Just when I was about to have the usual pre-holiday pleasures (mowing the lawn, checking those trousers still fit before you wash them, queuing up in Boots for insect repellent…), a lovely surprise arrived through the letterbox: the Holdfast Anthology #2, in which I am delighted to have a short story – Mr Gibson Checks In. (The story is exclusive to the anthology, having been selected from submissions for this ‘print only’ opportunity.)
Doubly delighted that the book is so beautifully designed and produced, and an especial thank you to Nelly Sanchez for illustrating it with an image that is pretty much exactly how I’d imagined Chevette would look.
(And a further thank you to Richard Hamblyn – not just an excellent teacher, but the inadvertent inspiration for the earlier, shorter version of this story. Speculative fiction is a whole new ball game for me, but one I can see myself exploring again. Demanding, challenging – and huge fun: a nice cocktail!)
And so back to the ironing pile, and then on to Sweden to be a year older. And arriving with an extra smile in my pocket thanks to this morning’s post.
The Verbalist 