BCC Shines A Light On: Fiona J. Mackintosh
Name of the piece published by BCC:
When/where was it originally published:
Imprint: A Bournemouth Writing Prize Anthology, Fresher Press, 2022
Tell us more about your piece! What is the background of the piece? What led you to write it? What’s your process?
I happened to see a painting by Theodore Chasseriau called “The Two Sisters” online and was immediately struck by the expression on the face of the girl on the right as she held onto her sister’s arm. I read tension, jealousy, and a desire for revenge in that face, and thus the story was born in my brain. It took a fair amount of research to get the period details right, but I always love doing historical research, so it was no hardship. I also love an unreliable narrator, and that was Clothilde Thibaudeau to a T.
How did you feel when it was first published and how have your thoughts or feelings on the piece changed from then to now?
I’m still happy to have brought this dysfunctional French family from the 1830s to life. While I was pleased to have the story included in the anthology, I got no feedback or response on the story as can often happen with print publications. So I’m extremely grateful to the wonderful Bulb Culture Collective for giving it a second home online where it can be read more widely.
Is there a specific message you would like readers to take away from reading this piece?
Be careful what you wish for! Also, our deepest, most fervently held beliefs about ourselves can, in fact, be wrong.
What else would you like to tell readers about your writing? (Doesn’t have to refer only to your BCC piece)
I’m fascinated by doomed relationships, especially ones in which opposites attract but which collapse under the weight of unmet expectations on both sides. Also, I’m always intrigued by illicit or secret relationships (anything from extra-marital affairs to incestuous love to Catholic priests who break their vows - see The Thorn Birds) and by the resulting crises of conscience. Also, as in “Les Soeurs Jumelles,” I’m interested in identity, how we define ourselves and how tightly we may cling to that definition even in the face of contrary evidence.
Where can readers find more of your work? (Website/social media, etc)
My flash fiction collection The Yet Unknowing World is available from www.adhocfiction.com and from Amazon worldwide. https://bookshop.adhocfiction.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=214
My second flash collection, Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Salt, is currently out on submission, as is my novella-in-flash about the life of Diana, Princess of Wales titled Beautiful for You.
Examples of my published fiction can be read on the Stories page of my website: www.fionajmackintosh.com.
