N.O.A. Rawle: Through the Eyes of a Stranger

I've always believed that if you work hard, you should be able to enjoy the fruits of that labour, but these last two months have stretched me like I've breached an event horizon. I've had a zillion obligations to fulfil (no exaggeration - really !) and I haven't written much at all. I'm even wondering if I'll get much beyond this blog... No fear, (T-shirt a Green Mile promo gift from Penguin Books, from my bookseller days.) The end of the year, that is. I've achieved many of the things I was aiming for and failed in others, but that's okay! (Cue voice of self-hypnosis recording.) I know that I've spread myself too thin and I can't go any further. Time for a break and am I looking forward to the New Year! Remember, you can pick up any or all of the anthologies I've participated in this year for stocking fillers and gifts! It'd make me so proud! (Yes, a writer does feel rather like a parent whose kid gets the lead role in the scho...

So many things to blog about today so let me start off small. You can read Jack Be Nimble a short Halloween themed horror story at 101words.org today. I am also guest blogging on fellow author, Rie Sheridan Rose's blog , about 'Core Craving' my story in the 'Hides the Dark Tower' anthology. Then there is the wonderful news that Shark Nose , a horror story set in WWII, has come third in the Rambunctious Ramblings Publications horror contest and so will be published early in the New Year. Woo Hoo! Finally, comes a book launch which all started off with a nice cup of tea at the first year anniversary party at the Scribblers' Den with one of those throw-away comments, "We could publish the stories in an anthology." I said and now here it is. Two months and a lot of tea, discussion and editing later, here it is! Denizens of Steam  is available through  Smashwords and should have formats compatible with most e-readers. Best of all it is absolute...

This doodle-in-poor-taste came from a throw-away comment someone made! Attack of the Pantsers *the slow, grinding caterpillar treads of procrastination and the occasional barrage of inspiration* NaNoWriMo* came into my vocabulary around the 20th of November last year, and not having a clue what it was I Googled it but discovered I was too late to sign up for 2014 challenge. Being able to get 50,000+ words down on 'the page' by the end of the month was not a possibility. However, I vowed that 2015 would be the year , so, I did it. I 'm there. I signed up mid October. But what the hell am I going to write about? A novel, duh. This is, after all, *National Novel Writing Month (get it now?) But 50,000words in 30days? That means a religious 1,664 words per day. Doesn't seem like much but I know there will be days when I just wont look at the Work In Procrastination and it will become no more than a pipe dream, smoked for a momentary p...

Hides the Dark Tower , the long awaited anthology from Pole-to-Pole Publishing is available from today! So if you haven't already placed an order for your copy, why not do so? It is a stunning collection of creepy and enchanting tales all about towers. From the dark and scary to the fairytale kind, there is something for all readers of dark fiction. Of course, there's also my tale Core Craving . So if you have an insatiable reading appetite you cannot satisfy, you know what Hides the Dark Tower! Buy from Amazon.com Buy from Amazon.co.uk Buy from i-tunes  Also available from the following vendors  Kobo Oyster Scribd Tolino Page Foundry  

Scatterbrained reading is my worst habit. If you look at  my reading list on Goodreads you'll see what I mean. I've recently updated it, but I bet I still haven't included all the books I've got on the go. My target of 26 to be read by the end of the year, is a realistic number of those I'll complete, although I'll start three times that number. Some I've had going for years and others for days, some I finish in an afternoon. I have been wondering if this a reflection of my disorganisation in general or a reflection of the writing I choose to read or perhaps I have undiagnosed AADD? (This is not meant to be a flippant or disparaging comment, I seriously wonder if I do.) My writing flows a similar route; I currently have in the region of 30 projects on the go and flit from one to the other adding, tweaking and amending. There is order and purpose but my muse is mercurial and likes to wind me up. Then, on  a FB forum I frequent, the question po...

As you know I've been doing the Steampunk thing in a big way of late and this weekend I participated in my first on line tea party!  The Scribblers' Den in the Steampunk Empire celebrated it's 1st Anniversary on September 19th. The event was hosted on line with lots of witty banter, tea & cakes, tea duelling and of course, a short story competition! All of the entries are available to read  here at the moment, but the Denizen's are toying with thee idea of an ebook to be made available at some time in the near future. My story  'Walk In The Park' got lashings of praise so I was very pleased especially as it was something I rushed off in a couple of hours! Rambunctious Ramblings Collective Ramblings: Volume One , which includes my winning Steampunk story 'Synchronysi' , is available for pre-order through an indiegogo campaign . Please sign up to get your copy! This weekend 'Hides the Dark Tower' , which include my story 'Cor...

