Tag Archives: anthology

Mallorca Contribution to New ‘Kaleidoscope’ Anthology by Writers Abroad

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When we came to live on Mallorca I had grand plans to write a novel . . . after I’d written about the experience of moving to a rural finca on the island and all the challenges that it entailed. We had the first eight months without electricity, which meant I couldn’t plug in a computer. And anyone who has seen my handwriting will know that using paper and pen would not have been a workable option. Not if anyone (or even I) intended to read it later.

I soon discovered that better and more experienced writers had already written about moving to Mallorca and living in a finca. Perhaps the novel? I’ve probably written a quarter of it, but that was some time ago now; I do intend to get back to it soon. And, yes, it’s set on Mallorca.

Most of my writing work is factual, rather than fiction, but I have had short stories chosen for inclusion in three anthologies published by a group called Writers Abroad (of which, incidentally, I’m not a member).

A Hat Trick on the Story Front

The latest of these anthologies, entitled ‘Kaleidoscope’ is published today, October 12th. Even though I’ve probably had a few hundred articles published now, I’ve had little success with short stories – so I’m pretty excited to have had my third one published. Especially as I spent quite some time trying to find inspiration for the ‘light-themed’ story – and almost gave up the idea of submitting anything.

They do say that you should write about what you know and, thus, the seed of a story idea sprouted. ‘Seeing the light’ (published under the name of Janice Dunn) is a complete work of fiction – but prompted by the occasion when lightning knocked out the invertor of our solar-powered electricity system.

News Release From Writers Abroad‏

 
An Anthology of Stories and Poetry from Expat Writers Around the World

‘Kaleidoscope’ Available for Purchase

All proceeds from sales will be donated to the charity Room to Read.

Online, ex-pat writing community Writers Abroad are proud to announce the publication today Monday 12th October of their fifth anthology, Kaleidoscope.

Kaleidoscope is a dazzling collection of flash fiction, short stories and poetry, written by expats (or former expats) around the world on the theme of light, as 2015 is the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies.

The stories and poems selected for Kaleidoscope evoke many varied interpretations of light: from a force that dispels evil or illuminates to one that can be destructive, from sunlight to firelight, or from the glow of an Arctic summer night to the brilliance of a Mediterranean afternoon.

This anthology is dedicated to two writers and members of Writers Abroad, Mary Davies and Jäny Graf, who both died in June 2015 during the planning of Kaleidoscope. Two pieces written by them are published in the anthology.

Author and former Writers Abroad member Chris Allen, who lives in Germany, has written the foreword. His writing has appeared in a wide range of publications. A finalist at Glimmer Train in 2011, Chris Allen has been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize twice.

Kaleidoscope is available from Lulu and Amazon at a price of $8.50, £5.99 or €7.50.

Jan Edwards Copyright 2015

Foreign Encounters

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When we moved to rural Mallorca, I was itching to start the novel I’d always wanted to write, but there were a few small challenges. Firstly, the finca we’d bought needed quite a bit of work to turn it into a comfortable permanent home, rather than the rustic holiday home it had been for many years. Our days were filled with DIY, painting, varnishing, cleaning up the inevitable mess that results from home improvements, and undertaking shopping expeditions for various items of furniture and other necessities. My spare moments were spent recovering from all this, rather than writing.

There was also the small matter of electricity – which we didn’t have for the first eight months we lived here. No electricity meant no computer, so any writing would have had to be by hand, using a pen or pencil and paper. And for me, for some reason, the words just don’t flow unless there’s a keyboard and screen to accept them. How I envy those writers who can sit with a notepad and pen, committing their mots justes to paper. It just doesn’t work for me.

Once we had electricity, I began to make up for lost time, and I’ve now had several hundred articles published in Mallorca-based magazines and a few publications in the UK. But I’ve made little progress with writing fiction. Several short stories sent to women’s magazines in the UK have been rejected, and the novel has stalled at 20,000 words. One day . . .

However, I’m thrilled skinny (oh, I wish) to have had some success with a short story (only my second to be published), entitled Embracing the New, which appears in the third anthology, Foreign Encounters, published by Writers Abroad http://www.writersabroad.com/ today (October 24th); the stories, articles, and poems included have all been written by expat writers living around the globe.

Author Julia Gregson, a former expat whose bestselling novel East of the Sun won the Prince Maurice Prize for romantic fiction, has written the foreword.

All proceeds from the sale of Foreign Encounters will go to Books Abroad, a charity which co-ordinates the donation of books to schools throughout the world. The charity celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and has supplied more than 1,600 schools with books.

Foreign Encounters is available from Lulu, price €9.99 (approximately £8.00), from today, Wednesday 24th October: http://www.lulu.com/shop/writers-abroad/foreign-encounters/paperback/product-20450826.html. Well, Christmas is coming and this would make a good stocking-filler . . .