Review by Judy Darley

Another lovely advance review today for Scratched Enamel Heart from Judy Darley.

Here's a preview:

There’s a conciseness to Amanda Huggins’ writing that makes me think of a stitch being drawn taut – her words pull the core of you to the core of a story until you gasp for breath.

Her Costa Short Story Award shortlisted tale ‘Red’ uses crimson dust to create a vivid, slightly melancholy landscape where a lone stray dog provides the hope, and a memory of better times provide the drive to reach like a scrawny sapling for light. Like Rowe, the protagonist of the preceding story “Where The Sky Starts’, Mollie needs to leave the place she’s supposed to call home or risk being trapped in a life that could suck her beyond sight of all hope, drive and light.

Huggins has a vivid mastery of words that whips up a setting you can virtually walk into, and uses that mastery to construct scenery that weaves the story’s mood around you: “Mollie hated the dark, brooding weight of the house, the trees so dense they held a part of the night’s heart within them even when the sun shone.”

It’s poetically precise and powerful.

You can read the full review here

Writers in Kyoto Annual Writing Competition

 Thrilled to have been placed in the 2020 Writers In Kyoto competition!

Second Prize:
“Sparrow Steps” by Amanda Huggins 

This was a lovely depiction of a flickering relationship whose end was nigh, although one of the couple did not realize it yet. The overall sadness of the piece tugged at the judges’ heartstrings. Though it might have taken place in any setting, it was the “skeleton of a dry cherry leaf” and autumn showing that “death could be beautiful” that belied a more than passing acquaintance with Japanese literature. The judges also felt that the contrast depicted between the evanescence of sparrows compared to their steps caught forever in cement had a particular “Kyoto flavor”.

You can find the full results here

Review by Amanda McLeod

Absolutely delighted to share a lovely review of Scratched Enamel Heart by Amanda McLeod.

Here's a taster:

Amanda’s characters ask again and again: is the price of belonging worth the cost of freedom? And how do we make those impossible choices, and live with the consequences? The notion is captured so perfectly in this single image:

Yet the lights which entice me are the porch lamps that shine outside the houses high up the hillside. They’re the quiet lights that beckon me towards another unknown life, and yet they’re also the ones that make me feel so utterly alone.
 
Huggins enters and departs each story at the right moment, often leaving the reader in a moment of quiet contemplation. Ends may not always be neatly tied but her trust in the reader to do this for themselves, and the ease with which it can be done, is a testament to the quality of Amanda’s writing. 

Amanda Huggins has created a masterclass in short fiction with Scratched Enamel Heart. Whether the story is one page or ten, every one is an exemplar of the craft. Readers will be left thinking about choice and freedom, love and grief, sacrifice and self-preservation; and the book stands up exceptionally well to repeated reading. Huggins is definitely an author to watch.

Scratched Enamel Heart releases May 27^th from Retreat West Books.
 

You can read the full review here

Review of Sea Without a Shore by Tim Taylor

Tim Taylor’s debut poetry collection from Maytree Press takes us on a journey through our universe, from the rugged Yorkshire moors to outer space; a journey strewn with pot plants and pharaohs, hill farmers, castles and lovers.

‘Mountain Man’ is a glorious portrait of a sheep farmer and the wild landscape that has shaped “the ridge and dale of him”, his eyes at sunset revealing his secret:

“this place does not bind him
as towns will tether other men”

The collection’s title comes from the poem ‘Pioneer’ – another favourite. This is a poem told from the viewpoint of the the Pioneer spacecraft:

“Obedient, I spied on giants,
sent my postcards home”

Yet the Pioneer is now free from human masters, hurtling through the void, 11 billion miles from earth, free to “navigate this sea without a shore”.

I also love the achingly beautiful poem, “The Old Couple”; a mature love story:

“time has smothered their curves and hollows,
sanded them to fit each other
like pebbles rubbed together by the sea.”

This debut collection is a really enjoyable read – accessible, immersive and innovative.

You can buy Sea Without a Shore here

Review by Gail Aldwin

Aother lovely review for Scratched Enamel Heart today from Gail Aldwin, author of The String Games:

"This short fiction collection contains twenty-four emotionally-charged stories that take readers on a journey to households and communities in a range of countries. Through these stories, Amanda Huggins cleverly shows us the commonality of emotional experience. That feelings of isolation, love, grief, loss and regret occur in different backgrounds and cultures. And equally, that hope and the promise of a fresh start is possible. Amanda Huggins writes in a beautiful and empathetic way to immerse readers in the challenges and dilemmas she presents to her characters. As readers we care about these characters and learn from them. This is a truthful, authentic and essential read."

