Shelley Mandrake is another short story, this time created for an anthology for my other favourite forum, the UK Kindle Users Forum. A link to the anthology, Off the Kuf 2 follows. To this day I cannot remember where the story originated. It began as an exploration on what happens when one falls asleep, just at the point between wakefulness and snoring. It became more than that; it became my first foray into experimental fiction. 

 

 

I say experimental because the leading lady, Shelley, lives the lives of all her family as she sleeps, and each is a brief snippet of some event experienced by that family member. 

I used portraits of the royal family as a time marker for the reader to latch onto, as well as period items. The central concept of life and love and family is concentrated on one small object that we don’t get to see right until the very end. This object (there’s a clue in the picture!) is very special to me too, it was given to me by a good friend who was there when I needed someone. 

I can appreciate that this piece may be very difficult to read, and if you don’t concentrate hard, then you literally will lose the plot. But I think it’s also very rewarding, and more than anything, I hope it makes you think. 

I recently checked on Amazon, and it seems you cannot get hold of this anymore. 

Here’s a PDF of Shelley Mandrake – enjoy! Shelley Mandrake