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Literally Stories – Week 50

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A year is a long time.  Well a good three hundred and sixty-four days.  If you don’t believe me multiply the seven days we have in a week with the fifty-two weeks in the year. Anyhow, I mention the year as that is the time that has passed since our first ‘Post’ was published.  I wonder if Jenny Morton Potts realises that she is now part of our history?

We have had a ball.  It hasn’t always been easy.  To be truthful the submission numbers have at times been a bit of a disappointment and sometimes a struggle.  We have always kept true to our initial ideals.  We have only published what we thought was either interesting, unique or edgy. If we got all three of those, we were delighted.  The writing always had to reach the standard that we insisted on.

So to all who we have published, to all the friends that we have made and to everyone who has submitted, we can’t thank you enough!!!  It has been a pure privilege.  We hope that you have enjoyed this past year and being a part of the site.

Now to The Anthology!

We are delighted to be associated with this. This book is a  representation of the versatility of the stories from the site.

I think all of us who have worked on this must thank Diane especially.  She has worked like a wee Trojan Beaver Bee.  Her knowledge and input has been invaluable. She has grafted away for days on this and as I say, we must all thank her for her patience, skill and professionalism.

We have posted a page on the dynamics of the charity and would like to thank ‘The Book Bus’ for it’s acceptance of our proceeds.  Believe it or not, it is sometimes difficult to give money away!!  We wish them every success and hope we raise some awareness and funds for them.  Please help with a few purchases. The links and information regarding how to buy a copy is at the end of this post.

Now onto our stories.  Myself and Diane have put ourselves out there again. Fred Foote and Des Kelly have contributed.  Please check out their stories this week and their back catalogue as they are two very versatile and skilled writers.  We have a newbie to the site. Karl McDermott is a master of the short sentence.  His witty story is worth a look and we are sure that he will also have a back catalogue soon.

I hope that on the 17th you all join me and my fellow editors and take a moment to pour out a huge drink of your choosing, look to the sky and toast the site that is Literally Stories.  We will then look to the heavens and toast each and every one of you!!!  Our respective Ambulance Services are on standby.

THE ANTHOLOGY: OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE:

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So, yes it’s been hard work and time-consuming because we wanted it to be as good as we could make it.  Out of respect for our wonderful authors and to ensure that anyone who buys this will feel that they have bought a well presented collection of short fiction.  We hope that you approve.  For those of you who have pre-ordered — thank you and for anyone else this will be available for purchase from all Amazon marketplaces on our Anniversary 15th November.   Get it for your Kindle, your phone, your computer, your cat — oh your cat doesn’t have an iPhone — No problem.  In response to several requests we decided to take the extra step and publish the book in Paperback and so you can also have a copy to hold in your hand.  As with the e-book the proceeds from sales go directly to The Book Bus.  So, if you want a happy cat order your copy either from Amazon or directly from Createspace it’s your choice .  We do hope you like it.

Huge thanks are due to Angela at studioanjou for making us a beautiful all round genuine cover.

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A final note — the book is also enrolled in the matchbook programme on Amazon so if you buy both you get a “deal” one for reading and one to brighten up your coffee table!!

What’s not to like?

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Literally Stories – Week 49

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This spot is usually done very professionally. There have been clever references, puns and a wonderful summary of the week’s stories. That won’t happen here. Not because the stories aren’t wonderful, of course they are…Well Thursday’s was a bit dodgy but there you go. It is just that Mr Saturday has taken some time off. After he reads this, it might only be for a week!!

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Literally Stories – Week 48

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I am listening to Icelandic Electronica/House giants GusGus 2011 album Arabian Horse.

It makes me wonder.

About all sorts.

But nothing to do with Week 48 at Literally Stories, I hear you say?

Not literally hear. And no Arabian Horse doesn’t have anything to do with Week 48. And yes I concede musical references are an unimaginative standby for producing out of thin air suitable talking points by which to segue seamlessly into this, that or the other. And no I shouldn’t make a habit of beginning my sentences with conjunctions lest I be hauled into custody by the Grammar Police.

Which leads me to the weakest of weak links: serial grammar felony is not an accusation you could level at any of Week 48’s authors.

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Literally Stories – Week 47

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I am reminded

That the pheno

That is NaNoWriMo

Gets under way shortly.