Two Lovely Reviews!

Two lovely reviews of my work today. The first from Angela Readman for Scratched Enamel Heart:

"Reading Amanda Huggins is like taking a journey around the world. Her stories are so beautifully written we forget where we are. Japan, Russia, Paris, London, the States, we are drawn into a series of fascinating lives. Hearts are broken but survive, scuffed and painted bright colours, people never fail to keep trying. These are stories we need to read."  Angela Readman 

 

Out 27th May - you can pre-order here 

 

And a great review for The Collective Nouns for Birds from Hannah Ruth Retallick:

 

 "A wonderful poetry collection. A range of human experience expressed with such empathy. One of my favourite poems was ‘No Doubt’; I strongly related to it, even though I’ve not been in the exact situation. That’s powerful writing! A beautifully produced book too, with thick pages and lovely cover art, which makes it feel extra special."

 

You can buy a copy here 

 

 

 

 

Saboteur Awards Voting Form is Live!

Here's the link for the second voting form for the Saboteur Awards!

 
Please please take a minute to vote for The Collective Nouns for Birds in the Best Poetry Pamphlet category! Thank you so much!

Absolutely delighted that The Collective Nouns for Birds has been shortlisted for a Saboteur Ward this year! Voting opens again on Sunday, so could I please ask all of you who voted for me to vote again then! 

 

Scratched Enamel Heart - Review by Allison Symes

ALLISON'S REVIEW OF SOME OF THE STORIES IN SCRATCHED ENAMEL HEART

"I loved the variety of stories here. Amanda Huggins captures details so well, you can see the things she wants you to see, hear the things she wants you to hear. Her use of all the senses in her stories is wonderful. When she describes food being eaten, it is as if you were there watching the food being eaten! This is hard to pull off well. All of the stories will move you and make you wonder what you would do if you were this character faced with this situation. Huggins creates a miniature world with every story, and you are drawn in, almost hypnotically.


I also love the selection of specific details. For example when referring to a box, it is a cherrywood box. Little things like that add richness to a story and there is plenty of that here to savour and enjoy.


I liked the mixture of story lengths too. Some of my favourites were:-

Light Box. I loved the fact that the awful stepmother doesn't get away with it, and the way the father engineered his own escape. Heartwarming. Excellent characterisation.
Violet, Flint, and The Softest Blue. Liked the portrayal of Phoebe, who takes in more than I think even she realises.
Listing. A great flash piece.
Pretty. Made me shudder - as it should do.
Strong, Not Rough.  I've always loved stories where the underdog wins out. This is a good example of that.
Red. Boy did this one stir the emotions. Would love to know what happened to the characters beyond the end of the story, but that's always a sign of a cracking story.
For Sale. Deeply moving. Glad it ended the way it did!
No Doubt. A wonderfully moving description of real love and anticipated grief. Although he returns she knows one day she'll lose him and dreads the thought. A celebration of mature love I think. I like that. It's not something I've come across that often in fiction and I think it easy to forget older people love too. I also like love stories based on real emotion developed over years - not the superficial, glamorous type that fades and vanishes as people get older. So this story, as you can tell, had real resonance for me."

 

Allison writes for Chandler's Ford Today, and is the authour of the flash fiction  collection From Light to Dark and Back Again (Chapeltown Books)

Scratched Enamel Heart is here!

So excited to receive my advance copies of Scratched Enamel Heart today! It looks fabulous!

Scratched Enamel Heart

My new short story collection, Scratched Enamel Heart, will be published by Retreat West Books on 27th May, and can already be pre-ordered here.

The beautiful cover was designed by Triona Walsh, and it's great to see the Costa logo sticker on there too. I can't wait to get hold of a real live copy!

I've already had a lovely review from Gill James at Bridgehouse Publishing/Chapeltown Books - Gill published my first flash fiction collection, Brightly Coloured Horses, back in 2018.

"The short stories in this collection give a strong sense of time and place and allow the reader to follow the characters as they make a journey. Sometimes this is an actual physical journey, at other times it is a journey of the soul. Each story too brings with it an atmosphere that we cannot ignore. We are drawn to the characters and their settings.

These are fine stories and Amanda Huggins has really mastered the art of packing a lot of content into a short space without overwhelming the reader. These tales are beautifully crafted. Huggins uses language well. This is short-story telling at its best."