The battle

The full glass stands on the table, solitary but powerful A leader in this battle Its magnetic force silent and unseen Will you be defeated? Will you surrender? Or will you fight back harder You are face to face with your enemy One false move and the battle is lost You give the dictator the

A Book Review

The Memory Box by Kathryn Hughes Kathryn has a unique way of bending the rules, but at the same time making it work. This book is written partly in the first person and partly in the third person, but it works so well. The characters are engaging and you can’t help but like them. It

A Professional through and through

Last year I achieved a childhood dream – to meet Martin Shaw aka Doyle in The Professionals, Judge John Deed, The Chief and recently The Long Call. It happened by chance on a day trip to Duxford War Museum, in Cambridge, a favourite with my family. It was a beautiful day in August and we

The Bench

Marcus sat looking out over the beautiful shimmery water It felt good to have the sun on his weathered face, it had been cold for far too long, it was a good day to be out lapping up the sun and he had no intention of budging.. Not even for the couple who had sat

Dodging a bullet?

Like so many things that creep up on you unawares, I never saw this one coming. It was a bit like walking in front of a bus and thinking, ‘well it didn’t drive off and run me over’, only for a car to come up from behind and do exactly that. I thought I was

Wealth?

Years ago, I was going through a bit of a rough patch, so I started reading ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne. Part of the healing process was to make a vision board. On the board you can put a picture of anything that you want in your life, whether it be a new house or

The long goodbye

               Phil stood in front of the large blue front door, something he had done so many times before. The difference was he used to use his own key to gain entry, it didn’t seem appropriate these days though, especially after such a long time. He could feel the impression of the key digging into

Embarrassing Moment

Many years ago, I worked in the account’s office of a shipping company in Lowestoft. Every lunch time I would walk home and sometimes on my way back to work one of the lads from the docks with a van would stop and give me a lift. We will call the man Anthony for the

Make someone smile

You’re too thin, you’re too fat You’re too tall, you’re too short You’re self-opinionated, you’re too shy You’re too loud, you’re too quiet You’re not caring, you’re too caring You talk too much, you don’t talk enough These are things I hear every day about people. Why can’t people appreciate people for who they are

Life so fragile

The snow is falling gently, it’s quiet all around Everyone’s in their own world, on the streets there’s not a sound, Lights are twinkling brightly, indicating there’s life within But not in Gordon’s heart, he’s soaked to the skin His feet ache with the frost bite, his clothes have seen better days A cardboard box

The wrong side of the law

Greg felt invincible since getting his brand new car. He had been through a speed trap, parked on double yellers and driven the wrong way down a one way street. He was invisible, there were no repercussions.           “Your cars booked in for its service, just remind me of the make, model and colour please”

Why do I care?

Why do I care what people think? Why do I care what people say? Why do I care if people are upset with me? Why? I wish I had the answer to this question. Is it in my DNA? Is it down to how I was bought up? Or is it just plain and simply,

Energy Company Greed

I am so angry that energy providers are once again hiking up prices to bail them out because oil prices have gone up, especially the major players. We are all taught to budget and put money away for a rainy day. Well this is their rainy day. British Gas profits rose to £172m for the

Forgettable

I’m about to sit down for a coffee with an old school friend, well I say that, but we weren’t actually friends at school, he was way too popular to talk to the likes of me. He was tall and sporty, and everyone knows the sporty ones are always popular. I was not – not

Positive

She sat and stared at the two lines, both tests said the same, it was positive, that was definite. For so long she had wished to see two lines now she was filled with joy, mixed in with trepidation.  She wasn’t sure what to think. Who should she call first? Should she jump up and

The business of being a nobody

Having spent the past 20 years not working I have sometimes felt like a nobody. I reckon 90% of my friends have no clue what I did for a living before becoming a full time Mum. When you meet people the first thing they say is “What do you do?” When you say I’m a

Lockdown writing

Oh errr, I’m now finding myself in the strangest of situations. One I thought I would never be in. I have procrastinated over writing for many years. Told family and friends I wanted to be a writer but never actually putting pen to paper. I sat down at my laptop many times only to get

