Category Archives for Other bloggers

The Senseless Challenge: Smell Round Up

Senseless ChallengeThe celebrations for National Short Story Month continue with even more #flashsense stories this week.

Missed previous weeks? Check out Sight (May 3rd) and Sound (May 10th).

The third Friday of the month, May 17th, was dedicated to smell.

Here’s a round up of week three’s stories.

* * *

THE SENSELESS CHALLENGE: SMELL

Private Nose by Peggy McFarland
It’s going to rain today, mark my words. I can smell it.

Smell by Christopher Munroe
A month after you quit smoking, you get your sense of smell back.

Sweet by N.M. Martinez
Blanca’s nose burned as if being licked by a little flame.

Mouse by Shelly Proffitt Howells
You are such a mouse, Harold.

StorySkippers Anonymous by Laura Amos
Bars didn’t smell like cigarettes anymore.

Making Sense by Chuck Allen
She loved the smell of being clean.

Bottled Shame by Kelly Stapleton
I smelled Missy before I saw her.

Oh, Nose! by Tim VanSant
There was something rotten in the state of Denmark.

A Great Story by Laura Besley
The only smell in the tiny dark room was her own.

Fumes of Love by Brinda Banerjee
It was dank, reminiscent of the garbage landfill nearby.

The Hunter by A.M. Harte
The air was sweet and cold, moonlight-sharp.

* * *

Did I forget to include your story? Drop me a link in the comments.

This Friday 24th is dedicated to taste – join in and tweet your story with #flashsense!

It’s not too late to get involved – just drop me a comment on the challenge post or tweet your story using #flashsense.

The Senseless Challenge: Sound Round Up

Senseless ChallengeThe celebrations for National Short Story Month continue with even more #flashsense stories this week.

Check out the May 3rd round up if you missed any stories about our sense of sight.

The second Friday of the month, May 10th, was dedicated to sound.

Here’s a round up of week two’s stories.

* * *

THE SENSELESS CHALLENGE: SOUND

Beyond The Thin Blue Line by Laura Besley
I wish I could tell my children not to fear death.

Deaf Ears by Peggy McFarland
In a few short hours, Jack should hear again.

Fireworks by The Lord by Deanna Schrayer
Buying a new car has never been louder.

Noise by Chuck Allen
Memories can be loud, too.

Noise by N.M. Martinez
The cheerful daytime music made the hairs in her inner ear quake.

Thub-thub, Thub-thub by Tim VanSant
The underground bunker smelled like a sewer.

Stephanie by Laura Amos
There were other voices in the background.

Antichrist, Interrupted by Kelly Stapleton
The voice has been with me since I was 13.

Silence, Sound by JP West
I’m telling you, Amanda, he’s not the same.

Silenced by Shelly Proffitt Howells
I hear it, faintly, while I’m rinsing the shampoo out of my hair.

Bunty hears a snake by Brinda Banerjee
There it was again, a soft, scraping sound.

War On Noise by A.M. Harte
The crackle of gunfire has long since lost its meaning.

* * *

Did I forget to include your story? Drop me a link in the comments.

It’s not too late to get involved – just drop me a comment on the challenge post.

At the end of the month, I’ll be running a poll to pick a winner from the challenge – so keep an eye on this blog or for #flashsense tweets!

The Senseless Challenge: Sight Round Up

Senseless ChallengeI must admit I was a little nervous that no one would join me in my senseless idea… but I’m so pleased that I am not the only one out there wanting to celebrate National Short Story Month!

The first Friday of the month, May 3rd, was dedicated to our sense of sight.

Here’s a round up of week one’s stories.

* * *

THE SENSELESS CHALLENGE: SIGHT

Amber’s Unseeable Eyes by Laura Besley
A young girl can see what others cannot.

Eye Contact by Peggy McFarland
“A watery blue tear bounced off her cheek, rolled onto the floor board and disappeared into a crack.”

