This is a further revised version of the original Trumped story.
(The original was crafted long before we have been plagued by the man who has dominated the headlines over the last decade.)
It is a romance, set in Glasgow of the late 1950s.
Louisa at our Writers’ Circus set us the challenge of “Betrayal”.
The idea of setting this story against a background of Greyhound Racing came at once. My Dad was an occasional weekend gambler, not addicted, but he did enjoy Friday nights at Shawfield Stadium, which still exists as a Greyhound Racing venue.
The ambiance I am trying for is post-war Glasgow, seeking to contrast the gulf between the lives of the rich (living in the grand mansions of Pollokshields) and the poor (living in the Oatlands district, where my Dad was born).
I have re-formatted it and re-edited the original using Read Aloud in Word. If you a typo or logic error, please forgive, make your best judgement and read on.
Thank you Kareth for editing the original version all those years ago.
Click here to download the PDF.
This tale, entirely fictional, is based on a chance meeting with a very chatty lady as we travelled on the link bus from Edinburgh Airport to the city centre. I had been in London the previous day and was heading for our Edinburgh office.
She was from Northern Ireland, born and bred. During the years her daughter had studied at Edinburgh University, my link bus companion had grown fond of the city. When her husband sold their business he took up golf as his new passion, making her a golfing widow.
It was a siutuation she decided to use to her advantage and, to fill her free time, she started taking the short and inexpensive flight from Belfast to Edinburgh, often just for the day, sometimes for several if he was away on a longer golf trip.
These were her secret ‘Blue Moon Days’, she said, visits her husband and family knew nothing about.
Note: I have added a Contents list which enable readers to navigate directly to each chapter by CLICK ing on the heading in this list.
Click here to download the PDF.
This is a ‘future fiction’ story which I started around four years ago when my eldest grandson was about eleven.
There was a stage when Matthew used to make excellent sketches of spaceships, rockets, robots and ailiens, all full of fine detail.
I had hoped we might develop Trevvid’s story together and in doing so Matthew might illustrate it.
Like his father, Matthew has a talent for artwork. Maybe one day he will?
This tale is about three young people who use their friendship and special powers to resist the evil forces of Juuster, the demonic leader of the Kembelatti.
You will encounter lots of strange words and odd spellings. To help, there is a Glossary but I think you will soon get the gist of what is meant by these words.
do give it a go, please.
There are lots of little twists and turns which I hope make this tale readable and enjoyable.
And yes, this one has a happy ending!
Note: I have addded a Contents list which allows readers to navigate to each chapter.
Click here to download the PDF.
This is another Maisie Kaywood romp.
Maisie is a modern-day Robin Hood character, choosing for herself what wrongs she chooses to put right.
Yes, it is fantasy fiction but I hope it may entertain.
The first three chapters set the scene after which Maise and her XCD Team from Lab 5 at Global Bio-Genetics spring into action.
I suggest you give it a whirl. I hope it may grab you.
This complicated tale started writing itself a few years ago and go mislaid in the editing process. I found it again a few weeks ago and polished it using the “Read Aloud” tool in Microsoft Word. If you find errors, please use your best judgement as to spelling or meaning. Thanks.
(Please also check out the other Maisie Kaywood stories and “Living with Myra”, the story about Maisie’s mother.
Note:
I have added a Table of Contents which enables readers to navigate to each chapter.
Click here to download the PDF.
This is a story I have been writing on and off for several years.
It is an adult story, unsuitable for under eighteens.
Most of the action takes place in Glasgow, centred on on Govanhill, Shawlands, Pollokshaws and Auldhouse with passing mentions of more upmarket locations such as Newlands and Pollokshields.
Towards its end, the story moves briefly to New York City and to Saratoga Springs in upstate New York County.
It begins in the mid-nineteenth century and moves steadily to its climax in 1925.
May I suggest you try a few chapters and hopefully by then you will be keen to keep reading.
It is entirely a work of fiction.
As with most of my recent pieces this story has been self-edited using “Read Aloud” in Word.
If you spot errors, please use your best judgement as to meaning and read on.
Thank you.
I keep a record of each version as I save it after a writing session. From this information, I estimate this story took around 500 hours of writing effort.
Click here to download the PDF.
This is a story which has been writing itself for a very long time.
Started in 2016, sadly the origin of the initial ‘prompt’ which got me going has long gone!
It begins in Ireland with Charles Horspool, the third son of a large landed family.
Born in 1796 when he becomes of age (21) in 1817, Charles inherits his alloted share of the family fortune.
A wayward child and youth, his family were pleased to be rid of him and Charles was glad to be free of living under the thumb.
The story moves to London, briefly, then Yorkshire and then to Glasgow: first to Garnet Hill, then Pollokshields, Newlands and Pollokshaws.
Other threads of the web of intrique emerge.
Annette Birkley appears and the story centres on her as it reaches its conclusion in 1946.
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Again I offer my apoligies for any errors. One aspect which gave me the greatest difficulty was keeping track of dates and ages of the characters. Hopefully I have lined all my ducks in order but if there are errors, let me know and I will try to correct them.
Ditto for spelling errors and typos. As in recent pieces, I used ‘Read Aloud’ in Word to guide me i my self-editing endeavours.
If you find an anomaly, please use your best judgement as to meaning and do, please, forgive and read on.
Thank you.
Click here to download the PDF.
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.
Click here to download the PDF.
This story comes from a Writers’ Circus challenge entitled - ‘The Day After’.
Indeed for most of the time I was crafting this, I called it ‘The Day After the Night Before’ until a different title suggested itself from the dialogue.
It is set in 1955, in the West of Scotland, in Motherwell which at that time was a thriving steel town.
The characters are middle-class, twin sisters competing for the best of two brothers.
In true Peoples’ Friend style it is full of twists and turns and flew easily from my noddle onto the screen, keeping me amused as the story told itself.
I hope this fun comes across and that you enjoy it too.
Click here to download the PDF.
This is a tale about two people who meet under unusual circumstances. Both of them are slightly odd, off beat.
The setting is a fictitious island in the Outer Hebrides.
It was started several years ago, sparked by a topic from the Writers’ Circus entitled “familiar”.
I like to think of it as a modern-day Peoples’ Friend story, the sort of story my Mum would have enjoyed.
Special thanks are due to my friend Kareth Paterson who spent many long hours editing this tale, contributing corrections and suggesting ideas which shaped the final outcome.
Click here to download the PDF.
This is another Maisie Kaywood romp.
It introduces David Abernethy (aka Biscuit aka The Ferret) and other members of Maisie’s XCD Team.
It is set in Scotland, near Aberdeen.
Give it a try for a few pages, you my get hooked!
Click here to download the PDF.