@jillsted Jill, you do an evocative encapsulation of Isabel’s memories of different kinds of love. Her memories are compelling, a sense of her moving through a full life. The ending has a twist, if I’ve read it correctly, that adds a shiver to the story, a question of whether Lydia’s…[Read more]

@jillsted – here was an enticing mystery with a comic touch. Told with great pacing and a strong atmosphere of folk tale, it hooked me from start to finish.

@purplewitch (Terrie) – what wonderful creepiness. I loved the rich lan…[Read more]

Sandra, this is an atmospheric depiction of the personalities within a family, all so economically written. I’d never heard of furanocoumarins. What an interesting thing to discover! You built tension with all the possible problems resulting from letting children loose in the kitchen, then there was a fine twist at the end. Very e…[Read more]

I’ll be back later with a comp for April.

I loved each dragons – real, metaphorical, and felt. This was a delicious prompt to sink teeth into. Thanks lotsly, @seagreen 🙂

Apologies for the day-late decision making. I’ve been oout and aboout with my egg, enjoying our midterm break from work and school, and foolishly saved the reading until the final day of the month because I wanted to take in each piece at the same time, rather than read as submitted, and also to give everyone who could, a chance to…[Read more]

@Seagreen: This very enjoyable story reveals the rich history of a relationship, shown with a clever use of Elizabeth English and rhythm. There’s a satisfyingly wide range of emotion, including the delicious LOL comedy of “Thine exuberance I shall…[Read more]

@clebs ‘Behind Closed Curtains’ is very atmospheric, rich in detail and perfectly titled. I felt a few words could be cut, such as the second mention of Jimmy’s bowl, and I wasn’t sure if I got the story’s message.…[Read more]

Alright. Down to the stuff and business. With only two entries, both of which are incredibly well-penned and definitely get to the heart of their most singular matters, this was not an easy choice.

However, I’m going to give this win to @sandradavies, for leaving…[Read more]

I too went on a Google search over @alex‘s piece, for the exact same reason 😄😄 It’s too funny you…[Read more]

@quellomayo – Gripping and amusing in equal measure; this wasn’t one that I’d read normally but having done, I wanted to read more. Fun stuff.

@sandradavies – Definitely en route to overcoming an adversary we can all relate to being plague by in…[Read more]

@squidge – I enjoyed this far-away, fantastical dream sequence, with its lightly pressing sense of isolation, elusive understanding, and finally, lucidity.

@athelstone – Gorgeously streaming subconsciousness with this one,…[Read more]

Anyway, down to business. You know what I’m like with feedback so I’ll keep it brief.

@sandradavies – Loved the voice, the descriptive language (gingerbread brown and the notion of a magical, travelling kaleidoscope – how perfect!) Then, just the hint of threa…[Read more]

@knicky and @libby – Piety came out of nowhere and beat down any contender who dared to raise their head above the parapet. She might be a feisty one ☺️

EROSION

And it’s just enough to harm
It’s just enough to make its mark

Is it just me, or has that guy got a voice like a Brillo pad?
Actually…
…could you turn it down?
It’s making me maudlin.
No, seriously. Turn it down.
Or,…[Read more]

Verve are a small imprint of an indie press so there’ll be no books on shelves in Waterstones but they’re lovely people and the fit feels so right. The indie press route has worked very well for me and is well worth a try. They’re often more open to books that don’t quite fit into…[Read more]

@jllsted I am very…[Read more]

I’ve added a few editorial points in my comments in the hope these are useful if you’re going to be developing the…[Read more]

A cracking bunch of entries. I hope you enjoyed writing these as much as I enjoyed reading them. As usual I was struck by the many different ways they all responded to the theme.

1) @johnalty. I…[Read more]

And yes, I think she needed to get out fast, and I think she did. She felt quite…[Read more]

@raine – glad you picked up on the unreliability. Waltraut ultimately got him out of her life by framing him for cheating in his exams, resulting in him getting thrown out of school and all manner of other ills. As for the second…[Read more]

I will tidy up Dipsy’s character questionnaire and post it if you’d like,…[Read more]

Because…[Read more]

So… thankyou for managing to fit in writing your entries during the xmas busyness.

@Seagreen – I loved the tiny details that…[Read more]