Eeee! This is a big one, folks. You might have spied, if you haunt my social media, this little announcement already, but now I have a fancy graphic and therefore can do a fancy blog post. Everything must be fancy for us fanciful folk. Ahem. Let me tell you a story (from long, long ago)…
(That sentence is to be read in the voice of Helena Bonham Carter and is a very niche reference that you will only get if you have seen Punchdrunk’s Viola’s Room or the little trailer for it on Instagram. It has absolutely nothing to do with this update, but I’ve been to the experience twice now and it will live rent-free in my head and my heart and my bones for the rest of my life so you should expect references to it to crop up for the rest of forever. Thank you for humouring me. Since I last mentioned it, it has been extended in its current form until mid-November, and a Christmassy form until… Well, Christmas. You should experience it if you’re going to be in London. I am not the same person I was before.)
Once upon a time, way back in—hoo boy—August 2021, I submitted a short story to FOUND. It made it to the final round of consideration (I think), but didn’t quite make it into the book. Alas, alack. It was a strange sort of a story, as you would expect from a found footage piece, but I am glad that it was rejected. Stick with me. I know, it’s strange to be happy about a rejection (and, don’t get me wrong, I was sad about it at the time). For a long time, I ignored that story. I couldn’t think of anywhere to submit it to and so I didn’t look at it.
Until, one day, I did. I looked at it, and then something strange happened: a whole other narrative thread started appearing in the story. I hadn’t planned on expanding it. I opened it to read it, but there I was, typing away, and so the story grew. The story grew by over 1,000 words and it felt ready in a way I hadn’t realised it could. I thought it was finished the first time. Apparently, I was wrong.
Cue November 2023, Andrew Cull and Gabino Iglesias, editorial team of dreams, announce FOUND 2. Cheekily, I asked if I could resubmit the new and improved version of my original story since they liked it the first time and it was now better. Luckily (and let’s be honest, so many things in writing rely on luck), I was given the go ahead, and luckier still, they liked it!
I am absolutely delighted to be appearing in FOUND 2 and in exactly one month, it will be out in the wild, frightening the locals. I’m going to save telling you what my story is until then (I’ve said it before and I will say it again: I am a tease), but if you’d like to pre-order a lovely little e-book copy, you can do so here (UK) and here (US). There will be print copies too! I can’t wait to hold it in my grubby little hands.
elou carroll 