annethology - Annecdotal blog

Political fiction: A House for Alice & Henry VIII The Heart & the Crown

20/5/2023

Here are reviews of two different types of English political novel. The first is contemporary and addresses how political events impact on an ordinary London family. The second is a historical novel that gets right to the heart of one of the most turbulent periods of British history.

Hope is an ash-hued sky #99WordStories

25/4/2023

This week’s flash fiction challenge reminds me how I’m often slightly out of step with the majority. As I puzzled over the prompt the colour of hope, I realised that many people consider hope a virtue that you can have more or less of, whereas, for me, it only makes sense as a transitive verb. Although I do quote readers who describe my fiction as hopeful, I don’t think of myself in such terms. It’s not that I’m hopeless (in either sense of the word), but I direct my hope to specific things.

When boundaries blur: Alone, The North Shore & A Burning

20/4/2023

When I blog about boundaries, I’m usually berating chaotic fictional therapists. Not today. These three intriguing novels are about the liminal space between plant and human; reality and fantasy; and sanity and scapegoating within the political sphere. My short reviews should help you decide whether to cross the threshold.

The old woman and the beast # 99WordStories

14/4/2023

Charli Mills’ call for 99-word stories pairing an old woman and a beast hit the sweet spot this week. A month away from publication of my novel, Lyrics for the Loved Ones, there’s only one old woman on my mind. Matty confronts several beasts in this story, set across thirteen tumultuous months beginning in June 2019. I’ve captured two in my contribution. I hope it whets your appetite and doesn’t give too much away.

Overburdened: The Plimsoll Line, Starling Days, Cat and the Dreamer, Unsettled Ground & Sorrow and Bliss

5/4/2023

Five recent reads about characters facing life challenges that are almost too much to bear: bereavement; chronic illness; relationship crises and more. See what you think.

Women in translation: History. A Mess & Ada’s Realm

27/3/2023

Two translated novels, both with a contemporary and historical element, which address the female struggle for autonomy and self-expression in a misogynistic and racist world.

A chance to win a copy of my next book

23/3/2023

Today I’m revealing the cover of my novel, Lyrics for the Loved Ones, which will be published on May 15th. As the novel is set mostly in a UK care home during the pandemic, I thought the anniversary of the first lockdown would be the perfect occasion to show off the gorgeous design.

On World Kidney Day, I have some advice for my year-ago self

8/3/2023

This time last year, I knew next to nothing about kidney disease. I knew next to nothing about the vital role of healthy kidneys in keeping us well. I’m sure you’ll appreciate that a shock diagnosis on a hospital ward wasn’t the easiest way to address those gaps in my knowledge. The learning curve seems steeper when you’re already befuddled and out of breath.

Occupied Lands: Arrested Song & Camp Zero

1/3/2023

Let me tell you about these two novels about women’s lives in terrain under occupation by external powers. The first is a historical novel about the struggle for personal and political freedom in 20th-century Greece. The second is a futuristic dystopia about how, in the climate crisis, the wealthy lay claim to the coolest lands.

6 positive social changes in my lifetime: trans visibility; deinstitutionalisation; reproductive rights and more

23/2/2023

January marked ten years since I started this blog and last October I published my 1000th post. Whether or not that’s a good thing, I’m minded to celebrate. How about a retrospective?

I achieved my dream of becoming a novelist almost 8 years ago, but I want this post to go beyond my bookshelves. Yet, when I look at the world outside, with the climate crisis and increasing inequalities, the view is bleak.

Woman Power: Daisy Jones and the Six; The Birdcage; The Witches of Vardø; Amazing Grace Adams

14/2/2023

I think there is a deep-seated fear and resentment of female power even in situations where we don’t have much of it, so I make no apologies for grouping these novels that touch on the theme from vastly different angles. The first is a historical novel about misogyny manifest in a fantasy of witchcraft. In the second, three half-sisters are haunted by the harm done when they tried to claim their power in adolescence. In the third, a seemingly powerless and self-loathing woman takes a tortured journey through her city and her mistakes. The final novel contemplates the relative power of the singer with a rock band versus the homemaker wife who stands by her man.

Poland and Hungary under the Soviet system: The Snow Hare & The Fawn

7/2/2023

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches its second year, a couple of recent reads reminds me of how other eastern European countries have suffered under the Soviet regime. These novels are about women’s lives in the late 1940s and early 1950s: the first set in Poland and the second in Hungary. Would you believe that it wasn’t until I came to post this that I realised both titles feature animals that should be in the wild?

