This story is the first of what I hope may be a series of tales set in the fictional Lincolnshire village of Micklethwaite, where life is lived at a slow pace and close to nature. Of course this does not mean that exciting events never happen there.
I should be very pleased to hear what readers think of the story, which was one that I really enjoyed researching and writing.
It is an interesting thing (at least to me) how often a speculative story demands extensive research. I do like to feel that I have my facts consistent even if sometimes I have to make them up!
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading your short story, "Old Man on the Green", I was impressed with the descriptive words used to vividly bring to life the characters and the setting to this reader. I particularly enjoyed your description of "Old Joe" right down to his shoes. As you continue to write and develop a series of tales, how will you unfold the characters inhabiting Micklethwaite? Such as will the professor from this short story appear in future tales. Will Micklethwaite have four or five permanent protagonists who interact with each other and various newcomers.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading your blog and look forward to reading and commenting on more of your short stories. I am curious do you comment on posted comments? Congratulations on your published book. I look forward to reading it soon.
Thank you. I am always pleased to receive feedback on my stories. Writing is intended as communication, but a contributor to a magazine or anthology does not always know how well his work has been received.
ReplyDeleteMy Micklethwaite scheme is intended to be much as you suggest. I have in fact already written the draft of a second story featuring the professor. The difficulty is likely to be finding a publisher, since this story does not belong to the speculative genre in which the first has been published.
The professor is likely to feature prominently in the series, since as an outsider he both notices things that locals do not necessarily notice and he is also frequently surprised by things that locals regard as normal.
Mavis Claythorpe is also likely to remain as a valuable source of misdirection and, if I can manage it, humour.
For most UK readers, of course, rural life is something they only experience second hand. It is often flavoured with sentimentality and nostalgia. I don't particularly want to upset that applecart, but I hope I may be able to show some of the reality, albeit through an affectionate eye.
Oh! how disappointing that I may not get to read the next story in the series for lack of a publisher. Most readers,such as myself, lost in the story content may not think of the publishing part of the process. Is finding a publisher difficult? I am assuming from your reply that certain publishers only want a certain genre to match what their readership wants. Correct? I have several acquaintances who have self-published their novels. I did some proof reading for them but I am not quite certain what they had to do to successfully self-publish.
DeleteThis couple that I am acquainted with through Mah Jong, write sci-fi. They started by joining up with an established author and by doing so afforded them a quicker route to publication.
Anyway, I hope to soon be reading the further adventures of Mavis and the professor in Mickelthwaite. Till then I will read one of the other short stories.
I wasn't going to ask but your comment about rural life in the UK has intrigued me. Do people romanticise about how much better life is in rural areas as opposed to life in urban and suburban areas?
Oh do you ever write poems?
Regards
In my experience it is quite difficult to find a publisher who will pay for your writing. There are publishers who offer either nothing or just a token payment, but I don't submit work to those.
ReplyDeleteI would not expect T Gene Davis's Speculative Blog to be interested in a non-speculative sequel to 'The Old Man' but that does not mean I won't find a publisher. It is likely to have to be a firm that hasn't published me already, however, since I have yet to sell any non-speculative stories.
As to rural life, the UK is very different to, say, Ireland, where a very large proportion of the population has relatively recent rural ancestry. Irish people tend to be realistic about rural life whereas a lot of British people are sentimental about something of which they have little or no direct knowledge. You would probably find that British townspeople have a positive image of foxes and a negative image of spiders, for example, whilst country people know that foxes, though pretty, are pests and spiders, though ugly, are quite useful.
I do write poetry. Strictly speaking not mine of course, but you can find my version of Die Lorelei on the blog: here
Your explanation of British understanding of rural life was not exactly what I thought was meant though I guess my idea is somewhat similar. My idea was that either people glamorize in their minds places where they have never lived but would like to or people want to return to an area where they previously lived. Most people only recall the positive qualities and conveniently forget the negatives. At least that is my point of view.
DeleteI did enjoy the poem, Dei Lorelei. Since my German is confined to auf Wiederschen, your version was very helpful. I was looking for certain poem that I wished to ask your opinion however, I can't find it. If and when I do the I will ask.
By the way I purchased your book. I am one of those who likes to actually hold a book and turn real paper pages and smell the new book smell. FYI a reader can purchase your book in the states on Amazon. I will receive the book on this Wednesday and can't wait to begin.
Actually I share you liking for paper books; they seem to have a greater degree of permanence than the transitory digital media.
DeleteI hope you enjoy 'Prophets'. Unfortunately there's only the UK spelling edition. When I write specifically for a US market these days I switch into American usage, or at least my version of it.