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I have decided to post more regularly on this site—it seems that The Fictional World of Alan Bray could contain fiction by other authors. What I want to do is communicate some thoughts I have about stories I’m reading. Please—if you want to react or add further thoughts, it would be great. Read the stories with me—our lives will be the better for it! But on these matters, I claim no expertise beyond loving to read and write. I’ve been reading Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera, re-reading it for the third time, although it’s as fresh as the first. I thought I’d start by some reactions to the start of the book, the first line. “It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” I like the late Ross Chamber’s ideas about literature, in particular the one that stories contain cues and instructions about how they should be read. So if you read “Dick threw the ball to Jane, but Spot took it,” you learn there are three characters involved with each other, and that the style and vocabulary is simple and concrete. This first line from “Love” tells a different tale. The use of the words “inevitable” and especially “unrequited” cue the reader that the style is more intellectual, as does the prominent position of the colon. The use of the colon could signal complexity; it could also indicate an older writing style or a writing style that wants to refer to the past. There’s a hint of philosophy too in the mention of “fate.” “The scent of bitter almonds” is evocative and seductive. I’ve never smelled cyanide, although I’ve read elsewhere that it does indeed smell like bitter almonds. I hope I never find out, actually, but reading this creates mystery; it hooks you into wanting to read more. Why does the scent of bitter almonds always remind him of unrequited love? It’s not an everyday observation. And who is him? Other cues lurk. The reader can probably safely assume the story will be told in the past tense and in third person—again, possibly the signs of an older style. There’s an immediate sense of a narrator/story teller at work. I’m going to tell you a story about a “he” who is “always” reminded of unrequited love by a peculiar sensory sensation. What is “unrequited love?” A dictionary says it’s a one-sided love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep and strong romantic affection, or may consciously reject it. Hmmm—it seems like this first sentence expresses the whole story. A lot of thoughts about one sentence—if I’m reading a book for pleasure I’m in a hurry to get into it, I don’t stop and do this kind of analysis. So a lot of these signals and cues must occur at an unconscious level. Yup. You can view these post on the Blog page of this site. I hope you enjoy!

I'm happy to say my short story "The Underground" was selected as a top ten finalist in the 2019 Blood Orange Review Literary Contest. I'm proud to be among the finalists and offer congratulations to the winner. "The Underground" concerns romance between Saul and Maria, who owns a bookstore in one of Lisbon's Metro stations. Many thanks to the Blood Orange Review. #theunderground #bloodorangereview

My short story "This Year's Winner of the Starbuck's Prize" was a semi-finalist in Ruminate Magazine's William Van Dyke Short Story Prize. Congratulations to the winner. Out of 350 entries, "Starbucks" found its mooring among nineteen others, so I'm happy. For all you "Moby Dick' fans, "Starbucks" isn't exactly about Herman Melville's classic novel. It concerns a university professor who confronts the Dreamer crisis when a favorite student disappears.. Many thanks to Ruminate. #thisyearswinnerofthestarbucksprize

I'm honored that my short story "The Porous Texture of Snow" has been long-listed in the Fish Short Story Prize for 2019. This is a big international competition, so I'm pleased. And congratulations to the winners. #poroustextureofsnow #fishshortstoryprize

Happy Halloween. My story "Already She Was Root" is live on the Eclectica site. The whole issue is great; many thanks to Tom Dooley and congratulations on 20 years. #AlanBray #AlreadySheWasRoot #Eclectica

My story "Refrain" has won Honorable Mention in Glimmertrain's Fiction Open Contest. I'm very happy, Glimmertrain is one of the top literary mags and competition is fierce. "Refrain" remains unpublished though—I'm working on it. Glimmertrain #AlanBray #Refrain #Glimmertrain

I'm delighted to say that Eclectica, an on-line journal, will publish my story "Already She Was Root" on October 31st—Halloween. Over the past year, I've been working on several stories—"Root" being one—and didn't want to publish them till they were ready. Ready as defined by me, in my stubborn, obsessive way. I'm really happy that Eclectica has accepted it, I've admired them for years. "Root" is about a troubled marriage set in a parallel time period where America is divided into Red and Blue States after civil war. When the story goes live, I'll post the link. #AlanBray #AlreadySheWasRoot #Eclectica

Stephanie Hopkins and IndieBrag have just posted a short piece of mine on the Layered Pages site. It concerns how I think about writing characters in an early nineteenth-century setting. Many thanks, Stephanie. It's always a pleasure and I appreciate it. #BRAGMedallion #LayeredPages #ALANBRAY