The Story So Far…

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The Story So Far...

Since I started writing just over a year ago, I have had two stories and a poem accepted for publication in Clarendon House anthologies.

Vortex - Sins of The Father.

Cadence - Run or Hide.

Fireburst - Gods and Owls.

Much of my writing time recently has been taken up with preparing a collection of stories for Clarendon House Publications which I'm tentatively calling 'Deben Market'. The project is currently sitting at about 55,000 words and is about half finished, with twenty stories fleshed out and beginning to take shape.

A 10,000 word murder mystery set in 1930's London has also been submitted to Clarendon House for the Enigma anthology, and also I'm waiting to hear if a little romance will be accepted for their Rapture anthology.

I'm really excited to hear what Grant Hudson, the editor of Clarendon House, thinks of my submission for the Showcase anthology called 'The Old Ways'.

'Serve Cold' has been accepted by Zombie Pirate Publishing for inclusion in their Flash Fiction Addiction anthology. The publication date has yet to be announced.

The mighty and prolific Steven Carr challenged (challenged is too strong a word, encouraged is more fitting), encouraged me to write a western. So I did, it's called 'A Bullet for The Horse' and has been submitted to Typehouse Literary Magazine. I wait with baited breathe.

A sad tale of an immigrant woman is being read by Crannog Magazine - I should hear if it's good enough soon.

And a 1,500 word horror story is looking for a home after not making the grade in a writing contest.

Who knows what the next year will bring.

Fireburst – Available Now

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Fireburst - Available Now

My second story to be published by Clarendon House Publications, 'Gods and Owls' - A story of despair and hope, appears in this collection along with 65 other brilliant pieces of flash fiction.

Just take a minute to check out the cover, and observe the talent inside including; Steven Carr, Carmen Baca, Gary Bonn, L. T. Waterson, Shawn Klimek, Riham Adly, R.A. Goli and Brandy Bonifas to name just a handful. I can't wait to read every story.

Get it here

 

The blurb

Intense, keen, extreme, sincere, deeply felt, wholehearted - you’ll find stories within ranging from the amusing to the overwhelming, from the earnest to the cute.

Clarendon House has once again drawn together a selection of fabulous talents to weave you into their story worlds so that you will scarcely believe what can be done in less than 2,000 words per tale.

Perfect if you want to relish the moments; ideal if you desire entertainment on-the-run; essential if you’re eager to see what the future has to offer in terms of great writers - this is the book for you.

Moony Moore Update

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Last summer when I started writing, I intended, as most aspiring authors probably do, to write a novel.

The novel started to grow and I bashed out 50,000 words for NANOWRIMO. I had a hero and a devil in disguise, a love interest and long histories for my characters. I devised a town and a community, and drew maps with street names. Businesses sprang to life and people populated the town.

To my mind, the town of Deben Market was real and filled with the slightly weird characters we may come across once or twice in our lives. A melting pot for the lost and lonely, the bizarre and obscure. On the surface a refined sea side town in England, but scratch that fine veneer of respectability, and the strange histories of the inhabitants rise to the surface.

The novel was to be called The Loneliness of Moony Moore, a murder mystery and ghost story rolled into one.

However, I soon realised that I needed more experience as a writer before a novel could be completed to a standard I was happy with.

At the beginning of this year, I put the project on the back burner and concentrated on short stories. I let my mind and imagination ramble, but I kept coming back to Deben Market. I found myself telling the lives of some of the inhabitants in short story format.

One of those stories became 'Sins of the Father', and was published in Vortex, by Clarendon House Publications earlier this year. I was surprised and honoured to win best story as voted by the members of the FaceBook group, The Inner Circle Writers' Group. Find out more here

The prize for winning, my own anthology of short stories. You guessed it, my stories will be centred around Deben Market and the strangeness that is drawn to it's streets.

The Moony Moore project is evolving.

Fireburst Flash

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I am very pleased to announce that my flash fiction piece 'Gods and Owls' is to be included in

FIREBURST – THE INNER CIRCLE WRITERS’ GROUP SECOND FLASH
FICTION ANTHOLOGY 2018

Here's the blurb

Intense, keen, extreme, sincere, deeply felt, wholehearted - you’ll find
stories within ranging from the amusing to the overwhelming, from the
earnest to the cute. Clarendon House has once again drawn together a
selection of fabulous talents to weave you into their story worlds so
that you will scarcely believe what can be done in less than 2,000 words
per tale. Perfect if you want to relish the moments; ideal if you desire
entertainment on-the-run; essential if you’re eager to see what the
future has to offer in terms of great writers - this is the book for you.

 

Poetry Anthology

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A short poem of mine ‘Run or Hide’ is to appear in the upcoming poetry anthology from Clarendon House Publications.

Cadence : The Inner Circle Writers’ Poetry Anthology 2018 will be available in a just a couple of weeks.

 

Sins Wins

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Staggering news.

My story ‘Sins of The Father’ has been voted the best story in Vortex, The Inner Circle Writers’ Group Literary Anthology 2018.

