Getting the most from conferences

Posted on July 13, 2017 by gclarkhellery

It seems as if conference season is already upon us. There are innumerable conferences, locally, nationally and internationally, all eager for your business. When I was first setting out I went to a number of different conferences and met some fantastic people, many of whom are now dear friends.

I have my lanyard I take to all conferences. It’s got different tickets, badges and stickers on

Conferences, especially if you’re a writer, are an invaluable tool. We’re known as a fairly reclusive lot so a conference allows you to leave your characters behind and meet real people. Understandably, it can be fairly daunting so I’ve come up with a few tried and tested methods for you to use:

Choose your conference carefully. It’s not cheap buying tickets, booking transport and hotel rooms so make sure that the conference is one which you will find interesting and importantly, beneficial;
Meeting Graham Higgins at BristolCon was a highlight in 2013
Do your homework. I’m not just talking about deciding on which outfit to wear (although this is important, see below) but look at the conference website: which writers, agents or publishers are going? Check out their webpages or look them up in the ‘Writers and Artists’ Yearbook’. Know who they are and what they do;
I was terrified at NineWorlds in 2011
Which brings us to something important – start growing your online presence. If you don’t already, get a twitter account and start following people who interest you. If you’ve recently read a book by an author, tweet them and tell them how much you enjoyed it and say you’re looking forward to seeing them at the conference. Obviously with everything on the internet, there’s a fine line between being friendly and demanding. Would you really want people sending unsolicited emails etc? No. Be professional and most importantly be polite – you don’t want to arrive at a conference with a reputation for being ‘that annoying person’ who people avoid;
With other Fox Spirit Writers at EdgeLit in 2013
Plan your weekend. Most conferences have a vast array of events, talks, screenings, signings and more. Most post their programme beforehand so get a copy and review it, deciding which events you want to go to. It saves you a lot of time once you are actually at the conference. I’ve learned this from experience, don’t forget to book in time for food. My first NineWorlds Conference, I rushed from event to event and didn’t eat for 12 hours. When I met an author I admire and had been looking forward to talking to, I was so exhausted and hungry, I could barely remember my own name and just mumbled something about needing coffee. Very embarrassing!;
I helped promote Fox Spirit Books at ExeCon in 2014 with Adele Wearing and Alec McQuay
If you’ve written a book or are looking to get into publishing, then you need to start branding yourself and your work early on. Sadly publishers don’t have the finances at the moment to promote new or even established authors as much as they might like so you’ve got to do a lot of the hard work for them. I became known as the girl with the dresses because I chose to wear an array of summer frocks at a couple of writing conferences I attended (as an aside, it was more of a practical move than a fashion choice due to an unseasonably warm September). I quickly realised how beneficial this is: when contacting people after the conference I could remind them of who I was by saying ‘I was the girl in the green dress’ and at future conferences I’ll keep up this tradition. I spoke with comic book writer Tony Lee and he said that he was often recognised by people because they knew his distinctive waistcoat, shirt and tie combination, not what he actually looks like. Branding is very important so choose your outfit carefully;
I was too shy to speak to James Herbert at FantasyCon in 2012
In-keeping with this, maintain your decorum. You do not want your ‘brand’ to be ‘drunk girl flashes knickers as she falls off table onto lap of famous author’;
Riddle Me This! Would you dare to wear cosplay to a conference? NineWorlds 2013
You’ll meet a lot of people at the conference and you’ll be given a lot of business cards. Everyone has their own way of storing them (one friend puts them in special envelopes to remind herself which day she was given them, another sorts them by person) but one thing I found invaluable is to write a few things on the back of each card such as at which event you met the person, perhaps the anecdote you told them, anything to jog their memory when you contact them in a months time;
Excuse the dodgy haircut (note to self, don’t go for a new style days before going away). Launch of Tales of Nun and Dragon and FantasyCon 2012
Which brings us to your card. At my first conference I was surprised at the number of unpublished writers with their own business card, the title ‘Author’ splashed across the front. However, seeing the number of cards flying around the hotel bar I realised that for my next conference I need to have my own cards;
Doing a bit of book promo at Nine Worlds 2015
It’s fabulous to go to a conference with a friend and it’s great to have that comfort of knowing someone but remember you’re there for you. Get out of your hotel room and go and meet people. You never know what might happen, either you’ll meet a new friend or better yet, you might meet an agent or publisher who accepts your work;
I was lucky to attend the Exeter Novel Prize 2014, which was presented by MP Ben Bradshaw (even though I hadn’t submitted) and got to meet agents and writers
If you’ve got them, don’t forget to check out the facilities for children. I’ve been impressed with the efforts Nine Worlds has gone to to ensure youngsters are entertained, but not all conferences are so inclusive. This also goes for if you have additional needs (I remember one venue didn’t have accessible rooms for people in wheelchairs). Know where baby change facilities/accessible toilets are. Should you need additional assistance, let the guys working at the conference know so they can help (again, Nine Worlds does this well, with coloured badges). It’s one area where pre-planning can save time and stress;
Don’t forget to eat!
If someone agrees to look at your work, make sure you follow their guidelines to the letter and as always in a polite and not over-friendly manner. Yes, you shared a few drinks but do you really want to start a professional relationship with ‘we got trashed’?;
Causing chaos at ExeCon in 2014
Finally, and most importantly, have fun!

