Betrayed, my second June short fiction publication, is my shortest yet and, while I'm pleased to have packed a lot of story into so few words, there's something about it that leaves me slightly uneasy. It can be difficult with an issue-based story not to make it schmaltzy or preachy, but I don't think I've fallen into that trap here.
If anything, I've gone to the other extreme and exploited a very nasty situation for entertainment. Or maybe that's the overspill of my Catholic guilt?
Don't be fooled by the innocence of the photo I've chosen to illustrate my words: I got the idea for the story when I was reading Philida, Andre Brink's novel about a slave master. It's not that I balk at tackling uncomfortable subjects, and there's a lot fiction can do to bring things we'd rather not know about into the public domain as with Gavin Weston's novel, Harmattan. But I'm not sure if flash can always do justice to the complexity.
I've got more to say on ethics in a forthcoming post in relation to another story but, in the meantime, I'd be interested in your point of view on this – either in relation to the particular story or in general.
If anything, I've gone to the other extreme and exploited a very nasty situation for entertainment. Or maybe that's the overspill of my Catholic guilt?
Don't be fooled by the innocence of the photo I've chosen to illustrate my words: I got the idea for the story when I was reading Philida, Andre Brink's novel about a slave master. It's not that I balk at tackling uncomfortable subjects, and there's a lot fiction can do to bring things we'd rather not know about into the public domain as with Gavin Weston's novel, Harmattan. But I'm not sure if flash can always do justice to the complexity.
I've got more to say on ethics in a forthcoming post in relation to another story but, in the meantime, I'd be interested in your point of view on this – either in relation to the particular story or in general.
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