Blogs

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0940193 An ornate key turns up on your pillow, it doesn’t fit anything in the house. You ask other members of your family. Nobody knows how it got there. Did it teleport from somewhere else? You hear knocking sounds. Your neighbours come to complain. It goes on all night. It goes on for weeks on end. Months. Who’s doing it and why? Your Irish granny says it’s the work of the devil. A young pretty girl is the...

Like many these days, I have dabbled in the investment scene. Of course I've had a company 401K for years and really didn't pay much attention to it. Last year however, things changed! The virus hit, the world got all flitty, and the stock market took a bit of a tumble. It looked like a good opportunity to "Buy the dip" as I've learned it's called. I didn't want to say anything to the wife about this as I was afraid it might alarm her. Turned...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000s7hd/darren-mcgarveys-class-wars-series-1-1-identity-crisis Darren McGarvey from Pollock admits he’s lucky, incredibly lucky. And he’s right to do so. He’s on a roll after Poverty Safari . The go-to man when the BBC, or any other media organisation, wants to signal that they’re doing the right thing. Giving the working class a voice. The equivalent of a black woman in the moron moron’s cabinet of his 45...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000s083/circling-a-fox Matthew Zajac is an actor. Acting is a precarious profession. The same old faces crop up with regularity. Trying to make a living from acting is akin to trying to make a living from writing. I’ve did a few shifts as an extra. I’ve no interest in being the next what-ever-you-call him/her. Writing, well, that’s a different story. Writing is my game. I don’t expect to make a living from...

Bronze Medal Award winner of the 2020 Cerasus Poetry Olympics

Our Story and Poem for the month of January, very kindly chosen by onemorething: As always, with such a wealth of diverse and fantastic writing shared here, it’s very hard to choose just one poem and story. Poem of the Month is Kilb50’s To A Lone Sailor. Such a beautiful poem. It left me lost for words and deeply moved. https://www.abctales.com/story/kilb50/lone-sailor Special mentions: Rosa Cruz’s Fair Maids of February is wonderful - you can...

Writers create little worlds of wonder but where do these stories come from? I know it is different for each writer for we have our own rhythm and flow…require different stimuli…and know what effectively works for us may not work for everyone. For me, when I write, it is visual…the words flow from what I see, or I should say what I imagine. I walk through the scenes in my mind’s eye almost in a trance, imagining and typing the descriptive words...

When it needs a review. During the month of January this year, Kobo promoted two of my novels; Eagles Hunt Wolves ; and, The Road of a Thousand Tigers for free download on their platform. I put them up for this primarily as something readers could enjoy during the bleakest month in the grips of a pandemic. Two fast-paced page-turners always help take your mind off things. And, on a more mercenary level, I hoped to get some reviews on the back of...