Fantasy Faction Contest

Hey everyone,

Just a short update for now. I've just submitted my short story 'The Keeper of Tales' to the Fantasy Faction Anthology Competition. I'm immensely proud of the story (though I wouldn't be a writer if I didn't hate it a little as well), so I really hope I win.

The great part is, they have an 'entry plus' option. While the entry itself is free, for £7 you receive a full critique of your story by one of the judges, including what they liked, what they didn't, and what to work on as a writer. For the cost of a few cups of coffee this will be invaluable!

For those who don't know, 'The Keeper of Tales' is a fantasy/horror story taking place at the turn of the 1800s. Two brothers, both writers of children's folk tales, seek to bury the body of a woman in the haunted, snowy woods of Germany. But this is no ordinary body, and as we learn the identity of the brothers we come face to face with not only what caused them to commit this terrible crime, but what it means to be a storyteller.

Should I win, the story will be published in the upcoming Fantasy Faction Anthology, along with 5 other unknown writers and several known writers. As such there will be six winners all in all - all six winners will not only be published in the anthology but will receive a glass award to commemorate the achievement. The top three winners will also receive a cash prize.

First Place - $500

Second Place - £250

Third Place - $100

So, here's hoping. Do check out the website, feel free to enter, and as usual thanks for reading!

Matt

Guest Blogger: Miranda Boers, 'Be Inspired' Blog Hop

Hey all,

When I wrote my answers for the 'Be Inspired' Blog Hop a few days ago, I tagged the lovely Miranda Boers (@PurpleQueenNL on twitter). Unfortunately she doesn't have a blog at the moment, so I agreed to post her answers here. Do read them, her novel sounds great! So, without further ado...

'Be Inspired' Blog Hop

First, the rules:

1. Answer the ten questions
2. Tag five other writers, link to them in your post so we can hop over and see their answers too.

The Questions:

1. What is the name of your book:

Jade (working title, not come up with anything better yet – it the name of the MC’s nightclub in the book)

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?

That’s a long winded one. As an early teenage I used to dream that I was a man, and it led me to thinking what my friends would think if they met me later in life and I was a man, so I would ask them! I also always wanted to own a nightclub – I was inspired by going to the Hippodrome in Leicester Square in London when I was 16 (and old theatre transformed into a nightclub), and with both those two idea, the fantasy grew of me being in my own nightclub, as a male, and some friends who knew me as a female came in one night, and I chatted with them, and they had no clue. Thus the book was born.

3. In what genre would you classify your book?

I have been trying to categorise it, and found one called Realist Fiction, which is is in that it is set in the here and now, with what is possible today, although I tend to refer to it as a Suspense and Reveal story, which is very character based.

4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?

Lead MC would be a Brad Pitt (in his early days) look alike maybe…but otherwise I don’t really know, and although the faces of my characters are very clear to me, and the whole thing plays like a movie in my mind, I have never actually thought of what actors today would suit them. I am not a big fan of movies from books I have read! Many Stephen King films have ruined the characters I had in my mind, so I tend not to watch them.

5. Give us a one sentence synopsis of your book:

Michael Nelson owns an exclusive nightclub in the centre of London, and is in love with his girlfriend Kate Turner, but has to tell her something that just might break them up, and ruin his business too.

6. Is your book already published/represented?

No, it’s not quite finished, and still deciding on what route.

7. How long did it take to write your book?

I started the book September 2010 – and I am hoping it will be only another month or so – so not quite 2 years.

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?

I am not sure; a friend that read it said it reminded him of Sidney Sheldon novels in terms of the setting. But really I have yet to really be able to place it. I haven’t read anything like it – well the suspense might come from my years of reading Stephen King, but that is about it.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

This book specifically – none. But inspired me to write? It has to be Stephen King, I also love James Herbert and Clive Barker, and Terry Pratchett and Raymond Fiest.

10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
Michael Nelson loves his life as a nightclub owner, but loves his girlfriend more, and wants to marry her, but before he can do that he also has to tell her something about himself that might cause her to leave him, and if word gets out; destroy his reputation too.

