Archive

Puzzle box

When they opened him up they found a puzzlebox in his ribcage, halfway solved. They peeled away the blood vessels and lifted it to the light. It was hard, with gloved hands, to feel the subtle click and give of its mechanisms, and the dried-up stuff of life had stiffened

Rollercoaster

The rollercoaster stopped before the drop, with the harnesses digging into our shoulders and our faces tilted to the ground. I thought: how can it break down here, when all it has to do is fall? The longer we hung there, the more I hoped they would winch us back

After the flood

After the flood, when everything was rearranged, we left things as they were. The cars haphazard in the streets looked much as they always had. Less so the ice-cream van in my garden, which gaped its serving window down into the mud and wouldn't chime no matter what

Old leaves

A cluster of brown leaves had clung on all through winter and into the spring. Amy, always thoughtful of things smaller than herself, was afraid that they would stop the new leaves coming through. My voice pressed at my throat to reassure her, but I stopped, and stooped, and bore

Garden

Through hedge archways and little doors in walls, I passed from one part of the garden to the next. Each was laid out the same, down to the flaking paint on the bench. In one it might be spring, everything in bloom: in the next it was winter, the bench

Of The World

Stories about a weighted suit, a big wet dog, an out-of-reach blackberry and a visit to the Emotion Recycling Centre.

Blackberrying

Right in the middle of the brambles, where neither arms nor birds could reach, was the plumpest blackberry I had ever seen. I came back with my scratched arms and my thick gloves and my secateurs. I cut and cut, but my prize only seemed to retreat deeper into the

Big wet dog

On rainy days there was always a big wet dog in the café, so much damp fur spilling over its eyes and nose that infrequent customers generally mistook it for a coat. Nobody brought it: it whined at the door when the rain started, and walked in circles near it

In the new world

In the new world, we made our homes in the mouths of huge carnivorous plants. They seemed not to notice us. We were like nothing else in that strange country. The plants were good hosts: they dissolved the carapaces of the local creatures and, getting all they needed from those

Emotion Recycling Centre

I set off early to the emotion recycling centre , so it would be quiet. At the barrier a man in hi-vis waved me down. "What have you got?" he asked. "Anger, regret. A bit of old grief. Oh, and some shame." "We can't

Hyphae

Stories about turning into a mushroom, putting a horrible rich man to death, and inflating roadkill. Happy new year!

The End of Year Rush

Fires, an ocean starling, wolf's teeth, new year's resolutions, and screaming at crows.

The Last Solstice

Happy solstice! Here's a song for the occasion, and a story too. If we are at vaguely comparable latitudes, congratulations on making it through the darkest bit. If we don't, or you are reading this at a later date, congratulations anyway: I'm quite sure

Christmas Shopping at the Non-Euclidean Argos

Sometimes, the stories we tell reveal something in us we weren't even aware of; other times, we walk two circuits of the Arndale Centre in Manchester looking for the Argos and we just want to gently vent about that experience. Fear not: I have since made my escape,

The Pit and the Sky

Cats big and small, worrisome pastes, and a hole that calls to you.

Edith Buchanan's Wonderful Machine

This week's story is about a magic lamp that, as far as we can tell, does not have a genie in it.

Right Through You

It suddenly turned very cold this week, so here's a story about becoming very cold and possibly never warming up again. Also, Uncertain Stories have a little Q&A with me about my story 'All Seasons Sweet'. I'm grateful to them for not

The Woman, the Bomb and the Wardrobe

Remember that inspiration can come from anywhere, and it's OK to write a story because a really stupid first sentence came into your head. Is it a good idea? Read this week's story and judge for yourself. This week's daily stories Monday The Incredible

The Shadow Economy

Selling shadows, sticky cakes, and strange skythings.

Cold Call

This week, a slightly spooky story about a knock at the door, and a lot of doubling. I wasn't planning for this to be Hallowe'en themed, but I suppose it turned out that way.