'In These Hands'- Can you spot Scary Azeri?

Very excited! Okay, I know it is not huge. But it is a step forward, and also very flattering as:

  

•   I did not bribe anyone for it to happen
•    I did not use my uncle, father or any other connected relative for it to happen (Mainly because I have not got any) 
•   I did not even ask for it to happen!

One of my flash fiction stories, Alishah, was chosen for an anthology of 10 different stories from the flash fiction site Rammenas.

I think the whole thing is pretty cool, for a bunch of reasons. 

Firstly, it amazes me how the whole writing world works these days, thanks to technology. 

One day, a long time ago, I came across a nice blog written by an Australian writer, Gary Corby. I started following it, and got to know him. (I quickly discovered writers are a friendly bunch.)

From that blog, I met another writer, Bill Kirton, whom some of you might have ‘met’ here. Bill also had a blog and I started reading that, too. Bill lives in Scotland. From Scotland I ended up in Netherlands, where Bill’s friend Anneke Klein started a flash fiction blog. One day she asked me if I wanted to try myself in flash fiction, and I gave it a go a few times. And from there, an American publisher, Diane Nelson, came up with an idea to collect 10 stories from 10 different authors for this electronic book. I know it might not mean much to you, but I was amazed just how international and multicultural this world of bloggers and writers is, and how one thing leads to another, from a country to country, linking people. I think it is pretty cool. 

Secondly, the project is for charity. The Kindle book is only $1.13; and all the money will be donated to the War Child Holland, an organization founded by Willemijn Verloop in 1994, for children affected by armed conflict in war zones around the globe. It makes me feel good to be part of something nice. 

Thirdly, on a personal note, I was just so happy to be selected! There are quite a few people who send their work to Rammenas, some of them are proper writers. Also, what I thought was cool, is that some of these writers are native speakers. For me, someone who just started trying to write in English, this is incredibly encouraging.

And lastly...this particular story meant more to me than the others I wrote for Rammenas. A lot of it has of course, been altered, as in any fiction, but the character behind is real; and he was a special person to me. So, it was important to me that it was Alishah that touched the hearts of people from such various backgrounds and countries, years after he passed away. I would like to think that this story is dedicated to the memory of this old man, who was always a shadow of the past in the new world he tried to adjust to. 

Basically, I am very excited. Of course, I want to ask you to buy this book. Not because it has my story in it, but because it is for a good cause and...Well, it is cheap. You might even enjoy it. 

You can check it out on Amazon here....

or on Smashwords here