Ursula Pflug's Blog - Posts Tagged "flash-novel"
Pre-order page for my new flash novel, Motion Sickness!
Chapters Pre-order Link
"Motion Sickness is a flash novel consisting of 55 chapters of exactly 500 words each and accompanied by a wood-cut like, scratchboard illustration. The illustrations are dark and somewhat whimsical as is the text. Penelope, the twenty-year old narrator is a guitarist who writes some lyrics, has a good colour sense and a social conscience. She has kicked a drug habit and is now mainly drinking and sometimes jamming in after-hours clubs as well as writing letters of protest. She finds herself alone when her roommate goes to Calgary to be with her mother who has breast cancer. At the same time she is increasingly attracted to Theo, a slightly older bass player who turns out to be married and who shares a similarly poetic take on the world, but who, unlike her, sticks with people and jobs. He finds her employment with him silk screening T-shirts where they develop a more intimate but non- sexual relationship. In between birth control methods she finds herself pregnant after a drugged threesome which involved the very sexy but potentially violent Stan. She has an abortion. Stan becomes a frightening stalker. Theo remains a stable anchor and it becomes increasingly clear to both of them as well as to Theo's wife that their intimacy is not to be ignored. This is a smart, engaging, well-written novel that should appeal particularly, but by no means exclusively, to young women dealing with the responsibility of reproductive control, finding their way in the world of creative work and the social life of a young single person."
"Motion Sickness is a flash novel consisting of 55 chapters of exactly 500 words each and accompanied by a wood-cut like, scratchboard illustration. The illustrations are dark and somewhat whimsical as is the text. Penelope, the twenty-year old narrator is a guitarist who writes some lyrics, has a good colour sense and a social conscience. She has kicked a drug habit and is now mainly drinking and sometimes jamming in after-hours clubs as well as writing letters of protest. She finds herself alone when her roommate goes to Calgary to be with her mother who has breast cancer. At the same time she is increasingly attracted to Theo, a slightly older bass player who turns out to be married and who shares a similarly poetic take on the world, but who, unlike her, sticks with people and jobs. He finds her employment with him silk screening T-shirts where they develop a more intimate but non- sexual relationship. In between birth control methods she finds herself pregnant after a drugged threesome which involved the very sexy but potentially violent Stan. She has an abortion. Stan becomes a frightening stalker. Theo remains a stable anchor and it becomes increasingly clear to both of them as well as to Theo's wife that their intimacy is not to be ignored. This is a smart, engaging, well-written novel that should appeal particularly, but by no means exclusively, to young women dealing with the responsibility of reproductive control, finding their way in the world of creative work and the social life of a young single person."
Montreal Launch for Motion Sickness
Motion Sickness
will launch on Friday September 5, 2014, at Librairie Drawn and Quarterly in Montreal, together with Phyllis Rudin's novel, Evie, the Baby and the Wife. The event is from 7-9 pm. Please join us!
Publisher's blurb:
Motion Sickness is a flash novel consisting of 55 chapters of exactly 500 words each and accompanied by a wood-cut like, scratchboard illustration that follows one young woman’s humorous and poignant misadventures in the worlds of employment, friendship, dating, birth control and abortion. The illustrations are dark and somewhat whimsical as is the text.
Penelope, the twenty–year old narrator is a guitarist who writes some lyrics, has a good colour sense and a social conscience. She has kicked a drug habit and is now mainly drinking and sometimes jamming in after-hours clubs as well as writing letters of protest. She finds herself alone when her roommate goes to Calgary to be with her mother who has breast cancer. At the same time she is increasingly attracted to Theo, a slightly older bass player who turns out to be married and who shares a similarly poetic take on the world, but who, unlike her, sticks with people and jobs. He finds her employment with him silk screening T-shirts where they develop a more intimate but non- sexual relationship. In between birth control methods she finds herself pregnant after a drugged threesome which involved the very sexy but potentially violent Stan. She has an abortion. Stan becomes a frightening stalker. Theo remains a stable anchor and it becomes increasingly clear to both of them as well as to Theo’s wife that their intimacy is not to be ignored.
This is a smart, engaging, well-written novel that should appeal particularly, but by no means exclusively, to young women dealing with the responsibility of reproductive control, finding their way in the world of creative work and the social life of a young single person. The style is full of humour, poignancy and sadness. Motion Sickness contains subtle magic realist and slipstream elements.
