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 …
Tag: Fiction
That Final Edit
That final stage in progress. The title to this post is, of course, a show of blatant optimism, since I have completed my personal final edit, but the publisher’s team, kept locked in his basement, will undoubtedly come back with more. However, it is a milestone to celebrate. The MS ran to 79,079 words when …
Fated to Meet You, by Despoina Kemeridou: #BookReview.
49 pages Time Travel Romance This short book has a gentle, naïve charm. It is, essentially, a fairy tale. But a fairy tale for adults. As a reader, I enjoyed the story. As a writer, I found some elements in need of editing, but that’s so often the case these days that it hardly merits …
Continue reading Fated to Meet You, by Despoina Kemeridou: #BookReview.
Perils of the Pantster.
My desk during editing. If you write by the seat of your pants, you’re a pantster, as opposed to those who write a story from a structured plan; they’re plotters. Both methods have upsides and downsides, and both have devotees, some of whom can be unnecessarily scathing of those in the opposite camp. I’ve been …
The Fisherman and His Soul, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.
I read this short story by the famous playwright in the hope it would prove a better read than his ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’. My hope was based on ‘The Sphinx Without a Secret’ and ‘The Selfish Giant’, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, this moral tale is similar to the ‘Infanta’, in …
Continue reading The Fisherman and His Soul, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.
The Birthday of the Infanta, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.
Very definitely a story of its time. It’s intended for children, but I seriously doubt many modern kids would read this. There are moral lessons buried here, but they are largely lost in the unnecessarily detailed descriptions of the riches of the royal family featured. Some of these are effectively lists of luxury items and …
Continue reading The Birthday of the Infanta, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.
Silent Heroes, by Patricia Furstenberg: #BookReview.
What do you know about the war(s) in Afghanistan? This remarkable story of courage, extremism, intolerance, loyalty, betrayal and love will tell you so much.The ‘silent’ heroes of the title are the sniffer dogs employed by American Marines in their hunt for IEDs (improvised explosive devices, if you didn’t know). But this story is about …
Continue reading Silent Heroes, by Patricia Furstenberg: #BookReview.
Dust & Lightning, by Rebecca Crunden: #BookReview.
124 pages Dystopian Science Fiction This science fiction novella is listed under the ‘dystopian’ tag. However, it contains the currently essential ingredient, hope, so leaves the reader in an uplifted mood after a journey through some pretty dire times. It’s a well-written piece, with very few editing needs. Most importantly (to me, anyway) it’s easy …
Continue reading Dust & Lightning, by Rebecca Crunden: #BookReview.
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 …
Steps: Flash Fiction
For today’s weekly creative post, I’m giving you a bit of flash fiction. Considering how many people are caring for others in the current climate, I thought a touch of gentle humour on the topic might be appropriate. Enjoy! # Steps Every time! Can’t the old fool decide? If he’d make up his mind, I …
