Flash Fiction: Sounds of war and peace

The local boys are toying with their guns down at the shooting range, their pot shots echoing like whip cracks off the hills around. They’ve been let out for the first time since the pandemic had them rushing for cover. Overcome by an urge to celebrate, they’re firing off a round or ten.… Read more

Being English

Me!

England for me is singing as a boy in the church choir in cassock, surplice and ruff. It is the treble descant rising in the nave and the hiss of the organ as the stops are pulled out. It is the clang of bells ringing changes and the rise and fall of colourful sallies in bellringers’ hands.… Read more

People of the forest

Almost every day I go for a long walk in the forest above our home, pausing from time to time to sit and write the next paragraphs of my latest book. As I walk, I turn over ideas and words for my book while trying to fend off the myriad other stories that  bustle for my attention.… Read more

The Empty Box

Empty Box

Who would have thought that an empty box could cause such a stir? When George cracked a joke about just such a box, he couldn’t have imagined what was about to happen. Read my short story, The Empty Box to find out what occurred.… Read more

Short Story: Her

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Read my latest short story, Her, sparked by an idea during a workshop given by EmJay Holmes. Here’s the beginning of the story:

Time to crack open my eyes, to yawn and yawn again, to stretch, to scratch, then pounce on the ball of wool sending it shooting under the bed.… Read more

The Chapel

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Read my latest short story entitled The Chapel. Here are the opening sentences:

The latch clicks shut as I pull the porch door closed and feel my way in the dark. A faint hint of incense hangs in the air, vying with distant memories of flowers.… Read more