Writing
I can't remember a time when I wasn't a writer.
Below you'll find a small selection of my works, several short stories of which I'm the most proud. One of them was even shortlisted for the Nanaimo Arts Council Short Fiction Contest! I hope that you like what you read and that my stories enlighten your life just a little bit!
Ferry Traffic
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This is the most current short story (approx. 2000 words) I've written and one that holds a special place in my heart because it is based on real events that happened to me. The story here concerns a young man who, while riding a ferry, overhears a phonecall that opens his eyes to the realities of the world.
There is a lot of myself in this story, both in the young man and in the characters surrounding him and the story went through many revisions before I felt that it did justice to the ideals that prompted me to write it.
Ferry Traffic explores exactly what it means when someone says, 'Don't judge a book by its cover'. The world is a complicated place and we can't take anything at face value.
Big Blue Malibu
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This short story (approx. 4000 words) follows an unnamed woman through three moments in the span of her life and explores the impact that other people, even strangers, can have on our lives and futures.
Big Blue Malibu was prompted by an encounter I had with a woman in a summer class while in college. She gave me a book to read, having spoken of the power the book had over her in the past, and I read it. The book had a great effect on the way I now look at the world and I have this random woman from my class to thank for that. It startles me to think that someone who I only knew for a few short weeks could have such an impact on how I look at the world, and it startles me even more to know that, now that she has graduated, I probably won't ever speak to her again. This story is a reflection of those feelings. I humbly count this as my favourite and the strongest of the short stories I have written, which is saying a lot because I am proud of all of them.
Funerals
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Funerals was written not long after the death of my girlfriend's great-grandfather. It was a time when I was thinking greatly about what it means to be alive and it was those explorations of life that prompted me to write Funerals.
Music is a powerful thing in my life and so I wasn't surprised to see it sneaking its way into Funerals. The choice of songs in Funerals was very deliberate and speak greatly about not only the characters but about myself as well.
Funerals was short-listed for the Nanaimo Arts Council Short Fiction Award in 2006.