Reading: ‘Crannog 36 ~ Summer’

 

This is an example of why I look forward to receiving my copy of the latest  Crannog Magazine.  I also submit short stories and poetry, hoping one day to find a piece of my own nestled between the gems I enjoy in each issue.

It’s inspiring to discover new (to me) writers.  I am now a fan of Maggie Breen and will have to add “Other Things I Didn’t Tell” to my wish list

#FrancesMacaulayForde  #Crannog36  #IrishMagazine  #Poretry  #ShortStories   #MaggieBreen  #OtherThingsIDidntTell

Read Full Post »

“E-Males”

Book 2 in my Short Stories series is “E-Males”   Meet ‘Anna Karenina’ of the Australian suburbs:

After seven years of marriage, Michelle began to question her love ~ not her husband Barry’s ~ his adoration was as solid and steady as a rock.  No, she questioned her state. 

Was this all she could expect?  She yearned for more  ~ or perhaps a different ethereal mist of feeling which engulfs like a warm blanket of bright colours, flapping every now and then in the breeze of life. 

“Damn those blasted fairy tales! Where’s my prince?  Why doesn’t Barry come home in the middle of the day and whisk me off to Paris for coffee?” 

She day-dreams he’s sitting in his high rise office, gazing out across the Swan River, thinking of her in a flowing white peignoir, hair carefully styled, just risen from their marriage bed to meet her love. 

Full lips ready to receive his kiss, his embrace strong but gentle he smiles down at her, with one arm to support her swooning, body trembling with unspoken ardor. 

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2014

If you’d care to read the rest, you’re welcome to buy or lend a KINDLE copy of  “E-Males”  or Book 1:  “Meeting Mr X”  directly from Amazon.

(Hope you do…)

 

#FrancesMacaulayForde  #McAlpineBellPublishing  #MeetingMrX  #KINDLEbooks  #E-Males”

Read Full Post »

Kindle Ninja

Ultimate Book Coach – KINDLE NINJA 30 day Challenge

This is my latest challenge:  I’ve got 30 days to publish a KINDLE book and Kirsten Eckstein the Ultimate Book Coach and KINDLE  NINJA  is going to show me how to do it!

It’s only the first week, so at the moment I’m trying to decide what to do first.

I have so many manuscripts and ideas but need to focus on one, then the next, then the next.

Kirsten makes it seem easy and so far, with the insider help of a well-published and successful KINDLE NINJA, I think I’ve got this!

My problem has always been to focus on one thing and get it done.  Kristen gives you easy steps to do just that – focus and get it done.  

It’s exciting to find out what other participants are already putting ‘out there’ for comment.

For my first attempt I’m thinking of doing one of these:

1.  A children’s series of stories which at the moment are in the form of scripts for a TV Series.

2.  Should I publish a series of my short stories?

3.  The one which keeps nagging me – a DIY book to test the waters, ‘Dressing My Princess’.

What do you think?

 

#FrancesMacaulayForde  #KindleNinja  #UltimateBookCoach   #DressingMyPrincess #MrPandaLivesNextDoor

Read Full Post »

CRANNOG Spring

CRANNOG Spring 2014 Journal

A free subscription was included with entry into their competition, so I’ve just received my copy of  ‘CRANNOG Spring 2014’.

Wish I’d read it before entering…    The book feels slim but the 88 page volume is packed with clever writing.

The Galway editorial board did a superb job of choosing short stories and poems which affect the reader – and they did.

Like “Worship”  by Ruth Quinlan:  Your white shoes aren’t white at all.  They’re just cream pretending to be white and when you hold them against the Communion dress they look old and discoloured  even though you know they’re new.   

The words put put me right into the moment of my own Holy Communion (which I haven’t thought about since) remembering the crisp feel of new material and the smell of polished shoes.  Wonderful writing.

Or Breda Wall Ryan’s  “Crushie” poem:  The rain has stopped. Sunlight/veneers a table set between windows. /The year turns.   

The journal CRANNOG Spring 2014  is available for Kindle fans or surprisingly cheaper as a printed version.

Certainly well worth the few dollars to enjoy such gifted authors.

 

#FrancesMacaulayForde  #CrannogSpring2014  #RuthQuinlan  #BredaWallRyan

Read Full Post »

‘Write to Romance’

‘Urban Scrawl’ an anthology of member’s stories published in 2000 by Peter Cowan Writer’s Centre.

The illustration for my story ‘Write to Romance’.

 

“Write to Romance” appeared in ‘Urban Scrawl’, a collection of member’s writing put together by Peter Cowan Writers Centre in 2000 and was the first of my short stories published in Australia.

As I have quite a few snippets of story on my computer ‘shelves’ I’m very interested in putting together a collection for an eBook to publish online as soon as possible.

Watch this space.

 

Read Full Post »

Oscars surprise.

Photo Credit: http://www.news.com.au

Just watched most of the Oscars.  All the way through I expected Sandra Bulloch to win best Actress for ‘Gravity’ because of the many cut-aways and the film won so many other awards and I’m sure she was good.  (I can’t comment on films I haven’t seen so will stick to those I have.)

The camera didn’t cut-away to Cate Blanchette once while I watched, so I thought she had decided not to go – what with all the controversy over ‘Blue Jasmin”s director.  (No, I just can’t bring myself to say his name…)   I presumed she wasn’t there – like Judi Dench and was disappointed.