He plans to tell her when they go to Australia together for work – he is setting up a new nightclub, while she is looking after clients.  But when he meets a work colleague of hers, who recognises him – although not completely, things get a little big difficult, and he is pushed to tell her sooner than planned. What will happen if he tells her work colleague who he really is, and that they were once lovers? And what will she do once she finds out?

And now – to tag five other bloggers (apologies if you've already been tagged):

Laura Huntly @LauraHuntley
Edward Fraser @EWFF88
Jessica Maybury @JessicaMaybury
Jonathan D Allen @crimnos
Michael Haynes @mohio73

Napping Blogger Award (and a little fan love)

So, Angie Richmond of Write Me Happy nominated me for this little meme/award. The rules?

1) Link back to the person/blog that nominated you
2) Tell us what you do to make time you YOU. That might be a hobby, a musical break, a favourite show or movie, sitting outside etc.
3) Nominated 5 bloggers - especially those you think could use a break.

So, what do I do to make time for me? Away from writing? Honestly I've spent so long procrastinating from various projects that the list is as long as my arm - gaming, seeing friends, watching an unhealthy amount of TV. But through it all, one thing stands out as something that helps me to just relax, switch off, and simply be.

Those of you who know me best will know I've had a tough year. My main escape from this has been a greater focus on guitar. I might be a writer of fiction but a songwriter I am not, so don't think I sit and compose glorious melodies and lyrics that would make the angels weep. No, I'm more about covers.

Those of you who know me best will also know I have a mild obsession with one singer-songwriter in particular, by the name of Josh Ritter, going so far as to have a line of his lyrics on one of my tattoos. His lyrics are, simply put, incredible. He's been compared to greats like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, and while other people may escape into a great book, I escape into Josh Ritter's songs of love and loss, of Americana and endless searching. He even released a novel last year, titled 'Bright's Passage', which is probably one of the best novels I've read in recent years. Over the past year I've learnt as many Josh Ritter songs as I can, specifically teaching myself to fingerpick.

I've embeded one of my favourite songs of his, the one I'm the most proud of being able to learn. When I'm playing and singing this, everything else just disappears. All I've been through this past year melts away, and for a few minutes I'm lost in the world he creates. This is one of many Josh Ritter songs I would recommend to people. I could spend hours interpreting and discussing his lyrics, as I have done with friends who are fans.

I realise I've rambled on for long enough - I guess that says it all. In short, when I want to relax and just make time for me, I pick up the guitar and I lose myself in whatever song comes to mind - oftentimes the first thing I play will be Josh Ritter. I hope, one day, to be able to write even a single line with the brilliance and genius of his. So many songwriters these days are unable to write lyrics the way they used to be written - lyrics that can be discussed and interpreted; songs which leave you breathless.

So, now to tag people - and apologies if you've already been tagged! As usual thanks for reading - sorry this was a long one.

Dreaming of Stories / @Afsaneh_Dreams

Catching Hummingbirds / @2CAHummingbird

Eilis Phillips / @EilisPhillips

Andrew Moore / @AGRMoore
Angela Goff / @Angela_Goff

'Be Inspired' Blog Hop

Hey folks,

Another meme, though this give me an opportunity to write a little about the current novel in progress. I was tagged by the lovely Angela Goff (@Angela_Goff on twitter). As usual thanks for reading, and even if I don't tag you please take part anyway!

First, the rules:

1. Answer the ten questions

2. Tag five other writers, link to them in your post so we can hop over and see their answers too.

The Questions:

1. What is the name of your book:

Lucian (working title, possibly being changed to 'The Shadows at Sunrise').

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?

First, in my undergraduate degree I took a module entirely on Yeats. One of my favourite aspects of this module was studying Yeats' fascination with the Occult, and the so-called Occult Renaissance that took place at the end of the 19th Century. Societies like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Madame Blavatsky's Theosophical Society were so sure that they were about to discover something special, some hidden knowledge that would explain our place in the universe. I began to wonder, what if they did? What if we were contacted by some otherworldly force? The world of Lucian was born. Of course, since then the moment of contact in Lucian's world has been driven back by a few hundred years, but the seed was still in the Occult Renaissance of our world.

