Fun is central to the creative process

I have a bunch of short stories that will appear over the next few months: a sort of ghost story, a sort of science fiction story, a crime-like story, a picaresque thing. After finishing a novel, writing short fiction cleanses the palate. It's like doing short reps after a workout. I'm having fun with it, and fun is central to the creative process.

There aren't a lot of outlets for short stories now. Some will appear in other publications and others I will publish as standalone ebooks. I should probably promote my digital titles more than I do. My original motivation for e-publishing was to preserve my writing rather than publicise it. Weird, I know.

Since then digital publishing has really taken off. When I started it was speculative; now it's mainstream. I've been pleased and surprised by how many people said they preferred to read Blue Hotel as an ebook. As an author it makes you think a lot about how to keep people reading. I love the idea of the reader swiping through a story late at night, on a bus, on a train.