It’s only lately that I stopped all that and started to write creatively, following a stroke and medical retirement.

Not so good, but it could have been much worse, so I’m very lucky. (Just prior to the stroke, I was pulling together information to see how feasible it would be to leave the bloody job.

As it turned out, events overtook me. Wishes can be very dangerous things.)

It wasn’t until my niece introduced me to Create 50 that I considered writing some horror fiction.  More truthfully, she coerced me into it, so I gave in to the push, and Had A Go.

And I love it. Words to express a mood, a picture, to sketch in a character, to mislead, or to sow a seed.  To tell a story. Rather than, say, a contract clause describing the type of management information to be collected, distributed, stored – I’m boring myself, now.

Discovering creative writing came at exactly the right time.  My life, if not turned upside-down, certainly came off worse in the brawl, but writing provided a focus, something over which I had complete control, and something unlike I had ever experienced. It gave me confidence, stretched me, and is just a tiny bit addictive.  After years of reading horror fiction (and a fair range of other genres) I try to write the stories I would like to read.

So that’s where my story, The Cyclist, came from.  A change of circumstances, a push, a ‘what would happen if…?’ thought, and the challenge of answering that question. (I spend far too much time thinking ‘What If..?’ thoughts.)

At present, I’m writing a collection of horror/weird short stories, and when I am happy with the quality and quantity, I shall see what I might do with them.  No rush; I go at my own pace now.

I owe a lot to my niece for making Create 50 happen to me. And congratulations to her:  she’s Jessica Brown, and her story ‘Gooseberry Pie’ features in Twisted. (Obviously, I think it an excellent tale.)

Thanks for the push, Jess.

Richie Brown
My Profile HERE.