I’m over on Linda Parkinson-Hardman’s blog today answering a range of questions including:
- Are there occupational hazards to being a writer?
and
- How do you remain sane while working?
Why not pop over and take a look at my answers? Click here.
Women and shawls in 19th century art
In the style of Marina Sofia’s Friday Fun Reading Women post, I have collected images of women in paintings wearing paisley pattern shawls. These shawls became popular in the nineteenth century when mass production of the design (which originated in Kashmir) started in Norwich and then Paisley in Scotland. Thus paisley shawls became an exotic, must-have garment that became a marker of respectability. Although popular in Britain, the shawls were widely available in Europe, too.
Paisley Shawl by Robert Lewis Reid (1862-1929)
Sunday Afternoon by George Morren (1868-1941)
Portrait of a Young Lady by Eduard Friedrich Leybold (1798-1879)
Irish colleen wearing green plaid shawl (1890)
Will you go out with me Fido? by Alfred Stevens (1823-1906)
If these images have pricked your curiosity about the place of paisley pattern in the arts, why not read the story in my collection Paisley Shirt which was inspired by this design?
More from the overland
It’s funny how the publication and marketing of Paisley Shirt has brought back a range of memories. As the original paisley pattern came from Kashmir, I have been investigating ways to share the experience of travelling the overland with you. The journey I took was back in 1981 when I travelled from London to Kathmandu on a converted double decker. The buses called Snot and Tadpoles followed the route together and I am still in touch with friends I made during that trip.
Clouds on Dal Lake, Kashmir
Recently the courier on Tadpoles, Doug Foskett posted footage from the journey on Vimeo. You can see images from Kashmir in 1981 at 2:15 and I can be seen at 4:29 wearing denim dungarees. (We frequently had to walk during hazardous sections of the journey to lighten the load on the bus.)
If you’re planning to purchase a paperback copy of Paisley Shirt, I have recently been informed by Amazon that the expected dispatch dates has moved forward to between 7 and 30 March. Not too long to wait!
Enjoy!
Visiting Maria Donovan
I am delighted to be on Maria Donovan‘s blog today sharing my strategies and techniques for writing flash fiction. Maria is an experienced writer of short fiction with two collections to her name: Pumping up Napoleon and Tea for Mr Dead. I was absolutely delighted when Maria agreed to endorse Paisley Shirt by describing my flash fiction as ‘sensitive, surprising, unnerving, tender and crucial’.
Maria’s debut novel The Chicken Soup Murder has recently been published. It is narrated by eleven-year-old Michael who shares his experiences of family, community, loss and integration in a story which involves a suspected murder. It’s a beautifully crafted novel and well worth reading.
Do pop over to Maria’s blog to find out more about how I approach the writing of short fiction.
Words for the Wild
I am delighted to have a poem published on Words for the Wild. This platform for new writing has been organised by Amanda Oosthuizen and Louise Taylor in response to the threat of development on the remaining pockets of countryside in urban Eastleigh. Amanda and Louise urge all writers to celebrate the countryside through stories and poetry thereby demonstrating the value of green spaces in order to help protect them for future generations.
My poem “Glimpses” is beautifully presented on the website – it’s thrilling to see my work mounted so evocatively. And I’m chuffed to find my poem alongside the work of other writers I respect such as Claire Fuller, Calum Kerr and Amanda Saint.
Do pop over to Words for the Wild and take a look. I hope you enjoy “Glimpses”.
Scenes from Kashmir
Following my recent discovery that paisley print pattern originates in Kashmir, I hunted out purchases I made while visiting the area in 1981. I was a passenger on a Top Deck overland trip from London to Kathmandu. We travelled on a converted Lodekka bus which had a kitchen area downstairs and sleeping accommodation up.
photo: Philip Wadds
photo: Philip Wadds
For the journey to Kashmir we took local transport and stayed in luxurious houseboats on Dal Lake in Srinagar.
My purchases from Kashmir include a carpet which sits in front of the hearth in our Dorset home. I paid a deposit and it was dispatched to my parents when they settled the balance and collected it after a wrangle with customs. (I was delightfully unaware of all this – having a fun time in Australia.)
A jacket, which I’m self-conscious of wearing due to the real fur trimming.
And a set of tables which travelled from Kashmir to Australia and then onto Papua New Guinea before furnishing various homes in the UK.
The carved finish of leaf patterns on these tables is close to being a paisley style pattern. Unlike Paisley Shirt my collection of short fiction, these are not available to purchase on Amazon! (If wishing to obtain my collection, please ignore the warning that the book is out of stock and place an order anyway – it will be sent to you given time.)
