Author Description

Like the sea these stories are set beside, Rachel Canwell’s writing sparkles like sunshine on waves. The flash and micro pieces that make up her debut collection, Oh, I Do Like to Be, are sometimes full of hope, like that first breath of sea air; other times they are dark or laced with despair, but they are all powerful – the strong undercurrent pulling you into their depths. This is a fabulous collection from a new voice in short fiction writing.<br/>Laura Besley, author of (Un)Natural Elements<br/><br/>Rachel Canwell’s “Oh, I Do Like to Be” is a stand-out debut flash fiction collection from an accomplished and masterful writer. Unfolding against the evocatively rendered backdrop of a seaside town, these stories are daring, often magical, at times humorous, and utterly compelling. Canwell grapples with themes of motherhood, disability, and women coming into their own, among others, with skill and precision. “Oh, I Do Like to Be” showcases the very best of what flash can be - exquisite, powerful, rule-breaking, breath-taking - and I absolutely loved it.<br/>- Kristen Loesch, author of The Porcelain Doll (Allison & Busby, 2022)<br/><br/>A wonderful set of flash fiction where the author skilfully carries the reader from shock to laughter to empathy for her cast of characters by the seaside. From the fantastic originality of Cold Hard Cash to the humour of Stone Tales 2, I really enjoyed this collection.<br/>-Orla Owen, author of ‘Pah’ and ‘The Lost Thumb.<br/><br/>Clever, insightful and laugh out loud funny. Rachel Canwell will have you flipping through the pages of her flash fiction faster than a seagull can crap on the promenade. If you’re like me, you will revel in the compelling and poignant tales of the seaside dwellers and visitors, sipping your tea and feeling grateful the worries and torments of these folk are not the same as yours. Then you’ll find yourself grinning at their antics. By the end, Rachel will have you zipping back to the beginning to enjoy it on