Writers' festival in India

The India Inter-Continental Cultural Association, Chandigarh (India), a non profit organisation, is organising its 9th International Writers Festival-India, an International conference of poets, writers and scholars, on 09-10 November 2013 at Nellore (Andhra Pradesh)). More information at

http://www.indianwriters.org/

http://www.kaflaintercontinental.com/

http://www.writersclubinternational.com/

Life too short? Then keep reading

For me, there’s a simple test of a short story. Like a lot of people, I am busy, life is hectic and people make demands on my time. I have just read the opening paragraph of this story, do I really want to make time to read on? Is life too short?
Two stories came into the monthly Global Short Story Competition overnight that made me read on. One had an opening line that asked so many questions, hinted at so much intrigue, that I had to keep reading, the other painted such a picture of a place that I was immediately transported there. And if the reader is grabbed, you’re half way there to a successful story.
There’s three days left to enter the July competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean

Free poetry competition

We’ve gone all poetic for our new free competition. More at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inscribemedia/183385438479538

Never too late

Five days to enter the July Global Short Story Competition. £100 first prize. More at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

 

Writers go into print with tales of intrigue and crime

Two authors from the North East of England have gone into print with ebooks, the sixth and seventh published through the Inscribe Media imprint.

The thriller Lost Souls is Roger Barnes’ second ebook, following White Gold, and crime novel Harry’s Torment is Michael Beck’s first. Both authors are from Darlington, County Durham.


Book details:

Lost Souls by Roger Barnes
When young women start to go missing in Africa, the kidnappers warn not to investigate but the police do and the women’s hideously mutilated bodies are returned. After that the investigations are stopped and a continuing flow of traumatised victims are returned alive, having being used in the most brutal and degrading ways.

This continues until another four are abducted and the British Government decides it must act and recommence the investigation, but this time using a very different approach. A Special Forces Major with an uncanny knack for finding people is teamed with an unorthodox politically incorrect police officer, and both are asked to volunteer to try and find them.

It becomes apparent that not only British women are being abducted, so a small International Strike Force is assembled to rescue them and ensure it is stopped, permanently.

Roger is a taxi driver in Darlington and a member of Darlington-based Inkerman Writers.
The book is available from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Souls-ebook/dp/B00E458SC4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374659781&sr=8-1&keywords=lost+souls+by+roger+barnes





Harry’s Torment by Michael Beck
Harry’s Torment is set in the fictional east coast port of Thirlston and is centred on the heroin trade.

Unlike some other crime novels this is not a ‘who done it’ as we very soon discover identity of the local drugs baron. We see how the officers try to piece together various bits of information in their pursuit of him and how he attempts to stay one step ahead of them. This takes place alongside a personal feud between two senior customs officials and this impacts upon one of the officers in particular as he is used as a pawn in their struggle. His close working relationships with a local detective inspector also causes problems and pressures for both parties as the story comes to a dramatic conclusion.

Michael spent 38 years with Customs and Excise and took early retirement in 2005. In that time he worked in most of the disciplines within the department and was responsible for all the anti-smuggling teams in the north east of England between 1990 and 2000. He is a member of Inkerman Writers and Bennet House Writers, both Darlington based writing groups, and has written a number of short stories.
The book is available on


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harrys-Torment-ebook/dp/B00E40NF5Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374660082&sr=8-1&keywords=harry%27s+torment







* Inscribe Media also runs the monthly Global Short Story Competition and mentoring and writing workshops.. The new books takes the number of its titles to seven. More information can be found at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

Those crucial opening lines

I make no apology for returning to one of my big themes for this blog because the subject is so important in any kind of writing but particularly short story writing where you have so few words to play with.

Overnight, we received an entry to the Global Short Story Competition story (July’s remains a low entry, good time to go for that £100 first prize!) which drew the reader in beautifully. Atmosphere, intrigue, a fascinating character and all in the first 20 lines.

However you start your story, the beginning should have The Question, something that hooks your reader. You need to grab them from those first lines.

You can do it with out and out intrigue, of course - ‘the last thing he expected to see was his wife holding the gun’ - but another way is to draw us in with the sheer quality of the writing.

The story overnight did both and by the end of the first paragraph, the character had been so beautifully depicted that the reader needs to know more about him. It‘s job done for the writer in question.


  

The art of storytelling

Sometimes a story comes into the Global Short Story Competition that brings a smile to the face. That happened over the weekend. Beautifully observed characters, gentle humour, real situations that feel so familiar, simple uncomplicated storytelling, they all added up to a sheer delight. An object lesson in the art of the writer.
Plenty of time to enter this month’s comp at www.inscribemedia.co.uk £100 first prize.