Alison Wells's Blog

As the dust settles on book launches and as I start work back in the Lexicon library in Dun Laoghaire in a new role, plans are also afoot for a Creative Resilience course online in the new year. This course will provide a variety of ideas and techniques for creative optimism and persistence through some helpful neuroscience, mindfulness and other motivational techniques.

In the meantime, I have created a lovely optimism gift set:

Give someone the gift and practice of optimism. Gift Set comes with Random Acts of Optimism by Alison Wells. Short story collection 15 stories. Daily Gratitude journal with excellent prompts for reflections and affirmations, nature bookmark/ruler and eco pen. Gift wrapped.

The set is available in for Irish delivery for €25. For full details and to pay direct, click here.

For UK and Worldwide Prices including Delivery (or for Irish recipients paying by Revolut) use the Contact Form and I will give you the details for Paypal or Revolut transfer.

Many of the techniques for optimism, gladness and persistence that I will be sharing in my course are rooted in the habitual practise of fostering and noticing the good, this optimism gift set is a great step towards some of these practices.

When I launched Random Acts of Optimism one of the highlights of the night was having the members of the book clubs in the library where I work come along to support me on the night. Book clubs are enduring, convivial, hilarious, serious, they have helped people back to a sense of community since the pandemic, they allow conversations about difficult and divisive topics in a place where people are willing to listen to each other, they have spawned spin off social and cultural groups and given life back to libraries and homes.

The prize!

To celebrate Book Clubs, I will give away 7 copies of Random Acts of Optimism to your book club and offer an (optional) Zoom call with your book club to answer questions about the stories in the book, about writing and inspiration and some insights into what library book clubs have been reading over the last few years.

Is Random Acts of Optimism a good choice for your book club?

Writer Madeleine D’Arcy said “A librarian and an elderly person form a bond during lockdown. There are ghosts. There are problems with plumbers. There are dinosaurs on the Isle of Wight. There is a story written from the point of view of a letter. There are stars, meringues, memories in jars, a spaceman. Most of all, there are people, trying to cope with life and all its travails. At times tender and thought-provoking, by turns humorous and bleak, this cornucopia of tales is truly a pleasure to read.”

The book of fifteen stories has something for everyone, you may love some stories and feel uneasy with others, there are straightforward stories, some strange, some spooky and several laugh out loud tales.

To enter send a message through the Contact Form telling me a little bit about your book club, how many meet, where, how long you’ve been meeting, favourite memories, favourite reads. I will draw the winners and make the announcement on Friday 1st December.

Whether you enter the competition or not, you can access some book club questions for Random Acts of Optimism as well as some general resources here. If a member of the library in the Republic of Ireland, you can borrow the book by requesting it be delivered to your local branch from the national network through the national reservation system or you can ask your local library to purchase a copy.

Hope to hear all about your book clubs from near and far and good luck!

There are moments in time that are so fantastic, you know they are extra-special and never to be repeated. The launch of Random Acts of Optimism in the Lexicon library on Wednesday 20th of September last was such an occasion.

I was returning to the library where I started as a library assistant when I started work in 2019. I came back into the workplace in 2019 after raising my four children and I absolutely loved library work, the fantastic Lexicon library in Dun Laoghaire which is a gorgeous cultural space with sea views and the largest public library in Ireland. I later went on to work in the beautiful Carnegie library in Shankill.

I was greeted by old colleagues as we set up for the launch and more arrived later to purchase books and give good wishes.

The book was launched by literary powerhouse Vanessa O’ Loughlin aka writer Sam Blake. Our paths first crossed as young mothers as she handed over the publication of the local Cuidiu newsletter to me – now she is a bestselling author and runs a fantastic website and literary consultancy service. We were joined by Ger Burke and Tony O’ Dwyer my publishers, who set up their small Galway publishing house originally with a lottery win and have gone on to publish novels, short story collections and poetry along with the literary magazine Crannóg and are great supporters of writing from Ireland and internationally.

My writing group – Atrium – who have been running since about 2005 – were there. I joined them in 2010 having met another member at the Hennessy Awards where we were both nominated. What a fantastic group, we meet once a month and offer friendly critique on each other’s work and share literary gossip, triumphs and seasonal meals.

It was particularly touching to welcome members of the two book clubs in Shankill library where I now work. Having heard that I was to launch a book, they decided to make a night of it and support me, so when it was my turn to speak after the lovely introductions by Ger Burke and Vanessa O’ Loughlin I was greeted by a sea of friendly faces who enjoyed the extracts from the stories.

One fantastic moment was when reading from one of my stories I mentioned ‘murder on cruise ships’ and outside the large sea-view windows of the magnificent Lexicon there was – yes – a large cruise ship just sitting there!

Most of all, of course, I was so lucky to be joined by my immediate family, husband and four children but also by my parents who travelled from Kerry and my sisters and their families. Alongside friends – all the way back to school friends as well as more recent pals – everyone was so lovely in offering their congratulations and getting the book.

