more
My NaNoWriMo Quest
It’s the first day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I’m a third of the way through my daily goal (wipes sweaty forehead). By the time I’ve finished this post, I’ll be over halfway and then the hard stuff will begin. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with NaNo. I love the … Read more
Going Her Own Way: LG Surgeson on Antiheroines
LG Surgeson is the author of the fantasy adventure series The Black River Chronicles, including the short story Clara’s Buttons.
BELINDA: Tell us about Clara, what makes her an antiheroine?
LG: Clara grew up on the dirty streets of Aberddu (pronounced Aber-thee) city. She was orphaned during the Summer of Fire, and left picking over the rubble of destroyed temple. She was found by Iona Pringle, a local adventurer, who took a certain amount of pity on the young Clara. She hosed her down, fed her and handed her over to the Guild Below–an organisation famous for its skills in thievery, among other things.
The Guild took her in and trained her in some of their trade mark skills; pick-pocketing, appraising items, forgery, and general thievery. It was in the guild that she met Min, Luce & Angel the other members of her gang and between the four of them they set about making a living by mugging rich people.
Irrepressible is the best way to describe Clara, nothing keeps her down for long. She’s had knock after knock, but she always bounces back. She doesn’t take anything or anyone seriously and she’s not afraid of breaking the law. Clara is a petty criminal who will lie and cheat to keep her head above water. She is loyal to handful of people, but she would still push them out of the way to get the last crumbs in the pie-tray.