Oh no, I’m besotted with Emmi. I think I too am caught up in her brambles... Your description of her was so bewitching! I thoroughly enjoyed this. I knew it was auto-fiction, largely because David had said early this morning “Have you read Nathan’s post?” and he said it in a voice where he was trying to be nonchalant and give nothing away. And also because I just can’t accept you ever having been a jerk, but the land you painted was glorious--spooky and full of tales. I’m dying to go there, and I hope we all get to go back at some point...
Ahh, hehe, that makes me smile knowing David said something and you then picking up on the nonchalance.
I, too, would like to go there someday. I did visit with my brother and parents when we were young, but it's a long-ago memory and it was peak summer so no chance of any aurora. Someday. But, before then, hopefully we shall return here to follow that path into the woods once more.
And as I press the Back button and return to the post, I’m reminded of a very cool comparison I saw on Tumblr yesterday about how AI images compare to the old descriptions of the fey folk - ‘They are beautiful at a glance, but look closer and you find small things are not right. ... Count the fingers, check the toes. Their shirt buttons are stones or [have] eyes. Their locks are leaves and vines.’ etc... How true...
They’ve unfortunately just reblogged a screenshot. I might wander back through the posts to see if I can find a link, otherwise I might just email you the screenshot.
This is magnificent, Nathan - I love it, and I will wait... I really was reading it as nonfiction, I thought your research was somehow myth/folklore related, and I kept thinking rogue? Arrogant? What what?
I was hooked! From very early on! I caught myself thinking - ah yes, the fellow with the English accent isn’t it? What a shame I can’t sit down and have a yarn with him about his past. Ah, hang on, he’s the gent who moved to Melbourne!! Hmmm... Ooh, this is intriguing! Ah, I recognise myself a little in that bit, in the part of my life where I got seconded to [redacted]... I DO like when he writes from the heart, personal experiences...
Then...
Oh!! It’s fiction!!!
Yep. You caught me, hook line and sinker. Grin. Reeled me in and had me for supper.
Thanks so much Nathan. I really enjoyed that. Very happy to have just this snippet. I’m content. 🤗🤗
Hehehe I absolutely love this account of the experience, Beth. Thanks so much for sharing that. Happy you a) didn't feel robbed when finding out it wasn't truth, and b) that you're content with the snippet.
This is really great, Nathan. I have to say, I’m not familiar with the term “auto-fiction” so just thought this was a fascinating piece of non-fiction right up until the end
Some of the lines really stood out for me :-
“Clotho's unspooling thread caught between my fingers as I pinched fate's silken fibres.”
and
“its single gas hob a rusted ring that at night would burn like an angel's forgotten halo.”
Just brilliant stuff. I do appreciate your dilemma with having multiple stories on the go but intrigued to see where this one goes. When you get the chance, of course 😁
I think if I was doing NaNoWriteMo (or whatever it's called) I'd be pushing this through to some form of ending. I'm keen to return to it, but I have to learn to somehow finish the other things instead of just starting things! 😅
This is a charming story, I can relate to the houses as I once lived in Scandinavia and they love their small house, it's even a thing in Denmark, the kolonihaven. But going back to the story, the way you introduced Emmi made her feel like a beautiful enigma. I love it. I should have read this some time ago.
"Slippery moments at dawn." Why are they so slippery, so ephemeral and yet, and yet. I popped into substack (had to take it off my phone) to find something and thanks to @chloe found your beautiful writing. Lovely!
"Emmi was fate. Emmi was the land. Emmi was bramble, set to tangle any who stepped close. It just so happened that that someone, in the year of 1995, was me."
No, I would never decide against anything you wrote. Talking about writing, this one’s gorgeous. You’re getting better and better. It’s truly amazing to witness and follow along your progress as a writer.
Aw you're too kind, Claudia. That's so lovely. Thank you. This whole thing is quite special to me because, yeah, I felt some growth as a writer whilst writing all this. I think there's a chunk of editing to do now that it is "whole", but I'm still letting it breathe more before I come to do that.
I think partly because I ran with this as fast as I could, not letting it go and just submitting to what it wanted to be and writing into that. The arc mostly formed after the second instalment and I wanted to make sure I committed to finishing it within a reasonable number of instalments (Brae is next on that list!!)
But also stylistically. I moved into a style by the second post and I tried to hone what that was. It's somewhat florid, probably not for everyone, but it was a voice that I felt worked as the story descended into a piece that questions memory and loss and desire. Or ... at least that's what I intended haha. I think I learnt a few things in that process, even if I know a lot could still be tweaked.
