Category Archives: Drabbles

Dark Tales and Flash Fun – new release

Okay, so what is Dark Tales and Flash Fun all about? Well, here’s the introduction from the book… I think it explains it pretty well.

Over the years, I’ve written a lot of words. Most of my efforts were focussed on novels but between the books, or at times when ideas were maturing, I penned a number of short stories and quite a few drabbles (stories which are exactly 100 words long). Dark Tales and Flash Fun is a collection of these bits and pieces. There’s no connecting theme other than each work is designed to be entertaining, frightening or intriguing.

In part,I wanted to create an easy way for people to find out a bit about me and my writing without having to dive straight into the trilogy. I also wanted to gather together  a lot of the various bits of my work in one place. If nothing else, that allowed me to tidy up my computer files… now I just need to sort out all the ideas I have in notebooks and on scraps of paper.

I hope some of you get the chance to check out the book. Here’s the blurb:

FFF cover v1.1In this anthology of wonderfully imagined tales we encounter captivating twists and turns, laugh out loud moments and intriguing entertainment from start to finish. The subject matter includes leprechauns and vampires, Hollywood and electric chairs… there’s even a seasick seagull.

Dark Tales and Flash Fun brings together the author’s extensive collection of drabbles (100 word stories) with three of his fascinating and rather disturbing short stories.

Dark Tales and Flash Fiction is available from Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble/Nook, Kobo and Scribd.

Festival of Drabbles 2015

The amazing Micheal Brookes has come up with the idea of a festival of drabbles. In his words, here are his ideas so far and I’m certainly delighted to support his endeavours.

The first Festival of Drabbles will start on November 9th and run until the 15th. It will be a week long celebration of drabbles and the art of drabble writing including some of the finest drabblists in the world.

If you’re new to drabbles then they are a form of flash fiction in which the story is told in exactly 100 words. I’ve been a fan of the drabble form since they were introduced as a daily feature in the Indie Book Bargains newsletter (now Book Hippo) a few years ago.

As a writer it’s a challenge of economy and editing to tell a story in so few words. It’s also an excellent way to play with new ideas and to explore areas that you normally wouldn’t. As a reader I enjoy a bite sized tale in those few quiet minutes in the day. They’ve also introduced to me to new authors whose work I would otherwise have missed.

It’s a form that deserves greater recognition and so Michael is organising a week of drabble related reading and activities. He already has plans for how his blog The Cult of Me will contribute to International Drabble Week. He’ll share these nearer the time, but one thing is certain, it will include a drabble competition.

How can you help? For now the first job is to raise awareness for this first Festival of Drabbles, so if you have access to any of the following channels then please do the following:

If you have a blog or website then post an announcement for the Festival, you are free to use the logo and text for this purpose.

If you are on Facebook then join the event, invite any friends that you think would be interested and share the event on your timeline and any appropriate groups you participate in.

If you’re on Twitter then tweet a link to this event and if you can use the #festivalofdrabbles hashtag that would be great!

Learn more about Michael at his The Cult of Me blog or check out his guest drabble Clowns.

And don’t forget, if you fancy having a go at a drabble, please check out Are You a Secret Drabblist?

Good luck, Michael, I hope your Festival is a stunning success.