Prediction Winner

The cat's come over to help me judge tonight. Her name's Lily too and she's getting on a bit; keeps forgetting who she is. That's what I'm scared of - somehow I think it's inevitable.

Summary time - a quickie.

• Michael: No Abdication. Empirical turmoil with monarchic spite.
• Me: An Eye for an Eye. A queenly exchange of eyeballs.
• Sue: One For The Road. Perfect spies and conspiracy theories for the almighty Strachan.
• AJ: Blood in the Water. Imperial Rome arrives with bloody Caesar's dictatorship.
• Nina: What Were YOU Thinking. An optical illusion disguised in doctor's clothing.
• William: #1 Where's the Fox PT2. Sellings and Tench get a lot more to go on, via Huxley.
  #2 The Real Guy Fawkes. Final moments of madness through torture.
• Phil: Revolution? Hunters become the hunted and revolution turns the world upside down.
• Chris: U.D.D.D. Flashing memories haunt the alleged traitor as he breathes his last breath - and swings.
• Paul: #1 The Museum of Treason. All-seeing statues paralysed in innocent poses.
  #2 Untitled. Grandma Graves is a wily manipulator; the 'eyes' have it.
• John: CyberOptical Illusion. Live visual attacks create distorted conceptions.
• Aidan: The Shaking of the Ossuary. Bones and flesh intermingle in this battle to save Circe, and lives.
• Asuqi: Perfect Shot. A golden-haired model twists to make the photographer sit up and take notice.

Straight to the point. My winner this week is Michael Solender with the powerful and disturbing No Abdication. Frightening, familiar and memorable. Congratulations Michael.

Two runners-up - Aidan Fritz' mad The Shaking of the Ossuary. Bizarre and wonderful. And Chris Allinotte's U.D.D.D. - a terrifying finality. Well done both.

I'd also like to make special mention of newcomer Paul/Crimson Archer's entries. Very promising - do stay with us Paul.

Am I really going to get to bed before midnight on a Thursday for once? Let's see... Back tomorrow, with Guest Judge-time news.

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Cold Heart - now showing in Michael J. Solender's Dog Days of Summer

Back at the beginning of summer MJS launched a great challenge. Write 101 words exactly to include the words 'Summer' and 'Heat'; the best entries would appear in an e-chap book to be launched today, 1st September.

Well, I heard from Mr S back in August that my little 101-worder Cold Heart had been selected with an honorary mention. Ooh! Had to keep stum until today but now Dog Days of Summer is out there! And there are some great photos too.

The winning entry by Sam Adamson was a cool giggle, well deserved. Great interview at the NOT too.

You can download the e-chap book FREE from here. Cold Heart is on page 34, but you can also read it below. Many thanks Michael. An excellent literary event.

Cold Heart

It glistens in someone else’s hand. No matter. I have to have it. I’ve got to take it off her, assuage the rabid heat that has made me sweat and stink throughout this evil, relentless summer.

Walking, marching, running now I snatch it and abscond, licking at the frozen juice as I sprint away. Sugared orange spills and drips over my grateful breasts.

The mother’s shouts and her daughter’s ugly wailing do nothing to stop me in my tracks. I suck until the bleached popsicle breaks apart in my mouth and I collapse to the ground, sticky with neuralgia... and regret.

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The Devil In Me

Michael J. Solender, prolific noir author and satirist invited me to to write as a guest over at the NOT

My new piece The Devil In Me is up on his site now. Feel free to pay it a visit and let me know what you think.

Here's a taster...

The Devil In Me

The last time I saw The Devil he was dancing on stage. 

What I was doing there, I can’t be sure. Sleep had evaded me – I swear I was awake. It was one of those vivid ‘between the veils’ moments where the extraordinary seems real; when you can fly without wings and fall off cliffs without landing. It was a moment when being invited to watch The Devil trip the light fantastic seemed a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

His voice rang out as I entered the darkness of the endless auditorium.

‘Ah, Jimmy. It’s been so long, so long.’

Read the full story...

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