So there you have it. Conferences are great places to meet people with similar interests to you and you never know, they might be the start of exciting new chapter. Enjoy!

Any additional hints or tips? Let me know in the comments below

The Big Interview: Kalkidan Legesse

Posted on July 12, 2017 by gclarkhellery

One of the things I love about where we live is that there are so many independent shops selling a range of local, handmade and ethical products. One of my favourites is ‘Sancho’s Dress‘ which sells ethical and sustainable clothing. Co-owner, Kalkidan Legesse has a fantastic eye for fashion and all will fit you with the perfect outfit, either for a special occasion or day-to-day wear.

Kalkidan Legesse.jpg

I spoke to Kalkidan about her inspiration for Sancho’s Dress, how she selects pieces for the shop and what she has planned for the future.

GCH: Your inspiration for Sancho grew after your travels through Ethiopia. That’s an unusual destination for tourists, so what drew you to the region?

KL: Well the main reason is because I am Ethiopian. My family migrated to the UK when I was 5, and I grew up in Reading with a warm and family orientated Ethiopian community. We returned to Ethiopia for the first time when I was around 15 and then when I was 20 I returned again to work for the NGO World Vision Ethiopia for a 6 month period. As is the case for many first generation immigrants I sought to understand the country and culture that I was from to find some answers to the questions I held about myself. In Ethiopia I was first introduced to weaving, spinning, design and the textile markets of Africa’s largest outdoor market. I fell in love with the skill, the joy and the life of making and the independence and dignity of the makers themselves.

GCH: Can you tell us a little about Sancho and its ethos?

KL: Sancho’s is a sustainable clothing company that helps people, mainly here in the UK, find clothing and gifts which have been made in a way that protects the environment and helps makers to thrive in their craft. We curate contemporary slow fashion pieces at affordable prices, striving to connect brands which are doing amazing work to you. We have jewellery made by communities who, before their current work, lived in the largest slums in the world. 90% of our cotton clothing is made from organic cotton, protecting land from deteriorating and farmers from cycles of life threatening debt. It all makes a positive impact in the world by fighting poverty and climate change.

GCH: Given the disposable, cheap fashion available in stores, how do you aim to change people’s perception of ethical, fair trade and quality clothes?

KL: I believe the most important thing is that we exist, we provide an example of an alternative, of clothing which is made to last and ethically made, clothing which of course is beautiful. Then people are put in the position where they need to make a decision, I think some people are more conscious of this than others, which is natural as with all social movements there are early actors and late actors and people who are never too keen.

I also think that we need to be working hard to provide options for people, we are working to carry larger ranges with more items in them..think swimwear.. so that people can choose.

Finally outreach is important, we use our instagram and facebook pages to talk about the ethos of our business and help people understand that organic clothing can be as significant as organic food and that fair trade is as powerful if not more so as aid in lifting people out of poverty.

Its all a work in progress but I think we’ll get there.

