The Bloggers Bash Blog Competition Entry

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#bloggersbash

Here is my entry below for the Bloggers Bash Blog Competition, which you can read about here.

Five Felix Street, by Stevie Turner (copyright Stevie Turner 2019)

The door was olive green, and the brass knocker and doorstep always shone. My grandparents had brought up three children whilst living in 3 small rooms at 5, Felix Street, Bethnal Green, London East 2.

All the houses in Felix Street would eventually fall to the ‘new broom’ of slum clearance sweeping through the East End in the late 1960s, but to my 8-year-old self the house had warmth and character.

On the top floor of number 5 lived Nan and Grandad in their tiny flat. Downstairs on the first floor was Nan’s sister Lou and her husband, and another sister, Mary, and her husband lived on the ground floor. The sisters and their husbands, now minus their grown offspring, all shared an outside lavatory and wash house in the small back yard.

The front door was always open. The ground floor hallway, dark and odoriferous with cabbage, still had its Victorian gas mantles. I would hurry along past Mary’s three rooms and the yard to the stairs going up to Nan and Grandad’s flat. None of the three flats had any front doors, and the sisters walked in and out of each other’s rooms just as they pleased.

Next door at number 6 lived the sisters’ cousins. Nan could lean out of her kitchen window and carry on a conversation with Cousin Pam opposite. They shared a washing line strung between the two houses, and I soon learned to peg out each item of clothing and pull the line along on its runner. More sisters lived within a stone’s throw of number 5.

When it rained, the roof leaked. However, Nan took it all in her stride and placed saucepans in appropriate positions. She had her family around her, and that’s all she needed.

One by one the husbands died, and then the sisters. The cousins were re-housed, and Nan was the only one left at number 5. She was eventually given a brand new place with an inside lavatory and all mod-cons. Ensconced in her newly decorated flat, she sat on the settee and cried as though her heart would break.

 

 

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4th Halloween Poem Contest – 4th Group Of Submitted Poems —

More great Hallowe’en poems submitted to The Writer’s Treasure Chest poetry contest.

Writer's Treasure Chest

Picture courtesy of: http://preventioncdnndg.org/

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Please respect each authors’ and poets’ copyright. The rights remain with the writers. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from each of the poems author’s is strictly prohibited and violates copyright laws in the country you are reading this work in as well as in the country you are trying to re-publish this work in. – Aurora Jean Alexander

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skeleton dance – by Jasmin T.

the lights in the lab-come

on one two three

Mr. Skeleton shuffles-bows

elegantly-I

do not want tricks

nor treats, she says

Mr. Skeleton does not retreat

music starts-skips

stops and starts again

Mr. Skeleton

dips as moonlight dips

holds his arms like

window panes-framing

his partner as he

shuffles whirls

slow tornado circles

that song-in

her ear she-travels

slips off her shoes

curls her toes

puts her picture

in his frame-she

dances one two three

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4th Halloween Poem Contest – 3rd Group Of Submitted Poems —

Thanks to Aurora Jean Alexander for adding my entry to the 3rd group of submitted Hallowe’en poems.

Writer's Treasure Chest

Picture courtesy of: http://preventioncdnndg.org/

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Please respect each authors’ and poets’ copyright. The rights remain with the writers. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from each of the poems author’s is strictly prohibited and violates copyright laws in the country you are reading this work in as well as in the country you are trying to re-publish this work in. – Aurora Jean Alexander

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PUMPKIN AND YEW PIE – BY STEVIE TURNER

A rustling of the yew in October’s breeze,
While over her grave it sheds a few leaves.
They rot in the soil with what’s left of her corpse,
Rain drenches the ground where once she had walked.
Burned at the stake in seventeen-o-two,
Jane looks down from the top of the yew.
She wasn’t a witch, and it wasn’t a trick,
She’d learned from her mother how to heal the sick.
Potions, plants…

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Share Your Short Story – September

Authors can share their short stories (less than 2000 words please) or poetry, and it won’t cost you a penny! The deadline this month is 27th September.  Stories or poems can be on any subject, but please keep them reasonably family friendly. On 29th September I will pick a winner and runner up and share the links in my newsletter and on my Facebook and Twitter pages. Please ensure that you add your story to this current month’s submission page and not any previous month, or it may be missed.

