When I started this blog back in late 2011, I had no idea that it would change my life or lead to my first published book. So it’s a joy, fifteen years later, to be announcing on this platform the publication of my fifth book, which comes out from lovely UK indie house Renard Press in May 2027.

In Other Words: Stories from Life is a mischievous short story collection that plays with ideas of how stories travel. The premise is that, as part of ongoing my literary explorations, I have learned an obscure (and fictional) European language and written some stories in it that someone else has translated into English. The anonymous translator has not been allowed to ask me any questions but has kept a record of any challenges or thoughts that occurred to him in the footnotes.

As the language, Serĉi (points to anyone who spots the significance of this), is barely spoken, the translator is not very experienced. In fact, most of his writing work has involved translating manuals for kettles. As such, he has a rather unusual idea of his rights and responsibilities when bringing my work into English. The final short story in the collection is his afterword, in which he reveals some of the liberties he’s taken.

The mischief doesn’t end there: the first short story in the collection is an introduction by Fenella Overlord, celebrity authoress of Murder at the Little Teashop on the Green. She doesn’t like me or my stories much, and thinks the project is attention-seeking nonsense. The only reason she decided to write a preface was to warn people about the dangerous ideas contained in the book.

It’s been great fun to write a collection featuring two characters trying to tear my work apart, and a great opportunity to play in fiction with many of the ideas I’ve explored on this blog, in my workshops and in my non-fiction. I hope In Other Words shows up some of the problems and contradictions in the way we move stories between language cultures in a playful way, as well as taking a few tongue-in-cheek potshots at the publishing industry.

There’s a special offer running just now: pre-orders have just opened for a signed and numbered collector’s edition copy, currently retailing for the bargain price of just £10. When we ran a similar offer for Relearning to Read, the copies sold out before publication day, so get your order in quick if you’d like to buy one. The book can be shipped all over the world.

Thanks so much for your support and for all the stories you continue to share with me that keep my imagination fizzing!