GCH: How do you ensure your products are ethical, fair trade and organic?

KL: We have a sourcing criteria for the shop to make sure all the styles we carry are doing good in the world. The first is certification, there are some amazing audit bodies like GOTS, WFTO, BAFTS and the Fairtrade Foundation which set out a criteria for cotton farmers, and garment manufactures to follow in order to minimise their environmental impact and ensure poverty alleviation. These are often called the ‘10 Fair trade principles‘ and they protect the workers rights, ensure safe and fairly paid conditions and absence of forced work. We source 70% of our items from fully certified brands. The remaining 30% is sourced from designer-makers, usually made here in Devon. They are independent, and usually at least partially self employed, and their craft helps them to earn a portion of their living.

GCH: What makes you different from other stores on the high street?

KL: Profits are not the basis of our business, we are motivated by the belief that we can make a difference in the world by helping people to reduce their carbon footprint and to connect them with makers in the UK and in some of the most impoverished areas of the world.

We also spend a lot of time with our customers helping them to find items of clothing that suit them, make sense in their wardrobe, clothing which they can wear on a multitude of occasions and will last them at least more than 30 wears.

GCH: What’s your favourite aspect of being an entrepreneur and working for yourself?

KL: I love that work is as serious or as playful as I need it to be, my partner and I can go from concentrating on strategic meetings to dancing to whatever is on BBC 6. There is a lot of joy in working with someone you love and trust, whose vision you share.

GCH: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be successful?

KL: I would say you have to be willing to learn, they are so many mistakes to make and you will probably make them all, and unless you can reflect on that and improve you’ll just go in circles. You have to be able to communicate your idea and the value of it, people are bombarded by different causes and worries in the world not to mention their own lives so unless you can speak to them you wont hold their attention. Finally, you have to enjoy your work, there is a LOT of hard and dull aspects of being an entrepreneur and unless you can find joy in them, or in between them you are not going to have much fun.

GCH: I love your Instagram account. How important is social media to your business?

KL: It is the primary way in which we communicate with our customers and friends so I would say it is of huge importance to our business. Social media is fantastic as it works to start leveling the playing field between huge companies and independents, it has allowed us to capture the attention of our customers in a way that other business on the high street, with less heart, can’t and something like a TV ad probably wouldn’t have.

GCH: What are your plans for Sancho in the future?

KL: So many plans, I want there to be a sustainable shop that everyone in the UK can access within the next 10 years. We’re currently laying down the groundwork for the next shop so we’ll see if we can make that dream a reality.

GCH: What’s your favourite or most meaningful piece you’ve sold in Sancho?

KL: What a lovely question, everything we sell is hand picked, tested and curated by me so I feel an attachment with all of it. The past few days, when I’ve been walking through town or by the river I’ve seen a few dozen people wearing items from Sancho’s, and each time my heart leaps. I never know if I should introduce myself or if that would be too weird, but yeah at the moment I don’t have a favourite item but I absolutely love seeing people wear our collections.

GCH: Who has been your greatest inspiration?

KL: Well I’m a fortified member of the Beehive and I am in awe of Beyonce’s bold and brazen power, creativity and femininity as the mug says ‘Beyonce has the same hours in a day as you’ so I try to remind myself. More deeply though I love and respect my parents and all that they sacrificed and invested in order to raise me and my sister in the UK. From my experience, migrating to another country is one of the hardest journeys to take so I see their strength and perseverance as a source of my own.

GCH: What drew you to Exeter?

KL: I came to Exeter university to study PPE and I stayed because of the amazing people, the liberal and inclusive community and the easy access to fish and chips by the sea!

GCH: It’s no secret that I love books and there are some special ones I always keep close by. Do you have a favourite book and why?

KL: I have to say I haven’t read a lot recently although I have 11 more books to read before the end of the year. Now that I’ve told you the context, I love the poetry of E.E Cummings, disjointed yet whole – it’s beautiful. I love Othello, the perception of black males in western society hasn’t moved too far forward and it is eternally relevant. I loved the vampire novels of Anne Rice I grew up with a crush on Lestat rather than Edward of Jacob. I’m reading a few management books at the moment haha, they are not so exciting. And if podcasts count, they count right? I’ve completely addicted to the Serial series right now.