Knock Three Times

Tony tossed in his bed, was that three times he heard a tap on the floor, or was he just dreaming. The girl was sending him crazy, he couldn’t think straight, he couldn’t eat and sleeping, well that was just about impossible. He just needed some kind of indication of how she felt. Many times

Success

I am proud to say I have completed #3ChapterChallenge, writing 3 chapters in 3 weeks. I thought I wouldn’t manage it but it was easier than I thought. I have also been participating in #WRITE2021 and am pleased to say I am 95% of my way through the challenge and should be finished in the

Material Girl

The disco was very crowded but she spotted him standing over by the dance floor, with a group. She had a knack for spotting them now. It wasn’t just the clothes that gave them away, it was their whole demeanour, the way they stood, the way they laughed, but more importantly what they drank. She

Billy Don’t Be a Hero

Katie stood next to Billy with her head nestled on his shoulder, the pain of his departure was almost too much to bare. Her heart ached with each passing minute, she couldn’t bear the thought that this was the last time she would seem him for a while. The thought that he might never return,

An Interview with Ali from Enterprising Writers

I would like to introduce Ali who has recently set up Enterprising Writers https://www.enterprisingwriters.com/, a website full of information for aspiring writers. She introduced #WRITE2021, last year, which encourages you to write 2021 words a week. She has also just launched the #3ChapterChallange, which starts on Saturday 31st of July and ends on Sunday 22nd

A new writing website – Enterprising Writers

Any one starting out in the writing world will understand, it can feel like a very lonely road. It is very isolating and at times you can feel like no one understands. People don’t look on your new found profession as a proper job, it’s just a hobby, however much you protest. Then the Imposter

I heard it through the grapevine

Joseph Green sat on the front porch, the wooden veranda creaking with the forward and back motion of the sturdy swing. He loved to sit there penning poems, the gardenias filling the air, offering inspiration.

Lazy Sunday

Mickey laid on the ground, the grass tickling the nape of his neck as a kaleidoscope of colours filtered their way through his half open eyes. His mouth dry and parched from the night before but cured by a sip of the remnant Harvey Wallbanger that sat in a tall glass beside him, nestled in

Harbour Lights

It seemed like days since she had been standing on the shore welcoming William home again. Two months at sea was torture but the parting after three weeks together was far worse. The harbour lights twinkled through the stubborn tears that welled, holding onto her lashes like her love for William, refusing to let go.

Interview with M.B. Blissett (Part 2)

I would like to thank Matt for talking to our writing group and giving us an insight as to how he writes and what makes him tick. He started by telling us a little bit about himself. Matt comes from Norfolk. He has always been interested in writing and started independent reading from an early

Interview with M.B Blissett

What inspired you to write initially?There was an intense curiosity about how it was done. I used to read Stephen King stories on aportable cassette recorder and copy them out. For the longest time, I procrastinated, because Iwas frightened of doing it badly. Then I decided to embrace the fear and go for it. It

Degrees of goodness

I was talking the other day to someone about degrees of goodness.  We all like to think of ourselves as good in principle, whether it’s charitable work, looking after someone or just not being a bad person in general. But is it so black and white? Just because you do charitable work does that make

Epilogue to dessert

Jack lined up all his utensils on the table. He had been sure to lay plastic down first in preparation. He didn’t want any splats on the furniture. Neatly spaced out with none touching, he was certainly methodical. He didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. Time was of the essence, but the job

Interview with author Kathryn Hughes

Summary This episode is also available as a blog post: https://tinaswriting.wordpress.com/2021/03/02/interview-with-author-kathryn-hughes/ Transcription

Three times round the tree

Once, twice….. dare she do it three times? Katie looked at Sophie with big, wide, brown eyes that danced with eagerness. “Go on……..go on.” Katie’s devilish smile egging her on, but all the while her sensible side resisting. “You’ve stopped, now you’re going to have to start again or it won’t count.” Sophie thought about

Riches to rags

As she shuffled down the street, pulling her ripped shopping trolley, she reflected on where she had come from and where she had been. A far cry from where she was now. Her fat, chubby wrist which was once adorned by fine, sparkly diamonds, ached through pulling the trolley. All that wrapped around her wrist

Interview with author Kathryn Hughes

I never wanted to be a writer but I always wanted to write a book

Guest post on Enterprising Writers

Trainer Tim and The Little People

One upon a time there was a man called Trainer Tim, he loved bright coloured trainers. He was very proud of them and people used to email him from across the world requesting personalised trainers, that was until another craze came along and orders started to dry up. One night before going to bed he

What is a miracle?

