#meredith hambrock

[untalented-but-opinionated]

Books I Loved In 2025: She's a Lamb! by Meredith Hambrock

They’re not seeing me at all. I’m blending right into the background of the set, the stage, the pre-show hum. But they will see me. One day.

[the-final-sentence]

Here she is, a God, finally come to save me.

Meredith Hambrock, from She's a Lamb!

[books-coffee-and-the-woods]

Finished She's a Lamb!

Overall, it was a difficult read but I enjoyed the story. This book is satire, exaggerated for effect, but it's also a cutting tale of misogyny, delusion, self-obsession, and magical thinking. Yes, Jessamyn is a victim, but her coping mechanisms (if you could call them that--she is not coping very well) lead her to a string of crimes culminating in several murders. She's a victim but she's hardly a sympathetic one. If there was a moral to this story it would be go to therapy. Deal with your issues before they deal with you.

Good satire always holds a mirror up to the reader. It's meant to punch up at the wealthy, the entitled, the upper crust, but it also wants you to look at yourself and go hey, maybe chill a little there, bud. As someone who struggles with intrusive memories and ruminating this may not have been a good read for me, bc I've been lowkey spiralling over a few big times I was not at my finest, especially at work, thinking I'm literally Satan. But as annoying as that has been, it's also been a reminder to chill and get out of my own head a little. If you find yourself thinking like Jessamyn take a step back and ask yourself if it's really that serious.

Anyway! Personal nail-biting aside I loved the story. A tale of low-budget theatre shenanigans, delightful side characters, and going "oh no, Jessamyn!!" every five minutes. The setting is perfect--it's chosen to emphasize how batty Jessamyn has become, that she'll throw away lucrative career opportunities just to hang around at the theatre doing a job she hates because in her mind she's secretly the star. This self-possessed, cruel, whiny brat being desperate to play the role of saintly Maria von Trapp is hilarious. Normally, Samantha would annoy the hell out of me (she vlogs in public and at work, end of story), but in the context of the story I found myself rooting for her early on. Renee is also a delight. You're always slightly suspicious of her, but the twist in the final act is bonkers. The slow reveal of how much Jessamyn has been rewriting history and living in a false reality is incredibly well done.

I did find the pacing to be a little slow at the beginning. The plot doesn't really kick off until around page 100ish, so the first third of the book is mainly exposition and many chapters are basically, "Jessamyn introduces new characters, is horrible to them, goes on an internal monologue about how great she is." After so many of those it gets tiring, but I suppose that's part of the effect. Jessamyn is tiring, and everyone who's around her for a while crumbles in the same way.

Also on a final note, this book is delightfully Canadian, though Jessamyn would hate that. Pour one out for the Ontario Turkey Farmers Association.

[little-fiction]

Happy Halloween

If you’re looking for some literary chills or some good old fashioned nightmare-inducing creepiness, here are a few Little Fiction treats that might do the trick:

SATIN LIVES! by Andrew F. Sullivan

Analogue by Jay Hosking

Calm, Ghosts by Meredith Hambrock

Happy haunting.

- LF.

[little-fiction]

Two Years of Little Fiction, pt. 5

Perfect for the upcoming Halloween season, these two stories gave us goosebumps when we first read them. And they still do now.

From March 2012, Analogue by Jay Hosking and Calm, Ghosts by Meredith Hambrock — our ninth and tenth titles, respectively — are the type of tales that make the hairs on your arm stand up and take notice.

You can download both in our new ePub format, or read them online if that's more your thing.

Analogue by Jay Hosking. Downoad the ePub | Read online

Calm, Ghosts by Meredith Hambrock. Download the ePub | Read online

Cheers!

[lfstories-blog]

Calm, Ghosts by Meredith Hambrock

A story about getting pulled under by the unseen things beneath the surface. Published by Little Fiction, March 2012

Click here to download Calm, Ghosts for your phone, tablet or eReader, or to read it on your desktop. 

[little-fiction]

Meredith Hambrock interview.

Little Fiction friend and contributor, Will Johnson, is at again for us — this time interviewing Calm, Ghosts author Meredith Hambrock.

If you’ve read Calm, Ghosts you know it’s a sharp, honest and at times chilling short story about the things we hide beneath the surface, hoping they don't pull us under.

Meredith took a few minutes out of her busy working and writing life to answer some great questions from Will, covering everything from her Little Fiction story to working in television to people who name their kids Athan, and Tevin.

Will: Would you describe this story as a ghost story? If not, how would you describe it?

Meredith: I love ghost stories. But as a writer you can look at a ghost story and see that they’re pretty thin, character wise. Ghost stories and jokes have a lot in common, as they’re all just about the set up and the punch line, or the scare. And this always bothered me, being someone with neuroses, too much imagination, and a lot of free time, I always wondered about the characters in ghost stories and what happened in the aftermath. Like that lady who wakes up with “Psychos Lick Hands Too” written in blood on her wall. I wonder what kind of weird phobias she developed after that happened. Or does that one end in dying?  I can’t remember. 

I think with Calm, Ghosts I was trying to write a ghost story that focused more on character instead of the punch line, the scare. I wanted the ending to be semi-ambiguous because I wanted the reader to leave the story thinking about what happened to Holly, instead of being afraid. 

That being said, I never write with intention. I usually stop writing when I’m no longer confused and never think too hard about my stories until I get interviewed. Which obviously happens every time I write a story. 