Don your goggles, I have some Rambunctious news!   But first things first, if you do not know what Steampunk is let me take you on the adventurous voyage I took to Steampunk and hopefully you will learn a little more! I was a Goth. I say this in all seriousness but with the sly smile of one forced to join AA but with no will to do so. Meaning I still have a Bauhaus moment or two and although I no longer practise  Bela Lugosi's Dead on my double bass, you will hear me screaming along to the Cult  Revolution or prancing about to Sisters of Mercy  Temple of Love . Goth, as I know it, has nothing to do with Emo. I do not, and never did, mope around in cemeteries, although I do have a strange admiration of Victorian funerary art. Neither does it have anything in common with Black Metal or devil worship. That said, I love dark fiction and movies related to these things and I am n...

Ask a 1000 writers and you'll get a 1000 answers. It's one of those bug-bear questions. When I get something published (hooray!) I try to tell the story behind the story but it ain't always easy (and sometimes I simply don't want to share!) In this post I thought I'd let you into my thought processes.   This is a gorgeous treasure chest that sits just inside the front door of my godmother's house. I've always loved it as it's got gorgeous colours and seems pretty old - about a century if I were to hazard a guess. Due to the fact that it is a delightful hiding place for palm-sized hairy brown arachnids it has never really been used for more than dumping empty carrier bags. This summer I thought I'd do it up so that we could use it for storing winter blankets. The brass plate at the front has been painted with horrid poo-coloured gloss which I have no idea how to remove but the paper lining, which was all torn, wa...

It's been a cool summer in many ways and now that August has rolled around I've started thinking autumn! I know most of you probabaly equate August with holidays and heatwaves, but not me. (It's a cool 35°C as opppsed to 45°C of last month.) I can feel the nip in the morning air, the first leaves are fluttering listlessly on the breeze and thunder storms are churning the night sky. Once Bitten (UK) Once Bitten (US) Last August gave me my first competition win with Hot Air Balloonimg on 99 fictiom.net (check the link on the right if you haven't read it). This year I have my first online book launch for  Once Bitten!  Join me and a host of other horror writers on Facebook on Saturday 15th at 6pm GMT for giveaways, excerpts and whole lot more. Here is the final cover for the digital version of Hides the Dark Tower. As you can see there are some pretty good writers included. I am (as yet!) not well known enough to make it to the credits on the front cove...

If you are looking for something to get you through those lazy days of summer then here it is! The super new anthology from Knight Watch Press Once Bitten , edited by Steven Lewis. It includes my story  Thrill of the Chase as well as a whole host of thrilling tales from Jacob Prytherch, T. Fox Dunham, Martin Nike, James Park, Elle Joyce, Nic Martin, John R. Fultz, Sheldon Woodbury, Spencer Carvalho, Michael Seese, Ian Faulkner, Steven Chapman, James S. Dorr and Tim Jefferys.   Click on the links to order your Copy: Amazon UK Amazon US    

I'm really pleased to be able to reveal to you the art work for Pole to Pole publishing's "Hides the Dark Tower" anthology which includes my story "Core Craving". It has been rumoured that my story will be rubbing shoulders with some well-known names in the horror genre. (I am very excited!) I am waiting for more details on the rest of the contributors before I reveal all, so watch this space!

' Wrapped In Chains ' is the second story I've written from a dream. (The first will be published early in 2016 in the Reflections Fox Pocket anthology from Fox Spirit Books.) The story doesn't have much to do with the dream (which was quite boring as dreams go) but the song does! I woke up with this refrain in my head and thought it must be some old pop song that I'd forgotten but when I Googled it there was nothing to be found so it became the inspiration for this dark little tale instead!

Did you ever get told that 'Those who can do and those who can't teach'? I heard it a lot when I was in my late teens and it's kind of haunted me since then and even more so since I took up teaching a few decades ago! It always wound me up because there are so many brilliant teachers out there who devote their lives to chivvying reluctant youths through a very limiting and limited education system, trying to get them to see that they are super creative individuals who are bursting with potential if they can only learn to channel that energy in the right direction. There are also so many kids who struggle with the system's clear biases and rebel and lose out just because they can't be judged by the standards through which 'education' operates. 'Those Who Can, Do' (101 version) describes the awful (possible) consequences of when this system fails not only the student but the teachers too. There is a longer version in which it is clearer that...

