Blogs

Save the date 09-21-24 Dublin writer's festival

Posted by Robert Craven on Sat, 07 Sep 2024

Save the date Location - The Academy Plaza Hotel, Findlater Place, Dublin 1 I will be speaking at The International Dublin Writer's Festival on Saturday 21st, The theme of my talk is my personal writing journey over 10 books, and remaining resitlient and positive offering insights and suggesteions in this rapidly shifting environment of indie publishing. My latest Malign Intent will be available at the venue and I will be happy to chat...

In My Own Words, Billy Connolly, BBC 1, BBC Scotland, BBC iPlayer

Posted by celticman on Thu, 05 Sep 2024

In My Own Words, Billy Connolly, BBC 1, BBC Scotland, BBC iPlayer, https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0022mr1/in-my-own-words-series-1-billy-connolly Billy Connolly seems to have been about forever. He’s the face and voice of Scotland. The face of Glasgow where he grew up and worked on the Clyde as a welder. That working-class grounding, he claimed, made him the man he was. He’s Parkinson disease (the bastard should have kept it to himself)...

Story and Poem of the Month

Posted by Insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Sun, 01 Sep 2024

Our Story and Poem of the Month for August, very kindly chosen by Mark Burrow, and apologies for the lateness of this which you can blame on good old Greater Anglia Railway: It’s been another excellent month of stories and poems on ABCtales. The Pick of the Month for poetry is A Martian Sends a Postcard Home 2024 by harryc. It’s a timely reflection on ‘smartphones’. Good for convenience, yes, but maybe not so great for attention spans and...

If you've been wondering...

Posted by philwhiteland on Sun, 01 Sep 2024

...why the next episode in the 'Dead Reckoning' series hasn't appeared in the normal manner, I'm afraid it's because I've been busy being 70 (I know, I know, where does the time go to?!) Normal service (for a septuagenarian anyway) will be resumed as soon as possible I've also got an additional one-off silly story to post, coming soon (hopefully).

Where the landscape becomes a central character

Posted by Robert Craven on Sun, 01 Sep 2024

Malign Intent is the sequel to and the second in a planned series featuring the protagonist Garda Inspector P.J. Crowe. It’s my second contemporary crime thriller. Like its predecessor A KIND OF DROWNING, it was inspired by the rugged coastline of Ireland’s East Coast. A coastline with local tales of smuggling, small coves, and fishing towns. A coastline rich in both oral and written history. In these books of Crowe, the landscape and its many...

Story and Poem of the Week and Inspiration Point

Posted by Insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Fri, 30 Aug 2024

Very big thanks to all of our wonderfully talented writers and poets for everything they've posted this week. Our Story and Poem of the Week are as follows: Story of the Week is Sean Mcnulty's 'A Savage Poindexter' a brilliant addition to his work in progress. If I don't see this story published within the next couple of years I'll eat my hat! Poem of the Week goes to Angus Folklore for his splendidly stirring 'Building A Raven' https://www...

Sarah Chaney (2022) Am I Normal? The 200-Year Search for Normal People (And Why They Don’t Exist).

Posted by celticman on Wed, 28 Aug 2024

Sarah Chaney asks in the Prologue (is a Prologue normal?) Am I Normal? ‘It seems like a straightforward enough question.’ Much the same as is it raining outside. But rain is part of the seasons and weather system. Normal is a social construct. In other words, we make it up as we go along. WEIRD people (that is, Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic) in 2010 make up just 12% of the world’s population but 96% of subjects in...

Story and Poem of the Week

Posted by Insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Fri, 23 Aug 2024

Story and Poem of the Week chosen by Di_Hard Thank you so much for all the great writing this week, particularly the stories, which I have really enjoyed reading. Story of the Week goes to Aronovitz for the first part of a vividly told story about homelessness and the growing bond between a man and a dog. Completely involving, there are 3 chapters so far, and I am really looking forward to reading more : https://www.abctales.com/story/aronowitz/...

Ireland - a wellspring of wonderful writing

Posted by Caldwell on Mon, 19 Aug 2024

Recently everything I have picked up and been inspired by happens to have an Irish author. These are those that have got me back into literature following a long dearth where life was just too complicated to even consider picking up a book. Claire Keegan (Foster in particular, but lots of her other stuff too) Colum McCann - Apeirogon Paul Murray - The Bee Sting Donal Ryan - A slanting of the sun There are more, but these are the ones that stand...

Story and Poem of the Week and Inspiration Point

Posted by Insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Fri, 16 Aug 2024

Really, really difficult to make the choices this week. There's been humour, horror, brilliant character studies and beautiful descriptions. Thank you to everyone for some amazing stories and poems.

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