ALLISON SYMES - INTRODUCTION
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m Allison Symes, ex-secretary, who loves reading and writing fantasy. Novels are my first love, though I flirt with short stories, occasionally have a fling with poems and have recently started writing radio scripts. I regularly attend the Winchester Writers’ Conference and subscribe to Mslexia and Writers' News/Writing Magazine. I am a member of the P.G. Wodehouse Society (UK) and the Association of Christian Writers. I am also an Associate Member of the Society of Authors. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett and P.G. Wodehouse. I’m on Facebook and Twitter and have two websites – Fairytales with Bite and Allison Symes – This World and Others both at Weebly.com. One website explores the world of my novels, the other advertises those and my short stories, poems and so on and has things like this interview, telling you a little about me. I sum up my writing style as "fairytales with bite".
My writing CV is:-
Bridge House Publishing published my fairytale, A Helping Hand, in their 2009 Alternative Renditions anthology. The first three chapters of my novel, The Trouble With Mother, were long-listed in the Bridge House Debut Novel competition. From over 70 entries The Trouble With Mother made it to the final 13.
I won second prize in Writers’ News First Line competition with Life is What You Make It. I was short-listed in the same competition in March 2011 with Can You Hear Me? My short story, Got You, was one of only seven tales to make it to the finals of the Brit Writers’ Award 2011 in their short story category and I enjoyed attending the Awards Gala Evening in October 2011.
I have short stories, A Few Choice Words, Head in the Clouds, Rewards, Going My Own Way, May the Best One Win, The Lady in White, The End Game, Links and Punish The Innocent, and humorous poems, The Cake Bake, Road Testing and My New Life, published at www.shortbreadstories.com, the Shortbread Short Stories website. Shortbread have also recently published my poem, No Time, which is more serious than usual for me but tackles a theme that means a lot to me - the importance of having time to "stand and stare" or risk being ill if you just keep going without some time off. In my case that means having time to write as I love being "lost" in the worlds and characters I create.
I have also been short-listed in the Winchester Writers’ Conference 2011 Short Story Competition with my tale, The Help Supplier. I am due to have Out of Time in an anthology called Shambelurking and Other Stories out probably in 2014. This anthology, edited by Marit Meredith, will raise funds for the National Autistic Society.
I love reading and writing and cannot imagine a world without books. Nor do I wish to imagine one - there is such a thing as being too bleak! I prefer paperbacks/hardbacks but have and will continue to happily read e-books. I think it really is a question of it being another format.
A limerick about Hampshire is due to appear in Iron Press's Limerick Nation later this year. Two stories, Giving It A Rest and Green Door, are due to appear on the Alfie Dog Fiction website shortly.
I am on Facebook and Twitter.
UPDATE AS AT 28TH AUGUST 2014.
Both stories mentioned above are now up on Alfie Dog.
Iron Press have brought out Limerick Nation, an anthology with limericks covering the UK. Am delighted to say my contribution about Hampshire is in there. Very pleased at the quality of the author copies.