Something worthy of your attention, and five reasons I love it.
- Diving Belles is a collection of twelve short stories based on Cornish folklore. Allow the author to explain:
- The titular story ‘Diving Belles’ is about a woman whose husband has been lured into the sea by mermaids. This is an all too common occurrence, and the woman waits many years, lonely and ashamed, before she finally decides to try a service that lowers women into the depths in hopes of finding their missing spouses. This story alone is worth the price of admission, and the collections contains plenty more weird and wonderful stories in a similar vein.
- The story ‘Beachcombing’ starts with this line: The thing was, did Grandma have any teeth left?
- Â Most authors come at tales of the supernatural from a certain perspective: they take the mundane and insert the mythic. What would happen if you stayed in a hotel, but it was EVIL? What if you fell in love with a boy, but he was a VAMPIRE? What if you finally met your father, but he was a TROLL? (Wait, I kinda like that last one.) Lucy Wood approaches things a little differently. She takes the mythic for granted and inserts the mundane. What if while you were turning to stone (as you do) your ex called asking you to help fix his car? What if your mother and her invisible lover had dinner with your father and his new girlfriend? This approach lets Wood tackle human problems with a mythical backdrop rather than the other way around.
- Lucy Wood is a talented writer. The woman can write a might fine sentence. This is her first collection. I can’t wait to read what she does next.
It is possible that Lucy Wood has a website, but I can’t seem to locate it. In lei of that, here’s a link to her publisher’s author page.
Bonus – Here’s the author reading from my favorite story in the collection: