Recur

Our trip to Budapest was amazing, there was so much to see, we made some really great friends, and the show was pretty good too (although perhaps a little short). My favourite thing we came across would have to be the Great Market Hall, for which there is an interesting write up here, and, if you ever visit Budapest, the fantastic hostel we stayed at is definitely worth checking out. I’m already looking for an excuse for a repeat visit.

I listened to rather a lot of his By The Throat album whilst writing it, so I really hope Ben Frost reads and enjoys the copy of Goldfish Tears we gave him. Speaking of which, it is now available to purchase through Amazon!

Lorena Matić has finished the illustrations for the The Door to Freedom’s cover, so all that is left to do is the design; hopefully I’ll have it done by the end of the week.

Abet

Having finished the first draft of my entry for Gong’s short story competition, I am now spending my time on the new novel I have been planning to write. As for the short story, it is about a swampy town in which everyone has the same face, and I am thinking of calling it A Familiar Face. No doubt it will change quite a bit between now and when I submit it, but it’ll be good to get a little distance from it for a while.

Our books arrived, sadly In Watermelon Sugar was a huge disappointment, so much so that I only read half of it (Ivana read it all, and also disliked it), before discarding it. I’m reading Sátántangó now, which, just like the film, is amazing. I’m thoroughly enjoying the journeys Krasznahorkai’s long swirling sentences take me on, and I’ll certainly be sourcing and purchasing more of his novels.

I discovered there is to be a short story festival, here in Zagreb, at the end of the month. Word has it, the readings will be in Croatian and Dutch, but there will be a screen showing English translations, so Ivana and I will definitely be going along. Add to that our trip to Budapest in a little under two weeks, to see Ben Frost and Daníel Bjarnason perform their SÓLARIS collaboration, and May is shaping up nicely. The collaboration is a reinterpretation of the score for Andrei Tarkovsky’s film of the same name, and as a huge Tarkovsky fan I truly can’t wait. The venue looks impressive too.

One of my short stories, Carnival Evening, will be appearing over on Eunoia Review next month, so keep your eyes peeled! Also, Erica at Sift Reviews has agreed to review Goldfish Tears; her reading list is rather long so the review won’t appear until next year, but I’m chuffed all the same!

Domovoi

Careering through

cavernous shafts,

numerous dark arteries

fortified below

the swampy swollen roots

With shared countenance displayed,

widespread and featureless,

we greet the lambent edge

pressed

up against the stripped façades,

as peeling rind,

flayed husks at the feet of,

terror

and sway with anxious alarm

Rückenfigur

I’ve spent some time updating the website; I’m not the best at that sort of thing, but it looks a little better than it did before, and we now have a page dedicated to Lorena Matić’s fabulous artwork, of which I’m sure there will be more to come. 

At the moment, I’m preparing my entry for a short story competition being held over here. I need to write a science fiction/fantasy story, which in some way mentions democracy. At first I thought the deadline was in three weeks, but I’m happy to see I was wrong and I actually have three months. The story has already budded, and no doubt will be spreading itself over the page soon. 

The Door to Freedom (formerly Waking Dawn) is just a cover away from completion, and my book of poetry, Dark Matter, is now available. Once again the electronic versions are free! 

I’m ever so grateful to my parents, who sent us Scrabble in the post, a game I enjoy immensely. We tried to find it over here, but of course they only have the Croatian version. My Croatian is nowhere near good enough for Scrabble, at least not yet, but hopefully at some point it will be. Oh, and we have a Facebook page now, so do pop over, if you’re so inclined. Whilst you’re at it, why not take a look at the tumblr too; Ivana has been posting some rather good art over there recently. 

Today I ordered some books, to add to our modest library. We are now eagerly awaiting copies of Sátántangó, Henri’s Walk to Paris and In Watermelon Sugar.