Debi Alper

Congratulations @johnalty – well deserved. It was a gripping story.

Thank you @Raine for your kind comments on my entry. I’m sorry you’ve had a difficult Christmas. Hope things will get back on track for you soon.

Well, to be fair, accidents through excessive speed aren’t all caused by the heat of competition. One curve at Morpeth was the scene of three (count them) derailments within thirty years, all in the BR period: 1969, 1884 and 1994. Fortunately only the first caused any fatalities, six of them. And at Eltham Well Hall in 1972 the driver was…[Read more]

Fascinating and absorbing stuff as ever, Richard. As well as the wonderful clarity and readability of the technical matters, I find the culture of the railway companies and the way it affected how they ran their services really eye-opening. We have it pretty bad these days, with the worst combination of competition and monopoly, but at least we…[Read more]

Another engaging story, Richard. I have no particular interest in railway history but your adept recounting of these incidents mean that I open your blogs with a sense of anticipation and I am never disappointed. You have a gift for giving us the right amount of background to bring the events to life. Thank you!

Hope so @elle! In truth the numbers game is a problem for me, as I struggle to write enough to get the hit rate. Will keep trying though. The Barren editors are lovely, they gave me the nicest rejection ever 🤣

Well done Elle. I’m impressed with all these publications. I still haven’t had one since my first nearly four years ago, despite a concerted effort recently. I did have a very kind rejection from Barren Magazine recently, which still counts as ‘a miss is as good as a mile’.

Very clever John – you’ve left me poised and nervous as to what sort of ‘reality’ comes next.

Congrats again, @Elle!

Untitled (398 words)

In the dark before dawn the phone woke me. Its light made me squint. A window was broken at the shop, said a female police officer.

I pulled on a thick jumper and skirt and, with a thumping heart, drove into the centre of town. My shop – high-quality second-hand women’s clothes – was in a small road off the high stree…[Read more]

I look forward to it!

Thanks Ath and Libby!

Yes I think my experience was unusual in the sheer volume of rewriting I ended up doing. It really didn’t help that I began writing the novel with absolutely no idea about plot or where I was headed. I’m pretty sure that if I’d had a clearer outline and idea of the shape of my book from the start it wouldn’t have needed 24…[Read more]