These characters, along with the others featured in these stories, are separated by time, place, age, gender, and yet they are brought together in this collection, making ‘Trouble Crossing the Bridge’ a melting-pot of personalities, voice, setting, and plot.

Yet there is an underlying common theme, a surprising cohesion. All the characters have been damaged by life in some way, some by external forces – possessive mothers, abusive fathers masquerading as trolls; some by problems that come from within, whether emotional, psychological or pathological. The different ways in which they respond to these difficulties are at the heart of the stories. And they are as diverse as the individuals themselves…

…cutting off a mannequin’s hands out of jealousy.
Steadfastly believing you saw a famous actor tied to the side of a giant white whale, drifting out to sea.
Needing your husband to see Jesus in a tree…

It is this inventiveness and variety, reflecting the multiplicity of the short story form itself, that makes the book stand out, and enables it to reach out to the widest possible audience.

The Blue Nib are excited to announce that the first collection of short stories from award winning author, Diana Powell will be published through our imprint – The Collection is slated to appear in mid December 2019. Diana is already well known to many readers of The Blue Nib, her unique style having caught the eye of our editors from an early stage.