Fiction and Lies

Fiction by its very nature is not true. Writing novels and short stories means writing lies. But for good fiction to work it has to be believable which means that it has to be a good lie.

In 2010 Peatmore Press published a police procedural crime novel, “Victim of Compromise”. The author took great pains to make the police procedures described in the story as accurate as possible but it is practically impossible to get every detail exactly right. Police and forensic methods change over time and between different forces. Many crime writers set their stories before the advent of technologies such as genetic finger printing and the widespread use of CCTV cameras to save the need to describe up to date modern forensic techniques. Indeed when writing such tales even when setting stories in the present day it is best to make it clear when and where the story is set particularly if you hope it will be read again in the future.

To celebrate this theme within fiction writing, Peatmore Press has posted the short story, “The Lie”, taken from its “New Beginnings” collection published in August last year, on its website. It is available to read for free at http://www.peatmore.com and there is also a link to it on the side panel of this blog. We hope you find it both enjoyable and thought provoking.

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is yet another chance for promoting writing which should not be allowed to pass, particularly if you write romantic fiction. Peatmore Press has posted yet another short story from its ‘Crime and Passion’ collection on its website promoting the day.  It is a tale with a very dark twist and will remain on the site until the end of February 2015 so there are not many days left to check it out.