Mouthy
A collection of stories about women
Published December 2025, Axe River Books
Available to buy from
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Now that I'm old, the anger and the hurt have vanished and I can't forgive myself. I can't let it go. It's too late to make my peace, and now I can't remember why I started the war.
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Mouthy is a sharp, emotionally resonant collection of short stories by award-winning writer Clare Reddaway. Exploring themes of voice, resistance, and self-definition, the stories span tones from wry and political to lyrical and intimate. At its heart, Mouthy is about speaking up — and the consequences of doing so.
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The title story features a female MP dealing with online abuse. Other stories explore domestic pressure, power imbalances, quiet rebellion, and unexpected tenderness.
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This is literary fiction with bite: rooted in the female point of view, grounded, often funny, and always precise.
She’s had this feeling before. This feeling of marking time. Of pressing her nose against a window and watching as everyone else lives their best lives.
Isla Wintergreen is drifting through her life. When she unexpectedly inherits a cottage on the Isle of Skye from a grandfather she last saw when she was seven, she thinks it might be a chance to escape. As she slowly becomes a part of the island community, she learns more about the family she never really knew – from her estranged father, to her reclusive grandfather, and her mysterious great-grandmother. Meanwhile, her mother Cathy reflects on her own past. Mother and daughter both hope to find new freedom – but can family patterns ever really be broken?
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Told through the lives of four generations of Isla’s family, all linked by their connection to water, Dancing in the Shallows masterfully explores family relationships and generational inheritance.
The first of my popular story walks to appear in print is now available to buy
Meet soldiers and priests, innovators and picnickers as we explore the back streets and byways of Clifton village.
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Like stories? Like walking? A story walk is a perfect combination of the two. In my story walks around Clifton, Bristol, I combine smatterings of history and bite-sized facts with intriguing short fictions to give my listeners - and now my readers - a new insight into the city around them. Each story is inspired by the place where it is set, springing from the stones around us. My story walks are a popular feature of the Clifton LitFest, and are now available in print to use either as a guide to walk the walk in person, or to read in the comfort of your own home.
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This 37 page, bound booklet contains five stories, an annotated map, historical information and a few fascinating facts: all that you need for a self-guided walk.
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'Innovative', 'Compelling', 'Superb', 'An absolute joy': some audience responses to Clifton story walks.
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The booklet costs £5.50, plus P&P.
P&P United Kingdom £1.90, International (Europe and worldwide) £2.90
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If you have any questions please get in touch.
The Guts of a Mackerel
A standalone short story in its own perfectly bound pamplet.
Published December 2021, Fly On The Wall Press
Now out of print, get in touch if you would like to buy a copy
The Guts Of A Mackerel
“Who’s Bobby Sands?” she asked, as she laid the fish on the face of a smiling young man with long wavy hair. “And what’s a hunger strike?”
On a family holiday to her dad’s Irish homeland, Eve’s concerns about impressing local boy Liam are confronted by the stark reality of political and personal divisions during the Troubles. Former friends have turned into enemies, and this country of childhood memory is suddenly a lot less welcoming.
“Clare is a genius at opening doors into her stories, in this case through the eyes of an eager young girl whose world is about to become bigger and scarier than she ever imagined. Each detail is intricate and immediate. The overall impact is emotional and long-lasting. Everything a good story should be.”
- Sarah Hilary, best-selling author of the acclaimed D.I. Marnie Rome series.
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"Highly recommend: a brilliant, wrenching page-turner about The Troubles." - Rose Drew
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"Powerful, lyrical and full of guts...a must-read"
- Brian Coyle
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"Amazingly written" - Rachel Dickens
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Available to buy for £5.99 from Fly On The Wall Press.
