Reflecting on my most recent piece of published work, Sunday on the Boulevard with my Pet Lobster.

A couple of years ago, after a massive over-indulgence in Looney Tunes cartoons and QI clips, I was inspired to tell a bizarre little tale about a lobster that liked to smoke cigars. I was already toying with ideas of human-animal co-existence; one such story got developed during my Master’s degree into what’s currently known as The Bloody Zoologist. But after reading about the writer Gérard de Nerval, who infamously had a pet lobster that he took for walks on a lead, I knew I had to play around with this idea some more. I can’t tell you the exact process. All I know is that somewhere down the line, we decided this lobster would be a smoker. That he’d have a smoker’s cough. And that asparagus would be the only cure. The end result: Sunday on the Boulevard with my Pet Lobster.

Writing Sunday on the Boulevard with my Pet Lobster

Admittedly, this short story’s surreal tone came off the back of misunderstanding absurdism. I learned more about that when I interviewed Great Ape‘s Dale Hall and Nels Challinor for my podcast. Indeed, I submitted the story for their publication’s first issue, and naturally, they rejected it. But having had excellent feedback from readers, who praised the style and the humour, I knew it’d have a place somewhere.

I modelled the comedic style on a couple of my favourites from childhood. Looney Tunes, for one, and also the Muppet Show. Both of them arguably surreal and witty in equal measure. Then I added my own voice, injecting my personal loves for luxurious settings, such as the restaurant Chez l’Armoire, and fine food.

Publishing Sunday on the Boulevard with my Pet Lobster

As I mentioned, I first submitted this story to the absurdist literary journal Great Ape. They rejected it, and rightfully so. But no longer really knowing what the story was, beyond weird, I just decided to fling it anywhere and everywhere. Hoping that at least one competition would take it on.

Eventually, I thought it’d be worth a submission to the Bournemouth Writing Prize. This is an international competition that Fresher Press runs annually, in association with my alma mater Bournemouth University. I submitted it in the January and then didn’t hear anything for months. With that in mind, I didn’t expect to hear anything at all.

Until, that is, I got tagged in a Facebook post in May, which told me that my story had made it onto the “immensely competitive” longlist for the short story category! A much-needed bit of good news! While that meant that I hadn’t made the shortlist, I later found out this story was getting published in two anthologies. Namely, Strange Encounters and Pick Me Up. It’s an added little ego boost that the covers of both books mention or allude to the lobster in some way.

I can’t argue with the competition judges and I’m very honoured to have made the longlist. However, if the audience reaction to a reading at the anthology launch event, and the enthusiastic discussion that came afterwards, were anything to go by, I feel like the story could’ve gone even higher. If you haven’t seen the video yet, just have a look below.

What’s next for the Bournemouth Writing Prize?

While I’m happy to leave my little lobster story alone now, I’m not done with the Bournemouth Writing Prize. In fact I already have my entries for the 2023 competition ready for submission. Just waiting on a bit of last-minute feedback before I enter. But let’s keep everything crossed that there’ll be another short piece published this year.

If you liked this, find out what else I got up to in 2022. Also keep up with my news and other content on my social media channels. I’m on Facebook and I’m especially active on Instagram.

No friend-shaming here. Just a little article centring on how to support your creative friends, especially when they’re trying to get their brands off the ground at this difficult time…

When you’re in my line of work, you get to know a lot of people from different backgrounds in various industries. And a lot of them have a number of side-projects — that was one of the ideas that spawned Humans of Bournemouth, which later became HQB Media. I remember interviewing a doctor who was also a guitarist in the early days, and more recently, one of my favourite bartenders, who was not only an amateur photographer with a long-boarding brand on the back burner, but also a fantasy novel!

Spreading the word about these things is all very well, but in an age dominated by social media and inter-connectivity, what can we do to support our creative friends? There are several ways, any and all of which they will appreciate the thought and effort – the majority don’t cost anything more than your time. And… let’s face it… we all have a fair bit of that right now!

1. Like / Follow Their Social Media Accounts

Social media is one of the first places (if not the first place) that creative and entrepreneurial people head to when setting up their brand. It’s one of the quickest ways to kick-start a following, and their personal connections – their Facebook friends, Twitter and Instagram followers – are the first people they’re going to turn to. The bigger the following, the higher the reach, and the better the content is likely to perform against these sites’ algorithms. Just a quick click of the “Like” or “Follow” button will do the trick.

2. Invite Your Friends to do the Same…

So, you’ve liked their pages — now it’s time to help them expand their community. For the reasons stated in the section above, but also because it helps them to reach a broader audience. If they have products or services, these additional followers also mean a potential boost in sales. If they’re on Instagram, maybe do a quick post on your story pointing your connections in their direction? Meanwhile, on Facebook, you can do your creative friends an amazing favour, by heading to the Community Section of their page, and invite as many of your friends as you want (preferably all of them) to Like and Follow them.