I look forward to reading your efforts. The winner and runner up will receive these laurels to add to their story:

 

Here’s one of my short stories for you:

THE SNOW ANGEL, BY STEVIE TURNER

Emily could see clumps of snow settling on the tree’s branches outside her bedroom window; each flake falling tantalisingly just out of reach.   Next to her sat Bertie, the family’s chocolate brown Labrador, enthralled and seemingly also eager to shake off the pall of gloom that had been hanging over the house.

Her child’s mind assessed the situation. Okay, so she had some kind of illness with an unpronounceable name.  Death was something that happened to old people, not to ten year old girls. She was tired, but then again she had been awake all night until the nurse had arrived to give her an injection.  The pain was easing, the snow was falling, and Emily was ready to play.

Bertie wagged his tail as Emily stood up and put one finger to her lips.  She ached to her very bones, but could hear children’s voices in the street beyond the garden fence and yearned to join in their games.  Her friends had stopped calling some time ago after her mother had continually sent them away.  Emily checked the clock and knew afternoon nap time would last another hour at least.  She could hear no daytime TV programmes downstairs, and reasoned her mother would probably have taken the chance to sleep too, after the long night.  The gods were smiling for a change.

She slipped on her boots and took a coat out of the wardrobe.  Patting Bertie’s head, she held onto his collar as she eased open the bedroom door.  The sound of snoring nearby brought a smile to her face.  Her knees hurt badly when she tried to go down the stairs, and so she sat on the top step and bumped herself down slowly. 

It had been ages since she had been on the ground floor.  She walked stiffly through the kitchen to the back door, more tired than she had ever felt in her life. A large key still sat in the lock. Emily turned it and walked outside with Bertie to freedom.

The cold air made her take a quick breath, and her heart was pounding with the effort of moving.  Emily lifted up her face to the sky and let the soft snowflakes fall on her face, while Bertie ran around her legs, making a scrabble of deep paw prints.  She could hear Margaret’s voice out in the street daring her little sister to make a snow angel.  Emily looked down the garden path and imagined her friend on the other side of the fence, but knew the distance was too far for her to walk.  She decided it was time to make her own snow angel right there and then.

Letting Bertie prance about, she lay on her back on a thick carpet of snow.  Above her, blue patches peeked out from behind angry dark clouds.  She felt snowflakes melting on her cheeks.  Her heart did a pitter-patter dance all of its own.  She grinned and threw her arms out wide, closing her eyes as Bertie’s curious dog face came in close to her own. 

Bertie’s sudden barking caused her to jump in alarm.  An angel with white feathery wings flapped away in her vision, blocking clouds from view.  Emily, unaccountably unafraid, moved her arms up and down in the snow, as the angel flapped in closer.  Her pain and tiredness vanished, and she felt as free as a bird.  She was one with the angel, first on the ground, and then up, up, up through the clouds.  There was no more pain and suffering.  She looked down at her frozen body, still with its arms outstretched.  It was the best snow angel she had ever made.

 

Free to enter poetry and prose competition for under-represented writers

This competition sounds good…

BRIDGET WHELAN writer

Founded in 2013, the Creative Future Literary Awards are the UK’s only national writing competition and high profile awards ceremony for under-represented writers in the UK.

Is this poetry and short fiction competition for you? Creative Future defines under-represented writers as people who feel their opportunities are limited as a result of:

• having a mental health issue

• having a physical disability

• having a long-term limiting illness

• having a learning disability/ASD/ADHD

• having a sensory impairment

• having a substance misuse issue

• being homeless or in temporary accommodation

• being a survivor of abuse

• being a care leaver

• being long term unemployed

• being a carer

• being an offender or ex-offender

• being part of the BMER/Traveller commuunity

• being part of the LGBTQ+ community

• being an older person (65+)

If you have any questions or concerns about whether you are eligible, Creative Future are keen for you to get in touch. Call on 01273 234 780 or email info@creativefuture.org.uk

Submission

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Amanda on The Danube Review and Cover Contest

Want something to do on this dreary afternoon? Click to vote for Darlene Foster’s cover!

Darlene Foster's Blog

I was delighted to read this great review on Robbie’s Inspiration blog. I enjoyed writing this book and am pleased to see it being enjoyed by children and their parents!