GCH: Your passion for your work is clear, but what do you do in your spare time? (if you have any!)

KL: In my spare time I like to run, to cycle, to see my friends to hang out with my boyfriend. We have this thing where we harmonise badly on acoustic songs which we enjoy a little too much. I’ve always loved writing poetry so I’m trying to do more of that. I love to travel, so I like to make plans in my mind and wish them into reality, I have 3 trips planned this summer so it’s kinda working.

GCH: Tell us a secret.

KL: Hmm, lets see… I a huge star trek fan and wish I got to speak about that more often. Does that count? If not DM me. (GCH. You all know we love our geek shows here! I’ll let you decide who the best ‘Enterprise’ Captain is, although I do love Picard personally)

If you’d like to know more about what Kalkidan is up to, check out her blog, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram

Make it Monday: Room On The Broom inspired Quiet Book

Posted on July 10, 2017 by gclarkhellery

We’re HUGE fans of Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler’s books here at Beagle HQ. So much so that the toddler’s last birthday was themed around some of their more famous books, but that’s a post for another day.

A zipper for a mouth

What’s inside? Some other characters!

I wanted to make the toddler something a bit different, so I combined some of her favourite characters with different openers and fasteners to help her improve her dexterity and coordination. The product was ‘Evie’s Quiet Book’.

Bird’s wing has a magnetic which helps it move. There’s also plenty of ribbon to practice tying bows

Quiet books seem to be hugely popular and it’s easy to see why: soft to touch for little hands, they are only limited by your imagination and can keep little people occupied for ages.

Help Dog count bones

I created a page for each of the main characters: Witch, Cat, Dog, Bird, Frog, Dragon plus all of them on the broom.

What’s in Cat’s cauldron?

All the ingredients fro a witches brew! Each item is sewn onto a popper so can be removed for an endless mix of spells

I tried to use a mix of fabrics and materials to make it interesting to touch as well as various colours. Some worked better than others, with some of the coarser fabric fraying, however I think this adds to the characters.

The Dragon isn’t too gruff here – he has a squeaker for a voice

There are also different fasteners including zips, poppers, buttons and clips, all of which encourage to toddler to explore and learn how to use them. They’ve helped her improve her manual dexterity while also teaching her some key skills for getting dressed.

Help the Witch button her cardigan and plait her hair, but be careful not to lose her ribbon!

I think the Witch is my favourite page. Her long ginger hair is a mix of different wools, from very soft, to slightly more coarse and even a few strands from my rag doll I had as a baby! Perfect for learning how to plait, and to tie a ribbon! Her cardigan also needs buttoning. This was the only page where I used my sewing machine (for the cardigan), all the rest was sewn by hand.

And out flew, a magnificent broom!

The last page is the broom with all the characters sat safely in their seats. I made the finger puppets as a fun accompaniment when reading the book, but they can be used for reenactment while out and about, or for creating new adventures!

Endless fun with the finger puppets

Have you made a quiet book? Do you like the characters from the Gruffalo and Room on the Broom? Let me know in the comments below.

I saw….

Posted on July 4, 2017 by gclarkhellery

I saw the tadpole in all her grace

I saw the queen weaving lace

I saw the old woman burn like fire

I saw the trees floating higher

I saw the plane fall from above

I saw the rain enter the dove

I saw the bullet cut off my nose

I saw the blade like a summer rose

I saw the girl shining bright

I saw the day turn into night.

Thank you for calling

Posted on July 1, 2017 by gclarkhellery

Still buzzing from ‘Train to Busan‘ last night, I was reminded of this short story I wrote a while ago. From memory it was written during a protracted battle with our telecom provider (or as was the case, non-provider!) and I’m sure it’s an issue many people will know well.

***

Thank you for calling

‘Thank you for calling. Have a nice day,’ Peter disconnected the call, took a deep breath and hit the flashing read button.

‘Hello, your through to TalkPhone. My name is Peter. How can I help you today?’

The female voice on the other end of the phone tersely explained the issues she was having with her mobile telephone.