I never quite understood why I went on such a spending spree in Kashmir. I blame the tea which I now realise must have been laced with hash. You can find the low-down on the overland experience from Trevor Carroll in his book Crossing Continents with Top Deck.
Enjoy!
About Paisley Print
According to the Textile Glossary, paisley pattern “is a droplet-shaped vegetal motif, similar to half of the T’ai Chi symbol, the Indian bodhi tree leaf, or the mango tree. The design originated in India and spread to Scotland when British soldiers brought home cashmere shawls.”
The East India Company began importing shawls from Kashmir and Persia and due to their popularity, production of paisley shawls began in the small town of Paisley in Scotland. By the 1850s six thousand weavers were employed to produce paisley shawls made from wool. Although the pattern produced by these weavers became known as paisley due to the link with the town, this pattern is known as palme in French and bota in Netherlands.
Over the years, paisley patterns continued to be worn, but it was not until the late 1960s that the print was once again fashionable. More recently in 2012 the print also appeared in fashion shows.
Paisley Shirt is the title of a story in my new collection of short fiction which bears the same name. Can I encourage you to purchase a copy here? The paperback edition is available from 7 March 2018.
Gorgeous covers
Here are all the current titles in the short fiction series published by Chapeltown Books. A group of good looking covers with enticing stories inside.
Paisley Shirt…and other stories
Badlands: A collection of flash fiction – short tales, long shadows
Brightly Coloured Horses: Twenty-seven very short human stories
Potpourri: an eclectic mix of stories and poems by Anusha VR
Slimline Tales: ideal for your body and brain by Roger Noons
From Light to Dark and Back Again: a collection of very short stories to suit every mood
January Stones 2013: one a day, written in January, welcoming returning light
My collection Paisley Shirt is available as a Kindle Edition through Amazon and paperback copies can now be purchased from all good bookshops. Recommended bookshops in Dorset include Serendip, Lyme Regis; The Book Shop, Bridport; Winstone’s, Sherborne; Gullivers, Wimborne Minster; Westbourne Book Shop, Bournemouth; and Waterstones, Dorchester.
4* and 5* reviews of Paisley Shirt can be found on goodreads. If you do decide to purchase a copy of Paisley Shirt, further reviews are very welcome.
Paisley Shirt Kindle Edition OUT NOW
Very pleased to say that the Kindle Edition of Paisley Shirt is now available to download from Amazon. The paperback will follow shortly and I’ll be giving details of my book launch then.
I’m delighted to be in good company at Chapeltown Books with other short fiction writers who have publications in the same series. Here is the cover for Badlands,a collection by Alyson Faye which includes short fiction inspired by ghost stories, old movies, derelict buildings and real life issues.
And another by Allison Symes, From Light to Dark and Back Again a collection of very short stories to suit every mood.
I’m very much looking forward to the publication of Amanda Huggin’s collection Brightly Coloured Horses. The cover image is also by Amanda, what creative talent!
Never Give Up
Cover Image for ‘Paisley Shirt’ photo credit: menswear market
I’ve read lots of post about How I Got Published and although I know how deeply maddening it can be to hear about another’s success, I feel obliged after all the pitfalls to share my experience with you.
I have four novels sitting in a drawer, two of which are completely unpublishable while the others may see the light of day when I get around to re-writing. I have been on my writing journey for eight years: writing regularly, attending writing festivals, having one-to-ones, keeping the feelers out, updating my blog and becoming a whizz on social media. I must have entered hundreds of competitions, and enjoyed a couple of notable wins (my name was listed in Elle magazine once). I briefly enjoyed representation but that was until my agent took maternity leave and decided not to return to work.
One of the upsides of enduring so much failure is that I resorted to seeking professional help by joining a writing course that led to a qualification. After four years of part time study I am now on the verge of changing my title to Doctor and I am looking forward to graduating in the summer! This has also enabled me to seek employment with a university where I will work with students of creative writing.
The novel written as part of my studies is still seeking a home, but in the meantime, I have signed a contract with a small independent publisher to have a collection of my flash fiction published. Paisley Shirt contains 27 stories with characters and situations to offer a range of perspectives on what it is like to live in our world.
It is wonderful to have a publisher who believes in my work and a thrill to think I will have a published book at last. It won’t bring me riches, but it is acknowledgement of the progress I’ve made. The mantra remains: never give up.
the writer is a lonely hunter 