This is what Robbie and her son had to say  

Michael and I read this book together and we both enjoyed it immensely. It is my favourite of the three Amanda books we have read to date and we will definitely be reading more. We both learned a lot about the towns and villages in Germany, Austria and Hungary and the traditional foods, entertainment and some famous places of interest. There is a lot of research that goes into each of these books.
You can read the entire review here along with a review of Dan Alatorre’s book, An Angel on Her Shoulder.

https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/2018/03/03/bookreviews-dan-alatorre-and-darlene-foster/

In other Amanda on the Danube news, the fabulous cover, designed by my talented publisher…

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Open Book Blog Hop – November 20th

This week we’ve got to design a crossword.  I did try and embed a crossword on  WordPress, but it wasn’t happening as I don’t think any codes are compatible with my Windows 10.  However, I’ve now managed to embed the crossword on my website, and the link to it is below:

http://www.stevie-turner-author.co.uk/competition 

As I have said on my website, the first one to fill in the crossword or email me the answers to stevie@stevie-turner-author.co.uk TODAY will win a free copy of any one of my ebooks.  All the answers to the clues can be found in my books.

Varsha at WordPress  has kindly helped me today to embed the InLinkz button for the blog hop, so please feel free to check out other blog-hoppers’ crosswords or add your own.

http://www.pjfiala.com/blog/

http://pjmaclayne.blogspot.co.uk/

https://aurorawatcherak.wordpress.com/

http://authorkwilliams.com/

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.…
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

Officially Selected!

I was rather delighted to receive this email today from the organiser of the TinselTown Productions Screenplay Contest:

Dear Stevie Turner,

Thank you for entering our Screenplay Contest. The standard this year was amazing, and we are pleased to tell you that your script ‘No Sex Please, I’m Menopausal!’ has made it through to the next stage. This is an OFFICIAL SELECTION but does not mean at this point you are a prize winner. Our process now is to select finalists in each category. From this point on, if you are a prize winner in any category you will be contacted by email by the contest directly. If after September 30th you do not receive an email from us, then your script did not make it further.

We have been so impressed by the sheer number of high quality scripts this year.
We wish you good luck and regardless of what happens now, be aware that your script has already impressed a number of industry professionals here.

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Ooh-er!

June/July 2017 Writing Contests

Thanks to Rachel Poli for these writing competitions for June/July.

Rachel Poli

JUNE 2017

Genre: Short Story Fiction (Unpublished writers only!)
Theme: N/A
Website: Glimmer Train
Deadline: June 30, 2017
Entry Fee: $18
Prize: First place – $2,500

Genre: Nonfiction
Theme: My Crazy Family
Website: Chicken Soup for the Soul
Deadline: June 30, 2017
Entry Fee: None
Prize: $200

Genre: Short short fiction
Theme: N/A
Website: Literal Latte
Deadline: June 30, 2017
Entry Fee: $10 (for up to 3 shorts)
Prize: First – $500

JULY 2017

Genre: Poetry
Theme: N/A
Website: Comstock Review
Deadline: July 1, 2017
Entry Fee: $5 (mail) | $25 (online)
Prize: First – $1,000

Genre: Poetry, Fiction, or Nonfiction
Theme: Mental health, the mind, the body, illness, etc.
Website: Bellevue Literary Review
Deadline: July 1, 2017
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: First – $1,000

Genre: Poetry
Theme: N/A
Website: Literal Latte
Deadline: July 15, 2017
Entry Fee: $10/6 poems or $15/10 poems
Prize: First – $1,000

Genre: Poetry, Fiction

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Win A £50 Amazon Gift Card And A Signed Copy Of Glimpses

I’m having a go at this competition – what about you?

Hugh's Views & News  

Here’s a chance to win a £50 *Amazon gift card and a signed copy of my book, Glimpses, in this brand new free to enter competition.

All you have to do is answer a question and complete a caption to be in with a chance of winning.

So, here’s the question.

What number do you get when adding together the number of sweets in the following two photos, to the number of short stories in Glimpses?

Tiebreaker: – Here I am reading my own book! Using no more than 15 words, come up with a caption for the photo.

Email your answers to glimpsescomp@yahoo.co.uk, no later than 23:59 GMT on Saturday 30th September 2017, ensuring you enter ‘Glimpses Competition’ in the subject line.

The winner will be contacted by email no later than Wednesday 18th October 2017. The name of the winner, along with the answer to the competition and the winning…

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