Vision by Christopher Munroe
The pros of the graveyard shift.

Gold by N.M. Martinez
All that glitters is not gold…

Fun Is Not Blind by Kelly Stapleton
Would you go dancing in the dark?

Rita by Laura Amos
“How was it possible a person could exist in this world for nineteen years and leave behind so few imprints?”

Eye Spy by Tim VanSant
Size matters.

Aura of Gold by Brinda Banerjee
A kitchen maid has eyes like none other.

Sight by JP West
To see is to know.

Sights Unseen by Shelli Proffitt Howells
Can you see the truth behind the words?

City of Ghosts by A.M. Harte
London is slowly turning into a city of ghosts.

* * *

Did I forget to include your story? Drop me a link in the comments.

It’s not too late to get involved – just drop me a comment on the challenge post.

At the end of the month, I’ll be running a poll to pick a winner from the challenge – so keep an eye on this blog or for #flashsense tweets!

The Last Question and A Pail of Air

A short and sweet blog today to point you to two excellent science fiction short stories: The Last Question by Isaac Asimov, and A Pail of Air by Fritz Leiber.

1. A Pail of Air by Fritz Leiber

There is no atmosphere… bitter cold… only way you can breathe is to dig up a pail of liquid oxygen and heat it…

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the Earth has been dragged far from the sun’s orbit, this is one creepy little tale that nonetheless grabbed — and held! — my attention. Well, I say it’s creepy, but then it takes an unexpected twist. You’ll have to read it to find out.

Read it now.

2. The Last Question by Isaac Asimov

Several trillion years of human history in the space of a short story…

Perhaps a little less immediately accessible, but a really interesting take on the creation of the universe.

Read it now.

What did you think of these stories?

Above Ground Blog Tour: The End Is Nigh!

From November 1st to 30th, I’ve been running a blog tour to celebrate the release of Above Ground.

Enter to win the tour-wide giveaway by December 1st for your chance to win a mystery prize!

Tweet along with the tour using #AboveGroundTour, and make sure to visit…

THE LAST TWO HOSTS!

A Bit of Dash Graham Storrs

THE TOUR IN REVIEW

It’s been an absolute whirlwind of a month, so I don’t blame you for missing a stop or two. Below is a recap of the month’s posts.

Guest posts:

Reviews:

Interviews:

Fun stuff:

Don’t forget that you can still enter to win in the mystery raffle!

Thank you everyone for following along thus far. Woo!

Above Ground Blog Tour: One Week Left!

From November 1st to 30th, I’m running a blog tour to celebrate the release of Above Ground.
Enter to win the tour-wide giveaway!

Every comment you leave on a blog tour stop enters you to win prizes!
Don’t forget to check out the week one and week two recaps.

WEEK THREE’S STOPS
Missed any posts? Catch up now!

Don’t forget that you can still leave comments on the above posts – comments give you more chances to win in the mystery raffle!

THIS WEEK’S HOSTS
Tweet along with the tour using #AboveGroundTour, and please do visit the tour hosts each day. Posts should go live about 8AM EST / midday London time.

Catherine Mede Greg X Graves Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile The Bathroom Monologues Bookish Ardour Cheapass Fiction

Above Ground Blog Tour: Week 3

From November 1st to 30th, I’m running a blog tour to celebrate the release of Above Ground.
Enter to win the tour-wide giveaway!

Every comment you leave on a blog tour stop enters you to win prizes!
Don’t forget to check out last week’s recap too.

WEEK TWO’S STOPS
Missed any posts last week? Catch up now!

Don’t forget that you can still leave comments on all the above posts – each comment gives you more chances to win in the mystery raffle!

THIS WEEK’S HOSTS
Tweet along with the tour using #AboveGroundTour, and please do visit the tour hosts each day. Posts should go live about 8AM EST / midday London time.