I’ve realised that miracles don’t have to be big things, they can be small and that doesn’t make them any less of a miracle. Miracles are all around us. In the Oxford dictionary it says “an act or event that does not follow the laws of nature and is believed to be caused by God”

A Window to the World

Alice sat on her favourite chair in the bay window. Her eye sight wasn’t what it used to be; she couldn’t see things with clarity anymore. But then that was to be expected at her age, especially as she had Age Related Macular Degenerate. Her eye sight had been failing for many years, she had

If I were you

“If I were you.” The words rung in Celeste’s ears. They were the words she had heard so many times, each time they undermined her integrity, her self-worth and her confidence. What ever she did it never stood up to the ‘If I were you’ author. She had spent her whole life trying to live

2021

As we entered 2021 it was not with as much gusto as when we entered 2020. Little did we realise at the start of last year, what would be cast on us and that for many, life would change out of all recognition. The emotional cost has probably not been as bad as this since

The Postman

The familiar “plop” of the mail dropping on the mat made Sarah rush to the front door. Mixed in with the latest bills was a red envelope. She discarded the bills in favour of the plump scarlet packet. It smelt like it had been dipped in a gallon of aftershave. She drew the shimmery paper

The Text

I look at my phone, your words infiltrate me and I want to sterilise my phone. It feels infected by your words, but as hard as I try nothing will anaesthetise me from the harsh statements.  Your words have entered my conscious mind and they sting. Until enough time has elapsed and they enter my

Life so fragile

The snow is falling gently, it’s quiet all around Everyone’s in their own world, on the streets there’s not a sound, Lights are twinkling brightly, indicating there’s life within But not in Gordon’s heart, he’s soaked to the skin His feet ache with the frost bite, his clothes have seen better days A cardboard box

Mum’s the word

Once upon a time we would say “Mum’s the word” It was a bond we had that meant we would not betray confidences Her Mum and my Mum, were like two peas in a pod Both strong women, both domineering, both very outspoken That was before the memories faded and dementia set in Health deteriorated

Secrets of the Emerald Circle

Behind the fans, the makeup and the courteous demeanour, envious sisters plot eternal revenge. It had been brewing for years, they had worked hard on their façade, in fact that is what had made them famous – rich and famous, but that was not enough, nowhere near enough. Underneath it all lay secrets and lies

Finding Me – Tell me your story

I have changed so much over this pandemic that I no longer know who I am. I used to be outgoing, I loved a party and was never happier planning one, but now, I’m happy to stay in and see no one. I had my birthday this week and would have gone out with friends

Pudding Surprise

He looked at his phone, turned pale, then quickly left the room. She watched him, smiling. Her plan was working, she would get her own back and he wouldn’t know what had hit him. That would teach him to stick his wick in another candle, and especially just before Christmas. She loved Christmas and this

Short Story genres

Click on the poll block above to edit it directly in this post. Add a question, and multiple answers and even change the styling of the block using the sidebar controls. Add new poll blocks by searching for “poll” or type “/poll” in a new block.

Facebook – My False Friend

Well we’ve all done it – be honest, clicked like on a post with no comment, after all it’s easy. But look at this scenario, someone’s posted on Facebook “My best friend Toby, my beloved dog has died”. This is met with a tirade of comments like, “Oh hun, I’m sorry to hear that, I’m

The Huntress

She walked towards the opening of the forest. Pine trees in the deepest of green towered above her and a cool breeze rustled the branches. ‘Mother Nature at her finest’ she thought to herself as she powerfully strode on. She was on a mission, she had to find it. The rest of nature could wait.