Read
Carols by Candlelight

… wick to wick, candles are lit …
- Read more about Carols by Candlelight
- 11 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 3531 reads
Parcel for You - Part 43
The first thing Vanessa did after they’d left was chuck her new book into the hidden storage area inside the pouffe and shut the lid with a bang. Out...
- Read more about Parcel for You - Part 43
- 14 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 4948 reads
Something About Her
Something About Her (600 words) Note to reader: if you could provide feedback for revision in the comments below, I would be eternally grateful. I...
- Read more about Something About Her
- 2 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 1034 reads
The Last Night Chapter 19 Settling In

The Last Night Chapter 19 Settling In 54 “All of a sudden I feel like the cowardly lion in the Wizard Of Oz.” Wyatt said as they started walking down...
- Read more about The Last Night Chapter 19 Settling In
- 3 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 841 reads
Happy Christmas y'all
Happy Christmas Y’all The magic of Christmas is a concept that can elude the sophisticated. Life sometimes conditions those of us, “on the shady side...
- Read more about Happy Christmas y'all
- 2 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 778 reads
The Last Night Chapter 18 A Haunted Planet

The Last Night Chapter 18 A Haunted Planet 51 “She’s gone because she was never there.” Wyatt said, “she’s in my head. No one else saw her?” They all...
- Read more about The Last Night Chapter 18 A Haunted Planet
- 2 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 330 reads
Shaking a Leg
Feel like I’m stiffening up on a daily basis. The thought of doing yoga in the cold mornings just makes me want to sit down with a nice cup of tea...
- Read more about Shaking a Leg
- Log in to post comments
- 431 reads
An Angel's Wings

An Angel’s Wings Christmas always seems so full of angels. Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, Carols and much, much more. For some that’s where...
- Read more about An Angel's Wings
- 1 comment
- Log in to post comments
- 704 reads
Street Justice - Part 4 (Final Part)
Brodies swansong arrives in nae time. A setup like this yin takes time, preparation. That’s what separates the professionals fae the cowboays. Furget...
- Read more about Street Justice - Part 4 (Final Part)
- 3 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 1327 reads
The Lawsuit
They were ignorant and it was a very dumb thing for them to do. They kicked a man out of their restaurant and he decided to sue. They became very...
- Read more about The Lawsuit
- 1 comment
- Log in to post comments
- 231 reads
Distractions
Dark toast, marmalade and strong black tea make the day take shape.
- Read more about Distractions
- 3 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 2120 reads
Foggie Festive Fayre
Saturday was the Foggie Farmer’s Market. Not just a market this time, a Festive Village, behind the square in McRobert Park. Being inland,...
- Read more about Foggie Festive Fayre
- Log in to post comments
- 351 reads
Second Chances
These stories are inspired by a teaching experience of mine in a Further Education College in England. The experiences are fictionalised. Letting the writing flow, names and identifying details were anonymised. With the characters composed of multiple selves, these are the stories of lecturers and students everywhere, of teachers expected to teach in neurotypical ways, and of neurodiverse students expected to learn in conventional ways. These stories recognise that teaching and learning is not only about the humans in the classroom: all bodies (human, nonhuman and more-than-human) act in relationality. For ‘Jake’, like so many others, the noises of other students, of anxiety, of a beeping fire door, the heat, all combine to drive him from the classroom, potentially from the college. Simultaneously, these forces provoke the courage to ask for help. ‘Jake’s’ class is typical of those I have encountered in Further Education Colleges in England: Jake could be a student at any or all of them. These stories question and resist conventional teaching and learning practices, which so often fail students, in the hope of opening up possibilities for genuine second chances for all.
- Read more about Second Chances
- 4 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 1312 reads
Velvet Goldmine

I find this ABC Tales website a warm and welcoming community where writers of all abilities can share their work in the knowledge that it will be appreciated and encouraged. But what makes the site particularly special for me is that a close friend from long ago was a popular member here, regularly posting poetry and prose years before I joined. Julia Macpherson (ABC username Overthetop1 ) left this world far too soon, and at a point where too few had recognised the high standard of her writing talent. Following her death in 2016, her mother Coral (ABC’s seashore ) and her sister Sarah worked with Cerasus Poetry, and with the support of ABC members and the MIND mental health charity, to publish a compilation of her work. I lost touch with Julia in the mid-1980s, but found her again through ABC Tales and the pages of her book, Waiting For Another Velvet Morning .
- Read more about Velvet Goldmine
- 33 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 4023 reads
Yard Sale Chapter 6

what did he mean by definetely dead? the plot thickens!
- Read more about Yard Sale Chapter 6
- 1 comment
- Log in to post comments
- 747 reads
Street Justice - Part 3
The follaein efternin makes fur a sunny and bright Wednesday. Ah’m back behind ma desk in the boozer. Quietly shiftin through some neglected...
- Read more about Street Justice - Part 3
- 2 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 885 reads
Street Justice - Part 2
Finally, we arrive oan the scene. He parks ootside the boozer, cautiously. Yince the pair ae us hop intae the fresh air oor nostrils are immediately...
- Read more about Street Justice - Part 2
- Log in to post comments
- 317 reads
Street Justice - Part 1
This is a chapter from my third novel that I'm currently writing. I have to post this story in seperate parts (all are now available to read on ABC...
- Read more about Street Justice - Part 1
- 3 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 1272 reads
Old Nights
Old Nights For David Floyd And a man rotates a table for diners as I twist myself – synching to unghost those years. I can see them now: Alison with...
- Read more about Old Nights
- 11 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 1593 reads
Kit Handsome and the Santa Claus Chaos 2
Kit studied the mob of angry elves gathered in front of him. “You want me to arrest Santa Claus?” he said. “Yes,” said the spokeself. “Why, what...
- Read more about Kit Handsome and the Santa Claus Chaos 2
- 2 comments
- Log in to post comments
- 716 reads