The choice of story is controversial - but it's the quality of the writing I admire rather than the philosophical drift of the piece. The IP should give you some fun! Congrats to all. http://www.abctales.com/story/michael-s-r-valentine/im-king-portobello http://www.abctales.com/story/tjw/one-night-between http://www.abctales.com/inspiration-point-ip

Alone in Berlin is full of cartoon characters! And exclamation marks! And the third-person omniscient narrator who sees all and feels all, on behalf of his audience, suddenly comes clean about his omnipotent powers and directly addresses the reader and insists on a happy ending! Fuck that! But as we fall back into history and look at Boris Johnson and George Osborne vying with each other to think of new ways to beat the poor down and, on the...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07472y8 This is a programme about domestic violence. Violence against women. It follows Thames Valley’s domestic abuse unit, over a twelve month period, as its police officers go about the business of support Jemma, Helen and Sabrina and gaining a conviction against their attackers. The evidence seems straightforward. Helen’s dad, Russell, puts it this way, ‘I feel gutted. You never know what happens behind...

I am not a pilgrim. I am pillock. I read 84 pages, or section one, of 700 pages. I didn’t stick with it to find out how former FBI agent Jude Garret published in-house, as a front for the FBI, a book that he didn’t expect anyone to read about forensics; how this related to the pathology of crime and how what goes around comes around. A feeling I know well. But guess what? On page one, someone has read that book by Jude Garret, and it’s a woman...

Poem of the week was a no-brainer and goes to Philip Sidney's wonderful evocation of childhood - Bombinations (fantastic word isn't it!) http://www.abctales.com/story/philip-sidney/bombinations The Story of the Week was harder and I would like to give rosaliekempthorne a very honourable mention for her interpretation of the Inspiration Point - The Buzzing in My Head : http://www.abctales.com/story/rosaliekempthorne/buzzing-my-head . She was...

I was up at my sister Phyllis’s house 13 th March 1996. That’s twenty years ago. I was a young thirty-three with a full head of hair and a ready laugh, now I’m a baldy, miserable old cunt, so nothings really changed, but I remember that day because it was Dunblane. News coverage was running on loop, but it was the same picture of parents rushing towards the school, knowing like us that something terrible had happened. I’m not an emotional guy. I...

Anne Rice, as most people know, is a novelist. Her bestselling work includes her first novel, Interview with the Vampire . This is the only novel of hers which I've read. It made her who she is. Gave her financial freedom. The blurb on the cover tells the reader that she has written twenty-eight novels. I've a dim memory of trying to read another one of these, but quickly put it down. I could run my finger down the list, but honestly I wouldn't...

This is a triptych of father, mother, son and ghosts of life. And his parents die in that order. Father, Bill, first, unexpectedly of a heart attack not long after retiring from banking. Then mother, Julie, unravelled by strokes until there was nothing left. This is where the story begins and ends, because it allows John, their only son to bind himself closer, and find out more about their earlier life. His life too comes under scrutiny, but it...

I love that lucid moment when I first wake up and know this is my day. It is not unlike a lucid dream when you suddenly realize you are dreaming and decide: ‘What the heck I may as well fly, it’s my dream,’ …And then you do...So Today…I may as well fly... When all 24 hours are mine to do with as I will... My choice... and no other voice but mine commands me. I can lazy about and read, take time to enjoy my morning coffee or walk along the...

A crazy poem, a crazy story and a chain saw give us our highlights this week. Enjoy! http://www.abctales.com/story/eb/nuthoused http://www.abctales.com/story/ice-rivers/dont-i-look-myself http://www.abctales.com/inspiration-point-ip Don't forget to sign up to our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Just look up ABCtales. And if you are already one of us then please spread the word to your social media pals and let them know about all this great...