Exiled: All Your Children Scattered & Sisters

2/2/2023

I’ve recently read two very different novels in which traumatised mothers suffer a second blow in being distanced from both their children, albeit the separation is for very good reasons. The first is a translation set against the backdrop of the Rwandan genocide. The tragedy in the second is less widespread, restricted to one particular family, but nevertheless extremely painful for those concerned. Read on to discover how these books are about so much more.

History, humour, testimony, short stories and dystopia: there’s something for everyone in these 9 new mini reviews (and 1 mention)

29/1/2023

A year of SMART objectives or a year of letting go?

27/1/2023

When I emailed my newsletters with a foretaste of what to expect from me in 2023, I thought I’d do something similar here on Annecdotal, plus a more detailed list of goals to monitor privately myself. So how come I’ve almost reached the end of January without doing that?

I’ve always felt a little uneasy about setting concrete objectives when I don’t possess a crystal ball. But this is the year I’ve got a marketing plan stuffed with SMART objectives for my next novel. Yet I’m more conflicted than ever.

How did I do in 2022?

21/1/2023

Yeah, I know I’m late with this – most people have moved on from 2022. But I thought I’d do a quick recap of my reading and writing year. Although I didn’t achieve everything I’d set out to do, I think I did okay, especially with losing several potentially productive weeks to illness.

Publication

The year’s main achievement is the publication of my novella, Stolen Summers, the prequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home. This didn’t only mean completing the manuscript and working through the edits, but also learning about self-publishing – which has put me in good stead for my next book.

Testimonies of historic inequalities rooted in racism: The Help & In the Upper Country

14/1/2023

I’m pleased to share my thoughts on two recent reads which focus on collecting the testimonies of women wounded by policies and practices rooted in racism: the first set in the early 1960s and the second century before.

The first sabbatical #99WordStories

7/1/2023

Hurrah, the flash fiction challenges are back and the prompt is the perfect fit for my aspirations for my first post of 2023. I always enjoy reviewing my reading and writing plans and aspirations for the previous year and listing what I hope to achieve in the year to come. This year, I thought it might be a little different: having been quite ill in late spring and early summer, I’ve been wondering how to balance work and letting go.

Compassion and cruelty: Feeding Time & The Dolphin House

30/12/2022

My final two reviews of 2022 are tenuously linked by being set in closed communities in which unempathic people hold vulnerable creatures in their power. I refer to creatures less because the staff of the nightmare care home in the first novel don’t seem to regard their charges as human and more because the inmates of the second – where the compassion of the lowliest employee almost compensates for the attitude of her senior colleagues – are dolphins.

My 12 favourite reads of 2022

18/12/2022

The year’s not quite over, but I’m taking a risk and committing to these as my twelve favourite reads of 2022. Scroll down for single-sentence reviews of eleven recently-published novels (a couple in translation) plus one modern classic. Not unusually for me, there’s a strong social justice theme addressing both contemporary and historical issues, including the on, LGBTQ rights in fiction, climate crisis, religion, race and culture, migration and LGBTQ rights, coupled with strong characterisation, fine writing and touches of humour. Click on the title for my full review of any that take your fancy.

Do let me know which, if any, appeal to you and what have been your favourite reads of the year.

Black, Queer and marginalised: Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta & Crosshairs

12/12/2022

Two novels about the shit that can happen when you’re Black and gender nonconforming that also acknowledge the joy of living true to oneself.

A few books I've read recently

11/12/2022

Another block of mini reviews: short stories, literary fiction, commercial fiction, and a translation.

You're sure to find something here to suit your tastes.

A woman’s place? Lessons in Chemistry & Daughters Beyond Command

6/12/2022

These two recent reads are about challenging women’s traditional roles as homemakers in the mid twentieth century. The first focuses on the barriers facing a woman seeking a career in science in early 1960s America. The second follows the fortunes of three sisters and their mother as the times change in 1970s France.

Pandemic fiction: The Fell & Wish You Were Here

28/11/2022

I’m busy working towards the publication of my next novel, Lyrics for the Loved Ones, the sequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, in May 2023. It’s set mostly in a care home leading up to, and in the early weeks of, the pandemic. So I’m happy to showcase a couple of other novels on the theme, with the bonus that they feature places I’ve been. The first is set during the second UK lockdown in November 2020; the second in North and South America when the world closed down in March that year.

Are toilets visible in fiction?

21/11/2022

People often think I’m joking when I mention World Toilet Day every 19th November. But 3.6 billion people living with inadequate sanitation is no laughing matter. Unsafe and unsanitary toilets can damage people’s health and inhibit access to education. They also pollute the environment.

The theme for World Toilet Day 2022 was making the invisible visible. Although the invisible in question is the human waste leaching into rivers, lakes and soil, it could also refer to a pet project of mine.