Saturday 13 July 2024

Dependable Friends, puffins - and three free writing competitions


Free entry writing competition news

Here's a competition with categories for poetry, short fiction, non-fiction and unpublished books. There's a prize pool of $1,000.

This competition is for stories of 550 words or fewer which include a character with a print disability. The prize is an echo dot (that sounds familiar, but I'm not sure what it is) and a voucher.


Thanks very much to Sharon Boothroyd for sending the link to this free poetry competition on the theme of togetherness. Sharon has the impression they're thinking of community rather than romantic love. Note - all entries will be published on the website. Some may go into an anthology.

My news

Yesterday our wedding anniversary, and launch day for Dependable Friends and Deceitful Neighbours in Little Mallow, the second book in my cosy mystery series. I'd very much appreciate anything you can do to spread the word e.g. sharing my social media posts, or this very short video


The picturesque seaside village of Little Mallow is suffering a spate of robberies. Arnold Stewart, verger of St Symeon's interrupts a burglary in progress and saves the church's antique silver. His friend, schoolteacher Ellie Jenkins, is another victim. Who can be responsible? And are they also guilty of other, far worse, crimes?


Naturally, police officers Crystal Clere and Trevor Harris are investigating, and young Adam is asking many, many questions. Arnold's kind-hearted employer Reverend Jerry Grande is praying for answers, and for those involved. Cameron isn't so much interested in solving the crime as keeping Arnold safe and showing him the beauty the world has to offer. All those people are old friends of Arnold's. 


His new friend Aurora is more interested in solving the mystery of Castle View. There's definitely something odd going on at the house next to Arnold's flat. Against his better judgement Arnold finds himself involved. He's even more suspicious of the neighbours to his other side. They're hiding something – he really hopes he's wrong about it being a body!


Can Arnold and his friends untangle the lies being told in Little Mallow?









I'm delighted with the early reviews I've had on Amazon and Goodreads.


As with all my books, Dependable Friends and Deceitful Neighbours in Little Mallow is available as an ebook or paperback, can be read via kindle unlimited, ordered in bookshops and requested at your library.



Puffins!


Here's a little film of the cute little beaky creatures.

14 comments:

Marguerite said...

Hey, Patsy, where did you find a typewriter that looks just like a laptop!? So you're investigating the world of videos for publicising now ;) Loved it! And, of course, the inevitable finale! You look as though you are really enjoying it! Thank you for the competitions, both you and Sharon. Hope you had a happy anniversary and launch day - so much going on!

Sharon boothroyd said...

I've heard that TPF want Xmas stories, so if anyone has any, now's the time to submit them.
That new micro romance e-mag (I think it's an e- newsletter, actually) seems to have spread the word out on several romance writing FB groups.
People seem to be thrilled and honoured to have their work selected for it, even though there's no fee for the writers.
I've had some work selected (unsold material) I'm pleased, yet I'm realistic.
After what happened to Lipstick & lies, Fictionette and Secret attic, I have reservations. (All of these projects suddenly went under).
The organisers are connected to these previous projects, so I'm not expecting this romance e- mag to be still running after 6 months.
I don't know how the organisers plan to make any money from the project - however, there is a 'pledge support' tab on the communication I receive from them.
The entire thing is run on the Substack system, which is a subscription service.
I find it confusing to navigate, to be honest, but I'm not a cool young dude, good at IT.
If the future plan is to ask writers to pledge money, in order for their pieces to be published, or charge a fee for subscription, then I'm afraid it's the end of the road for me with this project.
Has anyone else submitted anything to it?
Patsy, I'm sure your book will sell very well.

Anonymous said...

Patsy, thank you for the competition news. I don’t know how you do it. Writing, blogging, an anniversary, a book launch, and starring in your own video! I loved it and so am glad you made time for cake!
HB

ados123 said...

Hoping you had a good holiday, Patsy and wishing you the best with the book launch.
Thanks for the competitions (and to those who sent them) - am thinking about the print disability one, especially as the womag market seems to quiet and slow at the moment...
Alyson

Sheelagh said...

Thanks Patsy & Sharon for all the writing opportunities. Love the puffin photos, aren't they almost unbelievable in their appearance?
Piece accepted by Ireland's Own this week otherwise all quiet.

Sharon Boothroyd said...

It looks like I'm the only person here who has submitted to this e-mag. I just wondered if anyone else had, and if so, what their thoughts were about it.

Marguerite said...

Not me, Sharon. I was a regular for Secret Attic and I'm giving Write Invite a go. The substack system seems to be so convoluted. I did 'subscribe' to Micromance, but at no fee. And no, I don't really understand what the end product will be, or where to find it. Will it be emailed to us? I wish it was thirty years ago: I'd know where I stood! I note that a lot of these substacks either want a sub or expect one.

Eirin said...

Happy Anniversary and Happy Publication Day, Patsy - a little belatedly. Hope you enjoyed celebrating both. Fab puffin pictures.

Sheelagh said...

@ Sharon I've never submitted to that e-mag, I never even heard of it until you mentioned it.

Sharon Boothroyd said...

I've done some research and they are now charging 10 dollars a month for a subscription. This entitles you to 'extra content' and 'merchandise'. If they ask me to stump up £10 month, then I'm out.

Marguerite said...

I've seen that $10 mentioned, Sharon, but I thought with substack it was an individual pledge per 'stack' as it were. Unlike Medium, as has been flagged up on this blog, which I believe allows you access for a monthly sub to all areas. Since I do neither, I might not have it all correct. I have simply 'subscribed' to both so get limited information, I guess.

Maisie Bishop said...

I've never contributed to Micromance, and probably won't bother. I was a regular contributor to Secret Attic before it started charging and sporadically shutting down. I've given up on it now though.

Marian said...

Congratulations and good luck for the book, Patsy. And thank you for the competition news.

I did think of submitting to Micromance, Sharon, but I got a little confused about how to submit. I'm not up to date with all these things, either! I was pleased to see you'd had the acceptances, though, and I look forward to reading them when the e-mag comes out.

Sharon Boothroyd said...

I know I'm a cynical beggar but I can't help thinking that it's just a vehicle for the ed to promote her work. I think she's American. I've read her bio and I get the feeling that she's a frustrated writer with very little outlets for her work.
She's now sent one of her short stories through the system. As a contributor (who isn't paid)I don't quite know how I'm expected to respond.