J'AIME SEPTEMBER 2021

describe are totally made up. It’s based on him but
fictional.
“Dad was ill and in a home for a few years and I
found myself writing all these little flash fictions.
Then when I came to write the novella I had all these
linking stories which I expanded and added to.
“What’s really sad about this book is that dad isn’t
here to see it being published. I had to dedicate it to
him.”
In snapshots through time, Only About Love takes a
sweeping loop around protagonist Frank’s life as he
navigates courtship, marriage, fatherhood and illness.
Told through the perspectives of Frank and his
family, the story is one of intense honesty about the
things we do to those closest to us.
Although she hasn’t self-published, Debbi says people
who go down that route work extremely hard at it.
“There are a lot of people who assume that I’ve selfpublished,
but I haven’t, not that there’s any shame
in that,” she said.
“The marketing is all down to them and a lot of
people have become very successful releasing books
that way.
“I’m being paid in advance and will be paid royalties
as well,” said a proud Debbi.
“The publisher put out
an open call for novellas
so I applied. They loved
what I sent in and wanted
more to develop it a bit. I
doubled it in length.
“They’re such great
publishers to be with, so
proactive and they aim
to only publish quality
fiction.”
The novella-in-flash has
been around for many
years but has become
increasingly popular over
the past three or four
years. Every chapter of
a novella-in-flash can be
read as a standalone story,
but they also link together
and make sense as part of
a wider story.
“They’re short chapters
so they’re easy to read,
you can read one of two
chapters if you only have
a few minutes,” she said.
DEBBI’S DEBUT BOOK ONLY
ABOUT LOVE IS OUT NOW
“You can be very experimental with flash fiction
and use a lot of different techniques. I enjoyed
putting some lists in there - including the items in an
adulterer’s holdall. The first chapter is a breathless
paragraph - which purposefully has no punctuation.”
Debbi’s debut has already earned rave reviews
from fellow writers, with Tracy Fells, 2017 regional
winner (Canada & Europe) of the Commonwealth
Short Story Prize calling her writing ‘breathless,
red-raw and brutally honest,’ while Lisa Blower,
author of Pondweed described Only About Love
as ‘gut wrenching, heart-warming, playful with
time, language, and memory; a gathering of special
moments relived that remind us that time is never on
our side so to make the most of it whilst we have it.’
Debbi added: “When I won the Too Write
competition five years ago mum and dad went to
accept the prize on my behalf as I was away on
holiday. Dad was so proud, he cried. That was just
before he started to get really ill.
“When I heard about this book being published he
was still alive but was too ill to understand. I still wish
I could tell him about it.”
Only About Love by Debbi Voisey, published
by Fairlight Books, is out now, priced £7.99.
42 www.jaimemagazine.com