Sunday 22 March 2009

Prick of the Spindle

The new issue of Prick of the Spindle is up and I'm proud to be a part of it with my flash, Flood Plain. This was a difficult piece for me to write because my village was one of those affected by recent flooding. I subbed the piece and then withdrew it. I sat and looked at it, wondering what to do about it. I put it in a dump file, but I kept thinking about it, seeing the original image around which the whole piece was constructed. I knew it was subtle in terms of character and tension, that it would miss the mark with some readers for that reason. In the end I sent it back out, to a venue I've never appeared in before. And they liked it enough to publish it without requesting alterations. I'm glad. It speaks to a specific moment and a mood, and deserves to stand on that alone, at least I hope so. The artwork is from the same issue, by Aydasara Ortega.

4 comments:

Tania Hershman said...

A fabulous story, I am so glad you re-submitted it. I love "a phantom in the pool, not floating so much as holding the water around it, a collar of pearly white."

Sarah Hilary said...

Tania, thank you! How's your cellar shaping up? I'm green with envy that you have this space all of your own.

Group 8 said...

Aw, it's so sad; I love lambs. And the story's beautifully evoked.

Sarah Hilary said...

Thanks, WRW. I love lambs too and spent a fair part of the weekend cooing over the newborn ones in the fields around here.