Xander Michael

The cell was as dark as it was damp, and it would reek all the worse but for the bitter cold. There were others in here, though Robin could not count them, in his head or by his fingers, which he could not see when placed in front of his face. The brief light that had the poor wretches holding their hands to theirs, told him there had to be ten or…[Read more]

Sorry Kate: this stemmed from the couple of ideas I was playing with before I went away last week. Lack of time then (and little in the foreseeable with a kitchen about to be installed) this was what I came up with.

‘I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.’

I was taken aback by how irritated I was by the first part of this quo…[Read more]

Yup, that works.

I remember reading after a train crash disaster, of the non-stop ringing of victims’ mobiles. Could you hot say “Somewhere there was a phone that seemed to keep on ringing and ringing.” ?

Have we ever had an entry in the form of a song before? Formatting may be a challenge, so bear with me.

On a restroom wall in Baltimore,
Above a broken sink,
Someone scratched this message,
“It’s later than you think”

I took this simple line to heart,
I saw that it was true,
And built myself a sturdy boat,
Then sailed the ocean blue.

Time goes…[Read more]

Like Richard, waiting for inspiration – and I’ve next week away from home in which to receive it (several ideas bubbling)

Congratulations, Kate! And nice job, Sandra 🙂

Congratulations, Kate, John and Seagreen. And thank you, Sandra, for an excellent competition that compelled me to return to entering. I didn’t envy your task of decision making.

Congratulations Kate!
Well done Sandra, really good competition, thanks.

I didn’t have any specific criteria in mind by which to judge this; just expected to choose the one which moved me most, in much the same way as Vicki Feaver’s poetry moves me. Which was a BIG mistake. Because each and every entry was thought-provoking in a subtly different way.

But definitely NOT a mistake for the pleasure each one brought me,…[Read more]

With a dozen sparkling and highly entertaining entries already posted I know I’m only making it harder for myself to choose, but feel obliged to point out that there’s still five days to go before the deadline.