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Short Shorts? Long Shorts? Or Novellas?
Short Shorts? Long Shorts? Or Novellas?
Most of my tales are available via Wattpad. I also have stories available on Google Play Books and (for now at least, until the migration to Draft2Digital is done) Smashwords.
I write short stories, some really short, and some quite long. In recent years I have taken part of the Open Novella Contest on Wattpad. This is a competition run over three months of the year, with stories based on prompts provided by the contest runners. I've had three stories reach the Longlist - Why Me?, Forever Jupiter and Divided. One day I aim to reach the Shortlist, but I am quite proud of my achievements so far.
Oh, and don't I look young in that picture? That is me with my niece and nephew taken some time before my 8th birthday.
Divided
Divided
This was my entry for the Open Novella Contest, 2024. It reached the Longlist of the contest, which was amazing.
You can find a 3-chapter sample on Wattpad, or you can purchase a copy of the full novella from many ebook sales sites.
After a near death experience, James Jones, or Jimmy to his friends, begins to see ghosts.
While in surgery, he meets Henry Costa, a renowned ghost buster. Henry is dead, but he's about to become Jimmy's best friend.
When he's recovering from his surgery, Jimmy learns his sister has gone missing and may also be dead. Flying off to America, he sets out to find his sister.
The Concorda Files
The Concorda Files
Shortlister on Wattpad's Open Novella Contest, 2025.
You can find the whole story on Wattpad.
Rhiannon "Banjo" Hart is a professional thief working her last ever job. The Hawk has promised a massive payout if she can steal data from Concorda International and Banjo needs the money to help her Mum get hospital treatment, but she is not sure The Hawk will stick to the adage of "honour amongst thieves.
In her escape, she meets an android that adds complication after complication to her already complex life.
Banjo needs to outrun the authorities, Concorda's security and The Hawk?
The Army of the Already Dead
The Army of the Already Dead
This short story has been doing the rounds in my head for quite some time, so I thought it was time it saw the light of day.
Originally, this was the inspiration for a D&D campaign I was running. Unfortunately, the group didn't last. The story of The Already Dead, however, continues.
You can read this short story on Wattpad.
My Brother, My Nephew
My Brother, My Nephew
When I was young, I was involved in a serious, life-threatening accident. It is all thanks to the NHS that I am still here. This short story is the story of that accident and the immediate fall out from it. This accident has largely shaped how my life has gone since it happened.
When I wrote this, I was unable to read it back as it brought back many hard memories.
You can read the whole short story on Wattpad.
Mab's - A Ghost Story
Mab's - A Ghost Story
As part of my growing collection of short stories, flash fiction pieces and microfiction items, Mab's - A Ghost Story is now available.
This was inspired by an episode of the Failing Writers Podcast and some rumours and stories about an abandoned cottage near where I grew up.
The written version of the story is available via Wattpad, or you can also listen to Mab's - A ghost story on my YouTube.
Forever Jupiter
Forever Jupiter
This was my Open Novella Contest entry for 2022. You can read the whole story for free on Wattpad
Born in 51BC, Professor James Scott Hamlin is about to quit his job that he has held since the late 1990s.
Across Europe, someone is killing Hamlin's friends and relatives.
My prompt for the story was:
44. 'The year was 27 B.C when you helped an individual escape their imprisonment. Before parting ways, they asked you to make a blood oath. Once done, they told you that as long as they lived, you would too. Nearly 2000 years have passed since and you continue to search for them each and every day.'
The Red Men
The Red Men
After a serious accident (see My Brother, My Nephew) when I was a child, I was beset by an awful recurring nightmare. This affected many things and in the end I was helped to control my nightmare.
I've had this nightmare many times over the years, but now I am able to manage it and "escape" when I need to.
I wrote this story as a fictionalised version of the nightmare - with a small amount of grounding in what really happened.
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