Right across the globe tens of thousands of fifty thousand-word novels, technically novellas — but let’s not quibble about terminology — will be written during the month of November.

For all those (Diane Dickson I mean you!) of a mathematically averse nature, look away now…

Convert those 50K words into Literally Stories short story fiction and that weighs in at the equivalent of at least 30 short stories or one short story per day.

Give or take a Drabble.

For someone who averages 500 words a week this is a tall order indeed therefore I am seeking an extension to the deadline from 30 November to 31 December.

2017.

Plan B is to give NaNoWriMo a miss this year and stick to casting my eye over the week’s goings-on here at LS; trying not to malign the accepted or natural order of days of the week according to the classical planets of Hellenistic astrology.

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Literally Stories – Week 46

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In a wee corner of the multiverse known only to the high command of the Illuminati and former cast members of ‘Allo ‘Allo, an errant ‘server’ has been playing havoc with the day-to-day behind-the-scenes running of Literally Stories.

Nothing to do with WordPress, we should add, which runs as smooth as a very smooth thing (apart from a faulty Facebook widget that needs the kiss of life.)

I digress.

Such old-fashioned methods of communication as carrier pigeon, cup and string and even email have been brought back into service. Nevertheless, the bandwagon rolls on and Week 45 is but a beautiful faded memory as Week 46 wins fresh admirers and so on and so forth…bringing us to Monday.

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e-book: Literally Stories – The Anthology

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When Literally Stories threw open its virtual doors on 16th November 2014 we had no idea what we were letting ourselves in for.

A lot of hard work as it turns out.

We published our first story, Post, by Jenny Morton Potts. A year later and somewhere not too far south of reading 1 MILLION words in all the wonderful stories that landed in the LS mail box, we remain very proud of our site.

Our writers. Our, ahem, eclectic oeuvre.

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Literally Stories – Week 45

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It has been a busy week. No denying it.

Publishing five stories on the site as is our custom plus preparing to launch Literally Stories — The Anthology: it could be said we gave Ground Control a run for its money.

I am not Major Tom. Neither am I sitting in a tin can but I am feeling a little odd today.

Strained.

Nothing that a breeze through this week’s literary line-up won’t put right.

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Literally Stories – Week 44

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Scrolling down our Twitter feed for Week 44, witnessing the variety of images that help ‘sell’ Literally Stories short stories it is impossible to ignore the diverse nature of our site.

Tumbleweed in an arid New Mexico landscape (we cheated, it’s Kansas), a church in the north of England (a church in the north of England),  a few billion galaxies (yep — we bring you real galaxies folks), a landscape with crows in flight courtesy of Van Gogh and finally, my favourite beach in the whole of Hawaii, Waialua.

Not all of the above statements are entirely true and accurate.

The joy of writing eh? Lying with style. Though it might be disputed that I know all the angles it is irrefutable I have mastered none of them!

~

The last time Friday began the week Monday staged a walk-out and Midweek came out in solidarity with Monday whilst the weekend said it couldn’t give a $!£* when the week started.

On that archaic note I deliver you something fresher. Well, LS newcomer, James C Clar’s does.

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Literally Stories – Week 43

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Scouting locations for the 2015 Literally Stories Editors team-building weekend — or jolly as the vernacular would have it, is as you would imagine a thankless task, especially when the phrase ‘shoestring budget’ overstates the resources at your disposal.

A three-man ridge tent (for five) with en-suite latrine in the second week in December is hardly Glamping but should at least concentrate the literary mind.

Abii. Vidi. Unde digressus sum.

I went. I saw. I digressed.

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Literally Stories – Week 42

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The last week has thrown up all manner of political oddities from around the world – and I’m not just referring to Donald Trump’s combover which must be standing on end at the news that Arnold Schwarzenegger (an immigrant no less) has stolen his old job on The Apprentice. The Labour Party in the UK has a new leader several light years left of centre. Australia is going through Prime Ministers faster than a stuttering sports team changes managers, and just this afternoon in Burkina Faso a very large chap in an army uniform locked up the President.

At Literally Stories we try and steer clear of politics. No military coups for us. No bloc voting. Just an oasis of calm, storytelling quality in a world of turmoil.

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