Since the lovely people at Leaf Books have seen fit to commend me for my ‘short travel writing’ piece submitted in August, it seems only fair to celebrate Kilcreggan , the obscure but enchanting place where it began.
To go next to the article when it’s published in Issue 3 of their magazine, Leaf would also like me to submit a further 200 words (max) on how it came to be written. Which is a tiny bit ironic, as after reading isue 2, I concluded I could do with less of these ‘author commentaries’ as they call them, and a bit more actual writing.
Of course I am the last person to complain about being given a platform – far from it! But I’m not convinced that short (300 max) pieces require this kind of writerly reflection, or that navel-gazing on my part will be of much benefit to the readers. Or maybe I’m just painfully aware that my own article won’t really live up to detailed exegesis? (Oooh, a word I had almost forgotten!) The fact is I went there, I loved it, but the atmosphere was a little strange. Which is what I hope I conveyed in the writing. And so it looks like my follow-up submnission could be brief. Let’s hope that’s what the readers would prefer.
Meanwhile three cheers for Kilcreggan, which will soon have featured in three blog posts, a scene in my latest novel, and now a writing magazine. Small place, big impact!
Ali Bacon, Author 