Spineless Wonders asks Louise D’Arcy
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)?
I admire Cate Kennedy for the quiet way she digs deep into a story and, almost without you noticing, takes you somewhere you weren’t expecting. I’ve just read Ryan O’Neill’s collection, The Weight of a human heart and thoroughly enjoyed that, too.
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2. What is the most memorable short story you have read? And why does it stand out for you?
That’s a tricky one. The one that first springs to mind (out of many) is Ryan O’Neill’s ‘The Beginning of the Sentence’.In this story he plays with form in a way that perfectly reflects the subject matter of the story and adds hugely to its impact. I also admire the way he uses humour in such an understated way that makes it all the more effective.There isn’t enough humour in short story writing.
3. What do you like about the short story form?
The limitations of length and scope perversely give you more freedom than a novel. A short story allows you to get out the microscope and have a really good look.
4. How would you describe your own writing?
I would describe my writing as observational, often with an affectionate cynicism. I like to write with a kind of secret admiration about people who fall short even when they try really hard to succeed.
5. Which of your stories are you most fond of right at this moment and why?
I have a story which takes a close look at a character from the novel I’m writing. I feel I’ve caught the voice exactly as I wanted. I guess you’re always most fond of your most recent story. No-one else has agreed with me yet as it’s still in the revolving door of rejection at the moment.
6. Where do the ideas for your stories come from? (Take us through an example)
To use Flat Daddy as an example, the idea came from an article in the Good Weekend magazine, which briefly explained the concept of the Flat Daddy. A Flat daddy is a life-sized mounted and cut out photos of serving US soldiers that families can keep at home while their husband, father or son is on active service. As usual, I wrote the first sentence and then followed where it and subsequent sentences took me. It ended up with two voices, a child and her mother, something that evolved as I wrote.
7. What is your writing process – from idea to publication? (Do you go it alone or are others involved?)
On my own. Occasionally if I have a story that I’m not happy with but can’t put my finger on why, I’ll ask my writing buddy, Jane Downing, to tell me what’s wrong.
8. Do you feel the short story form is valued in Australia? What makes you say this?
It’s valued by the people who value it, which is to say something and nothing. It’s not mainstream and never will be but it has its devotees. I do think it will adapt very well to the varied world of digital publishing, better than other fiction and nonfiction forms, perhaps.
9. How do you feel about your work being published in non-print forms such as digital and audio?
I think it’s brilliant! The more markets writers have available to them the better. Who could complain about that?
10. What advice would you like to offer Spineless Wonders?
Keep on doing what you’re doing!
Louise D’Arcy lives on a small property near Yackandandah, NE Victoria. She has been writing for 15 or so years and has had more than 30 stories published in journals and anthologies including Best Australian Stories, Sleepers Almanac and Overland. In 2009, she won the Albury City Library Short Story competition for the second time and in 2010 she won The Age Short Story Award.
You can hear Louise reading her story, Flat Daddy here
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This entertaining collection includes a romp of a novella called The Rattler, as well as short stories and micro fictions all set in and around contemporary Melbourne. Sometimes serious, sometimes seriously playful –always written in breathtakingly beautiful prose – these stories uncover the heartbreaking tragedies, slow-burning emotions and serendipity of ordinary lives.
Cover image by Miles Allinson, illustrated by Miles Allinson & Maxine Beneba Clarke
Praise for The Rattler & other stories:
“Spare and taut, sometimes tricky, sometimes shocking, yet always deeply and satisfyingly tender. A great collection.”
Paddy O’Reilly.
“An explosive mix of muscular prose and sharp originality. In this collection, A. S. Patric proves himself to be a writer who must be taken very seriously.” Vanessa Gebbie, author of Short Circuit, A Guide to the Art of the Short Story.
“A.S. Patric is that rarest of writers- he is absolutely fearless. His stories take risks, his characters soar and his prose sings. Be careful. These stories might cut you.” Ryan O’Neill.
In Permission to Lie, Julie Chevalier casts a curious eye into many different worlds. Her characters ride the citybound bus route, spend the night in a nudist colony and wait tables. Quirky and beautifully-written, these stories provide insights that ring with integrity and compassion.
‘A new voice in Australian fiction, wry, gritty, knowing and true.’
Fiona McGregor, Indelible Ink
Read an interview with the author, here.
What makes a man?
In this collection of short stories, Pierz Newton John moves through the full range of masculine experience, with an openness not afraid to show men at their most lonely, sexual, loving, sometimes vulnerable, sometimes abusive. First touch of a woman’s body in a cold and foreign land, tender moments between father and son, the deep love of a father separated from his child, treachery and opportunism mixed up with loneliness and internet dating, the casual violence of young boys exploring the world, rites of passage from young rebels to comfortable suburbanites, and what men feel and think about women. In Pierz Newton John’s stories it always come back to emotion?tenderness with children, warmth with wives after dreams of alienation, the pain of treacherous girlfriends, the loneliness of men. Plus ça change plus c’est la même chose…….the reader is lulled by the seamless prose, undercurrents of contemporary music, the urbane writing, the suburban settings, but it is all happening behind closed doors.
Read an interview with the author, here
Purchase a copy, here.
In these seventeen stories, Melbourne writer, Mary Manning, looks at the ways people are shaped, or damaged, by their circumstances. The results may sometimes be humorous, sometimes tragic. Whether set on a tram, along a highway or on an outback road?it is the journey, the characters and the telling of the tale that will capture your attention.
Cover and illustrations by Paden Hunter
‘Mary Manning takes her stories to places few writers would dare to go. She ranges across different styles with ease in a unique voice that is tart, tight and compulsively readable.’ PADDY O’REILLY
Read our interview with the author, Mary Manning here
To purchase, click here
If you like your genres with a bit of edge, you’ll love this diverse collection of stories from Spineless Wonders.
Features award-winning writers such as Ryan O’Neill, Jen Mills, Andy Kissane, Louise Swinn, Julie Chevalier, A.S. Patric and Kim Westwood as well as stories chosen by Sophie Cunningham in the inaugural Carmel Bird Short Fiction Award.
Contains illustrations by talented young artist, Paden Hunter.
‘Quality short fiction, packed with surprises. Prepare to be transported.’ Marion Halligan
Purchase here
Read interviews with our contributors, here.
Listen to audio samples here.
An anthology of prose poems and microfiction from 30 Australian writers.
- Includes award-winning writers Michael Farrell, Keri Glastonbury, Judith Beveridge and Peter Boyle.
- Features prose poems and microfiction selected by competition judge, joanne burns.
- Cover and evocative sketches by talented artist, Paden Hunter.
- Read interviews with our contributors here
- Click here to here audio
To purchase, click here
Escape audio stories Vol. 2
Playlist
Those Gauls Must Be Crazy – Claire Aman 14:36
The End of the Beginning – Meredyth Cilento 25:50
Poioumenon – John Steiner 8:22
The Gardener – Susan McCreery 21:50
For more details about these stories and their authors and to hear audio samples from this CD click here. Also available as mp3.
Escape – audio stories Vol. 1
Playlist
Paper Anniversary – SJ Finn/JR Davidson 19:35
Under the Skin – Sue Booker 21:39
Unnameable – M. Giacometti 20:14
Home – Yin Lin 13:36
For more details about these stories and their authors and to hear audio samples from this CD, click here. Also available as mp3.
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