airyfairy's blog

As always, some amazing writing on the site this week, and it's been a hard but very pleasurable task choosing the Picks. Story of the Week is from the wonderful celticman. Characters so vivid you can (quite often) smell them, and dialogue most of us would kill to be able to write. 'Sean Happens 3' is another slice of Glasgow life, and if you haven't read any of celtic's stuff before, this is a great place to start: Sean Happens 3 | ABCtales...

If you haven't been following Turlough's wonderful account of his travels through Iran, you have been missing something really special. This series has been vivid, funny, thoughtful and, quite simply, a wonderful read. The final part, 'Cherries and Dahlia Petals, is our Story of the Week: Cherries and Dahlia Petals | ABCtales Poem of the Week was really tricky. There's been some beautiful and hopeful pieces about the coming of spring, and some...

The festive season is nearly over, which will be a matter of regret for some and considerable relief for others! I've always enjoyed what I gather we now call Twixmas - the decorations are still up but the pressure is over. And as ever, ABC writers have considerably enhanced my week. Story of the Week is Simon Barget's complex, entertaining and thought-provoking 'Lenny'. I can't go better than one commenter who described it as 'remarkable...

As always, some wonderful writing on the site this week, a very welcome antidote to the winter weather. Story of the Week is Simon Barget's 'Us and Them'. There's a lot of snappy answers being offered to things going on in the world at the moment, but this piece offers thoughts on the heartbreaking complexity, nuances and stumbling humanity of it all. The deep sadness of the final paragraph stayed with me for a long time. Thanks to Simon for...

As the days get shorter and the nights get longer and Storm Whatever-It-Is-This-Week rages outside, it's great to have some wonderful stories and poems to read, and ABC never disappoints. Story of the Week is another of celticman's brilliant slices of life, with vivd characters and an acutely observed setting. You'll be standing in this kitchen and smelling those chips: Love Story 12 | ABCtales Poem of the Week is Di Hard's howl of anger and...

After much enjoyable reading the Picks for this week come from two ABC stalwarts who have both been at their very best. Story of the Week is celticman's 'Love Story 2'. It has all the hallmarks of a celticman story - brilliant characterisation, sharp humour and the ability to rip your heart out. As you may have guessed, there is first part, and I would strongly urge you to read that too, if you haven't yet, although the second part can be read...

Hope everybody has had a good week! Story of the Week is another funny, charming and insightful tale from Hudson Moon. We all get The Bothers, and Hudson offers a solution which is guaranteed to work. Until it doesn't. A delightful read for your weekend: The Bothers | ABCtales Poem of the Week is Dynamaso's 'Scratched'. It's beautifully written, slightly unnerving, and will stay with you long after reading: Scratched | ABCtales This week's...

This week two pieces in particular lodged in my brain and wouldn't let go. Poem of the Week is onemorething's beautiful and thoughtful 'The Loneliness of a Cuckoo'. We're used to thinking of them as the bad guys of nest-stealing, but this poem contemplates what identity means when you don't have your own place in the world: The Loneliness of a Cuckoo | ABCtales Story of the Week is Mark Say's 'Dinner with Adele'. It's far more than just another...

I hope no-one's suffering too much from the heat, choking on wildfire smoke or getting too soggy from the great British rain we're having in my part of the world. Story of the Week is another installment in the life of Mark Burrow's heatbreakingly wonderful young protagonist Jason. This chapter gives him a rare moment of triumph and exhileration, along with - as usual - some killer one liners and observations on the world. One day this is going...

The variety of work on ABC Tales never ceases to amaze and delight me, and sometimes that variety can be seen in the work of individual writers. A brilliant example of that is marandina, who has given us not only his engrossing Song to the Siren SF story, but also the beautiful and tender tale that is our Story of the Week, 'A Cat, A Leaf and Fresh Fish'. In this you will find love, loneliness and a mutual need felt and met: A Cat, A Leaf and...