Ian Rankin’s signature on my copy of his book, “The Naming of the Dead”, which he gave me. Ian was also kind enough to single out my review of his work for The Scotsman on the back cover.
Until 2016, I had only written three short stories, one of which was a prize-winner in the Scotsman/ORION Books 2008 short story competition. My prize was to spend a day working with Ian Rankin on my fiction, which was an eye-opener in many ways. I still have signed copies of Ian’s books, and the commemorative pint bottle of beer he gave me.
Since 2019, more than fifty of my short stories have appeared in outlets across North America, Europe and Asia. See below for some free-to-read examples. None of these stories are included in my first collection of satires Captcha This!, which is exclusively humour/satire, rather than the literary/horror/erotica these stories represent.
Links:
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"Committee Room", published in 2021:
https://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/ committee-room-a-short-story- by-j-w-wood/ -
"Out of Nineveh", published 2023 in Heart of Flesh Literary Journal:
https://heartoffleshlit.com/issue-10/j-w-wood/ -
"Jennifer Boyce has Viewed Your Profile" published in Discretionary Love, 2024:
https://www.discretionarylove.com/jennifer-boyce-has-viewed-your-profile/ -
https://thestockholmreview.
org/the-soderberg-section/ jennifer-boyce-has-viewed- your-profile -
"The Scent of Bitter Almonds" published in The Bookends Review, 2019:
https://thebookendsreview.com/2019/09/16/the-scent-of-bitter-almonds/
A bottle of beer given to me by Ian Rankin as part of my prize in the 2008 Scotsman/ORION Books short story competition