Collected tales brought together

A COLLECTION of previously published stories spanning two decades of a Ballarat author’s career is set for launch later this month.

Following its release in July, writer Kirstyn McDermott will host a launch event for her short story anthology Hard Places.

The event will take place at 4pm on Saturday, 22 October at Everybody Knows Books on Peel Street in Ballarat, and McDermott said she’s excited to talk about her works.

“It feels good to see these stories collected like this. It’s a really nice way to provide an overview of my writing from that nearly-20-year period,” she said.

“It’s broadly horror, and there’s a real variety with straight-down-the-line horror fiction, contemporary gothic, historical fiction, ghost stories, weird stories, a whole bunch of things.

“It’s all across the darker end of speculative fiction, hence the title.”

Released through JournalStone’s Trepidatio Publishing imprint, Hard Places contains 14 stories written as far back as 2001, with the title novella written in 2019 specifically for the collection.

The launch will feature a short reading as well as a discussion between McDermott and local author Steven Paulsen.

McDermott said Hard Places showcases her development as an author.

“It’s really interesting to see how I’ve changed as a writer in terms of style, direct influence and subject matter,” she said.

“With the later work I can see how I’ve developed a lot stronger with my own voice.

“Except for the title story, they’ve of course all been published somewhere before but sometimes the magazines disappear so it’s really good to have them in this book.

“With one or two exceptions not included, they’re probably the best stories I’ve written over that time.”