Malenkov

I'm a Brit, a child born to the war, the Angolan civil war my mother escaped from. So I grew up in the shadow of London--Small town of Ilford, Essex, right on the end of London’s Zone 6. Portuguese-English by blood, I carry my father's Italian forename, and the English-cockney roots of my mother and gran by whom I was brought up. I lived in Ilford, until ten years ago. Now I'm where I call home, along the river Main in Frankfurt, Germany.

WRITING EXPERIENCE
Several of my short stories have been published (under my publishing pen name, Lino Valentim):

o Under The Ginko Tree (September 1, Autumn 2010 issue of The Black Oak Presents)
o Blood Brothers (Summer 2009 issue, The Black Oak Media Magazine)
o The Bottom Line (Winter 2008 issue, The Black Oak Media Magazine)

I've done several writing courses--from novel writing, comedy, screen and play writing. And after a long pause, restarted writing and took a creative writing course with an amazing teacher:

Claiming Our Stories: Working with the Power of Autobiography and Autobiographical Fiction

That course gives me new tools to explore my past in a creative way, and a lot of my new writing will come from there.

In earlier stories, I've let my dark, satirical, side out--exploring social, political issues or the issues that puzzle and anger me. Currently, I use autobiographical material creatively--to make sense, find meaning, forge new patterns and explore the wider context of my life.

FAVOURITE WRITERS:
The stories and novels I love most are Boyle's short stories, Hemmingway's gritty existentialism, and Wallace Lamb's breathtaking, "I know this much is true." Murakami's darkly entrancing "After Dark," haunted and moved me, and I admire Huxley's social and political exploration, and biting blend of truth and satire in his Brave New World. And who can beat Voltaire's Candide for that razor sharp wit?