Sweeper

The sound of bristles sweeping cobbled streets reached her ears as she cowered in the darkened room. They swept slowly, pushing the brooms rhythmically.

Rasp... rasp... rasp...

There were no other sounds. No voices. No animals. She blinked into the darkness and pulled her knees up to her chin.

She willed it to rain. They could sweep the streets all day but the stains would remain.

Paint the town red, she thought. And she grinned.

A tear ran down her cheek and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. Her smile faded as she listened to the sweepers. She wondered if anybody had survived this time. She hoped so.

Coward, she told herself.

But still she sat in the darkness a little longer. Waiting.

Rasp... rasp...

And then silence. She sighed and got to her feet, feeling along the wall for the door handle. She left the room, shielding her eyes against the daylight.

The sweepers lined the street, their brooms still. Sun glinted off their metal skin and she squinted.

The cobbles were smeared red and brown but were no longer coated with glistening entrails. She peered down a drain to see the water beneath running almost black. Things floated on the surface.

She looked away. “Good work,” she said.

And the sweepers raised their brooms in salute.  

(First published in Everyday Weirdness in 2010)

The Gods

The beaches were lined with bones and the bodies of the dead. That was until the Gods came forth from the ocean and the dead awoke screaming and terrified.

I had seen the footage on the News. Live footage. I remember that it had cut off halfway through; I remember hearing a woman’s scream and then nothing. And I had changed the channel and watched a sitcom.

I didn’t believe it was happening or rather, I didn’t want to believe it was happening. I told people that it was a gimmick, an advertisement, something to laugh about.

But I sort of knew it was real. Deep down. I felt it in my bones.

I heard people say that it was aliens. I didn’t laugh at that. I hoped it was aliens. Aliens were less terrifying than Gods. Aliens were nothing to do with me.

Graveyards filled with zombies. But only because the Earth had pushed up the bodies, turning them out of their graves and giving them back to the world.

I remember not being afraid. I was just deeply sad. The Gods were angry and everybody was being punished for it. There was no escape even in death.

I watched from my window as buildings fell and the sky filled with dust. In my city a statue taller than the highest skyscraper ran amok, ripping up roads, hurtling bricks and lampposts and cars. And people.

Some people said that it was robots. Giant robots built by man that had turned against us. Or perhaps it was alien robots from outer space.

I wished that it was. I tried to believe that it was but by now I knew...

It was the Gods.

Other people had known before me and as forests burned and seas froze over, more people came to realise.

I wish it was the media, or aliens, or robots, or monsters, or the military, but it was the Gods. And we had angered them.

I had angered them. I had...

I stood on a sea of frozen ice and watched as the sun exploded.

(First published in Everyday Weirdness in 2010)

Behind the Shutters

Behind the Shutters is a collection of short stories by the very talented Jo Robertson. These stories are all set in suburbia and feature ghosts, demons, and strange occurrences. The stories are well written and genuinely creepy. My favourite is 'My Name is Graham Roper.'

I highly recommend this book! You can buy it from Amazon.

Writing Contradictions

That's contradicting writing advice, not writing about contradictions...

I've been told my sentences should be longer, then told they should be shorter. My paragraphs are too short. No wait, short paragraphs up the tension. Don't info dump. Do info dump sometimes. Don't start sentences with 'then.' Apart from when you want to.

Don't call your character a silly name. Do call your character a silly name. But don't ever use that name because it doesn't work.

Don't use passive sentences. Except that sometimes they work quite well.

Don't come out of your character's viewpoint... Unless you have to come out of your character's viewpoint. Are you writing in close third person? Narrative? First person? What? It all depends on the POV!

Take that bit out. No wait... put it back in again, I liked it.

Don't use repetition. Apart from here, here and here.

Don't write how you speak! Unless you're writing dialogue. Or first person. Or close third person where the character would talk like you speak...

You need to describe more! But take out this, this and this because it's overly descriptive.

Writing, eh? Easy.

Anthologies and whatnot

I've just come home to find my copy of 'And Now the Nightmare Begins' the Horror Zine anthology on the kitchen table waiting for me. I'm in it. Alongside Simon Clark and Ramsey Campbell. How cool is that?!

My story is called Delete Contact? I wrote it after having a weird dream about mobile phones... You can buy the anthology from Amazon. Now-Nightmare-Begins-Horror-Zine

I'm also in an anthology called 'Old Magic in a New Age' published by Earlyworks Press. 

You can get this from here

And lastly, there's 'Casting Shadows' which I'm in rather a lot. Along with Joleen Kuyper, and Jo Robertson. You'll like this one. ;-)

You can buy Casting Shadows from various places. Most people prefer Amazon I think. Follow LINK for UK or LINK for USA.

