Kieran.Stories

‘Featuring the reanimated corpse of Martin Amis.’ – Ray Newman

I have a new story out this week titled ‘Why Do You Let Me Lie Here Wastefully’. Thank you to Eunoia Review for publishing it. Ian does an amazing job of curating the site. I recommend spending some time exploring all its ginnels. And thanks to Ray Newman for sharing this story on Bluesky.

I wanted to write about the ideas behind the story and what I was trying to say. Bear with!

I wasn’t in a great place at the time. I wasn’t enjoying work, and I was reading a lot about antinatalism – don’t ask. In an earlier draft, there was more about the narrator’s job. In the published story there is just a brief reference to dropping shifts at TKMaxx. There was never anything about antinatalism. Maybe it contributed to the mood.

I remember walking to the kettle in the corner of the office, thinking about what would happen in the story, and what if I just took a really big swing? What if I told myself no one had to read this one.

A bike is stolen. But the bike is secondary – goes without saying.

I wanted to say something about coincidence but also doubles. Identikit bikes stolen by identikit people. Something about seeing a version of yourself on a phone screen.

I only felt comfortable sharing this story when I had an ending. This one needed to be good, because I was asking a lot of the reader. I hope I got there.

Martin Amis died in 2023, not long ago at all, and although this is not a real Martin Amis, I wanted the character to feel true, because that’s the point of writing anything. I am aware that to some it might be too squeamish an idea, but as with my story about Lord Longford, I wanted to use a public figure to communicate something about loneliness. I also think this story was my way of getting out my nerves around London. That feel of London push and pull – all it represents to someone in love with reading and writing.

Quick question: is it the tube, or the Tube? Answers on a postcard. There is a link to the story at the top of this page, if you fancy a look. Thanks for reading.