This anthology of flash fiction stories contains the winners of the competition set up by the publisher to raise funds for two charities, Special Effect and Stack Up. Entrants had to make a donation (amount left to the individual) to one of these charities in place of an entry fee. Each story had to be …
Tag: Anthology
The Umbrellas of Hamelin, by Sue Knight, Reviewed.
Literature? Fantasy? Science Fiction? Magical Realism? All of these appear in this anthology of remarkable short stories. Sometimes the style borders on the surreal, sometimes stream of consciousness is employed, but all the tales are imaginative and thoughtful, managing to capture mood and emotional turmoil, some are terrifying cross-genre pieces that stir emotions and ideas. …
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Do You Remember the Barn Owl? by Barbara Lorna Hudson: #BookReview.
This collection of short stories, which vary in length and style, reflects the skill and themes of interest to the author. It’s a diverse array, well-written and constructed, and includes some stories that have been previously published in various literary journals. There is great variety here, with many subjects and themes explored, always with emotional …
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Contagious Tales, Edited by Andrew Simms: #BookReview.
176 pages.22 modern folk tales. Alan Rusbridger, former editor of The Guardian and now editor of Prospect magazine remarks, ‘These stories matter because they help us grasp a world that is seemingly out of control, and imagine what steps we can take to make things better.’ This anthology is subtitled ‘22 modern folk tales in …
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Dread Cold, by Fantastic Books Publishing: #BookReview.
Get the book here A Horror AnthologyThis charity anthology, the proceeds of which will go to Anti-Slavery International and Embrace the Middle East, encloses 25 horror tales between its covers.These are thoughtful, speculative tales to make your hair stand on end rather than blood and guts fiestas. These are stories that will play with your …
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The Father I Never Knew
Kenneth Burden He died on this date in 1948, just 16 days before I was born, so I never met the man my mother always called ‘Daddy Ken’. She described him as a kind and wonderful man who never had a bad word for anyone. He spent his adult life as a car mechanic and …
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An Eztraordinary Ezperience
Way back at the dawn of time, well, in 2014, I entered a contest with ‘Humour’ as its theme. My story, below, was shortlisted and appears in the 2015 anthology of winners and other commended stories. Christopher Fielden is still running this contest. For full details, click this link. This year’s contest closes 30th April …
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Want to Support Our Great NHS Workers?
We’re all (well, most of us, anyway) stuck at home and looking for something to pass the time in a worthwhile manner. My publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing, always gives 10% of profits to charities nominated by the authors. In this rather unusual time, he’s decided to donate funds instead to the NHS Charities Together, an …
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The Forge: Fire and Ice, by Fantastic Books Publishing: #BookReview.
236 pages Short Stories/Fantasy/Science Fiction Anthologies Before you read this, you need to know that one of the 27 stories published in this anthology was written by me. So, a collection of dark, sometimes very dark, speculative fiction with a touch of black humour sprinkled in. The theme of the anthology is Fire and Ice …
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The 12 Days of Christmas, by Maureen Turner, Reviewed.
A seasonal collection of fairy tales based on the well-known Christmas song, this anthology displays the author’s talent for putting her own twist on a popular theme. The stories vary in length and character and there’s something here for everyone. Characterisation is good and the settings work well throughout. Interestingly, although the tales feature well-known …
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Short on Success?
Novelist, playwright, journalist, writer of fact, or simply a 'writer'? I'll bet, whatever your specialism, you’ve at least been tempted to try your hand at that gem of creativity, the short story. I’m not going to go into definitions, since theories suggest the short story is anything from 6 to 20,000 words. For me, a …
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Featured in a New Anthology.
A short while ago, I entered a short story into a contest. As usual, I then forgot all about it. A few days ago, I received an email to tell me my story, whilst not a winner, had been shortlisted and was to feature along with 25 others. It’s a collection of humorous stories written …
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Stuart Aken 