Bloody Parchment

Introduction

IntroductionINTRODUCTIONS HAVE this uncanny ability to cause anyone required to write one an immediate, almost unbearable sense of dread. After all, yours are the first words that will appear before the actual stories. No pressure, right? You keep finding ways to avoid doing the actual work. I mean, how difficult can it be to say something that doesn’t sound like unmitigated waffle.

I’m not going to keep you long.

The mere fact that you are currently reading this slim volume, either on your tablet or, even better, in its printed format, means that you are an awesome, fabulous person who reads and supports independently published fiction. So, thank you. You are brilliant, and the world needs more people like you.

Short story anthologies are notoriously difficult to sell, and yet it is the short story that has so much allure to up-and-coming authors. Perhaps the most common question I hear is, “Must I write and sell short stories before I write my first novel?”

(That notion is a myth, by the way.)

Short stories are a great way for writers to get those first, all-important writing credits, which is why I champion short fiction. These days, short stories, novellas, and novels, all compete with not only film, TV, games and our busy schedules, but social media too. People often say they don’t have time to read, yet they’ll while away hours trawling f*******: where they get worked up into a frothy about the latest outrage.

I love short stories, though. I can read one in a single sitting while having lunch. Or while I wait for someone. Or just before bed. It’s an entire world encapsulated in a few thousand words. Good short stories will leave you with a snapshot of another time and place, that can often give you a pause for thought. They will take me away from the daily madness, albeit for a short while.

A multi-author anthology such as this one will give you an opportunity to discover authors you may not previously have known of too. Your support as a reader means that these voices may be heard, and for that we thank you and hope that you enjoy the 2016 offering drawn from that year’s short story competition.

Nerine Dorman

Cape Town, 2018