To say ‘I am absolutely stunned’ is an understatement.
The quality of storytelling in the anthology is astonishing. Many of the writers found in its pages have been writing for years and are used to being published. I was and still am a newbie.

I have my favourites from the book.

Interlude by L. T. Waterson was a dreamy story of forbidden love and new experiences.

Concrete by Bill Swiggs made me cry.

A Rock n Roll Song by Samantha Hamilton is the cleverest story and most beautifully written.

Kadee Rose by P. A. O’Neil was a slice of rodeo life.

Hey Demon I’ll Make You A Deal by Elizabeth Montague is a brilliant two hander between a woman and her doubts.

I Wish by Riham Adly will take your breath away.

Some of my favourite short story authors can be found inside, Steven Carr, Gary Bonn, Mehreen Ahmed and Carmen Baca to name few.

I could go on and on. I’m sure you get my meaning. Many if not all of the stories were, in my opinion, much better than my effort.

And to think, complete strangers thought mine was the best of the bunch, even after reading these fabulous stories by super talented writers.

Unbelievable – I am truly honoured.

The upshot is that the publisher, Clarendon House Publications, is giving me the opportunity to have my own anthology of short stories published.

Now the hard work begins, I have a lot to live up to.

You can get Vortex for your Kindle from Amazon

Or in paperback at Lulu

Vortex – Five star review on Amazon

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An excellent five star review of Vortex.

 

I just finished Vortex. I must say it was like hosting a neighborhood potluck with all your friends bringing their A dishes. I certainly skipped all the starchy food so as to leave room for the very best. I was not disappointed. Vortex, an anthology of literary fiction, is edited by Grant P. Hudson and published by the independent Clarendon House Publishing, based in Sheffield, England but it features authors from around the world.
I loved every story – the grand ideas and then execution of the grand ideas – the craftsmanship and beauty of the words. I think if a person only reads bestsellers and classic short stories anthologies they really missing out on a lot of great stories. I had a favorite story in Vortex, it was “The Sins of the Father” by David Bowmore. It was an absolute page turner and just a riveting story about a priest whose moral weaknesses were about to catch up with him.
Other jewels in the crown were “The Vanishing of M. Renior” by RLM Cooper, “Concrete” by Bill Swiggs, “Burnt Candle” by Marlon Hayes and “A Rock N’ Roll Song” by Samantha Hamilton. The stories all had grand ideas, a great soul to them and executions of their grand ideas were flawless.
“The Vanishing of M. Renior” is about a young American Magazine reporter in Paris, just before World War II who meets a true Parisian gentlemen M. Renior who takes him periodically for conversation and they develop a friendship. Later, M. Renior pretends not to know him. The puzzled reporter must evacuate to London before the shooting war begins. When he investigates a story about the child refugees fleeing to England, he discovers what a truly courageous gentlemen M. Renior is.
“Concrete” is about a Australian farmer who disowns his son for volunteering for the Army to fight in the Vietnam. The son is killed in action and wins a medal of valor. And still the father cannot forgive until a surviving war buddy of his son who was saved by his son comes to the farm. “Burned Candles” is about a close knit African American family in Chicago trying to heal from the memories of the violent shooting death of one son and the imprisonment of a second son for his revenge killing. What stands out most about this piece is the natural dialogue of the storyteller.
“Rock N’ Roll Song” is a story told from the point of view of a Rock N’ Roll song about a young talented rock star from Iowa who is destroyed by the fast paced life of instantaneous success. It is heart wrenching but at the same time exhilarating and certainly artistically bold and creative.
The stories were great, no false notes and the endings were all strong. I think these five pieces would hold their own in any university anthology featuring the greats like Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen Crane, and Ernest Hemingway.
I thought “The Midas Agency” by L.E. Lacaille to be an over-the-top quirky humorous piece of work on karma, fame and success told tongue in cheek. I absolutely loved its dark alternate world humor. Mops and Fairytales by Catherine A. McKenzie was a marvelously disturbing piece about a middle aged woman unable to cope with life.
“A Taste of Friendship” by Shawn Klimek was wonderfully neurotic about a lonely neighbor who unexpectedly receives a cupcake from an anonymous neighbor. “The Taxi” by Edward C. Hartshorn was funny.
I thought “Animal Pancakes” by Traci Mullins and “The Blizzard” by Copper Rose were wonderful pieces about the deaths of close aged family members. It is always a shock to lose someone you assume would be around forever.
Mehreen Ahmed’s “At the Far End of the Alley” was a nice meditation on love and the contrast between love within the bounds of society and adulterous love that ruins families told as if it was a Pakistani fairy tale.
A lot of effort and talent went into all the stories in Vortex. If I did not mention a story, it is because I don’t think laundry lists are helpful. I honestly enjoyed every single story. They were all certainly well worth the read.
Certainly the world of independent publishing houses are a source of great literary works for those who enjoy the refinement of a plate of oysters Rockefeller to go with your homemade macaroni and cheese.

 

Vortex: The Inner Circles Literary Anthology is available in paperback from Lulu.com and for your Kindle at Amazon