Wirral Writers Online

Here's the kind of writing advice I like – something you can boil down into one or two sentences but which will stand you in good stead for all manner of plotting and characterisation problems. It's an article in Clarkesworld magazine by the excellent Kelly Robson. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/another_word_01_18/

My novel about musical life on the road in the 1980s is on free download for a week at  Amazon , if you fancy it for a Christmas read. It follows the fortunes of keyboard player Jonnie Cole as his band tour Europe over Christmas 1985. A tale of sex, drugs and synthesisers, it is not for the prudish!!

Doesn't time fly?  Here we are again approaching Christmas. We had an early Sunday Dinner this year as our 'Lunch Calendar' became a little fuzzy round the edges - like after drinking too many G & Ts. We ate at our usual haunt; Brook Meadow Hotel, Childer Thornton. This year saw 13 of us, sat down to dinner together; including new-comers/first-timers, Mick and Amy. Some brought their partners or friends, some came alone. Brook Meadow Hotel As is our custom, we all brought a piece of Flash Fiction - 200 words on the theme of Sunday Dinner. This year we had an interesting mix including poems from Nick, Mick and myself (though not a natural poet, I like to flex my rhyming muscles on occasion!) After dinner we read our offerings then played a written version of the Exquisite Corpse -   Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule  or by being allowed to see only the end of what the previous person contributed. The results we...

Thought I would let the local writing community know of my latest good news. Asterisk Anthology: Volume 1 has just come out. Published by Nosetouch Press; a Chicago based publishing house, this is a horror anthology with four themes. Nosetouch ran a series of four competitions with a 'heading' for each section -  Halloween, Ghosts, Nautical Terrors and Cosmic Horrors. I was runner up in two, so have two stories published ! Most gratifying. You can read 'Apples to Ashes' and 'Tombs in Space' online at:- http://www.nosetouchpress.com/apples-to-ashes-alexandra-peel/ and http://www.nosetouchpress.com/tombs-in-space/ or buy the book at:- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asterisk-Anthology-1-Alexandra-Peel-ebook/dp/B076ZB9KR6 Nosetouch Press is run by editors David T. Neal and Christine M. Scott, both successful authors in their own right. I have to also comment, out of all the submissions I have made to various publishers; online or other,(and there ha...

You may not have heard of NaNoWriMo - It's a website that attempts to help writers get their novel done and in the bag. It's quite good as it provides the motivation to keep the word count rising towards your completed targets. They set off each November (i.e. next month!!) and the object is to reach your goal by the end of the month and feel good about yourself all through December. I found it very helpful and fun when I did it a couple of years ago There is a Liverpool support site  and they don't seem to mind us Wirral folk. Worth a look (you might have to set up an account to access this site). I'll be participating this year in an attempt to finish the novel I'm currently writing. You've heard a couple of chapters at the WW meetings. It's a multi-threaded story and I'm hoping to finish a couple of strands that should complete it. Hope to see some of you there.

Writers of SciFi have another great   bundle of FREE books and stories to offer.   It's available now through to the end   of September. Click here to access your free downloads. Launching in November is The Jim Baen memorial Award: The First Decade. It's an anthology of 16 optimistic short stories that present a plethora of futures beyond Earth. My own story, A Better Sense of Direction, was the first winner of the award back in 2007. It's a story I've included in my own collection, Power for Two Minutes and Other Unrealities. I'm super excited to be included in this book. All the stories are from past winners, and I get to rub shoulders with some top award-winning authors. The anthology has been edited by Nebula-award-winning author, William Ledbetter, who has administered the Jim Baen Award right from the start. Here's a pre-publication review by  Publishers Weekly ...

They say nothing in life is free, well I say, what about love? What about the freedom to think what you like?  Or the freedom to learn? Future Learn is a site where the Open University runs free online courses - yes, free. If you want to get a certificate as proof of learning, then you can pay for one to be posted, or simply download the image to your work files. It is really simple to use - even for the not so young, you are guided through each week, at your own pace and check off the list as you go. Courses range from - Introduction to Writing Short Stories, or, An Introduction to Screen Writing to Biochemistry the Molecules of Life. Most subjects are covered and for a writer an opportunity to possibly delve a little deeper into a theme you may want to write about, but currently have too little information. Go to  https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/categories