Issue #2 of Love, Love is out now. If you can’t get over to Shakespeare & Co to buy it you can get yourselves a copy by clicking here.
It’s always a joy to be involved in good things, and I’ve spent so much time saying I only put my name to things I love, so when the magnificent Lisa-Marie asked me for a story I was delighted to send her Hole which is one of my favourites. It’s a story about dreams, and of not throwing them away or getting too caught up in the stuff that doesn’t actually matter or make you happy, and it’s feminist and there’s a great big hole in someone’s garden that may, or may not, need feeding.
The launch was on Thursday so I took a plane to Paris to read at it. And it was an incredible evening of art and music (I think I’ve found my new favourite singer in Little Ellen), spoken word, poetry and I hope I kept the short fiction flag flying well enough.
And, on top of all that, I got to hang out with fellow Streetcake experimental writing comp judge, 2019, Sascha Akhtar at Le Louvre (and I can report Mona, that day, was smiling). It had been a long time since I’d been in Paris, and it was such a great thing to be reminded how much I love the city while also revelling in the freedom of travelling on my own.
There’s a video of me reading knocking about somewhere but I’d rather you bought the mag and read it, and everything else brilliant, in there first. It’s a thing of great beauty and brilliant art and I’m honoured to be in it with such brilliant people.
Also, The Raft of Medusa’s a lot bigger than it looks on the cover of that Pogues record.
There’s loads and loads of other things I want to say (and probably should be saying) on here, but there’ll be time for that soon enough. Hoping everyone’s 2020 has been brill, so far. And, if it hasn’t been, I’m sure you’ve got something to look forward to. And, if you’ve not got anything to look forward to – do something small you’ll thank yourself for.