But yeah, so I’m pretty sure that’s what I was going for. I’ll have to ask me later. Or I’ll just write a story about it. Or just interview me about this interview. Okay, I’ll stop. Sorry. Yes, I’m single.  

Will: I found (parts of) Calm, Ghosts really funny. My favorite line: "It is entirely possible they listen to Nickelback". I guess that isn't really a question...is humor a regular part of your fiction?

Meredith: For a long time I was trying really hard to be literary and I thought that meant serious. That didn’t work. I don’t wear glasses. I have no clue who Proust is. To top that off, I wasn’t publishing anything and I definitely wasn’t confident in what I was doing. As I improve, there’s this off-beat kind of quirky that is working its way into most things I write. Sometimes it means funny, sometimes it’s just weird. Generally though, I like funny characters. I have an easy laugh and I laugh hardest at my own jokes, like the biggest, douchiest Nickelback fan out there, so I guess, the answer to your question, is yes. And also, thank you for thinking it’s funny. Hooray! 

Will: You graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing. What was your major? And what did you learn from your years there?

Meredith: I mostly focused in Fiction and Screenplay, with brief forays into poetry (rhymes? fail) and nonfiction (smarts? tears.) I think most of what I learned had to do with having confidence and work. I had a lot of stupid feelings when I first started pursuing writing seriously, and I learned to swallow them and just put my head down and work hard. It really is about the work and nothing else. And by nothing else I mean pouring champagne on girls butts. 

But those two things and nothing else. 

I think I also really learned the value of developing relationships with writers. It really helps, to be able to talk to someone who is walking on the same path as you. I feel like it’s almost similar to the immigrant experience. That’s a lie. I’m just trying to make myself more Canlit relevant. Zing! 

But being around writers — they make you work hard. They get drunk with you.  They become your roommates and write your Little Fiction Interviews for you. 

Will: You work in television now. Can you tell me more about that?

Meredith: The hours are long. The food is free. I work in comedy, so I guarantee you that my job is more fun than yours. I’m an assistant in a writing room, which is the best. I’m the youngest and the stupidest, so I get made fun of a lot. But really, I get to sit in a room with some really funny people and laugh all day. Occasionally I’ll make one or two of them laugh, in return and I feel like a million bucks. Self-esteem and a pay cheque! What more could a girl want? Free gum? We get that too. Are you jealous yet? I had you at self esteem, didn’t I?

Will: You chose to write this story in present tense. What advantages do you think that offers?

Meredith: Present tense, man, it’s just so present. But seriously, I like writing in the moment. Jesus. There is no way to discuss present tense without sounding like a massive wang. Anyway, I thought that it was especially important for this story. I didn’t want it to feel or sound like a ghost story.  I wanted it to be experienced and not told. Telling is for wimps. And anyone who disagrees with that can eat my fist.  

But really, it’s my preferred tense. I always write very closely to my characters. I’m not a big fan of past tense because I like writing scenes. I hate exposition. It’s boring and scenes in the past tense, to me, always feel disingenuous. When I write them, anyway.  There are a lot of writers who pull it off pretty well. And, on principal, I hate those writers. 

Will: Have you actually ever met someone named Athan?

Meredith: Of course! It’s too ridiculous to be made up. But yes, I met him briefly. No, I didn’t get a chance to ask him how he feels about his name. I have regretted it ever since. Tevin is also a real person. I love these parents. I have no clue who they are, but I love them. They are either incredibly mean, incredibly dumb, or incredibly hilarious. Either way, I love them. 

Will: What are you currently working on? And where can readers check out more of your work?

Meredith: I just finished a draft of a novel called All The Girls Love Jesus, which is based on a short story that I wrote a year or two ago about two girls at a single sex Catholic school. It’s a dual perspective coming of age novel with some high school girl drama and some jokes at God’s expense. It’s okay. I hear he can take it.    

You can hear me read the short story that inspired it on Episode Four of the Canadian Fiction Podcast. I’ve got work forthcoming (actually out — Editor's note) in Dragnet Magazine, in June, and I just found out that I’m going to be published in Descant in September, which was a big surprise. And when I found out I peed. Just a little. Enough that it was weird. 

Will: Which Canadian authors do you admire, and who are you currently reading?

Meredith: Annabel Lyon! I think I paid, like, thirty bucks in late fees at the UBC library over one of her collections. And that’s after I lied about having to fly to Toronto for a funeral to get them cut in half. Susin Nielsen, who writes Middle Grade-YA novels and is a kickass TV writer is also a favourite of mine.  Also, Joseph Boyden, Jessica Westhead, and Rebecca Rosenblum. My friend Michelle Kaeser has never written something I don’t like.  

I’m currently trying to read all of the Salinger, though so far, I like everything less than Catcher in the Rye. Yeah. I know. I’m one of those. 

•

If you haven’t read Calm,Ghosts you can download it for free at Little Fiction, to read on your smartphone, tablet, eReader or desktop.

Our many thanks to Will Johnson for another great interview. You can also read his Little Fiction stories here and here.

[little-fiction]

For short story month (which is May by the way), Thomas Duncan is profiling one short story a day. Today he chose Little Fiction title Calm Ghosts, by Meredith Hambrock, and had some pretty nice things to say about us, and Meredith's story.

Check it out and post some comments if you're so inclined.

Thanks.