Today sees "Santa Workshop" up on 101 Short Stories - I love this site - they like my work! The story behind this one came around Christmas time of course, although it's theme is timeless. Christmas gets lost in shopping fever and gift giving is a capitalist's dream. It's also a time when everyone suddenly gets charitable and donates to the cause of their choice. This set me thinking about someone who wanted to donate more than their cash. This year, my Children reached the stage where they are beginning to question the existence of Santa too. These things combined put me in mind of perhaps, a retired gentleman who wishes to relieve the suffering of child labour in sweatshops. Now what if he, running on the premise that Santa is a good guy and that all children love Santa, cultivated his look to resemble Santa? He'd have in mind those Christmas card images of Santa bouncing kiddies on his knee, no doubt. There are children who have know idea who Sa...

Here's a quick read for you on 101 Word Stories, Dirt Won't Hurt.  Share it with your friends! It's one of those stories that came in a flash (pun intended). But it's true. I woke up at about 3am with that well-worn phrase that all mums use, rolling around in my head and the story flowed straight out after! In a few minutes I had it down on paper. Of course, there was a little tweaking to get it exactly 101 words! I've had more than one suggestion that I expand this but where to go? Positive, hybrid super human? Or negative, end-of-humanity? Perhaps something else entirely...

I'm pleased to report two items of good news: First, I got an email to say that one of my flash fiction pieces "Dirt Won't Hurt" will be published on the  101 word short story  site next week. This is part of a competition voted in 'shares' on Facebook and 'tweets' on Twitter so be sure I will be getting in touch about that when I know more! Secondly, I am up for Author of the Month again (!) over on The Noble Artist's site. There are excerpts  from my story and those of some other top stories by Angel M. and Roh Seymour on Facebook. Don't forget that the "Once Bitten" anthology is out on April 11th from KnightWatch Press !   Busy, busy, busy!  

I happened upon an article in The Stranger  while perusing the Web a few days ago. If you are a writer, you know the one; it has caused scandalised reactions from the writing community. It amounts to little more than outright insults dressed up as 'home truths' for a career in writing but it's one hell of a marketing ploy. I too, like those who are not so fortunate or lucky to have the time or money to devote every moment of my life to writing, also got more than a little riled at the position of Mr Boudinot, ex MFA tutor. That said, every free second I do have goes in that direction. If I were to do as he advised my family would starve. His comments are not only ageist  but also anti-family, I was going to write sexist but there are many dads out there who write and whose financial input is earned from jobs other than writing and is required to keep the family going. I think the majority of writers write not with the idea of fame at the forefront...

 ...the competition organiser, the publisher and the artist who inspired this story. I would not have this award if it were not for him! (Wipes tear, exits stage left.) Read "The Night Before" here  and like Jamie Noble a.k.a. The Noble Artist on Facebook !       

The first acceptance of 2015 is a rather special one for me; "Thrill of the Chase"  will be published by the UK horror publisher  KnightWatch Press  in their "Once Bitten" anthology due in spring this year. Cover art for "Once Bitten" by Stephen Cooney "Thrill of the Chase"  is one of those stories that has lingered in the recesses of my mind since I was a teen but never made it to the page as more than an odd scene or trail of dialogue until recently. I always found the process of  falling in love, the angst and anticipation, the heartache and self-doubt so much more alluring and intriguing than actually being in love. (I had far too much else on my mind to be bothered with all the hassle and demands which that put on my personal freedom. Now older, wiser and less impatient, I can see the benefits of the long haul!) Still, is it not true that the pursuer often becomes the slave of her desire? Didn't your...

It's that time! Teetering on the cusp between two years, I'm looking back at what has gone in 2014 and looking forward to what will become in 2015! And of course, the essential resolutions, which for a writer, are hopefully concrete goals. 2014 was fantastic! Although it wasn't the year of my first writing success it's the first year I consistently wrote and submitted stories and poems. This process was helped by the on line group inspired by Ray Bradbury's determination  Write 1 Sub 1 . Here I found a very supportive gathering of like-minded authors and writers of all levels of success. If you are a budding writer check them out! I never even made the Light Ray Winner! as I only had 7 pieces published since joining the group but I had 11 in total. (One short of the goal of one piece per month.) The thing that surprised most of all was that all the poems I submitted were accepted! I have never really considered myself much...