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My first published story, appearing in the anthology "Warwick Words".
This is an anthology of short poems and short stories (maximum 200 words), both fiction and non-fiction, written by people living in and around Warwick. Released at the start of the 10th Warwick Words Literary Fesitval, 1st October 2011.
The Benefit of Interruptions to a Writer
I needed to track the red herrings strewn through my first mystery novel. It required concentration.A light aircraft roared over the house; then another, and another. I phoned the airfield.
“Planes are taking off over the village. What’s happening?”
It was, it seems, a quirk of the wind.
“They’re outside the noise abatement zone,” I said. “Please could you speak to the pilots?”
Peace descended. I returned to the red herrings.
Staccato barks shattered the silence.
It was the pup from next door. His wanderlust had demanded an escape, Colditz-style, from his garden into mine. I went outside and called. He came running, ecstatic with success.
I resumed my fishy foray.
The phone shrilled. My husband.“I’d like to make an appointment to have my blood taken.”
“I’m not a vampire!” I said.
Puzzled pause. “Who’s that?”
“It’s me,” I said. “You phoned home.”
“Oh,” he said, “Wrong number.”
I gave up on the roseate darlings to email a friend. Subject: interruptions.
An email arrives from Warwick Words; a short story competition, 200 words max. Manageable before the next interruption?I begin typing, “I needed to track the red herrings strewn through my first mystery novel …”
Anne Morton
