I’m so excited to be featured in The Best of CafeLit 10! This wonderful anthology will be coming out soon and my story about my grandfather as a Far East Prisoner of War is included.

On the editing side I’m enjoying working with an author on her short story collection and have just finished Edit 1. Then yesterday I gained a loving connection of normality with fellow writers with the Grand Bard of Exeter, Kimwei, who ran a workshop with Jackie Juno. My poetry is also flowing which I’m putting my words to pictures in videos on my YouTube channel.

Now off to complete some artwork...

And here’s some cross stitch in progress.

Transformations

 

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How we came to publish this one

This is the culmination of three years’ work. This volume contains the winning entries of the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Waterloo Festival Writing Competition. Each year the winning entries were published as an e-book. We have now put all of these entries into one paperback volume.      

The title

This pulls together the titles of the other three volumes which were:

2018 To be …. To become

2019 Transforming Being

2020 Transforming Communities   

Some notes about the process

The stories in this book were all edited as they were prepared for the individual volumes. They were given three final proof reads: by the authors themselves and by an independent proof-reader who had not been involved in previous edits. We also pass all of our book though a technical proof-read. The latter, computer-aided, looks for things lie extra spaces, repeated words and inconsistencies in punctuation and spelling.    

The cover

As we often do, we based our cover on a picture we found on pixabay. These are both copyright free and free to use. We do a search on the title or something similar. Naturally this time the word we searched on was, as you might expect,  “transformations”.  

Some notes about style

There many interpretations of the theme for each of the titles. We tended to choose stories that were clever with the theme. Many of the contributions are quite literary in style.    

Who we think the reader is

These stories are for the reader who likes to be challenged to think.

   

Finances

This book has some way to go to cover all of its costs but it continues to sell steadily. Our monthly statement gives a slightly false impression, however. It was edited and designed in-house. In other words the partners did the work for no fee or wage but take a share of the net sales revenue as it arrives. It has in fact covered its upfront costs.           

 

What else

We have published a record number of books in the last twelve months. We are pleased to have this within our collection. Because of the several lockdowns more books have been produced generally and more people have read books.

 

Review copies

It’s always great if you can buy the book and give us a review. Just click on the link  to be taken to our on-line bookshop. If you would like to review and you are strapped for cash, just get in touch for a free PDF or mobi-file.      

Mulling it Over

 

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How we came to publish this one

This is our 2020 annual anthology. We always like to take a Christmas theme and ask our writers to subvert it. They did that very nicely.  

The title

The Christmas prompt was “mull” as in “mulled wine”. Naturally mulled wine features in many of the stories – as does the Island of Mull and of course “mulling it over”. We discovered also that a “mull” is a type of stony outcrop and also an implement in making books.           

Some notes about the process

The stories in this book all went through one or two stage of editing and had the normal three proof reads. Authors are invited to proof read, we conduct a technical proof read and we ask another editor, to proof read. The latter is one who hasn’t been involved in the initial editing.  

The cover

As we often do, we based our cover on a picture we found on pixabay. These are both copyright free and free to use. We do a search on the title or something similar. “Thinking” found the picture of the young man who is sitting pensively on what could easily be a part of the Island of Mull. We normally shy away from real life figures – readers prefer to decide for themselves what characters look like. But this figure represents everyman and anyway he has his back to us. We prefer wraparound pictures like this to having the back cover plain. The sky here allows plenty of space for title and burb.        

Some notes about style

A review on Amazon says it all:

‘I have enjoyed reading many of the stories in this book - they are really fun to read and they do trigger your mind. Quirky, funny, and unique, as different writers carry different voices to their stories. I am familiar with several of the writers in this collection, and I am also pleased to get to know new writers in this collection. 'The Island of Mull' is a great concept - we all have had plenty to mull over in 2020. It's a great collection of stories. Very well done!'

 

Who we think the reader is

As the subtitle says, this collection contains “tales to make you think”. Generally in these annual theologies we are neither womag nor too literary. We are somewhere in between. This is no exception.  

Finances

This book has some way to go to cover all of its costs but it continues to sell steadily. Our monthly statement gives a slightly false impression, however. It was edited and designed in-house. In other words the partners did the work for no fee or wage but take a share of the net sales revenue as it arrives. It has in fact covered it upfront costs.           

 

What else

We have published a record number of books in the last twelve months. We are pleased to have this within our collection. Because of the several lockdowns more books have been produced generally and more people have read books.

 

Review copies

It’s always great if you can buy the book and give us a review. Just click on the link  to be taken to our on-line bookshop. If you would like to review and you are strapped for cash, just get in touch for a free PDF or mobi-file.      

Whisky for Breakfast by Christopher P Mooney

 

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How we came to publish this one

Christopher signed up with our own Debz Hobbs-Wyatt to have his work edited. She spotted a great collection of short stories.