Not bothering to refer to the script the company ordered all employees to follow, he had long ago memorised it, Peter suggested that the woman turn off the phone, take out the battery and sim, then replace them. He waited patiently as she followed his instructions. Hearing a beep at the other end of the line told Peter that his recommendation had worked.

‘Thank you,’ cried the woman.

‘You’re welcome, madam. Is there anything else I can help you with today?’

‘No, thank you.’

‘Ok, then. Well, thank you for calling. Have a nice day.’

He didn’t mind the work. It was better than his old life and at least he wasn’t hungry any more. They had called him Peter when he first started working there, telling him to forget his old name, that having a Western name was much better. In time, they had been right, he had forgotten his old name. He had forgotten a lot about his past.

Another call. Peter automatically ran through the script, his voice dry and devoid of emotion. However, the man on the other end of the line would not be pacified. Evidently his internet connection had been interrupted and he demanded an explanation. Peter flicked through his script until he reached the section about the internet.

‘There has been a problem at the exchange, sir. Please be assured we are doing all we can to rectify the situation and normal service should resume shortly,’ said Peter, reading the first excuse on the list.

‘The exchange?’ spluttered the man, ‘Do you think I’m an idiot? There’s no problem at the exchange. Where are your offices? Are you in India? I bet you’re in India,’ sneered the voice.

Peter quickly looked at the board at the front of the cubicles, ‘I can assure you, sir, I am in London. It’s cloudy out and I can see the 10.40 tourist boat cruising along the Thames.’

The man on the other end of the line grunted to show he was impressed, but he was not convinced.

‘As I said, we are aware of the problem and our engineers will have it resolved shortly. Is there anything else I can help you with today sir?’ enquired Peter politely, not rising the the anger he heard in the man’s voice.

‘Yes, you can just go and …’ started the man.

Peter cut him off before the man could continue his rant, ‘Thank you for calling TalkPhone. Have a nice day.’

Peter disconnected the call but imagined he could still hear the man swearing. Customers would frequently rant and swear at him. He didn’t really understand why they got so angry and couldn’t empathise with their frustration.

The truth was, Peter, and all those who were around him were in India. The whole village had been suspicious of the white men in expensive suits who had arrived unexpectedly a year ago, offering a solution to their problems.

The red light was flashing. It never stopped flashing, no matter how many calls Peter took.

‘Hello, your through to TalkPhone. My name is Peter. How can I help you today?’

‘Yes, I hope you can help me. I think there’s a problem with my telephone connection.’

Peter looked again at the board in the front, covered with photographs of London, schedules for events, a large clock and the local weather reports. He watched the hands on the clock as they completed their loop and started again, continuous, never-ending. He had never been to London, had never even left the village and now, with his job at TalkPhone, the possibility seemed even more remote.

Around the call centre, there was approximately one hundred of his assorted neighbours and members of his family. All had been recruited when TalkPhone had come to town. They each had a small cubicle just over a metre square, with a desk, chair, headset, phone and the ever-flashing red light. No one had bothered to decorate their cubicles; they only ever looked up to check the board at the front of the room, so why bother? It was just them and the red button.

Pushing the insistent red button once more, Peter said ‘Hello, your through to TalkPhone. My name is Peter. How can I help you today?’

* * *

‘Do we need a bigger workforce?’ asked the man in the expensive charcoal grey suit which matched the colour of his eyes. His features sharp enough to cut glass as he stared out of the office window, overlooking the call centre.

‘I’ve got the boys out scouting for suitable candidates now. TalkPhone has increased it’s sales by 50% in the last quarter and the boys in accounting project it will continue,’ the second man, his face blurred in the blue smoke of his cigar as he creaked back on his chair. His suit was made of the finest materials and rippled over muscles honed not in a gym, but on the streets. While many entrepreneurs were forces to be reckoned with in the boardroom, he had made his fortune by forced takeovers using fists and muscle. ‘Well, when you have a workforce this cheap, you can afford to offer cheap phone calls.’ He barked a laugh while his companion looked out over the hunched figures, huddled in their small cubicles, the red lights on their phones twinkling like stars.

‘Do you think they know?’ the grey man asked.

