Catching the tail end of the month here after a whirlwind trip - no, not to Bangladesh - to Legoland, which I must say was amazing. More amazing still, I didn't take my computer and I did barely any work. Guess what - the computer didn't pine without me and the world didn't end. A timely reminder!
Back in January, I decided that I had to get back into the writing groove. After all, five years is probably long enough to hide behind a PhD and use it as an excuse for not actually writing anything else... So I set myself the task of entering a few short story competitions and submitting the novel for any relevant awards.
Nobody has (yet) fallen on the novel and deemed it the next best whatever, but I'm delighted to say I've had some mentions for the short stories - look away now if you want to avoid shameless boasting; I never usually win things so I'm making the most of my moment!
I wrote a story called 'The Shining Girl', set in India, where nothing is quite what it seems, for New Asian Writing, and I managed to get first prize. (I'll gloss over the fact that I received the notification early one Sunday morning and assumed for a long while it was a scam). You can have a look at it here, if you have a spare five minutes:
www.new-asian-writing.com/the-shining-girl-by-anne-Hamilton
My second success has been being shortlisted for the Fresher Writing Prize 2016, and that story, The Twenty-Four Hour Promise, examining what happens when a thirty-something woman tells her best friend she's entering a convent, is being published in an anthology, due out about now. More about Fresher Publishing at:
http://www.fresherpublishing.co.uk
And you never know, there might be a third time lucky - but more about that next time. Hopefully. The best thing is, that it's all reminded me how much I enjoy writing for it's own sake, and that I will do it anyway, prizes or not!
Finally, if you're looking for a great read from a real, proper writer, check out Corrie Jackson's Breaking Dead. It's a crime thriller set in the midst of London Fashion Week and the world of modelling. The eBook is currently 98p and there's a paperback due out later in the year.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breaking-Dead-edge-your-seat-thriller-ebook/dp/B01BLIV3O6
Anne x