Cover blurb:
A picaresque miniature, Motion Sickness describes a young urban woman’s bewildering adventures on the verge of the real as she learns to trust friendship, and finally, love.This little book is a winner. Each of the facing pages forms a delightful and inextricable unit: a starkly-incised illustration and a 500-word chapter, with titles that read like a poem.Ursula Pflug’s voice is unique, funny and tough, and the dialogue is so exact it can be heard. SK Dyment’s dark and whimsical illustrations play with and enhance the tersely visual prose.
-Heather Spears, author, artist, winner of Governor-General's award for poetry
will launch on Friday September 5, 2014, at Librairie Drawn and Quarterly in Montreal, together with Phyllis Rudin's novel, Evie, the Baby and the Wife. The event is from 7-9 pm. Please join us!
Publisher's blurb:
Motion Sickness is a flash novel consisting of 55 chapters of exactly 500 words each and accompanied by a wood-cut like, scratchboard illustration that follows one young woman’s humorous and poignant misadventures in the worlds of employment, friendship, dating, birth control and abortion. The illustrations are dark and somewhat whimsical as is the text.
Penelope, the twenty–year old narrator is a guitarist who writes some lyrics, has a good colour sense and a social conscience. She has kicked a drug habit and is now mainly drinking and sometimes jamming in after-hours clubs as well as writing letters of protest. She finds herself alone when her roommate goes to Calgary to be with her mother who has breast cancer. At the same time she is increasingly attracted to Theo, a slightly older bass player who turns out to be married and who shares a similarly poetic take on the world, but who, unlike her, sticks with people and jobs. He finds her employment with him silk screening T-shirts where they develop a more intimate but non- sexual relationship. In between birth control methods she finds herself pregnant after a drugged threesome which involved the very sexy but potentially violent Stan. She has an abortion. Stan becomes a frightening stalker. Theo remains a stable anchor and it becomes increasingly clear to both of them as well as to Theo’s wife that their intimacy is not to be ignored.
This is a smart, engaging, well-written novel that should appeal particularly, but by no means exclusively, to young women dealing with the responsibility of reproductive control, finding their way in the world of creative work and the social life of a young single person. The style is full of humour, poignancy and sadness. Motion Sickness contains subtle magic realist and slipstream elements.
Cover blurb:
A picaresque miniature, Motion Sickness describes a young urban woman’s bewildering adventures on the verge of the real as she learns to trust friendship, and finally, love.This little book is a winner. Each of the facing pages forms a delightful and inextricable unit: a starkly-incised illustration and a 500-word chapter, with titles that read like a poem.Ursula Pflug’s voice is unique, funny and tough, and the dialogue is so exact it can be heard. SK Dyment’s dark and whimsical illustrations play with and enhance the tersely visual prose.
-Heather Spears, author, artist, winner of Governor-General's award for poetry
motion sickness launches in toronto
I totally forgot to mention about the Toronto Launch of They Have To Take You In, plus several other events, alas, but am trying not to be remiss by letting you all know I'll be reading from Motion Sickness at Inspire on Sunday at 10:30 am on the Discovery Stage, with Phyliss Rudin and Alisha Piercy. We'll be interviewed by Susan G. Cole afterwards.
The official Toronto Launch for Motion Sickness is at The Supermarket on Monday 6:00-8:30 pm.
268 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Co-sponsored by LeftWords Festival of Books and Ideas, Come out and CONSPIRE with Inanna authors for an evening of readings and celebration.
Featuring:
Pam Galloway, author of "Passing Stranger"
Susan McCaslin, author of "Into the Mystic: My Years with Olga"
Ursula Pflug, author of "Motion Sickness"
Phyllis Rudin, author of "Evie, the Baby and the Wife"
Also featuring the jazz musical stylings of Jonah Cristall-Clarke
Refreshments will be served. Free!
inanna
The official Toronto Launch for Motion Sickness is at The Supermarket on Monday 6:00-8:30 pm.
268 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Co-sponsored by LeftWords Festival of Books and Ideas, Come out and CONSPIRE with Inanna authors for an evening of readings and celebration.
Featuring:
Pam Galloway, author of "Passing Stranger"
Susan McCaslin, author of "Into the Mystic: My Years with Olga"
Ursula Pflug, author of "Motion Sickness"
Phyllis Rudin, author of "Evie, the Baby and the Wife"
Also featuring the jazz musical stylings of Jonah Cristall-Clarke
Refreshments will be served. Free!
inanna
