Starting Out

By Lonely Willow Press

Ten writers emerge from the pages of this anthology with unique ideas and styles. Their fresh voices treat the reader to tales of new beginnings, from stories of hopeful journeys and humorous rejections to accounts of dragons and unwelcome visitors. This collection by new writers contains something for everyone and the images they create will stay in your mind long after you have finished reading.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lonely Willow Press
• Release date: Oct 29, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370885374

Lonely Willow Press

Lonely Willow Press is a small imprint specialising in anthologies.

Book preview

Starting Out

An Anthology

Dan Belmont Tess Wheeler Lisa Wilton Paula Frew Danielle Nolan Eleanor Hartley Roz Carter Natalie Stone K. B. Silva Zarina Braybrooke

Each story in this collection Copyright © 2017 by the respective author. All rights reserved.

Cover design Copyright © 2017 Lisa Wilton. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without express written permission from the authors, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of advertising, promotions, or critical review.

These stories are works of fiction. All characters, events, and locations portrayed in this book are fictitious or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

We dedicate this collection to all those starting out on new journeys. Don’t let your destination distract you.

Contents

The Committee

False Starts

Rise Up!

It's All in the Text

Dragonbond

Starting Over

The Student

Horizon Kids

Good to Be Home

Under The Waves

Acknowledgements

The Committee

by Dan Belmont

Dan Belmont is a fictional creature whose only purpose is to create more fictional creatures. There have been rumours that his short stories are part of a very subtle plan for world domination. At his current rate of progress, it's safe to assume we'll all be fine. In a parallel existence, he's a university lecturer, a former magazine editor and a foreigner living the thrill of post-Brexit Britain. He writes fiction under a pen name to blend in among locals, but still pronounces water and tomato like a barbarian. You can follow him on Twitter @dbelmontwriter. or on Medium @danbelmontwriter

— Sorry to keep you waiting, Matt. I was over there enjoying my cup of coffee. I find that it gets cold if I bring it to meetings. Though this one will be short, anyway. Linda, will you join us? Matt, will you take a seat, please.

— Thanks for calling me in, Dr. Jordan. I was so excited to hear from the Committee… Wait, is that Linda from HR? I didn't know she was involved in allocating research funding.

— We’ll get to that in a second. First, I have the official results of your funding bid. Let me find them… yes, here:

We regret to inform you that your application for funding has been rejected by the Committee. After a brief discussion, it was unanimously agreed that the project does not constitute academic research under any definition of the term. Although we cannot offer further feedback at this stage due to the high number of applicants, a meeting with a Committee member can be arranged in extraordinary cases.

—Are you with me so far, Matt?

— Yes… yes, wow, that's… harsh, isn't it? I mean, maybe the literature review could have been a bit deeper, but there are some relevant ideas in the proposal, for sure…  

— Don’t sweat it, Matt. We get this problem sometimes with new hires. Academia can be really tough when you’re starting out. That’s why the Committee decided to call you for this meeting. Remember how the document said we only provided extra feedback in extraordinary cases? There you are: you’re one of our extraordinary cases in this round of funding.

—Extraordinary cases? What do you mean?

—Let’s put it this way: technically, you are an academic. And as for the work you have described in your proposal… well, I suppose we could call it research, under a broad definition of the term. But that doesn't make it academic research, you see? There's a very subtle difference there, I'm not sure if you'll understand it. Let's see, how can I explain myself more clearly... Linda, could you draw a circle in that piece of paper for me? See, Matt? That circle is your research project. Now some lines coming from that circle, Linda. Brilliant. Now draw some other circles connected to those lines. That's a project that actually relates to other projects. You see what Linda did just now? That's academic research.

— But… Dr. Jordan, that's a drawing!

—The Committee’s recommendation is that you should Google your research topic, Matt. There are other things to do, of course, but we all agreed that would be a good start for you. We shouldn’t overwhelm you at this stage. If you’re confused, maybe Google the word research to get a better sense of what is expected from you. Academic research, in quotes, would give you even more precise results. Don’t worry: I talked to Linda and she has agreed to teach you how to use the quotes on Google.  

— Wait… you can’t be serious. I have a PhD!

—Ah, but that doesn’t mean much these days, does it? Especially in an institution such as ours. I was checking your CV with Linda here. You have a PhD in… English,