Blogs

Inner Nature

Posted by D Marie on Sun, 04 Oct 2020

Hey, I have published a small poetry collection on amazon, called Inner Nature. The theme is centered on inner and outer environments, some of which are written from the perspective of nature, while others are based on past personal challenges, and ends with an emphasis on unity and light. Several of the poems have appeared in various anthologies over a ten year period. Want to thank abctales for the confidence boosting cherries! Thanks, Donna.

Gavin Francis (2020) Island Dreams: Mapping an Obsession.

Posted by celticman on Sat, 03 Oct 2020

Gavin Francis tells us of his love affair with islands and maps. And he traces his addiction to a district library in Fife he visited as a child aged eight or nine. How his little fingers traced patterns over atlas and archipelagos ‘as if reading Braille’. As an adult he had to choose between studying medicine, or becoming a geographer. A romantic notion to which I say, you’re a fucking liar, but hey, we all tell fibs. It’s how you tell them...

Some Good News!

Posted by insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Thu, 01 Oct 2020

Very pleased to let you know Ewan has reached the shortlist for the Poetry Book Awards with 'Last Night I Met John Alcock' published by Cerasus Press. All details here: https://mailchi.mp/2749dd86b5e2/writers-news-wales-oct-2020?e=9a53484c1c... And you can buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1726692329/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp... Big congratulations to him and fingers all crossed!

Ian McVeigh (Clank) 16th July 1954—26th September 2020, RIP.

Posted by celticman on Sat, 26 Sep 2020

I don’t know how Ian McVeigh got the name Clank, but he was the Clank Gable of Dalmuir, only he seemed to pop up everywhere, like God or the Devil. I hadn’t, for example, been in the John Rea’s snooker hall in years (obviously, before lockdown) I turned around and Clank was standing behind me. I went to the Dropp Inn and Clank was playing pool. Later I headed to the Mountie and Clank Gable turned up. Clank didn’t as much stalk you as wear you...

Story and Poem of the Week and Inspiration Point

Posted by insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Fri, 25 Sep 2020

Posted by Philip Sidney on Fri, 25 Sep 2020 Another week in paradise - oh well, at least we have writing and reading to help us through tough times. Thank you to all of you have contributed this week - you do more good than you know. Poem of the week is a dark one - but anxiety is running high and I think many of us can relate -many thanks to London_Calling for Run: https://www.abctales.com/story/londoncalling79/run We've had a few darkly funny...

Story and Poem of the Week and Inspiration Point.

Posted by Philip Sidney on Fri, 25 Sep 2020

Another week in paradise - oh well, at least we have writing and reading to help us through tough times. Thank you to all of you have contributed this week - you do more good than you know. Poem of the week is a dark one - but anxiety is running high and I think many of us can relate -many thanks to London_Calling for Run: https://www.abctales.com/story/londoncalling79/run We've had a few darkly funny stories this week (big thank you to...

John Mitchell 1965—21st September 2020. RIP.

Posted by celticman on Tue, 22 Sep 2020

I live in Dalmuir, but my brother who lives in Falkirk phoned me to tell me that John Mitchell was dead. Then the house phone went and my partner’s niece, Caroline, phoned to let me know John Mitchell was dead. I dropped in on old John Brady, he’s in his eighties and the first thing he told me was John Mitchell was dead. I parked at Parkhall shops on the jaggy lines you’re not meant to park on, but it was OK, cause I was only going to be a...

ABC TALES VIRTUAL READING EVENT - NOW ON YOUTUBE!

Posted by insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Mon, 21 Sep 2020

Thanks to Mark Burrow's tecchie skills, you can now see the ABC Tales Virtual Reading Event on our YouTube channel!

Edvard Radzinsky (2000) Rasputin, The Last Word, translated from the Russian by Judosn Rosengrant.

Posted by celticman on Sun, 20 Sep 2020

At just over 650 pages this offers a comprehensive account of Grigory Efimovich Rasputin’s life and deaths. Deaths—plural. Most of us are familiar with the legend that Rasputin was poisoned, shot and finally drowned. His bound hands still clawing underneath the ice. Radzinsky takes the reader through different versions, but with the same outcome. Rasputin was murdered. The question of why he was murdered in much the same way that the tsar,...

One Page Won't Do!

Posted by philwhiteland on Sun, 20 Sep 2020

Way back in the music history of the 1980s, a lady called Audrey Hall had a one-hit-wonder with a song called 'One Dance Won't Do'. You may remember it? If not, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pbWf5tb_CA I've come to the conclusion that I can sympathise with her! Not in terms of dancing, one dance with me would be more than enough for anyone! No, I'm thinking, instead, about readers and, in particular, a couple who have...

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