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Steve Wade, LISP Short Story FINALIST by INTO WATERS DEEP

LISP Short Story FINALIST, INTO WATERS DEEP BY Steve Wade

- How often do you write? Do you have a writing routine? And what inspires you to write?

Morning time is the best time for me to write. Alas, I get hungry sometimes and have, like most people, to go to work. I therefore try to put in at least three hours writing every evening. I really don’t need inspiration. I get going as soon as I sit before the computer screen. That said, I particularly enjoy writing to a theme, when it’s provided by a writing competition.

- How does it feel to have your work recognised?

This is something I never tire of. I especially enjoy seeing my words on the printed page. But, of course, those times when I’ve won First Prize are extra satisfying. To know that your work has been adjudged the best gives you reassurance that your stories have touched others emotionally and that they get it.

- What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about writing a Story?

Writing is a way of transporting yourself to another place, another world even. You can go where you want to, become somebody or something else. I’m as contented writing from the point of view of a ten-year-old boy as I am from the rhomboid eyes of a wolf. As for the challenging aspect, I would change that to challenging in a good way. The rewriting to get the words right, to rob Hemmingway’s words, is as rewarding as it is challenging.

- How did you come up with the idea for your LISP selected story? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

The story came about by the many anecdotes and reports of those who are more financially secure than most of us, but end up in a place that, for them, is as alien as their social and economic situation is for their opposites.


- Can you please give us a few tips about writing a Story?

We all have our own methodologies. But, for me, it’s important to read widely in the genre that interests you. Equally important is to understand the structure of the short story. There are many books out there on aspects of writing in general – creating a character, writing dialogue, plot, beginnings, description and so on. All writers should immerse themselves in both the study of writing along with reading the greats, like James Joyce, Raymond Carver, and John Steinbeck.

- What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions?

In the present-day climate, where it’s terribly difficult to find a publisher willing to publish your work, competitions give the writer something to aim at, something achievable. And then, hopefully, with some placings, wins and publications behind you, you are in a better position to approach publishers who publish in your area of interest. As to the challenging aspect of competitions, it’s natural that certain judges may not appreciate either your storyline or your writing. The challenge is to keep tapping away and submitting your best work.


- Lastly, do you recommend the writers give a go on LISP?

Yes, besides reading the how-to books and the great writers, as I’ve already suggested, it’s paramount that you pit yourself against your peers, or those who are pursuing the same writing goals as you. LISP is an excellent forum in which to do this.



Printed Publications

‘High Flyer’, New Irish Writing, The Sunday Tribune (Ireland) 01/06/2008

‘On the Seventh Day’, First Edition, Issue 06 August, 2009

‘A Timely Tale’, Words Undone Magazine (8), ISNN 2044-2106

Excerpt from novel. ‘On Hikers’ Hill’, Leaf Garden, Issue #2, Leaf Garden Press. June 2009

‘Gods and Ants’, Crannog 22, Autumn 2009, ISNN 1649-4865

‘That Man’s Father’, and ‘Lequoia and the Mai-coh’ (audio recording), Fjords arts & literary review, Volume 1, Issue 1, ISBN13: 978-0-9833655-7-0

‘Christmas in the Forest’ (Children’s easy reader), Little Acorn Press, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-9566788-3-6

‘Till the Embers Turn to Ashes’, New Fables, Summer 2010, Sofawolf Press, ISBN 978-098198837-5

‘The Hidden Path’, Pearl forty-two, 2010

‘A World of Weeping’, College Green 2010, the Graduate Students’ Union, Trinity College, Dublin

‘No Burden He’, International Prize-winning stories and poems, Biscuit Publishing Ltd 2011

‘A Mother’s Love’, Aesthetica Creative Works Annual 2011

‘Stars in her Eyes’, Boyne Berries 10 Autumn 2011, ISSN 1649-9271

‘Icarus Gets his Wings’, Flash Fiction, 2011 Anthology, Author Essentials, ISBN 978-1-78003-311-2

‘The Teeth of Freedom’, Grey Sparrow, Fall, 2011, ISSN 2157-3646

‘On Call in Calahonda’, The Irish Times, January 17 2012

‘Leopards of the Snow’, Author Essentials 2012, ISBN 978-1-78003-533-8

‘The Boy Who Nearly Saw Santa’, The Santa Claus Project, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4772-6777-6

‘In Fields of Butterfly Flames’, Warpaint, 2012 ISBN 978-09878577-1-2

‘Higher than the Clouds’, Walking on the Wild Side, 2012 ISBN 978-1-4710-7615-2

‘Gods of the Rivers and the Sky’, Writers for Animals, 2012 ISBN 978-1-907335-25-9

