That Sadie Thing Tour: Beth

Today I have a special treat in store, fellow British author Annalisa Crawford is visiting my blog for the first time as part of her blog tour for her short story compilation That Sadie Thing

Thanks for including me on your tour, take it away Annalisa ...

It's great to be visiting your blog today Clare - my first time here!
 
I'm going to talk about Beth today. I love Beth. When I submit a story to a magazine or competition, there are some that I kind of expect not to do very well, and there are others - like Beth - where I'm completely gutted, and send it straight off again because I know it has to be published.

I woke up with the first sentence in my head, so I wrote it down. Then I wrote the second sentence, then the third. Sometimes this writing lark is just too darn easy. (If you read my post a couple of days ago about The Walking Dead, I said the same thing there - it doesn't always happen like that, I struggle too!)

This story was actually written at a time when a lot of my characters were running away from things, or feeling trapped by their situation; at a time when, possibly, I was too. Beth is the epitome of trapped. She meets a boy and marries him far too young. She knows she wants more from her life, but she doesn't know what and she certainly doesn't know how to reach it. Then she has children and all thoughts of running away are put on hold while she tries to be the perfect mother.

I consider Beth to be one of my happiest stories. People who have read it argue with me about that statement, but I stand by it. I considered the ending very carefully - there were several way it could have gone, but in the event, I was drawn to the symmetry of the opening paragraph. Sometimes I do have reasons beyond because I want to. See, I can be deep...



Buy That Sadie Thing here (this link should take you direct to your local Amazon)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Annalisa
I live in Cornwall, with a good supply of beaches and moorland right on my doorstep. I live with my husband, two boys, a dog and a cat. Despite my location. I neither surf nor sail, and have never had any inclination to try. I much prefer walking along the beach and listening to the waves crashing over rocks. For this reason, I really love the beach in the winter!
Follow Annalisa here | Like her here |Read her blog here

26 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for inviting me over today Clare :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm one of the people who argued with you about this! :p While I understand how it could be seen as happy, I didn't feel that way. However, it is a truly beautiful story, and I still love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, you were one of them :-) But I'll take 'beautiful' as a description every time!

      Delete
  3. I've read it and its a great book! :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's your story, you decide what you think of it. Glad you stopped by and congrats on your book Annalisa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love a bit of healthy debate over my stories... I never write anything that's completely straight-forward :-)

      Delete
  5. It's a great book, Annalisa, and Beth was one of my favourite stories. I think I'd consider the ending bittersweet.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad you didn't give up on that story.

    ReplyDelete
  7. All the stories are great, but there's something about this one that stole my heart.
    It has a certain poignancy.
    Writer In Transit

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm intrigued. :) Keep writing, Annalisa.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm intrigued, too. Can't wait to read the story and decide for myself! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Awesome post. Thanks for sharing pics of your stories being edited. I find it interesting to see how other writers work with their stories. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've tried as far as possible to keep the first, hand-written copies of all my stories - in this case, I must have typed it straight away. I'm fascinated by other writers too :-)

      Delete
  11. That's how most of my stories began - I wake up knowing where to begin. And then it just flows from that point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're very lucky if that happens to you most of the time - it's rare for me, but I grab the opportunity!

      Delete
  12. Yeah, sometimes an idea, or a sentence just knocks you in the head...I know what you mean. Looking forward to reading your collection, and "meeting" Beth.

    Tina @ Life is Good

    ReplyDelete
  13. Like MPax, I'm intrigued, especially because Beth can be perceived of as happy or not. I think that's a sign that Annalisa did a great job. I've just added this one to my list of books to purchase.

    Thanks, Clare and Annalisa.

    xoRobyn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Robin, it's free today and tomorrow (Sat and Sun) ;-)

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to read this entry, and comment. I really appreciate it.