3. Engage with Their Content

Having an increasing fan-base is great, but it’s just a number on a web page if your content isn’t getting any engagement. Obviously this is more a two-way street, because if the content doesn’t have engaging value, they can’t expect people to want to like, comment, share, retweet, etc. However, if you see a post – whether it’s a photo with some news in the caption, or even something more grand like a live Q&A session – chuck it a quick Like or a comment – even if it’s just an emoji. Self-promotion and marketing can be a demoralising business, so your friends will appreciate knowing people are out there supporting.

4. Talk About Their Content, Products and Services

Word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing tool. I know a few of my book sales, plus opportunities that came with it, were down to friends and family members telling people about it. And there are some of my friends who haven’t personally bought the book but still talk to me about it — that, in itself, is supportive. Conversation can help understand audience demographics — what is a type of person looking for in a book, a film, a photo or another medium? It might inspire your friends to explore outside of their comfort zone.

5. Buy Their Products

And off the back of what I just said about word-of-mouth, it can help your creative and entrepreneurial friends if you made the ultimate investment. Which is, of course, buying what they’re offering. I recently reconnected with an old friend from my theatre days who, upon learning I was an author, asked to buy Lust & Liberty pretty much straight away. Thing is, you don’t have to buy these things for yourself. My first novel is not primarily geared towards a male audience (though a number of male friends of mine have read it), so it makes a great gift for the mother, the other half, the sister, and so on. Same goes for the products and services of all your creative services. Either that or point them in the direction by tagging them in a social media comment or something…

My Recommendations

I’d be the worst sort of hypocrite if I didn’t practice what I preached. Here are five creative friends of mine who I would really recommend supporting. They have amazing content and products on offer — well worth a look.

S.P. Thane

Otherwise known as my cousin, Sean. I am not the only writer in the family, but where I specialise in florid prose in primarily historical settings, this young man is a naturally-gifted poet and lyricist. I wish I could possess a quarter of his ability with rhyme. He has been toying with the idea of publishing his work for a while now, and just this week, he launched his Instagram page. Do him (and me) a favour and give him a Follow. Obviously the account’s quite new, so there’s not much there at the moment. But some powerful stuff is on the way…

Callum Shirley Photography

I have mentioned this fella before in a couple of other posts. An exceptionally talented landscape photographer whose work is well worth a look. Plenty of stunning images taken from all along the Jurassic Coast. Here are the links to his Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Aaron James

Someone I have known for a very long time, who currently serves as co-presenter on HQB Media’s podcast Bournemouth Backchat. A man whose primary occupation is entertaining others with his jazz, swing and pop covers. Michael Bublé, eat your heart out — this is Aaron James. Available on Facebook and Instagram.

Collaborators’ Cabin

Actually became acquainted with this brand and its owner Rob Holmes through my aforementioned cousin, Sean. See how connections breed further connections? Anyway, at the Collaborators’ Cabin, Rob primarily specialises in hand-made wooden gifts, often decorated via the art of pyrography. His product line has since extended to jewellery, including rings and bracelets. Plus, you can learn pyrography yourself by booking a session. Obviously, like a lot of small businesses, things are on-hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, but still worth taking a look at the Cabin’s Facebook page.

Great Ape

Anyone know anything about absurdist fiction? If you’re a lover of the genre, this new literary journal might be worth investing in. Edited by one of my friends (and namesakes) Dale Hall, plus two of his friends Nels Challinor and Marta Ķepīte, the Great Ape literary journal released its premiere issue last month and submissions for the next are currently open. Find out more about it on their website, their Facebook page and their Instagram feed.

Chris Farrier-Ledden Photography

Another friend of an aforementioned friend — I discovered Chris Farrier-Ledden by way of Callum Shirley. We have a very talented bunch of photographers down in Bournemouth, but the colours that Chris manages to achieve in some of his shots are almost beyond belief in terms of beauty. Chuck his Instagram a follow and you won’t be disappointed!

Mikey Ball

This indie folk-rock artist has made quite a name for himself on our local live music scene, either on his own or with his band Mikey Ball and the Company. With a couple of albums to their name, they’re well worth a listen! Mikey has also been involved in the odd live stream concert during lockdown, so best be on the lookout for those — best way would be to check out his Facebook and Instagram.

Sam Rawlings

One last musician for you, this time the drummer Sam Rawlings. He is the son of a friend of a friend (the web continues on ahaha) who I have enjoyed interviewing a couple of times in the past. While having been attached to bands, he is a talented musician in his own right, and recently he has taken to Facebook as well as Instagram with drum covers.

How are you going to support your creative pals? While you’re here, chuck me a Like / Follow on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.