Secondly, and rather more simply, A man sat down in front of me in my mind's eye. He was a man who had seen things, a man who life had not been kind to. As with most writers this came completely out of the blue, but suddenly I was there, we were sitting in a dark bar, and he spoke to me. He said 'What I am about to tell you is true; you can choose to believe me, or you can walk out that door.' He motioned to the heavy door of the pub, cigarette still in hand, and took a draw. 'I don't care either way,' he finished, and I was hooked.

3. In what genre would you classify your book?

Young Adult Urban Fantasy

4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?  

I honestly have no idea. Unknowns would be good, simply because I don't want people looking at David, or Lucian, or any of my other characters and thinking 'oh hey, it's James Bond, and look there's the guy from Jumper'. Fresh faces are always good, so long as they can act. But why start thinking about this now? I have to finish the damn thing first.

5. Give us a one sentence synopsis of your book:

A teenage boy with the ability to see the dead is told that he is from a parallel Earth; taken there by the enigmatic Lucian, promised the truth about where he comes from, there are darker forces afoot that threaten not only Lucian's world, but all worlds.

6. Is your book already published/represented?

Not yet. I ran into some trouble with it, and it sat undisturbed for a while, but I believe I'm finally getting to a state where I can finish it. It's currently sitting at 66,000 words.

7. How long did it take to write your book?

Too long.

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours? 

I'm honestly not sure. Readers of Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman, even J.K. Rowling. It's tough to say...it's dark at times, so I can only hope that readers of any upper band YA would likely enjoy it.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

Obviously W.B. Yeats is responsible for the seed of the story itself. Otherwise, as above, writers like Neil Gaiman who are able to weave fantastically real fantasy worlds that skirt the edges of our society, or J.K. Rowling for her ability to carve a grandiose epic from a beginning so small.

10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.

I find it so hard to boil down the story to a single sentence, something which I know I will have to work on for query letters and suchlike. As such, here is a longer synopsis.

'Can anyone really change their destiny?

Seventeen year old David Gardener has always been able to see the spirits of the dead, and those nameless things that lurk just beyond the veil. He never knew his family, so when the enigmatic Lucian Ducant tells him he is from a parallel world, he doesn't know what to believe.

Desperate to discover where he comes from, clinging to the promise of answers, he joins Lucian in a world of cobbled streets and clockwork, where history took an entirely different turn and magic is fact. But something is stirring beyond the veil, and Lucian is not being entirely truthful with David. What of the strange dreams he is having, of the trenches and the dying, and the wall of mist so thick that it blocks out the sun? A terrible destiny awaits David, one which threatens not only the fate of the world he comes to think of as home, but the fate of every person in every world.'

And now – to tag five other bloggers (apologies if you've already been tagged):

Dreaming of Stories / @Afsaneh_Dreams

Catching Hummingbirds / @2CAHummingbird

Eilis Phillips / @EilisPhillips

Miranda Boers / @PurpleQueenNL

Angie Richmond / @write_me_happy

Five Sentence Fiction: Lost

It's Five Sentence Fiction time again! As usual, every week Lillie McFerrin posts a prompt on her blog (now moved to a new site). The goal? A flash fiction story, five sentences long, based on the prompt.

This one is a little formulaic, but I think it might work regardless. As usual, thanks for reading, and leave a comment to let me know what you think.

This Week's Prompt: Lost

(Photo taken by me - please do not use without permission)

It was starting to get dark; mist was rolling in from the reservoir, blurring the lines of trees and fallen logs and the slopes where, Sophie knew, she could easily fall and break her leg. As she stumbled on a mossy log she called out for them again, but she knew it would be fruitless; it had been hours since she had strayed from the path, and her parents were likely searching in completely the wrong direction.

Her eyes stung after the deluge of tears; another log, another stumble and she caught her balance on a huge tree, resting her back against it to try and let her despair subside. And there, almost hidden by a huge oak, was the smallest cabin; threadbare curtains hung on the windows, illuminated by the flickering candlelight within.

Her heart screamed that this was not right, that something seemed off, but she approached the cabin anyway; it was only when she got closer that she saw a hand let the threadbare curtain fall, and her voyeur’s shadow dart past the candlelight.