Sunday 1 November 2009

Dig the dead

Lovely news to start November! My flash, Dig the Dead, is the inaugural story at Left Hand Waving, a brand new sister site to Right Hand Pointing, who published my story, After a Long Illness, Quietly at Home, last month. The editors, Dale and John, emailed about the new site yesterday. It celebrates 'first person stories of approximate truth'. Dig the Dead is just that, about my experience of losing my father to Motor Neurone Disease and the strange funeral service that followed. It seemed to fit the bill for Left Hand Waving, so I subbed it and received an almost immediate acceptance. The fastest turnaround for publication ever, I think, and a welcome way to start a new month when I shall be trying hard to fit writing into my new working life.

Exciting developments with regard to local publishing connections are afoot, and I hope to be able to update here soon. It's all happening and my feet haven't touched the ground much in the last six weeks, nor have my fingers been at the keyboard. Nevertheless, after a brief spell of feeling utterly overwhelmed and exhausted, I am on a new high energy regime which is paying dividends in terms of my mental stamina as much as anything else.

All those of you desk-bound with a need to energy stimulus, I can recommend Graze, who mail out neat little weekly boxes of delicious healthy snacks, such as Razcherries (dried cherries soaked in raspberry juice) and honeyed nuts. I have an endless supply of promo codes entitling new users to a first box free of charge, if anyone would like to sample one. Just shout if you'd like to get snacking on good brain food.

Drinking lots of water, walking whenever I get the chance, as much fresh air as I can get into my lungs every day - it's all paying off. I'm feeling razzed!

12 comments:

Dale said...

Thanks for the plug, Sarah. Delighted to start off this new project with your story.

Dale
Left Hand Pointing

Sarah Hilary said...

Thanks, Dale. I wish Left Hand Waving every success. I also blogged about it at WriteWords so hopefully you will see subs coming in from writers there.

Jenzarina said...

A wonderful story, Sarah

Sarah Hilary said...

Thanks, Jen, for reading and commenting.

Madeline said...

Sarah, I loved that last bit of the story, the part with Beryl - it felt heartbreaking and lovely at the same time. Well done, as usual!

sonia said...

brilliant story. it had a clarity to it that made your father very real. moving and unsentimental

Sarah Hilary said...

Many thanks, Madeline. Yes I feel the story found its pace in that scene with Beryl. I wanted to make her appearance feel as surprising as the real Beryl's appearance was at the actual funeral.

Sarah Hilary said...

Thank you, Sonia. 'Moving and unsentimental' was my aim. I'm glad you feel it came across that way.

Gay Degani said...

I'm pretty sure I've read Did the Dead before. Hope I loved it. Because, my friend, it is fabulous! How you do that I have no idea. How do you do that?

Sarah Hilary said...

Gay, thank you. As for how it was done, I only know that I put my writer's lens on a very personal experience, kept telling myself a writer isn't morbid, a writer doesn't judge, a writer... writes. I'm not 100% happy with the way it came out, I must admit. But I'm glad I got it down, out as it were.

Gay Degani said...

SARAH, Great review of Patricia Highsmith's short in THE SHORT REVIEW. How in the world did you find the time?

Sarah Hilary said...

Thanks, Gay, yes it was lovely to see the new issue of The Short Review out (I hope to have time to read it soon!). I wrote the review before my life became very very busy, so I held it in reserve, so to speak.