The sun rose in the west

The sun rose in the west and coloured the hills. First they were velvet dark, not quite black, then burnt umber, flaming orange-red, limpid platinum. Light gathered. The hills became distinct, hard dry mounds that the sun reached from, taking hold of the day, making it hard and brittle too. A party of men came … Continue reading The sun rose in the west →

Another sorcerers apprentice

Wrote this story for a competition in response to an art work showing a be-suited man with rabbit's head doing something magical with a woman's head in a jar and surrounded by buzzing red sprites... Didn't win but I liked it. So here it is, unleashed... Darkness… coolness… walls… smells. Rubbish? Bins? Hands on head…ooh. … Continue reading Another sorcerers apprentice →

Little Hatshepsut

Like a miracle, a light rain had drifted in from the sea. The sea was a long, long way off and Ahmes looked at it as if it was strange emissary from Hapy[1]. Rain was rare in her world. Little pock marks on the river below her. It looked pretty but she still thought the … Continue reading Little Hatshepsut →

Finding Dan O’Brien

Have just discovered (via the strangest of pathways - researching falconry in medieval Europe) a writer, ecologist, lecturer and thinker named Dan O'Brien. Check out his material at: http://wildideabuffalo.com/about-us/dans-writings/

POPULAR CULTURE: Capital opera (the story)

The story below is to feature in my upcoming book: HiStory 2 (stories for History and English for Years 9 - 10). The camera as all-seeing City location - studio: bird’s eye view. Wide shot. A line of people stretches from the entrance around the block. Silence, other than the wind. And then I lower … Continue reading POPULAR CULTURE: Capital opera (the story) →

Carrying fire

It's bitterly cold and we are in trouble. Snow falls from the sky; not hard, it's soft and almost floating. It should be lovely and when we had our fire it was good to sit in the cave and watch it. Then we had terrible luck. Tree, who carried the coals near the end of … Continue reading Carrying fire →

Kill Your Darlings… metaphorically, anyway

I've recently discovered a literary journal called 'Kill Your Darlings'; I presume the title is derived from William Faulkner's notion that 'in writing, one must kill one's darlings...' or words to that effect. The fiction looks interesting and the articles provocative. Try this one: http://www.killyourdarlingsjournal.com/?post_type=article&p=10190