So glad ‘Frozen’ won best Animated and best song.  So many layers to that film, most unfortunately will be lost on it’s young audience.  (My 4 year old granddaughter loved it – so did I! )

And a huge shout-out to Catherine Martin who became the 1st Aussie to win 4 Oscars for her amazing set design and costumes in ‘The Great Gatsby’ this year and a few years ago for ‘Moulin Rouge!’  

You can usually tell who the academy favorites are by how many times they ‘show’ in cut-away, the ‘star’ in the audience – case in point Best Picture:  ’12 years a slave’ (which I didn’t agree with).   Sure it was a good movie but ‘Captain Phillips’ was better all ’round and should have at the very least won Adapted Screenplay, so was ‘Philomena’ (both mentioned in my top 1o), – Hell! even ‘The Railway Man’ was better.

But I have to say the fashions were beautiful – as expected (expect for Ellen).

Read Full Post »

Richard Ford

Apart from the name (although there’s no ‘e’…) when I saw he was a guest at the 2003 Cork International Short Story Festival, I booked my place to hear him read.  What a treat that was – both being in Ireland and being able to attend in person!  I learned a lot about short story construction and writing in general.  

Wish I could have attended the  Munster Literature Centre  – Cork Spring Poetry Festival last week too!

What a writer: Happy 70th Birthday  Richard Ford   (a very good interview).

Now to order his latest…

Read Full Post »

“Rail Tales” extract

Although I was invited to the inaugural Avon Valley Writer’s Festival last year, to speak and workshop with my screenwriter’s hat on, I wanted something tangible for the audience to purchase so (as mentioned previously) self-published three small books.

Since writing the poems in 1998-2000 on the train between the Northern Suburbs, to the City of Perth then on to University in Mt Lawley, they appeared in my first book published in Ireland ‘Hidden Capacity ~ a poet’s journey’ and more recently re-assessed and ‘tweaked’ to appear in the stand-alone chapbook for sale.  Some pieces have also appeared variously in publications and on the net.

Now I’m hoping to give it yet another life, to convert the chapbook to an e-book for purchase on-line.  Any suggestions?  The service at Amazon has been recommended although I’ve been told not to expect ‘many dollars’ it’s a chance for many to see the poems and a whole new experience for me so I’ll have a look at it.  As I’m not really clever technically, I’m looking for something laywoman easy 😮

Meantime I thought I’d share a story and poem from the book just in case you wanted to investigate further either by purchasing a hard copy from me  or perhaps later an e-book from Blurb, Issuu or Amazon.  These are the first couple of pages:

Edgewater Station, 7.45am.

 The first time I climbed the ramp to cross the empty freeway I thanked my daughter’s advice for nervous, first-time train-travel.

“Don’t make eye-contact and take something to read.”

Embarrassingly unfit; I was truly unworthy of riding to city steeples and naked greed.  However, I was able to slow my breathing before reaching the platform, populated by corporate black.

Like others in smart casual I waited unprepared, searching and praying that I had correct change.  No way would I approach anyone to help if my Target Special revealed only notes.  An extra minute to read the zones and I felt their impatience stab my shoulder blades.

First rule: be prepared.  Why doesn’t someone press the ‘Next Train to Perth’ button?  How long have I got?  Finally, the clunking use of coins and metal spit of ticket, loudly confirmed my lack of railway sophistication.

As I claimed my waiting spot, the gentle morning sun warmed my arms and I began to relax.

My head moved left to spy an approaching train. Then swung right, to relax the tension.  The violent clash of eyes focussed on the anticipated train, brought heat and colour flooding to my face.  Have I broken another rule?

I turned away. Moved left and slid around to a corner bench, hiding under graffiti steps.

A cleaner diligently wiped the dead remains of habit from a shiny steel surface.  As our eyes met, she smiled in understanding. My isolation lifted with the corners of my mouth. “Good morning.”

A distant sparkle from Joondalup Tunnel caught my attention.  Although I had lost my place for the central carriages, I joined the stragglers just as the last door swept toward my flat comfortable-s.

The unsmiling silent wave surged toward the precipice, eager to rest their feet or continue sleep.  We were swallowed with a whoosh.

All around people take off their Sunnis and don clear glass, casually opening their oft-thumbed pages: Time magazine, corporate handouts, New Idea, ‘Bondage – a love story’ the latest Patricia Cornwell…

I am starting my own new adventure – a new life.

No husband ~ he’s decided to share his bacon with a younger model.

No children to care for – they’ve all moved out, no-one who needs me, just me.

So I’m dealing with the empty nest, taking my new life into a different direction ~ a city job direction.

The first day of my new life: new job; new me.  Is it obvious?

No one speaks, except the odd un-sophisticate, who broadcasts gossip as if it elevates them.

I lose myself in Harry Potter and block out the other occupants, cocooned against intimidation.

Priority Seating.

Chivalry’s not dead.

Young man offers an older

person his seat, but

not the young lady. He stands

silently, matching her sway.

 

Freeway Sprawl.

relaxed – half asleep

compassionately floating past

overheated motors crawling

without air-conditioned silence

forced to queue as road workers

widen a future path.

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2013

Read Full Post »

ABC Tales

I’ve used ABC Tales to publish many of my stories and poems which are already part of the public domain.  It helps to have somewhere central for them but it’s also facinating to see how many people read your stories and poems and which they choose.

By far my most popular story has been ’25 minute Journey’ about travelling between Perth City and the Northern Suburbs, an amalgamation of shorter pieces which appeared in my first book ‘Hidden Capacity ~ a poet’s journey’.

I’m currently adapting the story ’25 Minute Journey’ for the screen.

Read Full Post »