Blogs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04ndsb3/storyville-20142015-8-exposed-magicians-psychics-and-frauds ‘The Amazing Randi’ is indeed amazing. He’s in his mid eighties, stooped and worn and looks like he should be cast as Grumpy, or one of the other seven dwarves. But he has a very eloquent speaking voice and was awarded the MacArthur ‘genius grant’ about thirty-years ago. When he talks you should listen. He exposes fairy tales, New Age liars...

This week's honours go to... fromagreenhill for their wonderful poem Pan abctales.com/story/fromagreenhill/pan and VeraClark for her poetry-prose piece The Butchery abctales.com/story/veraclark/butchery Once again deciding what gets onto the home page on Friday evening has been hugely difficult, there were a number of close runners in both categories. Well done and thanks to everyone who offered their writing up on the site this week This weeks...

We all need a bit of help with editing, making our stories a little better, and a lot sharper. I’m certainly no exception to that rule. We often project what we think we mean onto the page. It’s often easier for someone else to pick up the faults and fault lines in our story. We need that other reader to see what we cannot. What I propose is to offer my editing skills. Pledge to Lily Poole ( http://unbound.co.uk/books/lily-poole )and send me...

August 2007, Peter Connelly, a cherubic, 17-month old, blond-haired, blue eyed boy was unlawfully killed – beaten to death. Among other injuries he suffered were broken ribs, a broken back and a missing fingertip. His mother and her boyfriend were found guilty of those crimes. This is not the story about the 260 children that have died since the, 26 of them known to the local authorities. Or the story of the five to ten familial homicides every...

An old lady staggering in the street in a quilted turqouise anorak/body suit looked so much like an alzheimers astronaut, tipping slowly into the wind.. david bowie in sheltered housing Weird dream of teenage girls, beauties, watching me take a bath through the skylight. One starts opening her buttocks and shitting through the window and the turd turns into the neck of a honking canada goose that starts flapping round the bathroom causing havoc...

Not many people read dictionaries, especially, a dictionary of money-talk that will be out of date by the time it gets to print, but I was always a bit weird. One of the few and therefore scarce O’grades I got was in the ‘dismal science’ of economics. I got a B grade. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. I know you’re secretly impressed. I was surprised. I’ll tell you my secret: if it wasn’t supply; it was demand. I could even pontificate about...

Congratulations this week to Bee for her stunning, multi-layered piece on memories, and to Barely Black Francis for his wonderful poem on parenthood: http://www.abctales.com/story/barely-black-francis/maudlin-tuesday-after... http://www.abctales.com/story/bee/all-ghosts-us As for the Inspiration Point, well, with Halloween next Friday it's a bit of a no brainer isn't it: poetry or prose with some reference to ghosts . Good luck!

A Pledge for Lily Poole I'm an avid fan of Jack O'Donnell's writing and this is my small supportive pledge for the big man himself. As you know, Unbound is a brand new publishing concept – a crowdfunded publishing platform. At Unbound, authors pitch their ideas and the public choose which books get written. You can fund your favourite authors directly by pledging cash to their novel. Ewan is deliciously close to completion and needs your support...

A guest post by ABCtales Author Ewan Lawrie : The galloping mare that is Gibbous House 's campaign to be published is careering down the home straight. We are 87% of the way there. And to save this poor jockey from brandishing his whip, Unbound is holding a draw for Launch Party tickets: everyone who contributes from now until the target is reached is eligible. I'll buy the winner a drink too, when I meet them. Now that's an offer. Let nothing...

A Statement Of Truth And Consciousness: Humanity And The Reclamation Of Self Or A 1000 Year Manifesto For those of you who feel lost, we have a map For those of you who feel directionless, we have a compass For those of you who feel about to fall, we have a net to place between you and the abyss The history of man lacks any and all relevance. Discount it, for it is in-credible. What went before is as water that passed between unknown rocks, in...