Friday Flash TA Holtorf Raining Ink Ellie Hall Reviews The Amwriting Blog A Book A Day

Above Ground Blog Tour: Week 2

From November 1st to 30th, I’m running a blog tour to celebrate the release of Above Ground.
Enter to win the tour-wide giveaway!

WEEK ONE’S STOPS
Missed any posts last week? Catch up now!

Don’t forget that you can still leave comments on all the above posts – each comment gives you more chances to win in the mystery raffle!

THIS WEEK’S HOSTS
Tweet along with the tour using #AboveGroundTour, and please do visit the tour hosts each day. Posts should go live about 8AM EST / midday London time.

Page Readers JC Hart Zoe Whitten Ellie Hall AMA on Reddit EJ Spurrell Eight Cuts Gallery 5 Rings

The Coffin Hop Horror Web Tour Begins!

The Coffin Hop Horor Web TourHalloween is upon us, so what better time to celebrate horror?

I’m pleased to introduce The Coffin Hop Horor Web Tour!

Organised by Axel Howerton and Julie Jansen, Coffin Hop is an annual tour where horror writers crawl out of their coffins to spread the Halloween spirit.

From October 22nd to 31st, across countless blogs, there’ll be great horror fiction and spooky goodies up for grabs, and a host of featuerd authors… including yours truly!

That’s right, on the LAST day of the tour (October 31st!) I’ll be featured on fellow author AF Stewart‘s blog, with a wee guest post about how my nightmares have come true.

Don’t miss it!

The Gory Details
1. Have a spooky fun time!
2. Invite your friends and spread the word!
3. The tour starts on October 22 at midnight PST and ends on October 31 at midnight PST. Winners will be drawn and posted November 1.
4. Meet and mingle with the authors! Experience a new destination at every stop! Participate in every site’s contest and be entered for chances to win multiple prizes! Every blog visited is another opportunity to win!
5. Participation at all the sites is recommended but not required. The more sites you hop, the better your chances of winning prizes.
6. Did I mention to have a spooky fun time?

For more information, visit coffinhop.wordpress.com.

Three Very Cool Indie Book Covers

I’ve been talking about book covers quite a bit lately, so today I thought I’d share some awesome book covers by my fellow indie authors.

Here’s three of my favourites… and let me tell you, it was a hard choice to make.

Stories About Things by Aelius Blythe

Death preserved forever in drops of maple syrup — a name just out of reach — a bear’s growl — a door that leads to… nowhere, and a man who walks through it. These are the stories of things: some just this side of reality, some just that side of… somewhere else.

I reviewed Stories About Things way back in February, before Aelius got herself that shiny awesome new cover. Boy has she upgraded.

I want to own a print copy of this for that cover art alone — not to mention, I know the stories inside are worth reading again. (Psst, it’s free on Smashwords!)

Irregular Creatures by Chuck Wendig

Contained within are nine stories featuring bizarre beasties, mythological mutants, and overall “irregular creatures” – including flying cats, mermaids, Bigfoot, giant chickens, and mystic hobo hermaphrodites.

Horror, fantasy, science-fiction and humor.

This is another excellent anthology which I reviewed in July 2011. True to its name, the book cover also has a slightly irregular (more square) shape, however I adore the aged effect, the corners, the little cat with wings (featured in one of the stories), the swirly bits… well, everything.

How To Disappear Completely by David Bowick

Sitting at the top of a Ferris wheel overlooking the Boston skyline, Josh’s life takes an unexpected turn, and things will never be the same. Along with the many surprises on his life’s new path, he’ll come to take life advice from a family of ducks, get in a bloody war with a dog, lose his job over a spilled drink, wake up in the hospital, apply to work at an adult-themed novelty bakery, and find out that people often aren’t what they seem. When you’re at the top of the world, there’s nowhere to go but down.

This cover is far too quirky to resist. (And yes, I’ve reviewed it too!)

That’s only three, but there’s countless other great indie covers out there.

Go on, share a few of your favourites in the comments.