Siobhian R. Hodges is a Leicestershire writer, author of the Young Adult novel Killing a Dead Man and anthology Untitled Decade. Siobhian has a BA in Creative Writing and Film Studies from De Montfort University and an MA in Creative Writing from Loughborough University. During her studies, she was both scriptwriter and script editor for Gatling Gun Productions (the not-for-profit film company she set up alongside her dad and sister). She has since written, edited and supervised several scripts, and even directed her own book trailer under the production company. With her experience in and passion for film, Siobhian’s novels and short stories can often be described as cinematic. In her free time, Siobhian enjoys reading and taking long walks in the countryside with her daughter and fiancé. Her favourite authors are Patrick Ness and Kevin Brooks – if you haven’t read their work, you definitely should! Killing a Dead Man was published in October 2019. Siobhian is currently busy working on her next big project. Her website is here.
By the end of each decade, we all have stories to tell. Here are mine …
A coming-of-age anthology like no other ... This part-fiction, part-memoir anthology spans the years of the author’s youth with a unique collection of twelve individual short stories. Like an encrypted diary, each story was written between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five and reflects the events that she (like many) faced during that time.
With moments of heart, humour and horror, Untitled Decade is a personal exploration of a young adult’s imagination. This anthology will draw you in with its twisty, fast-paced stories as much as the relatable journal accounts.
From Untitled Decade, by Siobhian R. Hodges
“Just shut the f**k up.” His words, cold as ice, slap me like the hit I knew was to come. His eyes were glazed over from the joint he’d finished half an hour ago and his hands were shaking in unwarranted anger. But I couldn’t back down. It’s not the way I was raised.
“All I was saying,” I said, as calm as I could, “was that everyone deserves the right to vote.”
He presses a button on his laptop, pausing the game he’d been playing. “Yes, but you’re missing the point,” he said.
“Which is …?”
“That some people are stupid and don’t know what they’re voting for.”
I shrug. “Still doesn’t mean you should take away their vote.”
He slams his hand down hard on his desk, making the line of ash hanging from the incense stick break off. Shame, I was seeing how long it could hold on.
“What the hell do you know about politics anyway?” he said.
“More than some, less than others,” I admit. “But I’m not arguing politics. I’m on about people’s rights to –”
“Just SHUT UP!”
He stood up from his computer chair and I instinctively rose from the settee I’d been slouched on. He came at me, spittle flying from his dry lips. “Dumb bitch, you think you know everything, don’t you?”
I could feel my knees trembling. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. “I don’t think I know everything,” I said.
“Damn right, you don’t,” he said. “Because you’re stupid too.”
“No I’m not.”
“YES YOU ARE!”
I flinch, and then he begins closing the gap between us. Not good.
I stuff my phone into my jeans back pocket and keep moving: down the hall, past the kitchenette … until I eventually back into the front door of our flat.
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