Blogs

These are Tony Cook's picks and he hopes that you have enjoyed them as much as him. Story: Sikander's 'Stargazing': http://www.abctales.com/story/sikander/stargazing With honourable mentions to Annabel Wigoder for 'Adam's Hands': http://www.abctales.com/story/annabelwigoder/adams-hands and Chelsey Flood for '10 things I couldn't Say to You': http://www.abctales.com/story/chelseyflood/ten-things-i-couldn-t-say-you Poetry: Hai Anh's 'And She Is...

Many thanks to Lorraine Mace for pointing up Words With Jam to me. It's a free online publication stuffed full of interesting stuff for writers and readers. The first issue is out now and you can register for it by going to: http://www.quinnpublications.co.uk/ They need reviewers - anyone interested?

ABCtales Editor is tcookabctales on Twitter and he will be posting a recommendation for a story or poem each day on there. Do join him! You can join us on Facebook too, right there: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=box_3&ref=profile&id=555924672#/pa... Please also feel free to flag up your own and other peoples' stories or poems on your own Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Bebo or whatever pages. All of these attract more users to...

ABCtales Editor Tony Cook casts his eye over Tim Clare's first major book: Let me first of all declare an interest. I know Tim Clare and I like Tim Clare. He’s a young man of enormous potential, more ideas than are good for him and, from my dealings with him, the application of a gnat. You will know him as rokkitnite on ABCtales. ‘We Can’t All Be Astronauts’ is Tim’s account of how he can’t write a novel. He sees his pals (headed by fellow...

ABCtales Editor Tony Cook reviews Mcmanaman's first major book: John ‘mcmanaman’ Osborne’s first book, Radio Head, is described as a love letter to radio – and that’s a pretty fair description. I guess I should be slating it – as it’s the first book from a mainstream publisher by an ABCtaler without a nudge and wink in our direction. I could take double umbrage as I worked in the radio business for many years and John didn’t care to pick my...

The August 2009 issue of ABCtales Magazine is now available free to download from: http://groups.google.co.uk/group/abctales-magazine featuring the best in new poetry and short fiction from abctales.com this summer, as selected by the guest editor: Ewan Lawrie. Contributors include Insertponceyfrenchnamehere, Chris Clatworthy, Clare Howdle, Chelsey Flood, Sarah Wilson, Rosie, Chuck Woww and John Wilks. Please feel free to print and distribute as...

Title: Beyond Big Willow Author: Valerie McKinley ISBN: 9780955896316 Cost (UK): £7.50 Publishers description: Beyond Big Willow is an entertaining and very frank autobiographical collection of prose and poetry built around events in the life of the author. In her introduction the author, Valerie McKinley, explains how she overcame her doubts concerning the public appeal of her book, by realising how she would be reinforcing the memories of...

We Can't All Be Astronauts by Tim Clare (our very own rokkitnite) has just been published by Ebury Press. There is a link to the Amazon sales page at the end of this article. "Right!' My Dad slammed his fist against the dashboard. 'If you want to die let's f***ing die together!' 'Dad...don't', I said, referring to the profanity rather than the death-threat. But my father was lost in his own private Thelma and Louise moment. His sleep-deprived...

One of our very long standing ABCtales contributers, macmanaman, has got his first book out this week. It's called 'Radio Head: Up and Down the Dial of British Radio' by John Osborne. It's a subject close to my heart so I'll be buying a copy this week and I hope that many of you will do likewise. Congratulations to John and here's the link to purchasing the book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Radio-Head-Down-Dial-British/dp/1847372309/ref=s...

Great News! Richard Aronowitz-Mercer has had his novel 'It's Just The Beating Of My Heart' accepted by Flambard Press for publication in early 2010. Richard, who is Aronowitz, on ABCtales can be read here: http://www.abctales.com/user/aronowitz ... so you can get a sneak preview of his book!