Flash Fiction

Betty’s (March 2011)
“People used to call me Jodie’s shadow. Half the time it was him following me, but that didn’t matter to no-one, cause Jodie was the one people noticed first… ” read more

Gooseberries (May 2011)
“There is a smell. It’s faintly familiar and it triggers in him some deep instinct for revulsion, as if it might have signified something vital and awful in a previous life. He remembers feeling the same way when McBrearty made the class burn crushed animal bones. Then, the bitter fumes clung to his blazer for two weeks…” read more

And For My Next Trick (February 2011)
“Every time Bernard walks onto a stage, the crowds get thinner and less readily impressed. They think they’ve seen it before: white rabbits, top hats and sequins. Old-school stuff. He could tell them that they’re wrong, that – think what they like – they’ve never seen this. He could tell them this is real. But, of course, that in itself would be old-school…” read more

The Pighouse (January 2011)
 “The Pighouse had on its door a padlock the size of Dad’s hand and its one window was boarded and painted over. It was a squat round building made of bricks and slate and half-shrouded by green moss and ivy. Connie imagined it had been there for so long that it was turning into a little hill…” read more

Treading Water (April 2011)
“Marta never wanted to be anything. When she was fifteen, taking a GCSE Economics paper, she came to the realisation that, not only did she not care about finishing the exam in the allotted time, she didn’t care whether or not she walked out of the room at the end of it. She and her paper could ignite and turn into ash. She didn’t care…” read more

The Kids (March 2010)
“The kid stood, stooped, just inside the threshold. His hair hung over his eyes and his lips and chin were flecked with sores. Gaston found himself behind the counter again, watching the crooked adolescent idly fingering the merchandise. Now there were two more of them. And now four…” read more

 Sir Antony Sher Goes F***ing Ape (June 2011)
“Eddie casts his eyes across the room and meets those of his director: a young, inexperienced man, no older than him. Eddie has time only to register the director’s expression – not as shock or surprise, but as disappointment: profound disappointment in Eddie, who walked into rehearsal late and chewing gum…” read more

Mrs Thatcher Died At Burton-In-Kendal Services (June 2011)
“Mrs Thatcher walked out of the house one morning after breakfast and didn’t come back for tea. Mark took it all badly, but these things happen. I made a wee joke that she was missing the big smoke and maybe we’d find her by the M6 at Gretna, trying to hitch a ride south. He told me to shut up…” read more