marandina

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I have 273 stories published in 28 collections on the site.
My stories have been read 1330415 times and 369 of my stories have been cherry picked.
1710 of my 5,301 comments have been voted Great Feedback with a total of 1754 votes

Trusted critic
marandina's picture
Paul

I am a Brummie living in North Somerset who loves to write but gets distracted with other things. I enjoy horror/fantasy and anything that provokes original thought.

My literary heroes are Clive Barker, Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft.

Everyone should read George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four .

I have work published by AlienBuddha Press, Loft Books, BlackBough Poems, DarkWinter Literary Magazine and Paragraph Planet.

You can find me on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/user-62051685

on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BeeRummie

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beerummie/

at Bluesky @marandina.bsky.social

and at Threads https://www.threads.net/@beerummie

 

My stories

Cherry

Wootton Village

Audio version at: https://soundcloud.com/user-62051685/wootton-village-mp3 Slate-coloured, sombre skies cast vacuous, apocryphal runes. Carrion crows...
Cherry

The Existential Fate of Original Thought

Every day had been the same for so long now. Epicurus sat in his leather backed chair, cradling a glass of scotch, ruminating about life and the arts...
Gold cherry

The Haunted Fort of Bhangarh

Audio version at: https://soundcloud.com/user-62051685/the-haunted-fort-of-bhangahr The Haunted Fort of Bhangahr I stare out of the tinted window for...
1 likes
Cherry

The Dead Cat

Steve “Stevo” Mason never did like school. At 14 years of age, the rest of his life looked a very long way away. Particularly bright at junior level...

Eleanor Cross

Eleanor, highborn of Castile, favoured daughter of Ferdinand, beloved, revered Queen to Albion’s powerhouse: The Longshanks. Noble monarch, woman of...
1 likes

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1710 of my comments have received 1754 Great Feedback votes

1 Vote

"A brambletoad, turbid with

Posted on Thu, 11 Jul 2024

"A brambletoad, turbid with siltblood,

now I dreambeetle by moon's waters.."

Wonderful use of language, of course. And soaked in lore and magic.

"I promise

nothing"

...but your poem delivers everything :)

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Posted in Natterjack

1 Vote

I should clearly be listening

Posted on Sat, 22 Jun 2024

I should clearly be listening to Radio 4 so much more.

Labour are talking about using "grey belt" land to build some of the 1.5m new houses over the next 5 years. So land like disused former petrol stations that have gone to seed. The...

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Posted in "For, being green, there is great hope" (quote from Shakespeare's HENRY VI PART 2, ACT 3 SCENE 1)

1 Vote

Thanks, Ewan. This came about

Posted on Wed, 10 Jul 2024

Thanks, Ewan. This came about from a writing prompt re the offline group I'm in. I saw the story on the news and followed the reaction on SM. Needless to say, there was a lot of vitriol. JSO went on to do the same thing to Taylor Swift's private...

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Posted in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

1 Vote

This poignant and thought

Posted on Sat, 06 Jul 2024

This poignant and thought provoking tale is our Facebook and X/Twitter Pick of the Day.

Congratulations, Itane!

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Posted in Why do bad people good things?

1 Vote

"Only polishing it with his

Posted on Fri, 05 Jul 2024

"Only polishing it with his beer-stained apron, he was, and holding it up to the light to check for greasy fingerprints and smudges of lipstick."

Some great pen pictures in this Turlough.

And one of my favourite phrases "Rough as a...

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Posted in My Döner and Chide

1 Vote

Funnily enough...I watched

Posted on Fri, 05 Jul 2024

Funnily enough...I watched the original "Resident Evil" movie again only last night. AI aka "the Red Queen" goes rogue killing everybody. Well it is a Wes Anderson film.

Thankfully your story is a more well-considered albeit along the same...

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Posted in Parcel for you...Part 28

1 Vote

"Skylarks trill intensely

Posted on Sat, 06 Jul 2024

"Skylarks trill intensely above and drop down
into the bracken where presumably they have their hidden nests."

A highly visual and evocative poem. Always a pleasure to join you virtually in a ramble, Rhiannon. I remember the Black...

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Posted in Bannau Brycheiniog**

1 Vote

Thanks for reading, David.

Posted on Thu, 27 Jun 2024

Thanks for reading, David. Aye...we have a new prime minister this morning..And Farage is now an MP at the eighth time of asking.

Here's to change bringing realised hope.

Not sure where we go with the Boris stories now but we'll see...

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Posted in Boris and the Hustings

1 Vote

It's not like me to be right

Posted on Tue, 02 Jul 2024

It's not like me to be right twice in the same day. Once is a rarity. I know nuffink, of course. Well according to my OH. 

The bond between Turkey and Bulgaria is clear for all to see from your razor sharp writing. You should consider...

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Posted in Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

1 Vote

"..with his darling Jane, his

Posted on Tue, 02 Jul 2024

"..with his darling Jane, his spouse,
no regrets for Uncle Claus!"

Adroitly done, Rhiannon. Rhythm, rhyming and a good story :)

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Posted in Uncle Claus

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