The Kingdom of Malinas

The Kingdom of Malinas is the debut novel from author E.J. Tett. It is a young adult fantasy adventure story and has been compared to the 'Lioness Rampant' series by Tamora Pierce, Stan Nicholls's trilogy 'The Nightshade Chronicles’ and J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter books.

The story is about Sorrel, a typical teenager: feisty, determined and occasionally grumpy. At first her concerns are a dislike of school and a desire for more excitement in life: but when most of her people are taken away by the Lamya, she will need all she has learned and get more excitement than she could have ever imagined. She must free her family and friends from a life of slavery in the Kingdom of Malinas: the land the Lamya took from her ancestors.

The leader of the Lamya is the evil Corrinus: his minions and bodyguards will make it very difficult for Sorrel to rescue her people. She does have some help however, in the form of her older brother Leif, best friend Little Cloud and the mysterious boy Gaeshi who may be a key figure in the fight for the Kingdom of Malinas. Their quest will be filled with danger, but they must try...
Reviewed by Ann Marie Chalmers at Front Street Reviews
The Lamya have not invaded the Kingdom of Malinas for over a hundred years but when Sorrel grows up she still wants to be a warrior and fight against the historical enemies of her people the Elani. Arguing with her mother and Brother one evening Sorrel runs off. She returns to her home in the Vale of Malinas to find everything burned and all the inhabitants dead or taken into slavery. After all this time the Lamya are a threat again and it is left to Sorrel and a few other survivors to save her people.

In order to fight the Lamya Sorrel has to travel away from her home and find an army to help her. With her best friend Little Cloud by her side the journey is long and dangerous. Sorrel and her friend face a Lamya guard, 2 dragons and a mysterious wraith on their adventure but that is nothing compared to the pink-eyed Leader of the Lamya of Malinas called Corrinus and there is also Millicent to watch out for.

The fate of the Kingdom of Malinas rests in Sorrel’s hands. Will she manage to defeat Corrinus and have her people released from slavery? Will the Lamya people stand in her way or help? This is a story of good versus evil and is something young readers can really get their teeth into. Not as childish as the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ or as hard as ‘Lord of the Rings’ this new world is perfect for teenagers, young adults and even grown ups who have read Maria Snyder’s ‘Study’ series.

With some extraordinary characters and creatures this is a great work of fantasy. Of course this tale has many messages to send us. Do not judge people by their race, to work as a team and to be strong when needed etc. and it is told so well and has a great storyline that will hook readers from the start. Potter fans may find this of interest if they are willing to go to the Vale of Malinas instead of Hogwarts.

The author originally wrote ‘The Kingdom of Malinas’ when she was 17 years old. It has been altered since then but this first book is only the start of what promises to be a great trilogy and maybe even more? The second part is called ‘The Empress Graves’ and will be the next release from this author with the final part ‘The Barbarians’ Key’ promised in the future.

The Kingdom of Malinas is available from http://stores.lulu.com/em_j
See more reviews here: www.the-kingdom-of-malinas.co.uk

2009

So it's 2009 already and is it just me or did 2008 go faster than usual? I have made a new year's resolution, although I usually don't bother, and it is to manage my time better. My CV tells me that I have 'time management skills' but I really don't think that's true... See, I always seem to end up online when I really should be doing something else. Like cleaning. Or writing.

I'm a writer. This is what I tell people. It's true, I just don't seem to get paid much for it. I'm not JK Rowling, nor do I have any desire to be whatsoever. I do have a novel out and yes, it's aimed at young adults, and yes, it is fantasy, but I'd much rather be the next Phillip Pullman or Neil Gaiman or well... the next me. Which is stupid, because I already am me.

I'm rambling already. I was talking about time management and ending up online and here I am again. Online. At least I am writing though. Technically. Although this is not fiction. I've started writing poetry lately, after telling myself for years that I didn't understand it (still not entirely sure I do!) and that I was no good at it. I've also started writing short stories. The very first one I attempted turned out pretty well and it was accepted for publication by the first magazine I sent it off to. I've been trying to get a novel published for years and yet it's my short story that gets accepted first time! *sigh* I wonder why I didn't try writing short stories sooner. It's called Club Freak, if anybody's interested and will be in Debut magazine... some time.

So what have I got to look forward to in the new year? Hopefully getting more stories published. Hopefully getting a new job, as the one I have now will only last another three months. And hopefully I'll be able to watch an episode of Lost without getting Jack-rage.

That's another thing I could rant about. Lost. But I won't...