I've long admired the work of my fellow ex-Macmillan New Writer, Aliya Whiteley (and reviewed her debut Three Things About Me). Recently Aliya relocated with her family to the south coast, only a few miles from where I live, and from time to time we have a coffee in the relaxed surroundings of Attibassi in Chichester.
In 17th century London writers met in coffee houses for trenchant debate and the odd bout of fisticuffs occasioned by the issues of the day. Chichester ain't that kind of town, and our conversations, although naturally of an elevated intellectual cast, lack the ink-spotted fervour of Pepys and his contemporaries. Last week we discussed badgers and Aliya's latest book, a collection of short stories entitled Witchcraft in the Harem published by Dog Horn Publishing. Our conlcusions on badgers can be summarised by noting that they often urinate in inconvenient locations, but of perhaps more general interest is what Aliya had to say about Witchcraft in the Harem.
TS: Some writers seem to have a natural gift for the short story (I certainly don't). What is it about the short form that appeals to you?
AW: I think it’s the circularity of it, and the detail. You make your point, you tie it all back up to the beginning, and you get the hell out of Dodge. You concentrate on one or two key moments, and the sheer complexity of the novel is not an issue.
TS: The major publishing houses are notoriously unwilling to publish collections of short fiction. Why do you think there is such a small market for what can be one of the most provocative and exciting fictional forms?
AW: I really don’t know. People tell me all the time that they love short stories, and the short form would seem to be a natural companion to the hectic pace of modern life. I wonder if simpler books are selling so well (Twilight and 50 Shades, say) because they can be held in your head so easily. There are fewer characters and only one or two plots that have very straight lines to them – perfect for picking up for ten minutes or so during a lunch break or at the end of the day. I don’t know why short stories didn’t rush in to fill that market. You do have to start over with a new idea every time, I suppose, when you read a short story. You have to concentrate to get the best from it.
TS: Genre labels are more popular with publishers and agents than with writers, who generally don't like being pigeon-holed. You've written crime, science fiction and more recently have occupied the "feminist literary fantasy" corner. Do you feel even that label is too reductive?
AW: I just don’t think I’m going to be a feminist literary fantasy writer forever. I like how writing changes and grows as new thoughts occur to me, and new issues excite me. I write wherever that leads and let other people sort out the labels. But for now I’ll be a literary fantasy writer. I’m always a feminist.
TS: The Macmillan New Writers who have been the most commercially successful have tended to be the crime writers. Were you tempted to stick with crime for longer, or are you happier dwelling among the untrodden ways of small-press experimental fiction?
AW: I found it very difficult to write to order. The order was – another crime novel just like Light Reading, please, and the more I tried the more unhappy I became. Nobody wanted fantastical elements in those books, and my brain refused to write something more mundane, so in the end I had to (very unwillingly!) admit defeat. But within a week of giving up on it all I sold a fantasy story to Strange Horizons and felt so much better. Hopefully I’ve learned not to chase the money, but to chase the stories instead.
TS: You contribute regularly to the influential Den of Geek blog, where you display an encyclopaedic knowledge of film history. Do you think your affinity with cinema influences your fiction?
AW: Having made two short films in the past, I can categorically state that they’re very different art forms! I’m not keen on very cinematic writing, where everything is described apart from what’s going on in the characters’ heads. I like mucking about with words too much. And time. And point of view.
This is really one of those things that sounds deep but actually isn’t deep at all, but sometimes I think that cinema tells you what to see, but the written word can tell you what to feel.
Don’t analyse that too hard. It doesn’t really make any sense. But I do love film, and books, equally. Just in different ways.
TS: Of course, we wouldn't stoop to crass product-placement on this blog, but when and where is your launch party for Witchcraft in the Harem, where readers can meet the author and buy the book?
AW: It’s on Monday May 13th at Victoria Library in London. 6pm to 7.30pm. My publisher informs me there will be wine and crisps, which should help to break the ice. I’m going to read a short story. I haven’t decided which one yet. All suggestions gratefully received. One of my own stories would be preferable, but I’ll do something from Winnie the Pooh if I get enough of the free wine.
AW: Isn’t badger urine always inconvenient? Wherever you come across it, it’s not going to be welcome when you step in a puddle of it. What about you? What would your badger name be? Mine would be Melvyn Bragg. All badgers look a little like Melvyn Bragg, I’m thinking.
TS: I'd have to go for "Pampers". There's clearly a huge untapped market for badger nappies, and if I were a badger I'd be out there exploiting it.
Thanks to Aliya for dropping by at ::Acquired Taste. Witchcraft in the Harem is available directly from Dog Horn Publishing or the usual online book retailers. You can follow her on Twitter @AliyaWhiteley.