Reviews

Invisible’s got an excellent, tense plot, shifting between the two main characters, with a good number of surprises along the way. Poulson always has great, strong women characters, with real lives and feelings . . .  I liked the fact that the depictions of violence and injury were realistic without being over-detailed or gloating . . . It was a pleasure to find a book that did the excitement, the jeopardy and the thrills without putting off this reader . . .  a very good read for anyone.’

- CLOTHES IN BOOKS

The Starlings and Other Stories

MS_BookLaunch_FINALI got back from my holiday in France to find a treat waiting for me: a copy of The Starlings & Other Stories, edited by Ann Cleeves. A while ago I wrote about writing short stories to a brief and mentioned this anthology, to be published by Graffeg, an excellent small Welsh Press: http://bit.ly/1WGllMk. The stories are all inspired by David Wilson’s atmospheric black and white photographs of Pembrokeshire.

I loved writing the story and it was something of a departure for me: for the first time I’ve drawn on my academic specialism, Arthurian legend in the visual arts.

There are sites in Wales that have been contenders for Arthur’s court, for the lake where Arthur received Excalibur, and for the last battle. I wanted to draw on that potent myth and bring it into the present day and I hope I’ve succeeded with my story, ‘Weeping Queens.’ Reading the other stories, I was fascinated to see that I wasn’t the only one to be inspired by Wales’s rich mythological past. There are some great stories here, and it’s a beautifully produced book, too, with David Wilson’s extraordinary photographs as a bonus.

We are having a book launch at Waterstones in Wrexham on Saturday 5th September from 12.00-1.30. Do come if you can. For more about the book and the publisher go to https://www.graffeg.com/product/the-starlings-and-other-stories/. If you pre-order you can save £5!

2 Comments

  1. Helen R Hardie
    August 20, 2015

    I love the title “Weeping Queens” ….my favourite Shakespeare lines are (Richard II) …
    ……. in this place,
    I’ll set a bank of rue, ….
    I the remembrance of weeping queen.

    Best wishes Helen Hardie

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      August 20, 2015

      Thank you! I am so pleased to know this. I hadn’t thought of Richard III. I had in mind Malory’s account of the death of Arthur and Tennyson’s lines: ‘. . .mythic Uther’s deeply-wounded son/In some fair space of sloping greens/Lay, dozing in the vale of Avalon,/And watch’d by weeping queens.’

      Reply

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