Pubs and favs

This page is devoted to my pro-published stories, those which definitely will be published, and those on this blog which are my personal favourites.

I’m also a podcast host and narrator. You can find a list of my Escape Artists work here, and there’s a list of other podcasts at the bottom of this page.

Published and Competition-winning stories

Gently Creaking Boards
Published April 2023 at Flash Fiction Online (~1000 words, fantasy/fairytale)
She’s back. Well, I think it’s her…

When I Was Young, I Did Not Need Magic
Published October 2022 at PseudoPod, as part of Flash on the Borderlands LXIII: Respect Your Elders (~1,700 words, horror)
I suggest you don’t try to struggle, my dear…

Never Enough Pockets
Published Feb 2022 at PseudoPod, as part of Flash on the Borderlands LX: Words Like Violence (~1200 words, horror)
… The man in front of me is wearing one of those black vests that’s meant to protect against stabbing, and which is covered in pockets that contain things like CS spray, handcuffs, a collapsible baton.
He is dead.
Well, he would be. My pockets contain far more dangerous things.

Excerpts From the Browser History of Item 662-70519MP, Location 2
Won the Flash Fiction competition in issue #213 of Writers’ Forum Magazine (~360 words, science fiction/horror)
…“Bites appear as welts, blisters, pimples, or hives […] try to avoid scratching […] It is safe to use over-the-counter anti-itch medications like hydrocortisone cream or to take mild painkillers such as paracetamol […] If symptoms do not improve, see your doctor.”

A Little Something for Christmas
Published December 2018 at Cast of Wonders (~1400 words, fantasy)
… Nothing’s perfect. And you can’t just replace wot’s missing. But people appreciate a bit of effort. There’ll be more smiles than tears, and who can ask for more than that, eh?

The Wisdom of Scarecrows
Won the BeaconLit Beaconflash competition in July 2018 (500 words, fantasy)
…“You’re lucky,” she said. “It often rains this time of year. It might’ve been pouring down for your one day alive.

We Have Now
In 24 Stories – an anthology to raise money to support the PTSD-related needs of survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire (~1100 words, literary)
… but for a moment I feel like a little girl again, wriggling my fingers in Daddy’s big, strong hand. He was my anchor, the thing that would always hold me safe.

The In Between Place
At Daily Science Fiction (~500 words, Science Fiction)
… People think that time is like a river, and they’re drifting along in it as though they’re part of some sort of huge, cosmic water cycle. But time is not like that.

Seen (or heard!) elsewhere

Wish Missed
At the June 2019 Mythmaking event (~1700 words, fantasy)
… Humans who wanted things were so much fun.

By the Edge of the River
At the November 2018 Mythmaking event (~1400 words, fantasy)
… When she opened them again, she was dead.

Favourites on the blog

Obviously, my most recent story is always my favourite, and I always want everyone to just read that and then work down! But there are a few that I have a particular soft spot for…

When the Dragon Visited the Knight
(~750 words, magical realism)
The dragon brought it to my door. He didn’t look like a dragon, not today. But then, I found myself thinking, he often doesn’t. Not these days.

An Irredeemable Supervillain
(~600 words, humour)
… CS: Okay, I know what you said. I respect it. But please, just this once, I need your help.

Magma on the Inside
(~750 words, fantasy)
… There were specks of dirt and ragged pieces of torn skin in the centre of the wound, but its edges were already beginning to darken. Streaks of red, like veins of ruby running through rock, glinted in the sunshine. His leg burned like a stone left in the noonday sun.

The Last of the Eggs
(~550 words, horror)
… Afterwards I put more duct tape around the front door. I couldn’t help looking through the little square of frosted glass, it’s like scratching a mosquito bite. The blurry shape was in the same place. So his body is still there. I think.

Scribble-Eyed Girl
(~600 words, dark fantasy)
… He flicked a hand and a swarm of jewel-bright butterflies lifted from the paper, scattering into the night. He watched them for a while, their wings gradually becoming monochrome as they flittered further into the orange light cast by the streetlamps.

WALY
(~1100 words, literary)
… I looked across at Granddad. It suddenly struck me how different he looked to everyone else. While we were all red-cheeked and overfed, his red jumper hung loose on his frame and the dark circles under his eyes looked almost like bruises. He said he’d do the washing up. Gran told him to sit down. I watched him write WALY in the gravy on his plate with his finger.

Her Dress Was the Colour of the Summer Sky at Midnight
(75 words, literary)
… Eyes once fresh blueberries have drifted nettle-green.

Other podcasts where you can hear me nattering…