Book review and author interview - J.M.Langan

Something a little different...

For my blog this week, I review a book and provide an author interview. Enjoy!

 

    The Solstice Baby & Other Stories by J.M. Langan

Dark, gory, humorous, evocative, and so much more!

In Langan’s The Solstice Baby & Other Stories, just like selection boxes of chocolate, there is something for everyone.

Organised into different themes - Fairy Tales for Grown Ups/Speculative Fiction/Horror/Nature/ People and 555 (five, one-hundred stories written over five days) - this this collection of stories kept me entertained for days as I dipped in and out, selecting a different theme or length of story each time.

Whilst I am unable to pick a favourite (and think them all worthy of a second read another time), here are some of the standouts for me:

Dark - Púca

The normal, everyday life, opening to this tale serves as a brilliant red herring before the sinister undertone appears. It had me wondering where/when the fairy tale element would emerge... When it does, the typical notion of good v bad emerges to a crescendo of an ending that left me speechless and exclaiming “No!” out loud as I was initially shocked at what I was reading. My shock was followed a sense of admiration for Langan’s brave ending – I love an ending where everything isn’t rosy and fine!

 

Gory – The Butcher’s Tattoo

Following the trail on the blurb to go to The Butcher’s Tattoo for some gore, I bravely turned to page 67 (I am a bit of a wuss with anything too gory) to see if I could cope! I immediately wondered if I could! Then the story softened – the perfect juxtaposition of the home setting, before heading back to work where there is gore aplenty... This tale is deceptive in title, which works well, and it took me down a different path to what I predicted. 

            The story interested me due to the nature of things I tend to write about myself, and I found the gore fitted the action well. Langan takes the reader through a few twists along the way, and I was more than glad that I braved it!

 

Humorous – The Self-Cleaning Woman

This made me chuckle to myself as it’s witty, unexpected, then thoughtful and reflective. Not at all what I expected, but in a good way!

 

Evocative – The Solstice Baby

Wow! I was drawn in from the off and I found myself reading faster and faster as the climax approached. A masterclass of short story telling. Whilst I am used to reading and writing in darker genres, this hit on a different level. I had tears running down my face and was so, so moved. It’s easy to see why Langan picked this as the lead story title for the anthology. As I said before – wow!

 

And so much more…

From the sensitivity of Jesolo, to the unique spacing of Him and Me, then to the brilliant 555 collection, and the stunning descriptive writing of Rooted, everything else in Langan’s anthology is equally enjoyable as the stories that I have individually celebrated here.

Langan has such an apt way of observing people, processes and things (some beyond reality). Her style changes are a pleasant surprise, whilst the craft that has gone into perfecting these is to be admired. There really is something for everyone.

Want to get yourself a copy? It’s available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle format:

https://mybook.to/SolsticeBaby

Author interview:

Here, Jane answers some questions -

 

Q1. What inspired you to write this book?

A1. That’s a tricky question as each story came from a different place. Some of the stories, like Púca and The China Doll were written for my masters in creative writing with the Open University (OU). Others came from writing prompts or just out of my imagination. The Solstice Baby story is a version of my story. I’m adopted and my parents got me on the Winter Solstice, other than that the story is pure fiction.

 

Q2. What did you learn when writing your book?

A2. I have always written something. I have written a diary since I was a child and still do. I have written a blog since 2009. I have written poetry and stories in the back of notebooks for years. I just decided, around the time I was fifty, that I should stop putting them at the back of the books and bring them to the front.

              What I have learned is that writing is a job. You need to set time for it and then put your pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard and just write – it may be nonsense and it may be nothing. But occasionally a gem of a thing emerges. I have also learned my grammar is rubbish and I have to work really hard to ensure it isn’t!

              I also learned, when I was editing The Solstice Baby and Other Stories, that all these stories hold up in their own right (in my opinion) even the ones I thought weren’t as good after I had just written them. They are a body of work, which I have poured and stressed over and I should be proud of that.

 

Q3. Which is your favourite story in your book?

A3. That’s like choosing a favourite child, but if I must – I like Socks – It’s a 50-word story that really gets to the essence of being a parent. For a longer piece, probably Púca – not necessarily because I think it is the best story, but because I poured everything, I had into it. It was the first story I handed in as a TMA for the OU – It has been rewritten, renamed and all sorts. It is also, probably, the closest to the style of fiction I like best. I like stories set in reality, but with a twist.

 

Q4. You say you treat writing as a job, how many hours a day do you write?

A4. My day starts and 9am and usually finishes about 3pm so I can cook dinner for my family – my husband works shifts and my youngest daughter gets in about 4pm after school - they are usually famished. I can’t always write all day – like most writers I have a side hustle – I have a little shop on Etsy that sells gifts and curated vintage things. Most mornings I fill in the spreadsheet to show what I have sold, print out packing slips and postage labels and at lunch time package up things. I go to the post office every other day, except at Christmas time when it gets really busy and I have to go daily. After I have done that, I check the Castle Priory Press email and respond to any queries there if Ruth hasn’t got there first. I also make any amendments to the website etc. After that it’s time to write – usually by about 10am – 11am. I write poetry, short stories and novels. When I am novel writing, I tend to be quite focused and do nothing but that. When I am working on poetry or short stories, I also look at competitions I can enter or magazines who are looking for submissions. Sometimes, If I don’t feel I have done enough, I will work in the evenings. Especially if my husband is on the late shift.

 

Q5. If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?

A4. I was quite wild as a teenager, but always into reading and writing. The only O level I got an A in was English Literature. I also did OK in English Language – although I think the curriculum back then let me down, which I realised when I came to do my BA and realised how awful my grammar was. That stopped me writing. My first degree was in Drama and English Literature – In the first year my English lecturer made me feel like a complete idiot, sent me to ‘special’ classes to help my grammar and made me rewrite numerous essays – I only just scraped through my first year. The whole thing bashed my confidence and I stopped writing creatively for a quite a while. If that hadn’t happened, I think I would have gone down the master’s route sooner. And the more I write, I believe, the better I become at it.

I read somewhere that it takes about six novels to become a good novel writer – I have written three. The first still needs so much editing it scares me. The second is in a good place but I know it could be better. The third is written but again needs editing. So, I just have three more to go and then who knows.

 Thanks, Jane!

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