Holiday Shorts , livre ebook

Troubador Publishing Ltd - Garfield Collins

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109 pages

English

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Introducing Holiday Shorts, a compilation of bite-sized stories with a far wider scope than a typical short story collection! Quick to read, packed with wit and wry observations, but often set against a background which leaves plenty to think about, these stories cover it all from love and loss, history and sci-fi, wars and terrorism to family and contemporary social issues. Some of them are based in London where the author grew up and a number are inspired by Sussex where he now lives.They range across time from the medieval to the apocalypse, across the Earth and into the far galaxies, but all featurecharacters that a reader can relate to.Perfect for the busy reader.

Sujets

Short story

Informations

Publié par	Troubador Publishing Ltd
Date de parution	28 août 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781838595913
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

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Extrait

Holiday Shorts

Bite-sized stories encompassing humour, war, romance, history, sci-fi, adventure, contemporary issues, and much more. Quick to read in stolen moments – but leaving plenty to think about.

In this busy age it is often difficult to find enough time for a good read. Garfield Collins has produced the perfect answer with his new collection of vignettes: Holiday Shorts. By turns funny, tragic, dramatic and insightful, there is something to please everyone here. Each story is a perfect gem.
(Mary Vernon, book reviewer for The Australian and Colin Roderick Award judge)

Copyright © 2020 Garfield Collins

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Matador
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Wistow Road, Kibworth Beauchamp,
Leicestershire. LE8 0RX
Tel: 0116 279 2299
Email: books@troubador.co.uk
Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador
Twitter: @matadorbooks

ISBN 978 1838595 913

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

For Gill Collins
... my muse
Contents
Carol
All at Sea
Serendipity
A Man of No Account
The Diary
Transformation
Enjoying the Magic
Salvation?
A Short History of the Short Story
The End of the Party
Imagining Christmas
Redemption Deferred
Feat of Clay
Accidents Will Happen
The Arrow of Time
Above and Beyond
Can You Hear Me?
The Pencil Box
Lying Back?
Room 101
The Missing Page
The Bitter Ending
Misplaced Love
Jealousy
The Library Book
Visiting Another Country
A Lot Too Late
The Hobbyist
Zoryx
Her Winter of Discontent
Lying
Who Was I?
Absence
An Evening Butterfly
Life Can Be a Lottery
Disillusion
A Mother’s Day
Revenge
The Golden Ticket
The Story of an Hour
The Birling Gap
Betrayal
Survival
A Travelogue: El Calafate Argentina
Nostalgia
Saint Nicholas
The Sixth Impossibility
A Father’s Grief
An Injection of Hope
Escape
The Little Red Book
The Seeds of Doubt
The Benefit of Euthanasia?
Harmony
Great Expectations
The Same Old Story
A Fatal Memory
Sometimes You Just Know
My Mysterious Neighbour
Fraud
Nocturnal Animals
The Prophecy
Fisherman’s Tail
It’s Best to Forget?
A Deadly Embrace
Weathering the Storm
Communication
The Trip
A Fatal Joke
The Call
Success at Last
A Waste of Time
The People Upstairs
The Helping Hand
An Antique Discovery
Fast Eddie
Celestial Insurance
The Landlady
Schadenfreude
Tricky Trimble
War and Peace
The Fiction Factory
Unrequited Love
Just Deserts
The Devil’s Dare
Losing Touch
Piano - Troppo!
Time is of the Essence
Consolation
A Step Too Far
Pretending to be Abnormal
Silent Rest
Renaissance
Don’t Dis Honesty
A Noise Downstairs
Relative Morality
Retribution
Wrong Time for a Change
An Abuse of Power?
The Letter
The Servant
A Gap in My Life
A Little Misunderstanding
Pteronophobia
Windmill Hill
Partners in Crime
Eavesdropping
Manic Monday
About a Bicycle
A Message from the Past
Loyalty
Girl with the Pearl Earring
Life and Death of a Soldier
The Colour of the Sky
The Little Stranger
Liberation
A Bad Start
Mystery and Melancholy
A Model Child
The Broken Doll
Blind Fortune
The Seller of Words
Camouflage
A Dress to Die For
Instructions for Cleaners
An Intriguing Call
What Goes Around
Waltzing Through Time
A Lifeline
They are Just Like Us
Preface
The pages of a book are given life only as they are opened.
L. J. deVet
So thank you in advance for giving life to my stories through your reading. I hope you will enjoy them. You can dip into them in any small moments of leisure – not just on holiday. Although brief, there is often a wider background to the story, providing something to think about afterwards.
Prior to 2016, my writing had all been for technical books and articles. But in the summer of that year, my friend and neighbour, Alan Reid (author of An Experimental Childhood), arranged a barbecue for colleagues from his creative writing course, and Gill and I were also invited. By chance, I sat next to Roddy Philips, who leads the course. Roddy asked me if I had ever done any creative writing. As an example, he told me that the class homework for the following Wednesday was to write a story about Vermeer’s painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring.
I thought about what must have been happening in the Netherlands at the time, the place of the girl in the household and who her observer might have been, and I was hooked. It convinced me that even a very short story could have a rich background. That story is included here.
The spur of having to produce material in accordance with a given subject every week is very stimulating and enjoyable. It beats the alternative of sitting with a blank page and no creative focus!
For material, I’ve mined a lifetime of experiences. I worked as a scientist, with information technology and as an entrepreneur helping to develop companies from creation to commercial viability. Other important influences have been voluntary involvement in education and charity work, and in amateur music and sport. I have also been lucky in travelling extensively for work and pleasure. Aside from this, I have a great interest in how we got here – from the Big Bang through to modern history. Consequently, the stories cover many topics.
The great variety of people I have had the good fortune to meet have certainly influenced my ideas, but none of them is directly portrayed in the book!

