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More than a Challenge...

9/5/2021

 
Anyone who may take an occasional look at this website will have rightfully concluded that I have not had much in the way of news over the past couple of years.

Unlike the earlier days of my writing from about 2012 onwards, where I would be fairly prolific in terms of writing both accomplished and published, I have fair slowed down in more recent times.

This has been a deliberate move. Rather than simply write (which, as writers, we're forever being told we must always do otherwise we would not be writers... Quatsch, as the Germans say) I found it necessary to take a breather, experience some other things for a while, and when it came to writing again, decide what precisely I eventually wanted to do, and how. Although it was never the intention to stop entirely, to step away from the keyboard can be no bad thing. But that break became a year, and then two...

During this time I also took a career break from my day job, and engaged myself in a few other creative pursuits: modern languages, literary translations, and even turning off the computer altogether and making things, like bags and belts. I did also do a bit of fiction writing, although unlike how I would have been in the earlier days, I was in no hurry to chalk up more publication credits.

However, there has been one consistent element running through all this time - the genesis of which, I was surprised to be told, began five whole years ago. And that is, of course, the wonderfully batty and gloriously fun flash fiction challenges that Chris Fielden runs on his website. It was my own loose talk in an article for his website that started the initial "adverbs" challenge. Now, half a decade on, there have been no less than eight different challenges (in which anyone is welcome to take part), fifteen anthologies published, and in excess of £5,000 raised for charity.

Because I have been somewhat lax in keeping up this website, I have failed to give the most recent five "challenged" collections a mention. But here they are, better late than never, below: click on each for the details.
Finally, with a few more story ideas having sufficiently brewed in my subconscious like a nice hearty mug of Assam, it is time to remove the metaphorical tea bag and get a lot more writing done in the rest of 2021 (or certainly, more than I have been). Maybe I'll even try to get some more published. Stay tuned for news when it happens.

"Tritely Challenged vol 2" out now!

27/6/2020

 
A veritable milestone has been reached, with the tenth "Challenged" anthology published! This one, the second "Tritely Challenged" collection, is another collection of 100 stories by 100 authors, with all mini-stories packed to the rafters with copious quantities of cliches. Far too many to shake a stick at. You see what I'm doing there, I hope...

​All proceeds are donated to Book Aid International. Click here for Chris Fielden's site, for details of where to buy in either paperback, or for your Kindle.
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To Hull & Back - Volume 6 - Out Now!

31/10/2019

 
Well, October 31st has been and gone, during which something very earnest and important in the UK political landscape should have apparently happened but did not, BUT, something of a great deal more importance in the UK literary scene very much DID happen. Indeed, not even a mad squadron of a thousand flaming hogs could have prevented it from doing so.

I refer, of course, to Chris Fieden's To Hull & Back competition anthology for humorous short fiction.

Again I was asked to be on the judging panel, and ever, putting the shortlist of 20 into any semblance of order was super, super tough. The team got there in the end though, and it with congratulations we welcome Alan MacGlas, with his story "Casandra's Week", as this year's overall winner.

Here's the link for Chris's page where you can choose how and where to buy this year's collection, including the first time in print of one of my own early stories, "Poverty Gap", first published by the sport fiction website Strange Bounce.
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Live at Talking Tales (part 2)

25/10/2019

 
Back in August I had the pleasure, for the second time this year, in visiting Bristol to attend and read at the fabulous Talking Tales night of live storytelling.

This time the evening doubled as the launch event for our two most recent "Challenged" anthologies: Adverbially Challenged Volume 4, and Sensorially Challenged Volume 2.

As ever, everyone's contributions were filmed; below you'll see me talk about how Mike's Not Entirely Serious Adverb Writing Challenge came to be, and also read a mini-story/flash fiction from each of the books.

Live at Talking Tales - coming up!

9/8/2019

 
Earlier this year I had the honour of attending the legendary Bristol-based, Stokes Croft Writers-run, spoken-word, storytelling event, Talking Tales, where I read out of my stories to a large and appreciative audience.

I'm pleased to say I will be making my return, on the 20th August to be precise, where I will be reading my contributions to the two most recent "Challenged" anthologies (this one and this one), and will also be introducing other contributors to read from these fab books.

As well as acting as the launch party for these two anthologies, the line-up also includes many other authors (reading their stories which may or may not necessarily adhere strictly to the 'no adverbs/no purple prose' so-called 'rule' that we've broken so elegantly in our anthology series - but who knows, unless you go along to find out?) As ever, it'll be a great night.

All details are on the Facebook event page, here. Hope to see you there!
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