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183 entries in this archive

Thursday 14 March, 2024

Dead of Night ( novella, a long read)

This is an entirely fictional tale and I hope that residents of the Scottish Hebrides will accept it for what it is.

It is graphic in style and content, perhaps a bit ‘gushy’ and might be classified as a modern “Mills and Boon” novella.


It is the tale of girl evacuated to North Uist during the early stages of WW2.

She is restless, dissatisfied with her lot, forced to live a life so different from her cosmopolitan upbringing in Glasgow.

Very soon she is an outcast. Partly because she does not speak Gaelic while most locals have little English.

She is resented because she is ‘posh’, glamorous, has nice hair, owns an expensive wardrobe and wears make-up.

There, that will have to be enough.

Give it a go, you might like it, once you have your feet under the table.


As with most of my recent stories this one has been self-edited using “Read Aloud” in “Word”.

If you spot an error or typo, please use your best judgment and READ ON.

Thank you.

Tuesday 12 March, 2024

Haunted (a ten minute read)

This tale came from a Writers’ Circus challenge:

“I wish I was.....”

I sat down at my laptop with nothing but a vague idea and started tapping.

This story about Hatty and Erica wrote itself.

Odd how the mind works?

Very!

Thursday 7 March, 2024

North by North East (a novella of 44,000 words, perhaps a 3 hour read?)

The first scribing of this tory began in October 2017 as a response to a Writers’ Circus challenge “the road that must be followed”.

It involves religion, love, adultery, drugs and alcoholism and may not be everyone’s first choice of reading material.

It starts just before the 1955 Billy Graham Rally in Glasgow.

From Glasgow it then moves to The Gambia, back to Glasgow then on to Tenerife and back again to Glasgow.

Hopefully, if you give it a try, you might become intrigued and want to find out how it concludes?

The first version was edited by my friend Kareth Paterson of Writers’ Circus then became mired in the fallout from Covid lockdowns.

The version offered here was revamped over a two month spell and self-edited using the ‘Read Aloud’ tool in Word.

Please try to forgive typos and when you find a glitch, use you best judgement and read on.

Monday 26 February, 2024

Brillo (revisited) - an 8 minute read.

This is a lighthearted tale about an group of friends who are members of the Brillo Investment Club.

The piece was written in response to a Writers’ Circus challenge, “it’s only a suggestion”.

The Brillo Investment Club is in the doldrums and Mrs Slyvi Newlands decides its time for a shake-up.

I sent a link to a friend and then decided to ‘tidy it up.

This is the revised version which I think is easier to comprehend.

Monday 19 February, 2024

Spanish Sparrows - a novel, 75000 words, a long read.

This is a Maisie Kaywood story.

Check at www.thebuzzinbee.co.uk for others, particularly ‘Fidelity’ and ‘Out of the Blues’ two shorter stories which feature some of the other main characters in XCD (X-Carpe Diem), the name assigned to Maisie’s hit squad as she seeks to deliver her personal version of private justice against the baddies.

In Spanish Sparrows the action takes place in early 2008 when George W Bush was in his second year of his second term as US President.

The story starts in Tenerife then moves to Frankfurt then on to West Africa, focused on on a visit made to Benin by GWB in his valedictory year.

Yes, this visit did in fact take place.

So, dive in, why don’t you?

Tuesday 13 February, 2024

What Next? (seven minute read)

This tale resulted from a Writer’s Circus challenge:

“A Fishy Story”.

During January in Bearsden we had some heavy snow and a few mini blizzards.

An idea came and I began to tap out this tale.

It wrote itself.

Not a fish in sight, though. No mermaids either but definitely a shaggy dog and other snow loving wildlife.

Thursday 11 January, 2024

White Out (1200 words, five minute read)

It was looking out at heavy snow. Within minutes it was a white out.

Later there were TV news reports of traffic stranded on the A9, a road we know well from summer jaunts to Rosemarkie with our ancient caravan.

The next morning this story started to write itself.

Thursday 11 January, 2024

Sound Tracks for 2023

Our Writers’ Circus challenge for January 2024 was to write about ‘Memories of 2023’.

As some of you may know, I love singing.

I have also become ‘addicted’ to YouTube.

Put these two pastimes together and out pops this offering.

I hope you enjoy my selection.

Sunday 31 December, 2023

A is for Artemis ( a full length novel)

This tale began as a simple idea in which a drone would be used to gain dominance in a drugs turf war. The main action takes place over a two day period in May 2014.

Much of what occurs takes place in Bridge of Weir, a real town located to the west of Glasgow, a very respectable and well-heeled enclave.

Shawlands, Govanhill, Strathbungo, Newlands, Glasgow’s West End and Milngavie all get a passing mention.

The Camorra (Naples) and a Serbian drugs cartel (based in Trieste) are the main protagonists.

The anti-hero is a tiny woman who strives to overcome her many problems, hoping to be repatriated to her previous life in Italy. This woman is forced to live a very lonely life in the shadows.

Eventually, she strikes using her drones to try to solve her problems and gain status in her Camorra family.

The person trying to solve the resulting mayhem is a driven policewoman striving to force her way into the higher echelons of Police Scotland

This tale is rather graphic and gory in places and may not suit all tastes.

May I suggest you give it a go for a few chapters and, hopefully, you might be hooked.

By my ready reckoning, this story has taken around a thousand hours to complete. With 140,000 words, it MUST contain errors for which I ask your indulgence. If you come across a glitch, use your best judgement regarding what I intended and proceed. Thanks.

Saturday 23 December, 2023

Spring Catch (a novella, 24,000 words)

This is a story which started out on my iPad many years ago, during a holiday to Blackwaterfoot on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde. While we were in Tenerife recently, I rediscovered it and decided it should be completed.

This tale is set in 1853. The Irish Potato Blight is rampant. There are no antibiotics to counter tuberculosis and similar diseases, often fatal.

From Blackwaterfoot a lone fisherman sets sail across the notorious North Channel to one of his favourite fishing grounds, twenty-five miles away off the northernmost coast of Ireland. Very soon he is engulfed by a huge storm.. . ..

With a few twists, this is a tale of romance and survival.

Why not give it a try? It might ‘hook’ you.

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