In producing this book I am indebted to many people. Firstly, my friend Alan for introducing me to Roddy, whose guidance and inspiration have been invaluable. Then my wife Gill, who patiently listened to, and made many helpful suggestions about, every story.
I was privileged that Mary Vernon – a prominent author, reviewer and judge of books – agreed to read my first draft and comment incisively upon it.
Finally, I have to thank the staff of Matador, who have been crucial in creating a professional result, and for advising me on marketing and sales.

I have had a love of Nepal since 1991, when we trekked there as a family. In the past twenty years, I have been involved in a business based in Kathmandu. Happily, this was successful and has created a significant number of jobs there – from animal husbandry through to high-tech biotechnology.
Thus it seemed natural to donate all the revenue from sales of this book to Child Rescue Nepal, which our company has supported for many years. This excellent charity saves children who have been trafficked into effective slavery.
Thank you for supporting the charity by buying this book.

Garfield Collins
Carol
Carol hurried into Coffee Pacifica. Ten minutes early – just time to calm down , she thought, as she caught sight of her exhilarated expression in the wall mirror.
It had all happened so suddenly. The previous day she had been to an art exhibition where she became aware of someone studying the same pictures she did, and even photographing some of them. Despite her usual reserve, there was something about him that intrigued her. Near the end of the exhibition, as she stood transfixed by a vibrantly coloured abstract, he had asked, “You seem so immersed in this picture; would you mind if I take a shot of you?”
She had posed hesitantly for several different views. Curiosity made her accept his offer to show her the pictures over a cup of tea. He was amusing and drew her out into a lively conversation, so she had gladly accepted his invitation to dinner that evening.
Carol’s reverie was interrupted by a sharp hiss of steam from the coffee machine. With a start, she realised that Pierre was twenty minutes late. I expect that his packing has taken longer than he thought , she reasoned, as she happily returned to her thoughts of the previous night. At an intimate family-run restaurant, Pierre had again been most entertaining and attentive. It had been so easy to confide in him about her loneliness since her husband had died. As they were leaving, Pierre had said that he would probably be passing her apartment, so they should share a taxi. It then seemed only polite to ask him in for a coffee, despite the late hour.
Gosh. He’s now forty minutes late. Poor Pierre must have found he needed to shop for something. Men can be so bad at packing. But he’s very good at some things , she thought with a shiver. After the late coffee, as Pierre was