It took a lot longer than planned, but with some learning curves, I can finally announce it. Silhouettes, my first-ever short story and poetry collection, is out and ready to buy!

It’s finally here. After a year of active work, I released Silhouettes today, Sunday 16 November. We were meant to be having this conversation about six weeks ago, but there were some bumps along the road. Learning curves, certainly, not least because we published with IngramSpark for the first time. There were unforeseen timing-related issues, the purchase of an ISBN, a lost print proofing copy and more. But I’ve noted all these down — a separate blog post on this subject will arrive in the coming weeks — and I’ll take them forward for the next time I choose to self-publish.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, Silhouettes is my first-ever collection of short stories and poems. An anthology of ideas, some of which I entered into contests etc. with little success; others were brand-new pieces I wrote specifically for the collection. Also for the first time ever, I will reveal the full list of titles included in the anthology.

Short stories

• A Manuscript to Mattox Street: A literary agent’s secretary wonders how to approach her boss when he suddenly breaks down after receiving a particular manuscript.
• Of Monocles and Maltesers: A young man has questions for his grandfather when he discovers an unexpected item in his newly inherited house.
• The Vampire of Allouaine: A burglary attempt leads petty criminal Jean-Loras Eragraire to discover a horrifying secret at his local café. Draws inspiration from my first-ever piece of fiction.
• War Fabric: A psychological drama following Jim Crampton and an encounter on a bus that conjures back some buried demons.
• No Girls After Eleven: Jay’s grandmother tells him a ghost story at dinner, set in the very hotel where he’s about to start work.
• Last Train to London: Actress and socialite Lynn muses over reading her jilted lover’s diary, on the way home from their would-be honeymoon. Draws inspiration from the songs of Electric Light Orchestra.
• Wednesday Mums’ Club: Two hotel bartenders prepare for another visit from a group of regular rude customers. Inspired by a true encounter.
• Learning to Live with Lukasz: Solicitor Matthew Spreckley grows concerned about his grandmother’s closeness to her new carer, especially when she names him as a beneficiary in her will.
• Sunday on the Boulevard (with my pet lobster): A fan favourite — follow a bon viveur on a memorable Sunday adventure with his pet lobster, with whom he shares a love of Montecristo cigars.

Poems

We split the poems into two chunks in the anthology.

• Poems I contains: My To-Do List, Three Horsemen, O To Be Bubbleless, Gold and Black, The Platform and Clappy Sam.
• Poems II features: Chapter Ten of an Abnormal Book, Blood and Apple, A Walk at Dawn, Haikus, The Credit Card Makes Charlie Dance, The Dragonfly and Ballad of a Godless Man.

As promised, there’s no one defining genre or theme throughout these stories. A good mix between tragedy and comedy, surreal and psychological. I’ve referred to it before as an indictment on human nature. A collection of love and lobsters, grief and greed, robbery and snobbery. Some readers may find some of the content triggering — most notably the references to suicide, which crop up more often than I realised at first! But I planned for there to be something for everyone in the collection.

Where can I buy Silhouettes?

Silhouettes is now available from IngramSpark and Amazon. Kindle and audiobook editions are due for release in the coming weeks.

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What is Silhouettes (apart from bad grammar)? Here’s all you need to know about my new collection.

I’ve mentioned Silhouettes in the past few editions of my Progress Report posts. But so little has happened since the last one, I thought it would be a better use of time to give you as much info on this brand-new book.

What exactly is Silhouettes?

At the risk of repeating previous blogs, Silhouettes is a collection of short stories and poems. My first release of this kind. It’s a small anthology made up of my favourite writings from the last few years. Some of them entered into competitions with no real results; others were mere ideas in the beginning and I’ve written them especially for this book. It even includes my fan favourite Sunday on the Boulevard (with my pet lobster). 

A few of the stories and poems are drawn from true experiences of mine, whether social or while working in hospitality. Others are inspired simply by how I look at life, how I look at people. Sometimes in anger, sometimes in irony.

All being well, Silhouettes will be released at the end of September. And we’re going to try to expand beyond Amazon this time! While I’m sticking with self-publishing for the moment, this time I’m looking at IngramSpark to extend my reach. Especially as this book is for more than one audience!

How long will Silhouettes be?

The collection consists of nine short stories of varying subject and style — the shortest is only a couple of pages, while the longest is 20 pages, comprising five chapters (or vignettes). The poems come on top of that — 14 in total and divided into two sections within the book. Again, they vary in length, style and genre. Totalling at around 130 pages.

You say varying genre… what do you mean?

One of the pieces of feedback I had from my novels, The Berylford Scandals, was that the length and genre (historical mystery) were intimidating to new readers. With Silhouettes, I wanted to redress this. To provide something unthreatening for those who don’t normally read, while also giving something new to my regular fans. It has been five years since Sin & Secrecy came out, after all. About time we changed the narrative.

Also to appeal to readers of all kinds, the stories and poems don’t all fall into one particular genre. There’s a mixture of comedy and drama. Domestic sagas (Learning to Live with Lukasz), streams of consciousness (Last Train to London), horror (The Vampire of Allouaine), even one or two attempts at absurdism. We visit hotels, trains, buses, mental health clinics, restaurants, and more, all for a range of reasons in a variety of scenarios. It’s not all flights of fancy, mind you. There are some parts that channel complex themes such as grief, drugs and suicide.

You never know — this may be the book in which you find your kind of story.

One good question I had earlier this week: are the stories connected in any way? The answer is no, though the thought had crossed my mind. To make the characters all related in some way. But with some stories venturing into more fantastical and period realms, it didn’t seem plausible.

Will more information come before the release date?

Of course! I have commissioned the cover and the foreword, so I’ll be able to reveal more about those bits when they’re completed. I also plan to dedicate a part of my podcast, The Dale Hurst Writing Show‘s 50th episode to Silhouettes. There, I’ll delve into the inspirations behind my favourite stories and the book as a whole. Keep an eye out for that around September (or Follow on Spotify now, and you won’t miss an episode!)

Also, for the first time, I intend to release an audiobook version (just working out the logistics). Watch out for more on this in the near future.

Want to keep up to date with my latest news and content? Like my Facebook page and follow me on Instagram to see the exclusives.