Read my prize-winning short stories, travel writing, and articles on language (for the OxfordWords blog). I’m also a songwriter and pianist.
Short stories and microfiction
Right of Way (first prize, 1000 Word Challenge) (“a beautifully-written story, focusing on the relationship between a driving instructor and his pupil. The characters are skilfully built, with genuine ambiguity.”)
Date with a Sociopath (published as a Narrative magazine iStory)
Fallout (finalist, Gotham Writers ‘Be a Hero’ competition)
The Photograph (highly placed, Grindstone Literary Academy) (“you tread that fine line between vagueness and giving just enough away to piece together a backstory. My first reactions were very strong for this piece and I championed it”)
Trapped (shortlisted for Writers Online)
Rewired (shortlisted for the Limnisa Short Short Competition)
Gooseberry (longlisted for the Irish Fish Flash Fiction Prize)
Travel writing
Europe
Lost in Translation…so I was: adventures in Irish English (published in New Zealand’s Christchurch Press)
Is Polish the most difficult European language to learn? (published on the OxfordWords blog)
Zucchini Flowers (Greece)
Fallen Angel (Belgium)
Why learn Italian? (published on the OxfordWords blog)
Jèrriais, the language of Jersey (published on the OxfordWords blog)
Paris in the spring? (published on the OxfordWords blog)
Americas
Loving Latin (Peru, Chile, Bolivia) (published on the OxfordWords blog)
Asia
Vis-à-visa (published in Wanderlust magazine) (Cambodia)
Stranded in Sihanoukville (Cambodia)
Pacific
The First Tomorrow (New Zealand)
Articles on language (for the OxfordWords blog) include:
Foreign languages
Let’s just “call a cat a cat”: cat idioms in foreign languages
Can the Académie française stop the rise of Anglicisms in French?
From pralines to pasteurized milk: everyday things named after French people
From silhouette to leotard: more everyday things named after French people
This blog is a he: gender in foreign languages
TEFL and EFL ((Teaching) English as a Foreign Language)
10 British animal idioms and expressions (Advanced/Proficient)
10 common mistakes with prepositions made by learners of English (Beginner/Elementary)
10 mistakes made by learners of English (for teachers)
Other articles include
Flash fiction: short stories with a long lifespan
From room to zoom: a short history of the camera
Chasing the rainbow connection
Relational language: the language of cousins
Songs
Favourites (Best of 2015-2019)
Latest album: Glass Heart (2020)