Like the little girl in this tale, I love to go barefoot, but often feel like I’m wearing concrete boots when weighed down with unhappy feelings. Concrete Boots won first prize the Charlotte Duncan Award 2016 earning the following feedback from judges.
Concrete Boots has a realistic responses to death/illness. The narrator’s fixation on shoes and directing the confusion and grief of losing a sibling into determination to ‘win’ is intriguing. The complexity of both characters’ responses to the death of Josie is achieved by using time before they realise they need to look after each other.
The key points of inspiration for this tale, chiefly about a young girl coming to terms with the untimely loss of her sibling, were shoes and soapbox. I had to fashion a tale around a character embarking on a small rant whilst incorporating shoes of some description. These two objects appear unrelated but that is one of the most challenging and enjoyable aspects of being a writer; the joy of discovering connections and meanings with seemingly unassociated ideas. While the obvious theme centres around loss and grief, this story also questions how a child might feel about the loss of a sibling and their relationships to other family members who may not share the same reactions. Sometimes these feelings may present themselves in rebellious or even comical behaviour, as is the case in this tale.
Concrete Boots is suitable for 9 – 13-year-olds, although adults are also catered for with these anthologies.
Published: July 2017
Publisher: Celapene Press $25.00 Contact the author
ISBN: 9781925572094
Format: Paperback 107pp
Ideal for: Lovers of stories and poems with a twist. Concrete Boots is suitable for 9 – 13-year-olds.
Type: Anthology
Buy the Book: For personally signed copies – contact me direct
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