‘Know what? They don’t know anything, except what we tell them. They don’t feel, they don’t think, they don’t eat and they don’t shit. They never need to take a break and they don’t stop working until we tell them to. Hell, they’re the perfect workforce.’

Despite his earlier nonchalant air, the charcoal grey suited man looked troubled. ‘But what about the smell?’

‘What smell?’ another puff of cigar smoke wafted towards the ceiling.

‘Of decay. They’re decomposing, despite the freezing temperatures in here.’ The man hugged himself involuntarily. The walls of the call centre were thick to keep out the blazing sun and industrial coolers whirred constantly. A light mist descended from the ceiling, coating the workers in a sheen of damp but none moved to brush it away or even seemed to notice it.

Outside the once vibrant village had been turned into a dried mud pool: crops had been abandoned, houses deserted, and cars untended, left to rust on unkept road. Dogs and cattle wandered unchecked with eyes glazed.

‘So? The smell don’t bother them,’ came the reply from behind the cigar.

‘And what happens when their bodies finally give out?’

The laugh barked again. ‘As long as they have a finger to push the buttons and their voices boxes don’t fall out, they work. Besides, there’s plenty more where they came from. Like I said, the boys are out recruiting as we speak. There’s a village downriver. We’ve already started pouring the chemicals into the water. They won’t know a thing. Soon as they start dying off, the boys’ll be there to grab them and bring them back here. Don’t worry.’

Unconvinced, the grey suit turned back to the window.

* * *

‘Hello, your through to TalkPhone. My name is Peter. How can I help you today?’

‘Hello, your through to TalkPhone. My name is Victoria. How can I help you today?’

‘Hello, your through to TalkPhone. My name is Daniel. How can I help you today?’

‘Hello, your through to TalkPhone. My name is Laura. How can I help you today?’

The voices drifted up, mingling with the freezing mist as the zombies kept answering the call of the red button.

Movie review: Train to Busan (2016)

Posted on June 30, 2017 by gclarkhellery

Synopsis: A zombie virus breaks out and a group of survivors are caught on a train, but who is more deadly – the zombies or the survivors?
Director: Sang-ho Yeon
Starring: Su-An Kim, Yoo Gong, Dong-Seok Ma
Review: I’d heard good things about Train to Busan and it had been on my watch list so I was really pleased when it became available on Amazon Prime. The premise is simple, there’s a toxic spillage from a chemical factory which turns creatures into crazed zombies (the 28 Days Later kind, not shambling Shawn of the Dead). I’m a fan of zombie films, but have been finding the recent crop rather stale and unoriginal which is why Train to Busan was such a joy.

So many zombie movies are all about the action but without the heart (or brains if you’ll pardon the pun). That’s what makes Train to Busan so different, the relationships are central: from the bickering relationship between the sisters, camaraderie of the teens, the married couple expecting their first baby (as an aside, I wish I was even half as mobile as this lady during my pregnancy. Given I was on crutches, I’d have been eaten before the opening credits stopped!), the train crew and the central story of the father trying to get his daughter to Busan to see his ex-wife. You’re rooting for all of them to survive, especially as they aren’t making the sort of stupid decisions you so often see in zombie films (I spend a lot of time saying ‘what the hell are you doing?’). There’s even a fantastic ‘baddie’ who’s motivation you can relate to but at the same time, you’re desperate for him to suffer a horrific end. All are played superbly by an excellent cast.

The direction is very good, with equal care taken during the action scenes as well as some of the more emotional scenes. Shots switched from wide shots of the beautiful South Korean scenery or train stations to inside toilet cubicles – and surprisingly the latter didn’t feel claustrophobic. I liked the choice of music which was in-keeping and never overwhelmed with the action or the talking. The special effects were very good, both the make up on the zombies and the larger pieces which can be rare in horror films with a small budget.

It’s been quite a while since a zombie movie packed so many feels into two hours – I raced between being scared, to angry, to ultimately crying. This is a fantastic movie and one I’ll be watching again and again. Go see it now!

Writer Wednesday: The Battle In the Blue I Didn’t Win…..