Thoroughly enjoyable, Nathan. I started off thinking, oh, gosh. that's odd, that's really not fitting with my idea of who you are...to the second iteration that you won't reveal what it was and I suddenly remembered having previously been taken in … Aha! I became suspicious, but this helped me continue to enjoy your beautiful writing as I could relax about your character!
I like the concept of autofiction and naturally lean towards using the first person POV, but some of the comments below make me want to experiment with 3rd; great food for thought, thank you, and I really want to read the next instalment!
Thanks Mya. I'm reassured by your comment that leaving the context info at the end was the right thing to do. This does, after all, feel like a blog mixed with a fiction writing space.
The comments with Caz have been really interesting about POV. I'm glad to hear you've also found something of interest there too.
You had me Nathan. I was fooled. I don't know you well enough yet to understand your trickster ways. This was an enthralling piece though. It made me deadly curious to know the nature of your mysterious "field work."
Oh no, I’m besotted with Emmi. I think I too am caught up in her brambles... Your description of her was so bewitching! I thoroughly enjoyed this. I knew it was auto-fiction, largely because David had said early this morning “Have you read Nathan’s post?” and he said it in a voice where he was trying to be nonchalant and give nothing away. And also because I just can’t accept you ever having been a jerk, but the land you painted was glorious--spooky and full of tales. I’m dying to go there, and I hope we all get to go back at some point...
Ahh, hehe, that makes me smile knowing David said something and you then picking up on the nonchalance.
I, too, would like to go there someday. I did visit with my brother and parents when we were young, but it's a long-ago memory and it was peak summer so no chance of any aurora. Someday. But, before then, hopefully we shall return here to follow that path into the woods once more.
And as I press the Back button and return to the post, I’m reminded of a very cool comparison I saw on Tumblr yesterday about how AI images compare to the old descriptions of the fey folk - ‘They are beautiful at a glance, but look closer and you find small things are not right. ... Count the fingers, check the toes. Their shirt buttons are stones or [have] eyes. Their locks are leaves and vines.’ etc... How true...
Oooh, yes, so good.
Do you have the link to the post?
They’ve unfortunately just reblogged a screenshot. I might wander back through the posts to see if I can find a link, otherwise I might just email you the screenshot.
(It’s from X - ‘Dr Lindenfrost’. I don’t use Twitter so can’t go any deeper. Might just email you the image.)
This is magnificent, Nathan - I love it, and I will wait... I really was reading it as nonfiction, I thought your research was somehow myth/folklore related, and I kept thinking rogue? Arrogant? What what?
Hehe. Thanks Troy. You know, I'd be quite content with that kind of research. Maybe it's time to pivot 🤔😁
I was hooked! From very early on! I caught myself thinking - ah yes, the fellow with the English accent isn’t it? What a shame I can’t sit down and have a yarn with him about his past. Ah, hang on, he’s the gent who moved to Melbourne!! Hmmm... Ooh, this is intriguing! Ah, I recognise myself a little in that bit, in the part of my life where I got seconded to [redacted]... I DO like when he writes from the heart, personal experiences...
Then...
Oh!! It’s fiction!!!
Yep. You caught me, hook line and sinker. Grin. Reeled me in and had me for supper.
Thanks so much Nathan. I really enjoyed that. Very happy to have just this snippet. I’m content. 🤗🤗
Hehehe I absolutely love this account of the experience, Beth. Thanks so much for sharing that. Happy you a) didn't feel robbed when finding out it wasn't truth, and b) that you're content with the snippet.
🤗
This is really great, Nathan. I have to say, I’m not familiar with the term “auto-fiction” so just thought this was a fascinating piece of non-fiction right up until the end
Some of the lines really stood out for me :-
“Clotho's unspooling thread caught between my fingers as I pinched fate's silken fibres.”
and
“its single gas hob a rusted ring that at night would burn like an angel's forgotten halo.”
Just brilliant stuff. I do appreciate your dilemma with having multiple stories on the go but intrigued to see where this one goes. When you get the chance, of course 😁
Thanks so much Dan 🙏
Those are my two favourite lines, too.
