Tales of the Unexpected Office: a new short story series I’m writing

Offices are curious places. The chattering voices, the buzzing machines, the catwalks to and from the kitchen. The rhythm of them is unmistakable. And yet, for all their familiarity, offices can be oddly surprising and unpredictable environments. A space of spontaneity and intrigue, where everything isn’t always quite what it seems. My new short story series, Tales of the Unexpected Office, will explore this peculiar side of office life and the elements that make it such.

I’ve worked in all sorts of offices. Some big, some small. Some noisy, some quiet. I’ve experienced them at their busiest – the cacophony is right up there with a packed train station – and I’ve seen them at their quietest – you know, when you’re the only one in and wonder if the world has ended.

What makes offices interesting for me isn’t the structure or community they offer, but the unexpected nature of them. The intrigue of different people, different conversations and different scenarios all coalescing under one roof. A combination which can sometimes lead to some very bizarre situations indeed.

As a lifelong lover of surreal shows like The Twilight Zone, Inside Number 9 and Tales of the Unexpected, I go through life noticing the oddities around me and find offices to be not just strange at times but downright otherworldly on occasion.

It’s this fascination that’s inspired me to write Tales of the Unexpected Office: a short story series exploring the surreal side of office life. A collection of fictional tales inspired by the offices I’ve worked in and people I’ve worked with, where peculiarity’s made its presence felt and left an indelible mark.

Tales of the Unexpected Office is a play on the Roald Dahl book collection and TV show, Tales of the Unexpected. Which was a collection of short stories that revolved around strange and supernatural occurrences in everyday life.

For my take on the collection, I’ll be swapping out Dahl’s gruesome storylines for bizarre ones and replacing everyday life with office life. Like Dahl’s tales, my stories will feature sinister and comedic undertones and, occasionally, a twist ending.

Disclaimer: All characters who’ll appear in my stories will be fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is, will be purely coincidental.

If you like a strange story, then I’ve got plenty of them. Buckle up – you’re in for an odd ride.