Aliya Whiteley's Blog, page 10

January 27, 2022

From the ears up

Fictionz, a new app dedicated to telling stories, has turned the title story from “From the Neck Up” into a three-part podcast. Have a listen to this top adaptation of my story of regrowth, job opportunity, and decapitation. It’s got sound effects.

Here’s a bit of info about Fictionz:

FICTIONZ is the first mobile app that streams premiere female-centric narrative podcasts to read and/or listen to ad-free. Each series has the highest production value and is made by movie directors and talented actors. Our stories are adapted from many award-winning short stories, books, and original ideas. The immersive platform and app feature only stories with female writers, directors, or protagonists – and sometimes all of the above. The First Episodes are always free.

Thanks to everyone at Fictionz for doing such a great job on my story! You can download their app here.

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Published on January 27, 2022 08:17

January 14, 2022

Skyward in paper

Not long now until the paperback version of Skyward Inn is out in the world. Here they are, fresh in the box, and very shiny. I wish I could take a photo that does them justice, but I can’t capture the shiny. Really, they are beautiful.

Skyward Inn in paperback

They’ll be published on 20th January, and I’ll celebrate with something appropriate. A brew or two, probably. I’m not sure if that’ll be tea or beer. Maybe both. Cheers in advance.

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Published on January 14, 2022 01:52

December 31, 2021

My favourite reads of 2021

Usually at this point in the year I’ve run out of chocolate, but this year I am still piled high with the good stuff. Brilliant! It’s a strong start to 2022, along with a magnificent pile of book presents to keep me company while I eat. I will say – watch out when you combine chocolate and books. I’ve already managed to get it on one page.

Before I dive in, I’ll do my usual end of year mentions to the books that really meant something to me this year. I’ll start back in January, when I read three books in succession that I think must be the best reading streak I’ve ever had: Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police, followed by The Wardrobe Mistress by Patrick McGrath, then M. John Harrison’s The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again. Absolutely amazing. What a way to get through January. I wouldn’t have said these three have a lot in common (apart from incredible writing) but the more I think on it, the more I see connections in their women narrators standing alone, trying to make sense of the world.

Looking back at it, it wasn’t just January that was filled with great words. I went on to really enjoy Emily St John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel, which I’m still thinking about now, and Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, which I gave as a Christmas present because I liked it so much. Quiet, slippery places in fiction really called to me. Madeline Watts’ The Inland Sea and Munich Airport by Greg Baxter. A Separation, by Katie Kitamura. Benjamin Myers’ short novel The Offing was moving and evocative. Gary Budden and Maxim Griffin created an illustrated fiction/non fiction book called These Towers Will One Day Slip Into the Sea that I loved. It’s so good about places that we think we know, and places that are strangers.

I made lots of new favourite authors, but stayed true to my classics, of course, including the obligatory mention of Richard Brautigan. I took a trip to The Bearded Badger Bookshop in Belper, Derbyshire, and while I was there I bought a copy of In Watermelon Sugar. It sits next to the rest of my Brautigan collection now, inviting me to read it again.

I’d never got around to Doris Lessing’s The Good Terrorist for some reason, so I grabbed it from the library shelf one day got totally sucked into that. She has such clarity to her voice. Rupert Thomson’s Barcelona Dreaming is just about perfect. And I read a collection of Ursula Le Guin’s novellas called The Found and the Lost; I found one called Old Music and the Slave Woman that will affect me from now on.

If you’re a short story reader, please do check out Malcolm Devlin’s Unexpected Places to Fall From, Unexpected Places to Land. Walking to Doggerland was, I think, my favourite short story of the year. And if you write short stories I can’t think of a better guide than George Saunders in his book A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. It had an impact on me, and I’ve taken some of his advice very much to heart, and made a note to reread Chekhov’s short stories in the coming year.

Two final recommendations for my favourite horror reads of the year – I did an event with Caroline Hardaker last year, so got to read her novel Composite Creatures, which charmed me, as well as making my skin crawl. And I read a new edition of Joel Lane’s The Witnesses Are Gone (from Influx Press). I don’t think it’s out for a few months yet. Not many things bother me on the page, having spent my time thinking up lots of horrible things to put in stories for years, but this one got into my brain.

On that disturbing note, I hope you had a fun reading year, and found many stories that will stay with you. I love that moment when a book comes back to you, prompted by some small thought or event, and you revisit it, and maybe even come to some new revelation about it. Thanks to all those writers who have given their time and energy in 2021 to making such stories. This is much more interesting place to be because of you.

