Wednesday, 23 February 2011

COLDMOOR


Coldmoor by David Robinson is the exciting first book in a series that sees the beginnings of the battle with the evil Flix. Flix is a zombiemaster who has chosen to remain on the Spirit Plane for 900 years during which time he's been planning his return to life to fulfill his greatest ambition: immortality defended by a massed army of the undead.

It's February 1st, 2540, and in the remote research laboratory at Coldmoor Castle, Dr Anders Magnusson and his team have tapped into stasis energy, the very essence of space and time. But amidst the celebrations, something evil takes place. Flix has been waiting for the breakthrough and now that it's here, he takes the opportunity.

After killing a young soldier, Flix takes over his body and wreaks havoc on this isolated community of scientists and security personnel. Nothing can stop him ... nothing, that is, but Stasis Center Special Agents Mia Nellis and Nick Holt.

Sent back through time from the year 3010, Agents Nellis and Holt must meet Flix head on, stop him killing and controlling the bodies of others, and then imprison him in a specially designed energy cell that will seal him away for eternity.

But in doing so, Mia and Nick must exercise due caution and ensure that they do not change history ... or they may cease to exist.


What I really enjoyed about Coldmoor was the flashbacks to the 17th century where Flix originally encounters Mia and Nick (called Maria and Nicholas back then) and how this effected their current stance. The plot is complex without being confusing so top marks to David Robinson for that.

Coldmoor is sold in ebook form:

Smashwords currently at $1.14

If you have a Kindle:

Amazon.uk at just 70p so has to be the bargain of the year!

Amazon.com

Don't have a Kindle? Get a free one for your PC - read this

The Stasis Center now has community page on Facebook too - do join up!
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Sunday, 13 February 2011

The 50 Best Short Stories of All Time


A wonderful resource, OnlineClassics.org has just published The 50 Best Short Stories of All Time.

Each of the 50 shorts is categorised: Sad and Shocking Tales, Collections, Pop Culture Classics, Well-Known Authors, Modern Writers, and Twist Endings. Links take you to the stories, which are free to read online, or to more information about them and their authors.

Authors whose stories you can access include the likes of: D.H. Lawrence, Mark Twain, Washington Irving, Ray Bradbury, Leo Tolstoy, Edgar Allan Poe, Anton Chekhov, Oscar Wilde, Roald Dahl and W. W. Jacobs (the author of The Monkey's Paw, one of my all-time favourite short stories).

Definitely worth spending some time on this site.
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Saturday, 5 February 2011

Diamonds and Pearls


A wonderful collection of short stories, Diamonds and Pearls features many of the UK's best known magazine writers. We've all read them.

These popular women writers, including Sophie King, Jane Wenham-Jones, Teresa Ashby, Sue Moorcroft and Della Galton, have joined together to support the awareness and treatment of breast cancer in the way they know best – the short story.

Diamonds and Pearls has been compiled by author Elaine Everest as a way of celebrating the 30th anniversary of her survival from breast cancer.

Published by Accent Press, this book is part of a 3 for 2 deal - what a bargain!

A donation from the sale of each book will go to the Against Breast Cancer charity.
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Friday, 4 February 2011

Flash 500


Now in its second year, the Flash 500 quarterly open-themed competition has closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December.

This quarter's judge is Douglas Jackson, author of the highly acclaimed Caligula published in July 2008 and Claudius published in July 2009.

Prizes:
1st - £250 plus publication in the prestigious Words with JAM
2nd - £100
3rd - £50
Highly commended - a copy of The Writer's ABC Checklist

Entry fees: £5 for one story, £8 for two stories.

Optional critiques: £10 per story.

Deadline this quarter is 31 March 2011.
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