Alison Wells
Writer of short stories, flash fiction and novels, public librarian.
Random Acts of Optimism launched!
On Weds 20th September 2023 Random Acts of Optimism enjoyed a fantastic launch by Dlr Libraries and Vanessa O’ Loughlin aka Sam Blake at the Lexicon Library, Dun Laoghaire with publishers Wordsonthestreet.
REVIEWS
Have Belief in A Better World – Books Ireland Magazine
Beginners Pluck Alison with Sue Leonard Irish Examiner
MORE ABOUT RANDOM ACTS OF OPTIMISM AND WRITING IN GENERAL
How to hold on to your writing optimism – Women Writers, Women’s Writing Blog
Writers Interview 66 Shauna Gilligan (Stories, themes and imagery)
Praise for Random Acts of Optimism
“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
“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
“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
“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
“Alison Wells is an Irish Elena Ferrante.Yes, she is that amazing…There is a shimmering sense of magic running through all the stories and they range from funerals, through plumbers, lockdown to dinosaurs and show the wit and imagination of the author. A terrific collection of stories and heralds the arrival of a major talent” Ken Bruen, crime author of Galway Silence etc
Available from Wordsonthestreet publisher, Alan Hannas, Amazon.co.uk, Blackwells, Barnes and Noble, and other online outlets. Signed copies available here.
Alison Wells Author 