Back to the chocolate and the books! Right… what to read first?

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Published on December 31, 2021 02:51

December 30, 2021

A last minute attack

Just when I thought it was safe to slump gracefully into 2022 – look out! There’s one more book to add to the list of published works for this year, and that is They’re Out to Get You, edited by Johnny Mains. It’s a series of pulp tales, and volume one focuses on animals and insects. If you’re a fan of that sub-genre of horror in which a giant shark, a plague of rats, or a team of fast-moving slugs is coming to destroy you, then this is for you.

I had a blast writing my story, A Taste for Paste. I won’t spoil what animal it involves. I tried to find the most non-threatening, delightful animal and turn it into a tale that builds to a bizarre climax, and to have fun with a few expectations that might arise along the way.

Thanks to Johnny for including my story alongside works by a host of great writers, all of whom have brought their own twists to the party. What a good way to end the year.

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Published on December 30, 2021 03:04

December 22, 2021

Teetering on the Yule Lip

Nearly there! Days to go to the end of the year, and just in time to give readers something seasonal is ParSec issue 2, with a Christmas theme and stories from great writers including Mike Carey, Angela Slatter, and Ramsey Campbell.

Parsec issue 2: watch out for the snowman

My story, Lovers on the Yuleton Lip, is a look at the overworked and under-appreciated, and features a very high cliff with a Christmas surprise at the bottom.

Parsec 2 will be out in a matter of days. I’ll update the blog with my favourite reads of 2021 in a week or so. In the meantime, have a great Christmas. Hope you find a peaceful and enjoyable way into 2022.

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Published on December 22, 2021 05:25

December 15, 2021

2021: The Year of Delicate Shells

There’s a beach, close to where I grew up, that stretches for miles. I like it best out of season, in rough weather, when there’s nobody else upon it and the breakers are tall and ferocious, the sand swirling. All of these droplets and specks, grains and water, moving: too many to ever count. At the far end, the expanse narrows and there is a place sheltered by the rocks, where the best shells are found. These are often intact, and surprising in their colours. They are fragile, but they made it across the sea.

Anyway.

The great big whirling beach of my writing year has been a blast. Here’s a look back at what I got up to.

My novel Skyward Inn has dominated the year for me, and I have loved seeing its bright cover out in the world. It’s very strange to think I wrote that story of communication, separation and a really horrible virus before the pandemic kicked off. Apart from that slightly uncomfortable feeling of prescience, I’ve enjoyed talking about the book to interviewers and reviewers, and a high point of the year has to be my appearance at Second Life Book Club as a giant skull-headed flower.

The US version of The Loosening Skin, complete with an additional short story that adds to the lives of some of the characters in that novel, was published early in the year.

The Italian translation of The Loosening Skin (La Muta) from Carbonio Editore has been doing well, and has led to some wonderful reviews and feedback.

The Spanish translation of The Beauty (La Belleza) from Dilatando Mendes is just a beautiful book to look at, including illustrations and a guide at the back to the things that inspired me in the first place. It’s always wonderful to find my books travelling, and continuing to reach people. Go books! Keep braving the seas.

*

It’s been a strong year for my short stories. From the Neck Up, my collection, was published in September and I felt it brought together the best of what I can do in that format. It looks very handsome on my shelf of Titan books, too.

I had short stories published in other places:

More Sea Creatures to See, a tale of quiet world domination and theme parks, made an appearance in Shoreline of Infinity.

I wrote a piece of flash fiction called Toxic (Jekyll and Hyde type fun) for The Tiny Bookcase podcast.

Soapstone is a dark short story about death and gaming, and it was published in Beyond the Veil, a great anthology edited by Mark Morris and published by Flame Tree Press.

The anthology Lore and Disorder had a great theme – mutated British folklore. I wrote The Complex, Dark for it. It’s about swamps and cable cars.

Editor Dan Coxon asked for speculative stories about mental health for his anthology with Unsung Stories, Out of the Darkness. I wrote a piece called The Chorus for it. I’m quite proud of that one, and it’s in very good company. The range of responses to the challenge make for fascinating reading.

*

A few bits and pieces of non-fiction emerged, starting with the US publication (and audio version) of The Secret Life of Fungi. It made the Washington Post gift guide this Christmas! Amazing.

I wrote about the business of putting together a short story collection for Tor Nightfire.