I think if I was doing NaNoWriteMo (or whatever it's called) I'd be pushing this through to some form of ending. I'm keen to return to it, but I have to learn to somehow finish the other things instead of just starting things! 😅
This is a charming story, I can relate to the houses as I once lived in Scandinavia and they love their small house, it's even a thing in Denmark, the kolonihaven. But going back to the story, the way you introduced Emmi made her feel like a beautiful enigma. I love it. I should have read this some time ago.
Thanks so much Ika. Sorry for my slow reply, work is doing its best to stifle my time on here at the moment.
I love that there's some actual sense of Scandinavia here. I hope you continue to read on and can enjoy some more, brief time with Emmi :)
"Slippery moments at dawn." Why are they so slippery, so ephemeral and yet, and yet. I popped into substack (had to take it off my phone) to find something and thanks to @chloe found your beautiful writing. Lovely!
Thanks Razya. What a delight that Chloe led you here.
"Emmi was fate. Emmi was the land. Emmi was bramble, set to tangle any who stepped close. It just so happened that that someone, in the year of 1995, was me."
It's always such a pleasure reading your posts!
Thanks David. Always appreciate you reading.
I've got a couple of your recent posts open on my work laptop that I look forward to getting to asap.
Finally ready it! I’m hooked. You always do that to me.
Yay! I thought perhaps you'd decided against this one after dipping in to later instalments ;)
It descends a fair bit. The prose changes a bit after this first one because, when I wrote this, I wasn't entirely sure what it was.
Thanks for returning here, Claudia 🤩
No, I would never decide against anything you wrote. Talking about writing, this one’s gorgeous. You’re getting better and better. It’s truly amazing to witness and follow along your progress as a writer.
Aw you're too kind, Claudia. That's so lovely. Thank you. This whole thing is quite special to me because, yeah, I felt some growth as a writer whilst writing all this. I think there's a chunk of editing to do now that it is "whole", but I'm still letting it breathe more before I come to do that.
Why did you feel a growth as a writer specifically with this story?
That's a good question 🤣
I think partly because I ran with this as fast as I could, not letting it go and just submitting to what it wanted to be and writing into that. The arc mostly formed after the second instalment and I wanted to make sure I committed to finishing it within a reasonable number of instalments (Brae is next on that list!!)
But also stylistically. I moved into a style by the second post and I tried to hone what that was. It's somewhat florid, probably not for everyone, but it was a voice that I felt worked as the story descended into a piece that questions memory and loss and desire. Or ... at least that's what I intended haha. I think I learnt a few things in that process, even if I know a lot could still be tweaked.
I’m very excited now to continue with the story and discover your style explorations. What do you intend to do with the edited version of the story?
Glad I found you. Thank you to the guide.
Thanks so much Patris.
The other parts weren't yet linked here, but if you would like to continue then Part 2 is here: https://slake.substack.com/p/and-across-her-back-a-tapestry
🤗
A good start with a hint of mystery to it... Let's see parts 2 & 3 before commenting further...
Thank you Levent. I hope Parts 2 and 3 sustain and deepen the mystery for you.
I’m so glad you gave us a second installment this month!
I'm so glad you dropped by for a read :)
I’m hooked! I, like Chloe, am taken with Emmi. Will return for the next installment.
And this reader does want to know. I enjoyed learning at the end this was auto-fiction.
Lovely to have you hooked, Holly. Thanks for having a read. Emmi and the unnamed protagonist appreciate it 🙏😊
Yup. Caught in Emmi’s brambles. And yours!
She has me snagged, too.
Thanks, Kimberly 🙏
Thoroughly enjoyable, Nathan. I started off thinking, oh, gosh. that's odd, that's really not fitting with my idea of who you are...to the second iteration that you won't reveal what it was and I suddenly remembered having previously been taken in … Aha! I became suspicious, but this helped me continue to enjoy your beautiful writing as I could relax about your character!
I like the concept of autofiction and naturally lean towards using the first person POV, but some of the comments below make me want to experiment with 3rd; great food for thought, thank you, and I really want to read the next instalment!
Thanks Mya. I'm reassured by your comment that leaving the context info at the end was the right thing to do. This does, after all, feel like a blog mixed with a fiction writing space.
The comments with Caz have been really interesting about POV. I'm glad to hear you've also found something of interest there too.
You had me Nathan. I was fooled. I don't know you well enough yet to understand your trickster ways. This was an enthralling piece though. It made me deadly curious to know the nature of your mysterious "field work."
Hehe, thanks Ben. I'm glad some intrigue seeped through for you.
I'm still torn as to whether I should have left it without the context/explanation at the end.