Insertponceyfrenchnamehere's blog

Posted by airyfairy. Thank you to everyone for the lovely contributions to ABC this week! Story of the Week is Ewan's 'Message: Post Scriptum'. It's very funny, surreal, and of course totally unrelated to events in the real world. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Message : Post Scriptum | ABCtales Poem of the Week is Angus Folklore's stunning 'East Coast Scotland (Reflection). It combines history, myth, and wonderful observation of 'the sea...

House Anthems Ralph Dartford Published by Valley Press I know some of Ralph’s work from what he has shared on ABCTales.com. Always thoughtful, with significant depth of feeling and honesty, his poems are sculpted from blocks of language until what is left is poetry that is both striking and meaningful. I am particularly impressed with ‘House Anthems’, the final collection in his ‘Recovery Trilogy’. The playlist Ralph has curated to accompany...

ABCTales writer Mark Burrow is a guest editor for Urban Pigs Press this month and they're looking for short and flash fiction on the theme of Addiction for their online magazine: 'This call-out window is dedicated to the fixated, the obsessed and the chained. The addiction might be chemical, but not necessarily. Some are addicted to money, sugar, rubber, horror films—the person with blue eyes and a heart tattoo who works on checkout. Prose only...

Our Story and Poem for the month of October, very kindly chosen by Di_hard: It has been wonderful to have so much great writing to brighten up encroaching nights. Thank you very much to everyone who has posted on ABCTales in October. This is a selection of work which I have really enjoyed - there are many more. Poems : I loved Turlough's gorgeous goodbye to Crete, the perfect antidote to our drizzly chill : https://www.abctales.com/story/...

ABCTales writer, HarryC has a short story - Conservatory, by Kevin Marman - included this new anthology! "A striking and eclectic collection." Elvin James Mensah, author of Small Joys "Chills of recognition mean I wish I’d had this book while coming of age." Kate Fox, writer, poet & broadcaster "In this anthology are some beautifully quirky neurodivergent stories; gems exploring the nuances of love and the human need for recognition,...

Two absolute crackers for you today - and they really are crackers given the many many outstanding pieces we've had posted this week. Story of the Week goes to Mark Say for his wonderful 'My Father is Younger Than Me' which is very touching and raises so many questions Poem of the Week is Caldwell's 'Burial' which I think is the best thing he's written so far Big congratulations to both! https://www.abctales.com/story/mark-say/my-father-younger-...

Story and Poem of the Week, and Inspiration Point chosen by di_hard Huge Thanks for all the wonderful writing this week, particularly prose, which has made this very difficult task so enjoyable. After much deliberation, Story of the Week is this invigorating diary entry from Purplehaze : https://www.abctales.com/story/purplehaze/who-needs-orkney-anyway Poem of the Week is from Ralph, a very different kind of power : https://www.abctales.com/...

Posted by airyfairy. Amongst some thoroughly absorbing reads this week, two stood out for me from the moment I read them. Story of the Week is the latest part of Harry C's memoir 'Gift: A Son's Story'. Harry is clear that this is still a work in progress, as he looks back on his time as carer for his mother. This particular extract achieves the difficult feat of bringing a special day to life with meticulous detail, at the same time never losing...

Our Story and Poem of the Month for September - very kindly chosen by onemorething: Picks of the Month for September: Happy to be doing this as it approaches my favourite time of the year. Am wishing all a cosy and writing-filled Autumn. If you take an overview of the writing on this site over the course of a month, you can’t help but be struck by the sheer range of talent, story-telling and poeming, it’s a wonderful thing. So, thank you all for...

What a week it's been for prose! We have so many brilliant works in progress at the moment - thanks so much for sharing them here with us. My choices for this week's pick are as follows: Story of the Week goes to Jane Hyphen for On the Wind which is a wonderful quirky short, and Poem of the Week goes to Jennifer Skinner who has inspired us all with her brilliant depiction of fireflies. Do please read both if you haven't already - they come...