‘Mac Tire, the Son of the Countryside’, 2012 Grey Sparrow, ISSN 2157-3646

‘For the Children’, Gem Street, 2012 ISBN 978-0-9572313-0-6

‘Old Man Clarke’, Wyrd Stories, 2013 ISBN 978-0-9566685-4-7

‘The Dog of War’ (invited to write a story for animal charity project), Plight of the Rhino, 2013 ISBN 9781493659609

‘The Ogre and the Elf’, Crannog, summer 2013, ISSN 1649-4865

‘The Land of Permafrost’, Boyne Berries 16 autumn, 2014, ISSN 1649-9271

‘The Hanging Tree’, A Fabula Press Anthology, ISBN 9781503233799

‘No Understand Nothing’, Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual 2015, ISSN 2048-8777

‘The Hearth of Christmas’, Nivalis 2015, A Fabula Press Anthology, ISBN -10: 1514637626

‘The White Lady of Sorrow’, First Prize Winner in the Garradrimna Book Fair Short Story Competition, Published in the Westmeath Examiner, May 2nd 2015

‘The Eagle and the Feline’, Crannog 40 autumn 2015, ISBN 978-1-907017-40-7

‘Joshua and the Snowman’, Boyne Berries 18 autumn 2015, ISNN: 1649-9271

‘Buster Blizzard’, Snowflakes (an anthology), Bridge House Publishing, ISBN 978-4-1-907335-40-2

‘A Stranger Cometh’, Homicide Lullabyes, ISBN 9781522957102

‘The Lost Boy’, First Prize Winner in the Garradrimna Book Fair Short Story Competition, published in the Westmeath Examiner, April, 2016

‘The Stolen Child’, Boyne Berries 20, Autumn 2016, ISSN: 1649-9271

‘Rapprochement’, Crannog 43, Autumn 2016, 9 781907 017445

‘A Christless World’, Lakeview International Journal of Literature and Arts, Vol 4, No. 2

‘Paid in Full’, First Prize Winner in the Garradrimna Book Fair Short Story Competition, published in the Westmeath Examiner, April 2017

‘Forgive Me My Trespasses’, shortlisted in Strands International Short story Competition - published in 2017

‘The Middle White’, Crannog 46, Autumn 2017, 9 781907 017483

‘The Holiest Day’, The Crowvus Christmas Spirit, Crowvus Publishing, 980-0-9957860-2-8

‘Stalking the Muse’, An Anthology from Michael Terence Publishing, 2017 ISBN 9 781973554240

‘Of Men and Dogs’, Boyne Berries 24, 2018

‘Dinnertime’, Second Taste, Book a Break Anthology, 2018

‘The Blackbird and the Hawk’, Teachers Who Write, 2018

‘The Light of the Christmas Star’, Ghostly Tales for Christmas, Crowvus, 2018

‘The Bogeyman’, Crackers, an Anthology, Bridge House Publishing, 2018

‘His Father’s Son’, An Anthology from Michael Terence Publishing, 2018

‘The Stranger’, Crannog 50, 2019

‘The Girl Who Never Came Home’, First Prize Winner in the Delvin Garradrimna Short Story Competition, published in the Westmeath Examiner, April, 2019

‘Beneath a Sky, Kingfisher Blue, Heartland, Penfro Anthology, 2019

‘Emmanuel’, Nativity, An Anthology, Bridge House, 2019

‘The Hunter and the Huntress’, Boyne Berries 27, Spring 2020

‘Last Refuge’, Zawadi & Other Short Stories, Owen Press, 2021

‘In Fields of Butterfly Flames and Other Stories’ short story collection, Bridge House Publishing, a UK small press publisher in 2021.

‘Malak al Mawt’, Mulling it Over – an anthology, Bridge House Publishing, 2020

‘A Regular Dandy’, Brevity is the Soul, Liberties Press, 2021

‘Prince Kintu’, Black Lives, Big White Shed, 2021

‘Reborn and Thunderstruck’, ‘The She Wolf’, ‘The Trumpeting Rooster’, The Other Side, Team Writefluence, an anthology, 2021

Her Soul to Keep’, Crannóg 55, autumn 2021,

A Scream that Cleaved the Night’, A Lie on her Lips – sensuous tales of a Clandestine Betrayal, Team Writefluence, 2021.

Waiting for the Boy’, The Year’s Best Dog Stories 2021, Ron Sauder.

Headless Annie’, Spookaween, compiled by Writefluence, 2021.

The Devil’s Claw’, A horror Story Collection, Enchanted Forest Publishing, 2021.

The Satchel Bag’, Eye Spy – A collection of short Stories and Poems, Fresher Publishing, 2021.

The White Giant’, Seasonal Spectres, Crowvus Publishing, December 2021.


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