Rebecca Stonehill's Blog, page 58
June 1, 2017
Writing Motherhood: A Creative Anthology
This blog post is long overdue, but I wanted to mention a new anthology that I feature in! Named Writing Motherhood – A Creative Anthology, this collection has been edited by Carolyn Jess-Cooke and features a chorus of female voices amongst writers and poets on the ‘wonders and terrors’ of motherhood. Encompassing post-natal depression, maternal instincts, miscarriage to […]
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May 13, 2017
Friday Fictioneers ✮ Flash Fiction 100 words ✮ The Redemption of Black Ice
When I get the time (the big “when”), I love writing short stories. So what better than to write some flash fiction, which is very short stories. Not long ago I discovered Friday Fictioneers, hosted by an author, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Each week she posts a photograph and writers are invited to contribute a complete piece […]
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May 2, 2017
Part 2 of my Self-Publishing Journey: Confession Time!
Ok, time to ‘fess up and give you the second instalment of how I’ve been getting on since I last wrote about my new adventures in self-publishing. (Click here in case you missed that post). First off, my ‘beta reader’, in other words, my trusted reader who will give my finished manuscript the once-over has […]
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April 12, 2017
Friday Fictioneers ✮Flash Fiction 100 Words ✮ Three Days to Go
Photo Credit © Dale Rogerson Three days to go Three days to go. I get them all round. Friends since I-don’t-know-when. We order pizza, paint our toenails violent red, sing along to Nina Simone. First bottle of wine, they tell me how happy I look. I pick at a slice of pepperoni; try not […]
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April 2, 2017
‘The past is never dead.’ Inherited trauma in real-life and in my writing
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” William Faulkner, from Requiem for a Nun Is it possible for behaviours to pass from one generation to another? We all know about genetic inheritance and the chromosomal DNA that is received from our parents; that we may inherit our mother’s aquiline nose, our father’s curly […]
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March 31, 2017
Friday Fictioneers ✮ Flash Fiction 100 words ✮ Watching the Waves Reclaim You
Photo credit © Fatima Fakier Deria Watching the Waves Reclaim You We planned it down to the last detail, you and I. Before you were too sick to make decisions or communicate. We sat, hands clasped around tea gone cold. “But can you face the questioning afterwards?” I nodded. “I’m strong.” I meant it. I was. […]
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March 23, 2017
Friday Fictioneers ✮ Flash Fiction 100 words ✮ Cloistered
Photo credit J Hardy Carroll Friday Fictioneers is a weekly flash fiction writing challenge with a photo prompt, hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. CLOISTERED Cloistered. That’s what my sister Bessie called it. Cloistered in our ancestral home like two prize cakes, not to touch, only for display. Destined forevermore to do needlework and flower arranging and […]
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March 19, 2017
My New Adventure in Flash Fiction: Friday Fictioneers
I am setting myself a new challenge – joining in with as many Friday Fictioneers 100 word flash fiction challenges (thank you Louise Jensen!) as I can. It has been SUCH a long time since I have written any short stories, let alone flash fiction but I’m taking the plunge, hoping it will help me […]
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March 17, 2017
A New Adventure in Flash Fiction: Friday Fictioneers
I am setting myself a new challenge – joining in with as many Friday Fictioneers 100 word flash fiction challenges (thank you Louise Jensen!) as I can. It has been SUCH a long time since I have written any short stories, let alone flash fiction but I’m taking the plunge, hoping it will help me hone my editing skills in the novel I’m currently writing. And wow, I found it hard. But, at the same time, I loved it.
So, here goes. This week, a story is to be written from this photo prompt:
:
Credit: Jennifer Pendergast
The Ghost of Us
The first picnic day of late spring, finally warm enough to spread a rug out, allow the sun to infiltrate our wintered bones. I approach it now with both dread and longing. For years, it was a tradition: the same spot in the local park, a bottle of wine for us, apple juice for Harry.
When we became just two, Harry wouldn’t leave my side.
But this year, he trots over the gleaming grass. Away from me, away from the ghost of us. He is finally healing I think, and with this knowledge comes both gut-wrenching sorrow and deep gratitude.
This short story was written for Friday Fictioneers. See Rochelle Wisoff’s website for more details.
Not read my latest novel yet, The Girl and the Sunbird? Here’s what some reviews from Amazon are saying about it:
‘This is a poignant, heart-wrenching, impactful story that I won’t soon forget.’
‘I envy anyone who is still to read this.’
‘It’s one of those books that weaves itself into your soul and stays with you long after you reluctantly read the last page.’
‘A brilliant book, an epic story, this book deserves to be read by everyone.’
The post A New Adventure in Flash Fiction: Friday Fictioneers
March 10, 2017
Matala Snapshots: Then & Now and Title for Book #3!
Are you ready for some photos?
Whenever I write, whatever it is – short story, poetry, some creative non-fiction or full length novel – imagery is always really important to me. I must have pictures in my head, not just vague images but I come to know exactly what my characters look like, the shade of their hair and the clothes they wear, the landscapes they walk through and their visual cultural contexts.
I always create a pinterest board for a new novel (click here to see the board for my next novel) which I find really helpful for expanding upon this imagery. Photographs are obviously a brilliant source to help my visualisation process and I thought I’d share a few with you now so you too can start imagining the setting of my next book. Speaking of which, I have an idea for a title which I’d love your feedback on!
Here it is:
The Secret Life of Edward Nightingale
Comments please! The good, the bad & the ugly 
