TRACY FELLS explores the emotional resonance of three very different short stories: ‘When you read a short story that thwacks an emotional punch or haunts your daydreams then you have to talk about it. I read at least one short story daily, so what prompts me to talk about specific pieces…?’
LELA TREDWELL recommends Robert Shearman’s collection Everyone’s Just So So Special: ‘His writing is as good as you’re going to get to a dictionary definition of special: ‘better, greater and otherwise different from what is usual’. And it’s for his third collection of short stories, in particular, that he is just so, so special, to me…’
‘If I told you that a short story collection saved me as a reader and as a writer, would you believe me? Probably not. But it’s true…’ GINA PARSONS finds her writing self through the stories of Robert Shearman.
CARYS BRAY recommends the works of Robert Shearman: ‘I looked for clues to his fiction in his manner, and I came to the erroneous conclusion that his stories were jolly. I imagined page after page of ebullience and cheer; I wasn’t expecting horror…’
SHORT STORY: We are thrilled to bring you ‘Coming in to Land’, from award-winning author ROBERT SHEARMAN. ‘Ladies and gentlemen – We hope that you have taken pleasure in this Air Intercontinental Flight from Los Angeles to Paris, France…’
In her essay, LELA TREDWELL takes us through the works of fantastic author Robert Shearman: ‘Shearman’s short stories are often dark and mostly rather devious. He thrills consistently by exploring a whole host of surreal scenarios abetted by his roguish sense of humour…’
