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I learned to read at the age of four. (Thanks, Big Sis!) My first day at school was spent reciting the alphabet, something of a let down after the knuckle-whitening thrills of the ‘Janet and John’ reading series. In class I fantasised a lot, to keep boredom at bay. Aged about five, I wrote my first piece of flash fiction and it went like this; ‘I had a Tom Cat, he ate my duck.’ Not much suspense building but hey, very few superfluous words!
In my teens, I left the rural idyll in Herefordshire, headed to the Big Smoke and got my degree in textile art. Since then I’ve worked as a secretary, shop assistant, gallery attendant, puppeteer, dance teacher and most recently a teacher of English as a foreign language.
After moving to Amsterdam, I started writing fiction. I wrote largely memoir-type stories and like many novice writers I stuck too rigidly to the facts. My main advice to aspiring fiction writers is by all means use real people and events for inspiration, but don’t keep things in because that’s what Uncle Ethelbert actually said or did. Real conversation unfortunately doesn’t always make for good dialogue, or ultimately, a good story.
In 2010 I adopted the pseudonym, Susan Carey. I’ve had short stories, flash fiction, poetry and non-fiction articles published and some of my work has been performed by Short Story Radio and Liars’ League. I was also shortlisted in Mslexia poetry and Fish Publishing competitions. Recent successes include being placed in the top ten of The Casket of Fictional Delights flash fiction competition and publication in Stringybark Stories anthologies. Please have a look at my writing page for online publications and performances, or visit my blog home page, Amsterdam Oriole
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