The Bridport Reject Collective: Six Cruel and Unusual Short Stories.

A new piece which has been put together using all the short stories that I've had published elsewhere, or entered into the Bridport Prize, plus one new story, has been published on http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66575. It is on sale for $2.00, so no excuses (you know who you are)! It is available on all e-reader formats including Kindle, you can read it online as a HTML or as a word file (there maybe a delay of a couple of days for some readers due to Smashwords premium distribution approval process).

No doubt The Bridport Prize people will be slightly pissed off that I am piggy backing on their notority. And no doubt people might find my title a little bitter, as if I felt I should have won this prize hands down or something. No. I know that the Bridport Prize is a very tough competition - probably the toughest and this has been the only competition I have ever entered as a writer. I have a great deal of respect for this competition and I would consider it to be the only competition really worth entering for short stories etc. So it is in deference to the quality of the prize and its winners, that I named my short story collection after it.

Here's a rundown of what's in the book:

THE RIOTERS CANDLE.

This short story is a completely new one, inspired by the Tunisian man Mohammed Bouazizi, who set himself alight and set the whole world alight at the same time. In this tale a prisoner is brought to a cell block used for torturing and detaining high profile prisoners of a generic Arab regime. He is a simple rioter, rather than a revolutionary, a politician or a human rights campaigner. He’s only there because the other prisons were full, but his effect is much, much bigger than his counterparts in the neighbouring cells could ever have imagined.

DARK DAY.

A mysterious darkness arrives on a housing estate in Northampton and experts are drafted in to discover its origins and secrets. The Police and the army send in their officers to investigate, only to find that they don’t return. The darkness seems to swallow up human beings as effectively as it does the light. Hidden deep inside is a tragedy which will confound the government and leave a lasting legacy. This story was entered into the The Bridport Prize Short Story competition 2009, then published on www.vagabond-unlimited.co.uk and Kalkion.com later that same year (Dark Day - Kalkion.com edition).

SAY GOODBYE TO MACY.

A lonely salesman is haunted by a dream of a troubled young girl in a children’s home, when he realises his dream has become a reality. This short was also entered into The Bridport Prize Short Story competition in 2010.

LENNY’S DREAMS: THE LAST DAYS OF THE BEETLE.

Lenny lives alone after the end of his marriage. Depressed and lost in his own world, he becomes fascinated by the minutia of the insect life around him. This short was first published on www.horromasters.com in 2004.

CAITLIN INVISIBLE.

Caitlin is a ten year old girl who has got into the habit of getting up in the middle of the night to stand silently and still in the partially finished extension on her house and stares out the window for a few minutes and then returns to bed. Soon it becomes apparent why she is doing this, when she witnesses an event that no other person sees, nor understands. This was published as an ebook on www.vagabond-unlimited.co.uk in 2007 and in Escape Velocity edited by Geoff Nelder and Rob Blevins in 2011.

DEVIL’S RISE.

While abseiling off an escarpment called Devil’s Rise, a man finds himself lost in country lanes, having been separated from his family. When he stops at a farmhouse, he discovers a terrible crime. But as he goes to call the Police, he begins to realise that he maybe in the frame himself. This story was entered into the The Bridport Prize Short Story competition in 2007.

Hope you pick it up. And remember you don't need an expensive e-reader. All you need is a computer and a printer, or if you're up for reading on-screen, then you can read it online. I would of course discourage people printing off stuff you can read on screen. I made up my mind years ago that I would only print stuff off, if I really needed to and I found it took about a month to adjust to reading on-screen. Now I prefer it, and as a bonus I only buy paper about two or three times a year. Seriously consider training your brain and I guess your eyes to adjust and it works nicely. My eyes are as good as they ever were as well. No damage there to worry about.