Thamesmead Tales

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Writer in the world

Having been set the task of researching my favourite writers, I first set to looking up Ben Aaronovitch’s beginnings. I knew he began by writing for Doctor Who and various spin-offs, not realising he was in his very early 20s at the time, and then was a bookseller for Waterstones. Since the runaway success of the Peter Grant series, he has been able to go fulltime as a writer, posting daily wordcounts on Twitter that both reassure and humble me as a writer.

Eley Williams on the other hand, seems to have had a slightly more traditional foray into becoming a writer. She lectures at Royal Holloway, has won various literary awards, and has been published in the LRB, TLS and Guardian. She began by publishing her collection of short stories with Influx press and more recently published a novel with PRH. 

I enjoy both their works for different reasons but as an early reader, I was compelled with both to find out more about the author behind the book. Researching their beginnings has been quite a useful experience, but it’s reassuring to know there’s not a simple single way of getting published.

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My favourite four books published and read in 2020

BOY PARTS BY ELIZA CLARK Published by Influx Press

Truly like nothing I’ve ever read, Boy Parts is a completely original debut and one that compelled me, obsessively. 

Irina photographs average looking men in compromising, often sexual positions. She’s witty, bitter and beautiful and the more you read, the more you find out about her, and the less you trust her. As she begins to re-discover repressed memories she becomes more and more self destructive, hurting all those around her.

Irina is nasty, mean and twisted and also strangely likeable too. I really found myself thinking about the novel all the time when I wasn’t reading it and finished the book swiftly. WIthout a doubt the best thing I read in 2020 and I’m excited to see what Eliza Clark writes next.

SANATORIUM BY ABI PALMER Published by Penned in the Margins

I devoured Sanatorium in a single day, drinking in its beautiful, poetic prose, becoming desperate to get into water myself.

The story is completely surreal and follows the story of a young woman at a water rehabilitation centre in Budapest. It jumps back and forth between her time there and her return to London where she attempts to recreate the experience using an inflatable bath tub she buys online.

The story flowed so beautiful and left time to contemplate my own body and how lucky I am. Again, another incredibly original story, told in such a brilliant way.

THE LIARS DICTIONARY BY ELEY WILLIAMS Published by William Collins

The Liar’s Dictionary was my most anticipated read of 2020. Eley William’s is a terrific writer and I enjoyed her debut short story collection Attrib. (published by Influx) immensely. 

The story follows Peter Winceworth in late 19th century, as, disillusioned from his job at Swansby’s New Encylopaedic Dictionary, he begins writing fake entries in the dictionary. It switches between him and Mallory who, every day while interning at the same Dictionary, she fields threatening phone calls from an unknown man. Mallory is forced to check through the Dictionary entries, looking for Peter’s false word, as their lives begin to entwine.

To give away any more would be unforgivable but I truly encourage everyone to give this a go. There are specific scenes (one involving a pelican and a fountain pen and another an ice cream van) that will stay with me for ages. A really enjoyable read.

TINY MOONS: A YEAR OF EATING IN SHANGHAI BY NINA MINGYA POWLES Published by The Emma Press

Tiny Moons is a beautiful collection of essays I savoured as the weather began to get warmer last year, missing the beautiful Asian cuisine I usually enjoy going out for in London.

Nina explores specific dishes, our relationship with food, her childhood and belonging throughout these essays, and though a short collection, I was desperate for it to never end.

It made me hungry, sad, and desperate to see more of the world. Her poetry collection, Magnolia, is high up on my TBR.

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Secrets of the Emerald Circle

A few months ago I entered the Fortnum’s Short Story contest and though I didn’t win, it was a fun exercise in brevity and writing something outside my comfort zone.

I chose the White Chocolate Filled with Matcha bar as a basis for my story and they gave the following prompt: Behind the fans, the makeup and the courteous demeanour, envious sisters plot eternal revenge.

My story is below, let me know if you’ve seen any exciting writing prompts recently!

It was a bitterly cold night when Erika came back to the flat, wind nipping at her ankles, to find Anna bent over a huge, leather-bound book, back against the radiator. This was not an unusual sight, especially when they had a night off from performing. In a single motion, Erika closed the door behind her, slipped off her shoes, dropped the bursting bags of shopping to the floor and threw herself down next to her sister. “Ahh, no. You’re freezing!” Anna whined, leaning as far away as possible. She closed the book, tucking it under her leg and turned to frown at Erika. Erika frowned back. Before she could respond, the shopping bags began to slip open, tins and packets rolling and clattering to the floor. The floorboards are so wonky, it’s not long before the shopping is all over the room, knocking against piles of costumes and countless vases of flowers. The sisters stare at each other in silence. It’s not often they see each other without stage makeup on. “Come on Anna”, Erika whispers, “I did the shopping, least you can do is put it away.” Anna glares in response and peels herself away from the radiator. She zigzags across their tiny room, picking up boxes and packets as she goes. While she is distracted, Erika turns to the book she’s left behind. It has no title on the outside and the writing inside is small and green. The characters dance in front of Erika’s eyes. What language is this? She looks up to see her sister watching her from under table, arm outstretched, fingertips brushing a can, just out of her reach. “Is this another revenge plot?” Erika says, gesturing at the book. Anna stretches further forward and manages to roll the can back towards her. “Firstly sister, did you get the things I asked for?” Erika screws up her face in frustration. She uncurls herself from the floor and pads across the floor to her bag. Inside is a box from the pet shop. Peering through the lid she sees the bugs crawling around inside. “I’ll trade you” she says, pointing at the packet tucked under Anna’s arm. Before she can answer, she hands Anna the box of insects and swipes the chocolate from her grip, returning to her spot at the radiator. She peels back the paper. “Is that white chocolate?” Anna asks, wrinkling her nose. “Try it, it’s got a little something special in it. Sweet for me and a little bitter for you.” Anna silently joins her sister back at the radiator and Erika breaks her off a piece of chocolate. Sweetness fills their mouths and they close their eyes together. “Are we going to get caught Anna? If we curse that family again?” Before she can respond, they feel earthy matcha hit the back of their throats. Anna turns to Erika and rewards her sister with a tiny, wicked smile. “Of course not, Erika. They deserve it after all.”