Posted on June 28, 2017 by gclarkhellery

I’ve been pouring over my assorted writings in an attempt to get organised and I came across this piece, written but never submitted for a competition/anthology (it was written a long time ago so I can’t remember which). For assorted reasons I never finished it and have never returned to it until now.

Sometimes a story comes to you and it’s easy, a joy, simplicity itself to write. The characters are chatting and responsive to your guidance, the landscapes pour onto the page and as always the villain gets their comeuppance after a suitably exciting battle. And then there are the stories which, frankly don’t work. There’s no one reason why: could be that the characters aren’t fully formed in your mind, or your plans just aren’t fusing. Could be that you’ve only seen one ‘scene’ and there’s not enough for a complete story.

And that’s the case with ‘The Battle of the Deep (or The Battle of Ineray)’. I remember the submission asking for a short story set under the sea. I immediately saw a battle brewing between different sea creatures, with two ambassadors trying to stop the battle. I think I was partially influenced by the Gungans undersea home from Star Wars: Episode One, the Phantom Menace (say what you like about the movie, some of the concept art for the sets was impressive) and ‘The Blue Planet’ BBC show, narrated by David Attenborough. The characters are fairly ‘flat’ by which I mean, I didn’t hear their individual voices, style of speaking but most importantly I didn’t hear what they wanted and needed to say to get the story moving. Whilst my ideas for the characters were only half-formed (I could visualise them and my description didn’t ‘fit’ or do them justice) I wanted a really bright, vibrant and critter-filled underwater world which again didn’t really work out. However, the main issue was that whilst my ideas were vivid, I had no realy story. All stories start with an event, then some action followed by a resolution and with many of my stories I may not have a full map but there’s more than a vague idea but here, nothing. And frankly, all these issues show. It was a struggle to write and while I have no plans to extend this piece at the moment, never say never! Perhaps a rewatch of ‘The Blue Planet’ will help.

The Battle of the Deep (The Battle of Ineray)

*Translated from ancient slan-garr

Viceroy Glimpt looked around him, taking in the encrusted walls, the high scalloped archways and the large open windows. By now he knew every crack, every piece of peeling paint like the back of his hand by heart. He cast a furtive look at the two guards at the end of the corridor and tried not to let his agitation show: his every movement would be reported back to those in charge and he could not afford to cause an incident. Looking at the guards they watched him impassively.

A slight noise to his left altered him to the arrival of the Clerk to the Council. The Viceroy forced his face into neutral.

‘They are ready for you, Viceroy,’ the clerks bulbous eyes stated calmly as he gestured with one of his many arms.

The Viceroy uncurled his long tail. He was long, even for a merman, and his chest was broad, his gills on his neck undulated, fins spreading out from under his arms, silver tail ending in a whip snap, covered in scales, ‘And in what mood is the Council today?’ asked the Viceroy, a snap of his tail bringing him alongside the Clerk.

‘Grey, sir,’ replied the clerk,

‘As bad as that? It does not bode well for our meeting.’ The clerk did not respond to the Viceroy as they reached the large doors which signified they had arrived at the Council Chamber.

The slan-garr were perched around a large table, shaped like a toadstool a single root going down into the ground with the domed top in shades of red. The slan-garr were similarly shaped, with a large dome shell of interlocking plates currently flaring different shades of grey. Pin-like legs protruded from under the shell, continually moving and filtering tiny food particles from the water and easing them up and into their beaks.

‘The dragons are angered, Viceroy.’

‘What do the dragons care? They are creatures of neither sea nor land, but of the air.’

The king nodded his head solemnly, ‘Aye, but their spawning grounds cover both our lands. We have agreed to adhere to the old ways, honour agreements made by our forefathers. You cannot say the same.’

The Viceroy struggled to maintain his calm composure, but the knowledge that the dragons would fight on the side of the slan-garr turned his water cold.

He thought for a moment, then his predator grin slashed across his face.

***
If you’d like to read some of my completed work (with characters I really liked), why not check out my other works, including my novels ‘Akane: The Last of the Orions’, ‘Weird Wild‘ and my children’s book ‘Ghoulsome Graveyard’.

Geraldine Clark Hellery

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