The title

The title came from one of the stories in the collection. This often happens. Sometimes a line in or even the title of one of the stories epitomizes the feeling of the whole collection.  

Some notes about the process

This went through the normal three stages of editing though it was very light in each case: Christopher and Debz had already done most of the donkey work.   

The cover

The brown on the cover and the title, indicate to us straight away that the material in this is sombre. Fortunately with short story collections there is no real genre to which we need to conform. Elements of the picture here and the fonts are shades of similar colours, giving the overall effect of something subtle. This entirely suits the tone of the book.

 

Some notes about style

Some of the reviews on Amazon give a useful indication of the style:

 

‘Whisky for Breakfast includes thirty-five pieces of transgressive fiction. Yes, the content - language, characters, scenarios, themes, etc. - may be considered shocking by some, but it's important to note this is obviously not the writer’s intent, nor does it dilute or in any way detract from the obvious quality of the writing. It's really great to read something provocative that gets you thinking! Loved it!’   

 

‘A superb read. I love to read but don’t make the time. I made the time for this. It shocks and entertains brilliantly. So descriptive and gritty.’

 

‘Different to anything I have ever read! Brilliantly written and each story is written from a completely different perspective which is interesting to read.’

 

 

Who we think the reader is

This collection is not an easy read. It challenges the reader. So, this is for the reader who likes to be invited to think and who likes a literary style.

 

Finances

This book has some way to go to cover all of its costs but it continues to sell steadily.       

 

What else

We have published a record number of books in the last twelve months. We are pleased to have this within our collection.

 

Review copies

It’s always great if you can buy the book and give us a review. Just click on the link to be taken to Amazon. If you would like to review and you are strapped for cash, just get in touch for a free PDF or mobi-file.      

Spring into better Times

It’s been a while since I posted, what with ongoing health changes in the midst of Lockdown. My main writing focus has been on short stories in my Mum series published on CafeLit and a few competitions. Okehampton ran its first short story competition and I’m delighted to hear my friend won! Congratulations!

Here’s to better times ahead and stay safe everyone.

Transformations

 

This delightful English language anthology of literary fiction comprises the winning entries for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Waterloo Festival Writing Competitions. The themes were, respectively, To Be... To Become, Transforming Being and Transforming Communities. We chose these because they tell a good story, have a strong voice, and are imaginative in their interpretation of the theme. The writers present us with characters that are believable and rounded. The stories all contain a pleasing narrative balance.

Entrants were asked to produce a short story or a monologue in 1,000 words or fewer. Less is certainly more here. Style is diverse and each story is completely different from the others.

 

RRP = £8.00 

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Please note that all of our books are print on demand. We use this unashamedly:  

• it is better for the environment (we don't waste paper or processes)
  
• it is better for our books  (they don't rot in warehouses) 

• it is better for our customers -  (they get a brand new book, hot off the press) 
  

 However, this also means  it may take about ten days to get your book to you. It also means that retailers may show "out of stock".  However, they can and do get the book very quickly.    

The World in an Eye by Maroula Blades

 

How we came to publish this one

Maroula submitted to us in response to our open call. She is not one of our regular writers. We liked her work and so we were pleased to publish her.           

The title

The title came about after discussion between Maroula and her editor. It’s often the way with titles. They’ll occur as we get the book ready for publication. Sometimes the title of a collection will also be the title of one of the pieces – perhaps one that epitomizes the overriding theme of the collection.    

Some notes about the process

This went through the normal three stages of editing. One of our other flash fiction  contributors, Allison Symes, edited this book.  

The cover

We used the normal “frame” that we have on all of our flash collections. Maroula is an established poet and artist so we used some of her art work for the cover.

Some notes about style

Some of the reviews on Amazon give a useful indication of the style:

 

“Short striking stories capturing pivotal moments of peoples' lives, tough lives in the fringes of society, in a starkly brutal but honest manner dressed poetically with mesmerising and haunting language.”

 

“Simply told stories in which Maroula Blades sees beyond the obvious, which is not obvious at all.”

 

“Great depth is found in these weaving narratives, to go on these journeys was an immersive experience - food for the soul.
Wonderful.”

 

Who we think the reader is

Flash as ever is for the reader who hasn’t got a lot of time to sit with a book in their  hands but has plenty of time to think. You read the story and it stays with you for quite a while as you go about your everyday business.

 

Finances

This book has some way to go to cover all of its costs but it continues to sell steadily.       

 

What else

We have published a record number of books in the last twelve months. We are pleased to have this within our collection.

 

Review copies

It’s always great if you can buy the book and give us a review. Just click on the image to be taken to Amazon. If you would like to review and you are strapped for cash, just get in touch for a free PDF or mobi-file.