Sandra Arnold’s new flash fiction collection, Below Ground, was released in the UK on 24 June and launched on the Flash Bomb in New York via zoom in July.
About the book
Below Ground features 77 flash fiction stories that explore the themes of social dislocation, bullying and disconnection through childhood, adulthood and old age, as well as the ways in which healing and connection may be found. In her frank, cleverly constructed prose, Sandra delves into a side of humanity that she finds intriguing. ‘I chose these themes because of situations I’ve observed, and I’m always interested in the different ways that people react’, she says. ‘Some people are permanently damaged while others become stronger.’ Sandra began writing the stories for Below Ground during a writing residency at the Robert Lord Writers Cottage in Dunedin in 2020, during which time two of the stories were nominated for Best MicroFiction and the Pushcart Prize. Below Ground is her eighth published book; her previous books include novels, short-stories and non-fiction.
Sandra loves the way that flash-fiction, with its maximum of 1000 words per story, engages the reader’s imagination through minimum information.
An excerpted story
Whistle down the wind
Every Spring the woman digs her garden wearing the riding boots her daughter wore the day she galloped her horse through the river his hooves shooting spray high into the air each drop twisting and turning in the sunlight and glittering like gems and the horse’s white mane flying in the wind and the rider’s red hair flaring like flames as she raced her horse towards a steep bank that the horse jumped with ease his hooves flicking up the bare earth as he landed at the top with the girl laughing and whooping as they raced towards a higher bank and the sweat glistening on the horse’s flanks and clouds of breath steaming from his nostrils and horse and rider flying in perfect harmony and each Spring when the woman plunges her spade into the earth she remembers every detail the farmer told her about standing on his tractor watching a horse and rider galloping through the river and the sheer heart-stopping beauty of the frothing water and the clattering hooves trying to get a grip on the highest bank and the scattering of earth and the whistling wind and the startled birds and the girl’s laughter as she went flying up and up and the horse’s whinnying and then the silence and the pervading scent of wildflowers and the woman feels each beat of the story pulsating through her veins and in her heart when she wears her daughter’s boots to dig in the garden so she can sow the wildflower seeds that grow so sturdy they withstand the strongest wind and bees and butterflies will cover the flowers and birds will scatter the seeds until every last bit of bare empty earth in her garden is filled with their scent and sound and colour.
What people are saying
Moments in the lives of ordinary people, sharply observed. This is a beautifully written collection from a seasoned writer with a masterful command of dialogue – memorable!
‒ Karen Schauber, editor/ author, The Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary Stories Inspired by Historic Canadian Paintings (Heritage House, 2019)
Below Ground weaves a gorgeous tapestry, each story a strand elegantly fusing with the others surrounding it. Arnold is a writer of such exquisite clarity and imagination that you will want to read one more story and then another and then another. A truly beautiful read.
‒ Francine Witte, author of Radio Water
With Below Ground, Sandra Arnold has masterfully written an authentic and deeply engaging flash collection, exploring the losses, the quest for understanding, and the yearnings which sometimes collide and coexist in us all.
‒ Robert Scotellaro, author of Quick Adjustments and Ways to Read the World
Where to find the book
Scorpio Books, Christchurch
Sandra Arnold is an award-winning writer with eight published books. Her new flash fiction collection Below Ground was published in the UK on 23 June and launched via live stream at the Flash Bomb in New York on 12 July. Her short fiction has been published and anthologised internationally and has received nominations for The Best Small Fictions, Best Microfictions and The Pushcart Prize. She has held writing residencies in The Robert Lord Cottage, Dunedin and the Seresin/Landfall/ University of Otago Press. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from Central Queensland University, Australia. www.sandraarnold.co.nz