I was also so privileged to be supported by my colleagues in the libraries and in Library Culture who facilitated the launch in this wonderful venue.

Following my launch speech I read from the book: firstly from laugh out loud story Sad about the Plumber’s Uncle and then title story which was inspired by events (sending books out to patrons during Covid and talking to them about their lives and love of books) that took place on the very same floor where the book ended up being launched!

Thank you!

Thanks to all who came to the launch and to friends and writing colleagues who sent their good wishes.

If you’d like a signed Random Acts of Optimism please message me in this website’s contact form and I’ll arrange to post you a copy. Otherwise you can get a copy from the publishers or from a variety of online websites including Amazon.co.uk, Alan Hanna’s or Barnes and Noble.

I had a chance to discuss the more writerly aspects of the stories behind the collection Random Acts of Optimism recently on Shauna Gilligan’s writing blog.

“When I came to write the title story I recognised that for Cynthia and Tom and for many of the other characters in my stories they were often taking action in spite of or in defiance of the constraints of their circumstances.“

“I think writing this story, more than any, allowed me to really depict the stoicism, humour and camaraderie that so many ordinary people have while negotiating everyday challenges.”

“Like many writers, I’m always pained by the gap between the richness and impact of reality, especially that of the natural world and how well I am getting it down on the page.”

Talking the use of imagery and symbolism, themes and ordering stories in a collection, the inspiration from working in a library during lockdown and more, you can read the full interview here.

For #CultureNight2023, I’ve recorded one of the stories from my newly launched short story collection Random Acts of Optimism. The story is called Without the Light Pollution, we can see the Stars https://youtu.be/j3ieMx9HZj8 #shortstories

The book is available from the publisher Wordsonthestreet, Amazon etc.

Standby for fantastic photographs of a wonderful launch of Random Acts of Optimism last night in the Lexicon library but for now I am just jumping on to say that Katy Conneely of Dublin City Fm 103.2 is interviewing me today at 2.30 on her all about books segment. We will be talking about writing resilence, the consolation of books and writing for readers and the release of Random Acts of Optimism. Here is a link to the recording!

I have been a big fan of neuroscientist Rick Hanson’s practice advice for “changing the brain for the better”, he draws on the spiritual wisdom of Buddhism, the practice of mindful meditation and evidence based neuroscience to suggests many ways that we can ‘take in the good’ and train ourselves to circumvent our innate negativity bias. His recent book Hardwiring Happiness is full of fantastic advice on how to boost our feelings of ‘safety, satisfaction and connection.’ I hope to shortly develop a course on writing and creative resilience that draws on some of these techniques as well as other wisdom in the area of psychology and motivation to help us keep hold of why we strive to create and help us remember and really take in our achievements, large and small to feed us into the future.

So today, I would like to stop for a moment in a relentlessly busy time of highs, lows and constant on-the-go to enjoy the fantastic feeling of having been longlisted in the An Post Writing.ie Short Story of the Year Longlist with a fantastic group of talented Irish writers. Once again, through time constraints and focus on work and study have isolated me a little bit from my writing and so it comes as a big surprise to be included on this fantastic longlist. A moment to truly savour.

Things are getting very exciting as preparations continue for the launch of Random Acts of Optimism NEXT WEDNESDAY at the beautiful LexIcon library, Dun Laoghaire. If you are in the area, you are very welcome to come along to the launch at 6.30pm – even if it is just to have a look at the gorgeous library and the views! With a wine reception and general celebratory chit chat, there may even be some chocolate treats…and of course the book will be available if you’d like to pick up a copy.

RSVP to randomactsbooklaunch@gmail.com.

If you can’t make the launch and would like to read the collection of 15 stories, you can ask your local bookshop to order the book, or order direct from the publishers here http://www.wordsonthestreet.com/alisonwells.html

Blackwells in the UK https://blackwells.co.uk/…/Random-Acts-of…/9781907017643

Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/…/ref=sr_1_1crid=3P08QPUHUQJMN…

Barnes and Noble in the US https://www.barnesandnoble.com/…/random…/1143775380…

If you’d like me to send you a signed copy, message me using the website contact page and I can arrange to post to you. Thank you!

For anyone in the Abbeyleix area, I have an exciting occasion coming up on next Saturday August 19th, talking about Random Acts of Optimism in Writing with Mary Hanrahan (not Noelle as advertised) at the Power of Words Festival in Preston House, Abbeyleix at 3.40pm. This will be my first festival, celebrating the upcoming launch of my short collection Random Acts of Optimism and talking about life, writing resilience and working in public libraries.

Event Description

How do you keep writing when you think it makes no difference or that you won’t ever succeed in being published? How do you create the time, headspace and enthusiasm to write alongside very real difficulties or just general busyness – work, caring commitments and the rest of your life? Having raised four children and then returned to work, Alison talks about her long road to traditional publication. Since 2009, her blog Head above Water has explored ways of finding confidence, persistence, creativity and writing verve alongside the challenges of life. Celebrating the upcoming launch of her debut short story collection Random Acts of Optimism, Alison explores leaps of faith both in her story’s characters and in her own writing endeavours and she recalls the wonder and consolation of books sent out to library patrons when the world had closed down.

