Postcards from Natalie, by Carrie Laben Read it here in about 30 minutes. Thinking about why I love it… Nat has run off with her boyfriend, Keith. She sends postcards to her little sister, Mandy, back home. The reader learns about Nat through these postcards – from her handwriting, and what she does, and doesn’t,Continue reading “A short story for Halloween”
Author Archives: Mina Ma
A short story for Halloween
Click, by Brian Evenson Read it here in about 20 minutes. Thinking about why I love it… This story is grammatically confusing. We flit from past to present tense within the first section, then back to past tense for the majority of the tale, only to end up back in the present tense again atContinue reading “A short story for Halloween”
A short story for Halloween
Concerning the Upstairs Bathroom, by Kiera Lesley Read it here in about 15 minutes. Thinking about why I love it… This story is written in the form of a letter from a house seller to its purchaser. As such, it’s written as direct address to the reader (‘you’), using semi-formal estate agent type language (‘I’mContinue reading “A short story for Halloween”
A short story for Halloween
What the Dead Birds Taught Me, by Laura Blackwell Read it here in about 20 minutes. Thinking about why I love it… The story begins in medias res, immediately drawing the reader into a strange textworld where the narrator has the power to reanimate the dead using her own blood and words written in aContinue reading “A short story for Halloween”
A short story for Halloween
The Little Angel’s Exhumation, by Mariana Enriquez (translated by Joel Streicker) Read it here in about 10 minutes. Thinking about why I love it… Enriquez includes enough details to make the setting and characters of grandma, the narrator, and the narrator’s father feel real, but pulls back from writing realism by using a non-emotive first-personContinue reading “A short story for Halloween”
How I wrote it
My short story ‘Death in the Dolomites’ was read by Clareine Cronin at this year’s Liars’ League ‘Women & Girls’ storytelling event – you can read, watch, or listen to the story here. I began writing this story in response to the Liar’s League call for submissions for Agatha Christie-inspired stories, to commemorate the 50thContinue reading “How I wrote it”
A short story I recently read
The Case of the Missing Will, by Agatha Christie Read it here in about 20 minutes. In honour of the Liars’ League’s recent Agatha Christie themed short story event, thinking about Agatha Christie’s legacy as Queen of Crime and Mystery… Short stories don’t need much exposition, if any, and you can see this in ‘The Case of theContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
A short story I recently read
The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim, by Agatha Christie Read it here in about 30 minutes. In honour of the Liars’ League’s recent Agatha Christie themed short story event, thinking about Agatha Christie’s legacy as Queen of Crime and Mystery… Adhering to two of the rules commonly applied to short stories, this particular story features a shortContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
A short story I recently read
The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge, by Agatha Christie Read it here in about 30 minutes. In honour of the Liars’ League’s upcoming Agatha Christie themed short story event, thinking about Agatha Christie’s legacy as Queen of Crime and Mystery… I love Agatha Christie’s story titles – they may indicate the crime, and sometimes the locationContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
A short story I recently read
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, by Agatha Christie Read it here in about 30 minutes. In honour of the Liars’ League’s upcoming Agatha Christie themed short story event, thinking about Agatha Christie’s legacy as Queen of Crime and Mystery… Christie travelled a great deal throughout her lifetime, and you can see her using thatContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
