Flash Fiction

I've been so proud of daughter Vikki's recent success with her creative flash fiction stories that I thought it might be good to mention these opportunities on the blog today. Sometimes, when you don't feel like settling down to a long writing session, or you want to refresh the creative muse, a short piece of fiction is the ideal length to work on. Flash fiction is very popular so look out for the markets available. Even the Bridport Prize now includes this category!

Vikki is using these as creative exercises and her two pieces are published on two different online sites where you can also read other writers' fiction and find out the submission requirements. The first, Empty Orchestra, is in The Puffin Review. This is a very atmospheric and descriptive piece - almost an observation. The second flash fiction, At the Fair, was tweeted as the editor's choice the other day on Postcard Shorts. This is a very poignant and descriptive piece with a twist ending.

I'm certainly inspired to try more of these short pieces as a means of developing my creativity, as well as encouraging observation and descriptive skills - both of which I often hurry past in the eagerness to finish a story. If anyone gets one published, let me know where and I'll tweet it for you!

Have just discovered I'm featured on Jane Riddell's blog today - quite an in-depth interview!

Rosemary

Featured Author: Myra Duffy

I’m delighted to welcome friend and fellow Scottish author, Myra Duffy, to the Reading and Writing blog today. I love Myra’s cosy crime novels which are set on the Isle of Bute, the venue of my childhood summer holidays. Although I enjoy many good crime novels, it’s the mystery element that most attracts me and Myra’s books have not disappointed in this respect. Her fans are very pleased that her new novel, Endgame at Port Bannatyne, is now available! Thanks for sharing the inspiration behind the series and this latest story, Myra.

Endgame at Port Bannatyne

Endgame at Port Bannatyne is the fourth in Myra Duffy’s series of cosy crime mysteries set on the Isle of Bute, just off the west coast of Scotland. All four books feature the same main character, Alison Cameron, a very ordinary woman who finds herself involved in crime in spite of vowing, ‘this time it will be different.’

In this latest novel, Alison is offered a job as assistant scriptwriter with Pelias Productions. The company is on the island making a film about one of the most famous sons of Bute, James Hamilton, and has based itself in the sleepy village of Port Bannatyne.

It’s not long before Alison has cause to regret her decision. Two of the cast members, Franklin Todd and Quentin Quizling, are at war; the actress playing James Hamilton’s wife has something to hide; the Director, Sol, is tetchy and secretive. Then a suspicious death and an on-set accident throw the production into disarray.

Alison’s personal life is also in turmoil: her relationship with her husband, Simon is fraught and the company of Robert, an old friend from the past, only complicates matters further.

Inspiration Behind the Series and Story

For many years we’ve had strong connections to Bute and when I wrote my first cosy crime novel it seemed an ideal setting. It’s a very peaceful island, with little crime, not at all the sort of place where you’d expect the sort of thing that happens in my novels. But the fact that it is small with a limited population of some 6000 (except in summer when visitor numbers swell the population) provides lots of writing opportunities for small town gossip and intrigue and ways in which incomers can upset the balance.

In Endgame at Port Bannatyne, the story of James Hamilton was such an interesting one, it seemed exactly the kind of basis for a film by a company like Pelias Productions.

James was an Edinburgh lawyer who bought Kames Castle but unfortunately he had a profligate wife, Harriet, who preferred the society of her friends in the capital and quickly ran through his money. Bills of sale from the castle records show he was reduced to selling the bedroom furniture to pay his debts while Harriet was having her portrait painted by Raeburn. Her picture hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.

He is buried (alone!) in an overgrown spot on the road to Ettrick Bay and rumour has it that he’s buried standing up so that on Resurrection Day as he rises from the grave the first thing he will see is his beloved Kames Castle and Kames Bay. But no one as yet has investigated the truth of this.

Of course, this being a crime novel, nothing and no one is as they seem and Alison finds herself in danger as she stubbornly tries to find out the truth about what is happening.

Great idea, Myra - all the best with this new book!

The Isle of Bute mystery novels are available in print and e-book on Amazon UK, Amazon US and at selected bookshops. Endgame at Port Bannatyneis also available in print from FeedARead.

Although Myra is a well published author of non-fiction, she's been writing fiction for as long as she can remember (winning a national competition when she was thirteen), but has recently turned to a life of crime. A writing life, she hastens to add.

For many years she's been a frequent visitor to the Isle of Bute, just off the West coast of Scotland - a firm favourite with visitors from Glasgow. Holidays in the island inspired her to write the first Bute novel: 'The House at Ettrick Bay' (an archaeological mystery) and this was followed by 'Last Ferry to Bute' (dark deeds during a college reunion) and 'Last Dance at the Rothesay Pavilion' (past events cast a long shadow as the Pavilion is refurbished).

 

Myra has been published in various magazines such as 'My Weekly' and in the 'Ireland's Own' anthology and has also won a number of awards for short stories, poetry and non-fiction, but novel writing is what she enjoys most.

You can find out more about Myra Duffy's writing on her website, or blog and she can be found on Facebook and Twitter (@duffy_myra).

Pinterest

It must be over a year since I last mentioned Pinterest and social media has moved on as always. I tentatively joined at first, unsure if it would be just another time waster. In the past few months, however, I've been really enjoying it and hope to use it even more.

If you're a visual person, like me, you probably like looking at pictures and images, many of which can be hugely inspirational for writing ideas. I wasn't using the boards properly but I've now started a new one for each of my novels and pin anything relevant to that story on the appropriate board. I also have a board for Inspiration; Victoriana; Regency; Scottish Scenery; Scottish Historic Sites; Writing.

It's great fun, although I tend to limit my time on it at the moment and I keep learning about new ways to use Pinterest. One of my daughter's good suggestions was to begin a board for the Victorian crime novel I've yet to finish and fill it with pictures that might inspire ideas - photos of the area and any items from the period. This can be kept hidden if I don't want to share it for now. 

The idea is to follow other people's boards and for people to follow yours, then you'll see a good variety of images when you log in and you can re-pin any of them to your own boards. You can also search for subjects and re-pin anything that catches your eye.

There's a good overview of the reasons why we should use Pinterest in this blog post on Word Serve Water Cooler, if you're thinking about trying it!

If anyone wants to check out my boards, you can find me here (they're still a work in progress!): 

Enjoy if you join and don't forget to follow me so I can follow back.
Rosemary