Valerie O’Riordan’s Comments

“Turbulence” was my attempt at writing something smutty for an erotic fiction anthology, Quickies, which was put together by a group of writers here in Manchester a little while back. My interpretation of “erotic” clearly veers more towards the comic and grotesque than romance, but I can live with that. The other two stories, “Owl” and “Keith Moon,” were both commissions: in late 2012, I collaborated with a band called Monkeys In Love for a performance night that blended music and fiction. The band gave me the titles of several of their songs, and, without having heard the tracks, I wrote corresponding stories. On the night, we took turns, performing both. I’ve worked from prompts before, and it’s always interesting to see what surfaces, but this was a particularly fun and strange experience. We’re going to be working together again soon, I hope.

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