E-mails Received (Things Happen)

Sometimes things happen. When you least expect them. Things which you never thought were possible.

My words have "travelled" and touched people's lives in strange and wonderful ways. And I just wanted to write something about it today.

I regularly get "fan" mail from people who have read something of mine and want to let me know that they enjoyed it. It always pleases me to know that someone, somewhere has been affected in some way by my writing.

About a month ago I received an e-mail from Zhenya Dimova, a writer in Bulgaria, who informed me that she liked my book "Ledra Street" so much that she has translated it in its entirety into Bulgarian. At the end of her e-mail she wrote: "p.s. You know the strange ways in which books connect people!"

She has written to me several times since, to ask for more information with regard to a specific word or a reference to Cyprus. Two days ago, she wrote to tell me that one of the stories has been published in a Bulgarian newspaper.

People are often surprised to find out that my stories are not autobiographical. Some of my stories are, of course, inspired by events in my life or lives of those around me, but they are essentially imaginary.

For a story to strike one as autobiographical means that it has "felt" real - and I take that as a compliment. A story of mine "Unborn" was recently published  in Blue Fifth Review. A few weeks later, the editor sent me an e-mail:  "I am writing to ask you if your story "Unborn" is a non-fiction piece. I do not mean to pry but am curious about the origins of the story. It has stayed with me since I first read it."  I had to disappoint her with my reply. "Unborn" is entirely fictional. I really don't know where the idea came from. It just wrote itself.

One last thing. I tell people things and then completely forget what I told them. A couple of days ago I got a delightful e-mail from Wim Jurg, a Dutchman I met at a European Writers' conference a few months ago. Here it is:

Dear Nora,

Loved “Girl, Wolf, Bones”!

When someone at my office of the writers’ union has her or his birthday, she or he can ask for a little present. I asked for your book.

And got. And loved it.

Wim

Like I said. Things happen. And I love it when they do.

♥

Laziness, Part 2 (Or Tiny Things)

Laziness continues, but in between, I've been doing tiny bits of writing - some of it good, I hasten to add. I've been told the best things I write are minimalist.

Good news, too, recently:

1. My writing will be in "140 And Counting", an anthology of twitter literature. More info here.
2. I wrote a tiny "book" made up of twenty "chapters" of twenty word sentences. It's a love story entitled "Twenty Days in Torino". I loved writing it... and I'm delighted that it's going to be published as a little chapbook by Twenty20. More details to follow...

Laziness and Parcels

Ok, so I've been lazy. Not totally, but lazy enough not to do any writing, blogging, even editing in the past few ...er...weeks (I almost said months). I blame it all on the Cyprus heat. I can't concentrate. It's just too much.

But a couple of fantastic things have finally happened:

Last week I received my stunningly beautiful contributor's copy of   :etchings 9: Love & Something  from Ilura Press (Australia). Wow! Wow! Wow! Many thanks to editor Sabina Hopfer, and to fiction editor Glenys Osborne, for including my story "Kafkaesque" in this impressive publication. I am truly honoured.

A few days ago I also received my first copies of "Girl, Wolf, Bones" from Jessi Graustein of Folded Word. The signature edition is absolutelyTREMENDOUS! I am thrilled to see my little stories finally out and winging themselves to unexpected places around the globe.


I'm off to have a lemonade - and maybe write a sentence or two...

A presto! ( as an Italian friend of mine would say... )

Wolf

Words by the wolf in "Girl, Wolf, Bones".
A brilliant video rendition produced by Jessi Graustein of Folded Word.

Putting It Into Words...

Do you remember the palace, the stairs, the part where Cinderella’s coach turned back into a pumpkin? Do you remember the fairy tales you read and the dreams you had as a girl? And do you remember when everything you ever believed in was shattered? Have you any idea how to put that into words?

Glass Slippers

"The girl took off the glass slippers and ran. Her bare feet hurt, and yet she had to run, to tell the fairy godmother that it was two minutes to midnight. With three seconds to go, she dropped the slippers and banged on the door:


I’m here, she said in a barely audible, exhausted voice. I’m here.


Just before the door opened, she looked down at her feet and then at the broken pieces of glass. She was so shattered that she thought her feet were the slippers and the broken slippers were her feet. She looked from one to the other in amazement."

from "Girl, Wolf, Bones" by Nora Nadjarian  (Folded Word, 2011)


Note: This is a special blog post for the upcoming edition #7 of the >Language>Place blog carnival, hosted by Julia Davies, a practised reader & practising writer who lives in Germany and blogs at Practice Makes Perfect. The theme for edition #7: "unwritten language / unnamed places".

Girl, Wolf, Bones

My lovely little chapbook of tiny tales is now out from Folded Word, and open for pre-orders. If you're interested, you can find out more by clicking here.

Fiction Editor

I am very pleased to announce that I am guest Fiction Editor for the Fall 2011 issue of the delightful twenty20 Journal. Many thanks to Benjamin Krause for trusting me with this lovely responsibility!