Enter the Inferno

Delighted to announce I’ve recently had a short story published in the Inferno anthology edited by Horror Tree editor Stephanie Ellis and author Alyson Faye.

Inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, the collection is themed around the nine circles of Hell and mine turns around the first circle – Limbo.

It was a total pleasure to be part of and and it has already garnered a couple of very nice reviews on Goodreads. So if you’re that way inclined, wander along to Hell and be thoroughly entertained/scared to death*.

And this is one of the projects that have been keeping me busy and far away from WordPress.

I’ve also written a five part serial for The People’s Friend (dates to be announced), had one full request on a novel manuscript from a literary agent (subsequently rejected), entered a handful of competitions (no placings there), rewritten the opening of a novel in preparation for an agent 1-2-1 (my first time on Zoom!), re-edited that entire manuscript after I had a second full request (from the 1-2-1 literary agent – the chat went very well, though no further news as yet), and have been redrafting the novel I wrote during the UK’s first lockdown.

The year has been so odd, so disjointed, the world turned on its head. And here we are, facing a very uncertain 2021.

But here’s hoping that life soon returns to some semblance of normality and that you’re all safe and well and enjoy the kindest, warmest festive season and have a healthy, happy and hopeful New Year.

*I can’t vouch for the other stories, but mine is more creepy and sad than terrifying, honest.

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Online anthology goes live

Ever stuck on the bus, longing to escape the nose to tail brake lights and cloud of body odour and halitosis emanating from the man pressed slightly-too-close beside you?

Tired of reading about celebrity cellulite/ nose jobs/ make ups/ break ups and seeing endless pics of your cousins’s perfect kids smiling on the beach/ in their school uniform/ at ballet, tap, taekwondo, Brazilian capoeira classes on your social media feed?

Would you like to escape to snow capped mountains/ run away to join the circus, travelling chainsaw jugglers, vacuum salesman/ find somewhere magical, terrifying or beautiful to hide, if only for a while? Then I’m delighted to announce, I have good news.

The tireless and tirelessly imaginative Sammi Cox has launched a new anthology on WordPress,

Outcast and other words.

The anthology has 52 themed chapters and brings together contributions from a year’s worth of her weekly writing prompts. There’s poetry and stories on every subject from Shadows to Colours, Remedy to Moonstruck, Ragtag & Wanderlust.

I’m delighted to say, I have two shorts in the collection – see Chapter 11: Guardian and Chapter 44: Fallen if you need a short fiction fix.

If your need is for something longer, Sammi’s Oathbreaker is available to read on Wattpad, in fact, it’s just been included on the Watty’s 2018 long list …

Eleri, priestess of the Green Lady, has waited for so long to marry her tribe’s champion, Celyn. Finally, the date is set for Midsummer’s Eve, when the tribes have gathered in the valley to celebrate the longest day at the stone circle perched up on the hill. But nothing is as it seems…

A glimpse of a bird circling over the stones foretells of doom…and maybe even death.

An oath is made. An oath is broken. And Eleri’s life changes forever…

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

And Sammi’s weekly prompt is ongoing, so if you’d like to join in for some inspiration, pop along to her blog, here.

Happy reading and scribbling, folks!

 

 

 

Iain Kelly’s ‘Collected Sketches’ on Amazon

Image: Pixabay

 

It’s my pleasure to share the news that talented writer and Friday Fictioneer , Iain Kelly has self-published a collection of his short stories on Amazon. Available on Kindle and in good solid paperback, the collection has to be the perfect New Year’s present to yourself. So, if you’re wondering what to do with those Amazon vouchers or the tenner Aunty Mabel sent you, here’s the answer.

In Iain’s words …

Collected Sketches is a series of short stories and flash fiction exploring human nature and the world that we inhabit. Sometimes funny, sometimes scary, from the everyday to the imagined future, exploring locations across the globe, these stories reflect the globalised society we live in today, the recent history that has led us here and the future we may have already created.

And if you’re still in any doubt, here’s the opening to the first story.

American Blues

Having been named after the 32^nd and 26^th Presidents of the United States of America, Franklin Theodore McDairmid had not lived up to his father’s expectations. Only his father called him Franklin, his mother and grandparents always called him Frank, at school he was Frankie, at college Frankie T. or Frankie T. McD, around the neighbourhood he was known as simply F.T. McD. The reduction of his name as he progressed through life mirrored his father’s receding hopes for his only child.

It had gone badly before birth. His twin brother hadn’t survived in the womb because Frankie had monopolised their mother’s blood and food supply. Whenever Frankie was given into trouble as a child he was sure he was being held responsible for this fratricide. His mother passed away when Frankie was five years old from liver cirrhosis. His father raised him with strict morals and rules and little practical guidance. Occasionally when they tossed a baseball to each other in the park or went to the movies or ate ice cream at the beach, Frankie imagined they had a loving relationship. When his father met Doris and she became his step-mother, Frankie was left to find his own way into manhood …