Just before a story gets published, or a book gets released, I always have this wild feeling, this exhilerated feeling. Possibly the same feeling a hockey player gets just before the puck drops in a big game, or an actress just before she steps on stage. It's a charged sensation - the feverish hope that anything can happen. You might score five goals, or your book might catch on and become an indie hit. In my case it's no doubt partly delusional, but that's still the feeling I'll be carrying through into next week, when we launch my story collection, Burrard Inlet. The event is at Swansea's Dylan Thomas Centre, on World Book Day (April 23rd). I'll be interviewed by author, academic, and cinematic afficionado Alan Bilton. Things kick off at 7.30. Tickets are free, and so is the booze. This artistic vessel has been years in the making, and I can't wait to send it on its way.
My story, 'Hot Feet,' has just been published in Black Static magazine, courtesy of TTA Press. The piece is an oddity - a mix of true crime, thriller, and horror - and was based on real events that took place (and are still taking place, actually) back home in Vancouver. Basically, severed feet, in different shoes, sporadically wash up on the city's beaches. As you'd imagine, people are understandably horrified/fascinated. Even if the explanation may be more mundane - as reported in The Daily Beast - the macabre contrast of the feet, against the backdrop of a carefree and sun-scorched West Coast summer, worked its way into my head. I dreamt this story first, woke up at about three in the morning, and scribbled down a draft. I was like, thank you, muse.
This Saturday I'll be heading down to Cardiff to take part in the launch of Rarebit: New Welsh Fiction, an anthology that features my story, 'Mangleface.' To celebrate the release, as well as National Short Story Day, Parthian editor Susie Wild has organized a literary tour with many of the contributing authors, including Rachel Trezise, Deborah Kay Davies, and Roshi Fernando. Starting at 2 p.m., we'll be hitting up a few literary hotspots, as well as locations that inspired some of the works, before ending up back at NosDa Hotel and Bar, right in the city centre (and conveniently close to the train station, for those commuting). Tickets are a tenner, but that includes a paperback copy of the limited edition anthology - which means the tour is basically free. So come along and schmooze and hobnob and do all the things that writers and artistic types do at these events... including getting too drunk and possibly a bit belligerent, albeit in a friendly way.
