Xander Michael

Wow, who would have guessed that no take-up would transform into four superb entries that I can’t fit a gnat’s wing between. I’ve read and re-read, and gone out for a walk – and here are my conclusions, before I change my mind:

Sandra – Catalyst

A gritty, rich voice taking us through a concise, gripping read and an unexpected but brilliantly…[Read more]

last (24hr-ish) shout for the monthly comp (do we still want to keep this going in its current form?). Already we have two excellent entries, but one or two more would be lovely.

Thank you Jane – and Kate and Raine – it’s always good to get positive feedback, and Carol’s was more incisive that I could have managed. (I’m still grinning)

If anyone is wondering about splashing out on a print version of any of the ‘Love triangles with murder’ series, Blurb has a SHIP4FREE offer – at their usual rate of £6.99 for one book this is of considerable value, but offer ends 30th March

h t t p s://w w w.blurb.co.uk/user/SandraDavies…
Use the code SHIP4FREE

UNTITLED (as usual!)
89 words, so a bit on the short side, and I don’t mind if this makes no sense to anyone but me 🙂

I saw the prompt and thought I would
Write a poem, if I could,
I took a vintage text (or two)
And tried to fashion something new,
Nothing worked till I caught sight
Of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
And so my Transformation…[Read more]

Fab review! Well done – she clearly really enjoyed it & picked up on all the things that I love about your writing! 🙂

Thanks, Ath. I bought a copy of Carol’s novel, but as it only arrived yesterday I haven’t begun it yet.

One week left for the March comp, with one excellent entry as yet.

With crime fiction, it seems that the ‘THIS IS WHAT THIS IS signifier is a silhouetted man walking down a tunnel or over a bridge or along a lonely road BUT IT IS ALWAYS THE SAME BLINKING MAN!!! and I wonder authors don’t put their foot down. Even more so when I see what can be done by a small company with ‘This is our undoing’

@Daedalus, that’s so unutterably awful it’s tipped all the way over into wonderful!

@libby, @athelstone, thank you. I’m delighted with my foxy. 🙂

I think you’re right in that figures are often used as a massive ‘THIS IS WHAT THIS BOOK IS’ flag, like for bodice rippers or YA urban romantic fantasy, or twee historical rags-to-riches stories.…[Read more]

Our local indie bookshop – https://www.drakethebookshop.co.uk/ – is doing a brilliant job of keeping us stocked up with books – and says he has deliveries of stock arriving daily for click and collect. I’ve already spent £100 with him this year – and my ‘need’ list grows ever longer.

Catalyst

Despite the haste of his extreme, and unavoidably, late arrival – ‘Sorry, sorry, bastards took my phone so no way to warn. I’ll be fine, just need to wash the blood off … nose, yeah. Not broken. No, it’s fine, Alix paid my cab off at the door. And yeah, the police took witness statements.’ – he’d caught a glimpse of her as he hurri…[Read more]

Now our winter comp is over – may I remind all of you wonderful story tellers that the monthly ones are still running, March already half-way through.
At present no contenders.

@Daedalus, it was mainly making the manifests more fleshed out (so to speak) so they felt more real and the way they worked made more sense. So small tweaks throughout rather than a big edit. And totally justified, I think. I am prone to the vagueness, as you know!!

Thank you @Daedalus. It’s a great mag & the editorial team were fantastic throughout. The acceptance followed on from a revise & resubmit, so it took a while but I’m delighted it’s out.

Well done, Janette!