Dedicated publisher of fiction, poetry and memoir
It is the dawn of a New Year in Lockdownia. Normally, this would be a time of rejoicing: feasting and singing; dancing in the streets of our villages and towns. This year has been quite different, especially for the Royal Family in exile. In Caer Pathogen, as it is now called (formerly Caer Non-Pareil), we... Continue Reading →
The journey to Father Winter in the Highlands was as perilous as I had expected. As I rode through the woods above Caer Pathogen, Koronin's hell-hounds soon gave chase. Mercury was steadfast and swift, and a fortuitous snowfall covered our tracks, though it was lucky we did not become trapped in the blizzard ourselves. As... Continue Reading →
Snow has fallen on our land. The first snow of winter. The children rejoice, for finally they have the world outside as their playground. Though I delight in their play, my heart is heavy for I know that soon I must make my pilgrimage to Father Winter in the Highlands. Father Winter controls the weather... Continue Reading →
Reading what I have just written, I now believe that I’m a coward. ‘Let them shoot me,’ I thought as they marched me in, ‘I will not talk.’ But as soon as they showed me the knives, I crumbled. All my bravery evaporated like the breath of winter. One piece of paper, five names: the... Continue Reading →
Until very recently, the term 'under pressure' had meant something gruesomely literal to me. It is common practice within Lockdownia to 'press' miscreants with heavy stones laid upon the chest until they either confess their treacherous deeds, or give up the ghost. Under my rule, of course, such barbarism would not be tolerated. But the... Continue Reading →
My child woke from a nightmare the other night, or was it early morning? “What’s the matter, love?’ I asked. “I thought I heard a scratching,” he answered. “And what do you think you could have heard doing this scratching?” I continued. “Maybe a big rat” he answered, “or something else more scary…with sharp claws!”... Continue Reading →
For two weeks, I haunted the cemetery lodge. I was going through a phase of house-sitting, as I no longer wanted to live at home but couldn't afford to move out and live independently. The lodge was centuries old. The family who lived there were away on holiday. They'd left to my care their menagerie... Continue Reading →
‘He had hands like yours,’ my Grandma tells my husband-to-be one Sunday afternoon. We’ve just popped in to say hello. She’s in a reminiscent mood (when is she ever not?) talking about my Grandad, of course. My Grandad who I’d never met. Of three husbands, he’d been the only one she’d truly loved. She hands... Continue Reading →
I always check in on my children through the night. I did it constantly, pathologically even, the first time around. I’d been terrified by tales of ‘cot death’ and thought that if I didn’t check in on my newborn every five minutes he might die as a result of my neglect. Once I had my... Continue Reading →
I had my consultation today, with Dr D’Earth. I tried not to take the name as an ill-omen. I sat outside the waiting room, nervously but patiently waiting my turn: twiddling my thumbs. Looking down at my hands thinking ‘how long?’ or was it ‘how much longer?’ He called my name. I steeled myself. I... Continue Reading →
Experiments in Fiction 