I’m away on writing retreat at the moment (about which more here…), so it’s good to have something announced for publication in 404 Ink‘s second issue, The F Word.

I’m not a big fan of fancy dress-themed parties, and worry about the over-emphasis on dressing up during the UK’s World Book Day (yes, I know this sounds a bit bah humbug, but I’d rather concentrate on words for both events…). And so, somehow, this frustration has transmuted into fiction in a piece, inspired by those clever Oulipo types, called ‘Fucking Fancy Dress’.

If you want to read more, you can find out and pre-order the new issue here.

And just to prove that occasionally I do dress up for parties (and to give you a visual clue for the piece), here’s an old Hallowe’en party picture. I’m on the right-hand side in a homemade Marmite costume…