In 2013 when I decided to start a blog I spent several
months deciding how I could conceivably keep going about every two weeks for at
least five years. Eventually I came up with the idea of using the short stories
I had written in the 1990s as a springboard for ideas for each month of the
year. The idea developed into a story itself which revolved around a year in
the life of the Angel Writers Group. These are the themes for each month of the
year as dictated by the work of my imaginary group.
January’s story is ‘Consumed’ and its themes are music and
solitude.
The February story is ‘Lucy’s Lucky Dress’ with the themes
of romance and poetry.
March is ‘Duchess Doom’ concerned with technology and games.
April is ‘The Gathering’ and its themes are family and parenthood.
May’s story is called ‘Deja Vu’ and has the themes of groups
and inspiration.
June’s themes are nature and seasons for the story ‘Living
Rooms’.
July is ‘Image Makers’ and its themes education and travel.
August’s story is the ‘Institute of New Food’ with its
themes of work and identity.
September’s story is ‘The Creature’ with the themes of
childhood and spirituality.
October’s themes are retirement and pastimes and its story ‘The
Number 13 to Gravesend’.
November’s story is 'Urusla’s pets' which has the themes of
animals and fairytales.
December’s story is ‘The Need Fairy’ and its themes dreams
and space.
As well as writing their own material the group also read
the work of other, well known authors. This is the list of stories the group
read over the course of one year and one month, they are spooky tales of the
supernatural.
1. The bus conductor by
EF Benson
2. The bloody chamber by Angela Carter
3. The listeners by Walter de la Mare
4. The veldt by Ray Bradbury
5. Disturbances in Angier Street by JS Le Fanu
6. The man whom the trees loved by Algernon Blackwood
7. The fall of the house of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
8. The ghouls by R Chetwynd Hayes
9. Number 13 by MR Jam
2. The bloody chamber by Angela Carter
3. The listeners by Walter de la Mare
4. The veldt by Ray Bradbury
5. Disturbances in Angier Street by JS Le Fanu
6. The man whom the trees loved by Algernon Blackwood
7. The fall of the house of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
8. The ghouls by R Chetwynd Hayes
9. Number 13 by MR Jam
10. Dracula’s guest by
Bram Stoke
11. The blue lenses by
Daphne Du Maurier.
12. The signalman by
Charles Dickens
13. The Little Matchgirl
by Hans Christian Anderson
The beginnings of the group and their ideas can be found in
my story ‘The Angel’s Retreat'.
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