Tickets on for the event are on sale at eventbrite and full Saturday tickets can also be purchased here.

I would absolutely love to meet any of you who live in the area, please come and introduce yourselves. I am also free to discuss these topics and more at further festivals throughout the years. Send a message through the contact form.

Fantastic news: September publication of my debut short story collection!

Readers of the Head above Water blog will have followed my story since 2009 of writing endeavours, resilience and persistence, shortlists and near misses. I have written alongside raising a family, challenging circumstances, a new job in public libraries and a Masters by night in Library and Information Science.

I am really thrilled to announce that independent Galway publishers WordsontheStreet established in 2006 by writers Geradine Burke and Tony O’ Dwyer will publish my debut short story collection Random Acts of Optimism this September! Ger and Tony have long supported my writing and the work of many writers in Ireland and internationally through publication in their well-regarded literary magazine Crannóg.

Random Acts of Optimism consists of 15 stories revolving around the protagonist’s acts of optimism in the face of life challenges from the humdrum to touching, to the more sinister and dramatic: the age old story of the plumber who doesn’t show up, zest for life in the face of a cancer diagnosis or prejudice, an elderly couple ridding an island of inconvenient dinosaurs, an astronaut who finds meaning in a cup of tea and family on his return home. These stories range from poignant to laugh out loud and are the result of these years of Head above Water endeavour – my blog title depicting how we write alongside life and our own self-doubts. One of the stories was shortlisted for the Hennessy Award in 2009 – a standout memory in my validation as a writer, another shortlisted for the high profile Bridport Prize – both moments that brought tears of delight. The title story and first in Random Acts of Optimism was inspired by the starkly unusual and poignant situation in my experience as a public librarian in sending out books and organising supplies from an empty locked down library for people ‘cocooning’ during the Covid 19 pandemic.

I would like to thank all of you who followed the blog and engaged with me since 2009, my online writing community and real-life writing group and family and friends who have been cheerleaders and practical supporters throughout the years and of course my publishers Ger and Tony who have stuck with me. When I attended my first Crannóg launch, my children were all tiny and we hired a babysitter in Galway, now they are between 22 and 15 years of age. Persistence can pay off!

Book launch

The book will be launched on 20th September at 6.30pm in the magnificent Lexicon Library Dun Laoghaire and I hope many of you can join me there. You will know how much this means to me and I would love to celebrate with you either in person or through correspondence and message. More details of the launch to follow!

More about Random Acts of Optimism

I have been really privileged to receive some fantastic feedback for my book cover from wonderful Irish writers including veteran short story writer Billy O’ Callaghan whose new novel The Paper Man has just been published to wide acclaim, award-winning writer Niamh Boyce, author of The Herbalist and Her Kind, Alan McMonagle, highly-regarded author of Ithaca and Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame and Madeleine D’Arcy whose book Liberty Terrace is Cork City Libraries One City, One Book 2023.

“A genuinely marvellous collection. There’s a crystalline quality to the
prose that at times dazzles and at others leaves you gasping for breath, but more than anything it’s the compulsive nature of the storytelling that will have readers unable to put this collection down. Alison Wells, a very fine writer and clearly one who has honed her craft to mastery, deserves a broad and enthusiastic audience. Random Acts of Optimism ought to do the trick.” Billy O’Callaghan, author of Life Sentences

“There’s an incredibly sensual precision to Wells’ sentences – nobody writes like Alison Wells – her stories sizzle, she’s an unsentimental yet
compassionate documenter of humanity, whose stories are never what you might expect. She has an unusual and imaginative approach, a wide range, and a canny wisdom. The tragic and comic are not just juxtaposed, they wrap around each other – Wells is a unique voice, and this collection is one to treasure. Fans of the work of Lorrie Moore and Lucia Berlin will love this collection.”
Niamh Boyce, Award Winning Author of The Herbalist and Her Kind

“Random Acts of Optimism by Alison Wells is a lively, highly imaginative
and delightful collection of short fiction. This book contains a breath-taking range of subject matter and themes. A librarian and an elderly person form a bond during lockdown. There are ghosts. There are problems with plumbers. There are dinosaurs on the Isle of Wight. There is a story written from the point of view of a letter. There are stars, meringues, memories in jars, a spaceman. Most of all, there are people, trying to cope with life and all its travails. At times tender and thought-provoking, by turns humorous and bleak, this cornucopia of tales is truly a pleasure to read.”
Madeleine D’Arcy, Author of Waiting for the Bullet and Liberty Terrace

Playful and poignant paeans to the uncertain and arbitrary times we live in,here are stories that read like shards of endurance, of defiance to the wax and wane of life. A courageous, inventive, and rewarding collection.”
Alan McMonagle, author of Ithaca and Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame