Saturday, January 21, 2012

Hoovering the Roof 2



Isn't that a great title? I have this wonderful image in my head whenever I think of this. The joke is that I sometimes hoover my own roof, but that's on my barge and technically, I hoover the hatch boards, not the roof.

Anyhow, why 'hoovering the roof' and why '2'? Well, it's the title of a collection of short stories written by the East Dulwich Writers' group (in London, England), one of whom is my marvellously witty friend, Sue Lanzon. She and I were at school together more years ago than either of us cares to mention, and we 'met' again through Facebook, something I am inordinately chuffed about.

Anyhow, back to the book. It is a wonderfully eclectic mix of stories, styles and tales of the unexpected. The offerings by Sue are very consistent with her sophistry (is that a word? It sounds good, anyway) and wry and sometimes spicy humour. Her stories involve homeopathy among other things - not surprisingly as she's a homeopath - but there are also stories from a variety of talented authors about murder, corporate intrigue and strange friendships. I found  the whole collection great for my bed-time read. I could read one a night quite easily before dropping off over the pages (as is my wont these days) although a couple of them kept me awake rather longer than was comfortable - the tale of the man telling his story from his coffin was one such.

The short story has become a very popular genre now, and with the wealth of talent around, I can well see why. Hoovering the Roof 2 is a great example of this and it has won quite a prestigious Short Story writers award as a result. As for the 2, well you've probably already realised there is a 1 as well. Since I've always done things back to front, lets's not change a lifelong tradition...I shall now proceed to order the first edition, the cover of which would make me buy it  anyway! If you like short stories, these are really enjoyable and demonstrate the creative writing talent that is out there in abundance. Thanks a million to Sue and her friends at the EDWG.


PS Buy it at the Book Depository (dot com). Free delivery can't be a bad thing these days and it saves a heap of money! Alternatively, buy it directly from the source. The EDWG's website is: http://sites.google.com/site/eastdulwichwritersgroup/

8 comments:

  1. Hi Val,
    I have never been much of a short story reader myself, which is not to say that things can't change. Delighted for your friend that the book won an award and has been recognized.

    xx
    AM

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  2. short stories would be up my alley. I can't seem to hold much attention to reading a very long book.
    These stories sound wonderfully exciting. The story from the coffin caught my attention.

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  3. I will get this as I enljoy short stories. Thanks for the tip off xxx

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  4. Anne Marie, I never used to read them either, but life being what it is at the moment, it suits me, and I have come to like the discipline it imposes on the writer to create a whole scenario and outcome in a short space of pages, so to speak. I could well read more of them in the coming months!

    Grace, I know what you mean! I've also realised that I tend to write my longer books almost as a series of short stories.

    Fran, that's great. I love it when creative people support each other, so when you publish your cookbook (never thought of it? Well do!), I'll be your first customer :)

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  5. Val, you're right, and I think it is much more difficult to write a good short story than a good normal length novel. I am drowning in my own endless writing at the moment, but will tuck this away perhaps for the spring, or for my travels in May. Thanks!

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  6. Great title and image. I've always been a fan of short stories.

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  7. Great intro to the book and love the covers!

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  8. oh, yours too are serious of short stories. Very nice.

    Hope you are well. And Sindy, how is she these days?

    x

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