Dedicated publisher of fiction, poetry and memoir
39 steps on the stairway to heavenPier 39 where the sea lions bask in the sun39 circuits round the same sun of this earth39 years since my birth 39 lines on my face tell a storyat 39 years I’m less youthful, but more-me39 years and no body can stop meas long as I've paper and... Continue Reading →
For this week's results, I am going to hand straight over to judge Nick Reeves: he both provided the artistic inspiration for the challenge, and took the time and skill to judge with patience and perception. It has been a great honour for me to work with such a talented artist and writer. I hope... Continue Reading →
Fuži s tartufithat was 'pasta with truffles' the year after we first metmy first visit to Sloveniathere was also:steak with truffleseggs with trufflesasparagus with ham and truffles- to think I'd never tasted them before! The time we took the carwe thought we'd take back trufflesto Londonin the cara three-day journeyit was September and they were... Continue Reading →
It's Australian Open time, and Don's cat Priscilla is ready for action. She's honing her skills so that she'll be fit to take part over Zoom should the opportunity arise. If she's not too busy fitting her head into a piece of toast, that is! If you enjoy Don's unique blend of Flippant, Comic, and... Continue Reading →
Today is a public holiday in Slovenia, in celebration of the National Poet, France Prešeren. A public holiday in honour of a poet: how wonderful! I wanted to be the first to wish you 'Happy Prešeren Day!' and tell you a bit more about the poet's life and works. France Prešeren Prešeren was born in... Continue Reading →
It is almost one whole year since the pandemic started to take hold worldwide, and since we entered our first lockdown. How the world has changed since those early days! I wrote a tweet about it a few days back: 'does anyone remember how strange it felt the first time you went out wearing a... Continue Reading →
As we settle down into our routine in the Summer Palace of the Southlands, I find that my biggest daily challenge comes from the overbearing presence of the King's Mother. To understand fully my frustrations, you must first understand that the King and I are joint Regents of this Kingdom: I from the North and... Continue Reading →
This week, I have freed myself from the restraints of the tanka format and tried to follow where inspiration took me. Inspiration being something that comes and goes, perhaps some of these short poems are more inspired than others. I offer them up for your consideration, do let me know if you have a particular... Continue Reading →
Words... My bread and butter,my warm bath-water,my crystal clear lake in the height of summer:my home. My perfect mirrorof life all a-glimmerreflecting the light in myself and in others:shine on. My light in darknessin every dim recessof human unkindness you fear not to goand so I know me betterthrough words I utterwhether scribbled on paper... Continue Reading →
This week's challenge is an Ekphrastic challenge, in other words, writing a poem in response to a work of art. This week's judge and three-time EIF Poetry Challenge winner, Nick Reeves, has provided the artwork featured in today's post, which will be your prompt. Ekphrastic Poetry The word 'ekphrastic' comes from the Ancient Greek ἐκφράζειν (ekphrázein) ,... Continue Reading →
Experiments in Fiction 