SciFiNow let me write about first contact novels and films, including Childhood’s End and Mars Attacks!

And there was a double serving of Climbing Stories in the latest edition of Interzone magazine.

*

In terms of new projects, I didn’t push hard in 2021. Different directions have been calling to me. I ended up writing a very odd, short experimental novel that I really don’t know what to do with, and I started a collaborative project with another writer that I very much admire. Recently I’ve begun work on a new themed collection of speculative short stories, and I’m enjoying writing them and seeing where they take me. (Shocking spoiler: the theme isn’t plants or fungi…)

*

Onwards to 2022. The paperback release of Skyward Inn is coming up, along with new stories of mine in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine, and other places. One of my short stories from From the Neck Up will be making an appearance as a podcast, too, so there’s lots of interesting things lined up. As ever, I’ll put links up on the blog as I go along. In the meantime, have a wonderful end of year. I hope you’ve found some delicate shells along the way. It’s a wonder how they emerge, intact, from the roughest of seas, but a few always do.

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Published on December 15, 2021 07:41

November 19, 2021

Pre-Season Warm Ups

Ssshhhh. It’s been a quiet month or so. I’m immersed in some new short stories and a longer project, and I’ll keep the serenity going until the end of the year, hopefully.

Here’s the thing: I feel like I should emerge from my cave to encourage people to buy the existing books. But I’ve been lucky enough to be able to leave that up to some gift-buying guides and publications that have included my stuff. I thought I’d put the links up here, in case you’re in need of some gift inspiration for the upcoming season. Buy my books! Or the other books! Books are the best presents.*

The Secret Life of Fungi made the Washington Post’s Gift Guide! Available in hardback and audio book in the UK and US.

Speaking of The Post, Skyward Inn got a mention in Lavie Tidhar and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Best of SF, Fantasy and Horror 2021 conversation. Loads of great books here.

Skyward Inn was also a recommendation in Woman and Home magazine’s SF pick of the year. I love seeing that cover in the line-up.

And it’s not really a gift recommendation, but I did really enjoy being reviewed in the New Scientist. Here are their thoughts about From the Neck Up.

And now I’ll return to the cave. Hope that’s given you some inspiration for the SF/horror/fantasy/fungal lovers you might know.

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*said the writer

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Published on November 19, 2021 04:48

October 25, 2021

Veils and soapstone

Tomorrow! Beyond the Veil, an anthology of new horror stories including work by Nathan Ballingrud, Josh Malerman and Lisa Tuttle, is about to be published and my story Soapstone is in the mix. It’s about a funeral, a game, a betting ring, and a favourite song.

Beyond the Veil is currently touring blogs, and you can find some great reviews out there already. It was expertly edited by Mark Morris. Thanks, Mark, for including my story.

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Published on October 25, 2021 03:59

October 20, 2021

The Long Arm of Lore and Disorder

Today’s the launch date for Lore and Disorder – an anthology of short stories giving a mutated twist to tales of folklore. I’m so pleased to have written a story for it. It was a delight of imagining involving cable cars, swamps, and pretty lights that lead you to no place good. And it’s in fine company, with other stories by C.B. Blanchard, Peter Haynes, Tom Hirons, Verity Holloway, Natasha Kindred, Elizabeth Lee, Tobi Ogundiran, George Sandison, David Southwell, and Sylvia Warren.

Lore and Disorder is available as an ebook at whatever price you can manage to pay for it, and all proceeds raised will be donated to the food bank charity Fareshare. You can click this link to go to the donation page.

Here’s a little taster of my story:

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Published on October 20, 2021 01:41

September 17, 2021

Paper skies

From the Neck Up is off and away into the world, and I’ve been hanging around in a few places chatting about it.

You can find me over at Tor Nightfire talking about how the act of putting a short story collection together changed my perception of the stories themselves. And I was also at the Talking Scared Podcast, having a conversation about the nature of Weird writing.

January 2022 will see the publication of Skyward Inn in paperback, and it has a lovely new cover for that. The artist is Dominic Forbes again, and here’s a reminder of a great article he did about designing Skyward Inn for Spine magazine. It’s definitely worth a read if you’re interested in how ideas about cover art are developed.

Pre-ordering is available on the Rebellion website.

But enough about 2022. More 2021. I’m working on a few projects and there are still a couple of things lined up. Right now, though, it’s definitely time for a break. Tea and cake. Tea and cake break.

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Published on September 17, 2021 07:09