Pendle author launches new collection of short stories
It was the end of March 2020. Lockdown had just been declared. I was sitting at my upstairs window, where I normally write in full view of Pendle, searching for inspiration.
The sunny day had woken up a group of tortoiseshell butterflies, which had been hanging unobtrusively from the beams in my cottage all winter. Several of them had now congregated at the window and were frantically trying to get out. I decided to help them on their way, so I opened the window and ushered them out. I was greeted by a blast of cold air. I had forgotten. It was still only March. I had done the butterflies a disservice.
I had grown so accustomed to them being there that I’d never thought to question how or when they had got in. When I checked on Google, I learnt that small tortoiseshell butterflies enter houses in late summer or early autumn to hibernate when it’s still warm outside. My house is cool, sheltered, and dry - a perfect place to hibernate.
But sometimes in the winter, when it’s warm inside, they get tricked into thinking that spring has arrived and are desperate to escape. What I should have done, I learned, was catch them, put them in a carboard box and rehouse them in a suitable location. Easier said than done.
Instead, I wrote a story. I wrote about how I identified with the butterflies being trapped inside when all they wanted to do was fly around outside and feed. It was the onset of lockdown, and I too was going to have to get used to being indoors. I worked on the story over the next few weeks and when I was satisfied with it, sent it off to Cafelit, the online magazine which had published many of my stories online in the past.
It was Bridge House, the sister company of Cafelit, which had produced my first collection ‘Keepsake and other stories’ in 2018. They were interested in thought-provoking stories and liked quirky. Another of my outlets was the Saturday edition of The Lancashire Evening Post, and I’d had work published in various anthologies, such as the Horwich-based Creative Mind or the Bolton-based Worktown Words.
I continued writing stories throughout lockdown, and beyond. Since I live in the heart of the countryside at Twiston, I could go on daily walks by just stepping out of the door. Sometimes I’d go over the moors to see fantastic views across Ribble Valley, or down by the brook at Twiston Beck - my favourite, especially in springtime when the wildflowers were emerging. I’d take pictures of wildflowers on my digital camera and identify them later from books or with the help of neighbours, then post them on the Facebook on my computer.
Eventually by 2024, I had enough stories for another collection and since all the new stories had already been published, Bridge House were able to ‘fast-track’ them. I signed the contract in March and ‘Butterflies and Other Stories’ came out in September.
