Slowly savouring the short stories of Katherine Mansfield this week, I’ve decided she’s my new favourite writer. As I read more and more expertly written short stories I, in turn, have become more and more of a fan of the shorter work of fiction. They require a different type of writing expertise and although you sometimes want to read more and wish certain stories were full-length books, I’m actually finding that with Mansfield so far, her stories are so completely satisfying, they’re just the right length. For me, anyway, I finish one and happily look forward to the next and if I could achieve that in my own stories, well, I’d be very happy.
Whilst I’m currently in the midst of writing short stories, a Belfast-based writer who I’ve interviewed a few times now has just celebrated the release of her fist YA novel, Blood Entwines. You can read about her writing journey here on writing.ie and her website is right here. Her name is Caroline Healy and it’s probably a name to remember!
Caroline Healy
Writing is a tough gig and those who persevere and see success like this motivate the rest of us and inspire us to keep going. Writers, I find, are an encouraging bunch, and are always willing to offer advice and to support each other and celebrate their respective successes (and commiserate at the countless rejections…), so in keeping with this, congratulations to Caroline on her Bloomsbury book birthday (which was August 1) and keep up the good work!