Book Club Guide for The Best of CaféLit 5

 

 

This is definitely a book for dipping into, rather than reading from cover to cover. Turn to page 112 and pick a drink you'd like right now. Read the story.  How well does it go with the drink? 

Maybe everyone in your group can do this.

Can you find stories like this?

• One that made you laugh.
• One that made you cry.
• One that shocked you.
• One that gave you hope.
• A very short story.
• A longer story.
• A story set somewhere you know.
• One set in summer.
• One set in winter
• One set in spring.
• One set in autumn.
• One that is set somewhere you would like to visit.

 

What is your favourite story in the collection and why?

Open the book at a random page. Read the whole of the story you see there. Can you analyse it? Say what it is about without giving away the title, the author or the drink. How well has the author developed the characters?  What about the setting?  What do you like about the story? What do you dislike? Can the others guess which story it is?

 Find your copy of the book here 

My latest flash fiction collection - on Amazon Countdown Deal 30 December to 6 January

 

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What does that first picture that you see each day on social media say? Sometimes it makes you laugh and sometime it fills you with dread, all of which you must express in exactly 280 words. That was the challenge. It’s up to the reader to decide if it’s been met.

These very short stories wander and wonder through multiple aspects of 21st century life, give a nod to the future and a glance back at the past. They pose questions and occasionally offer suggestions.

Gill James offers food for thought in 280 x 70.

Buy from Amazon  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.   

The Beginners' Guide to Creating Yourself as a Writer

 

Write

Maybe this is a little obvious. But try to set aside some time for writing. Maybe five minutes a day? Don’t laugh.  Those five minutes will often turn into half an hour or more.

 

Have a writing place

This doesn't have to be a room of your own. You don't have to write in a café, in the library or on a train. You can of course. But if you don't have the luxury of any of these places, find somewhere where you're comfortable. See that as your space.

 

Make your writing time sacrosanct

You may need to train the people you live with to respect that when you are writing you are working and you are not to be disturbed. I leave my study door ajar when I'm happy to be disturbed. It is firmly shut when I am writing and mustn't be disturbed.

 

Read

Something happens by osmosis if you do. Some people say they don't want to read because they don’t want to be influenced by others. I'm never convinced by that argument but  perhaps you don't just want to mimic Stephen King. You want to be a horror writer with your own style and ideas. Yet reading other can get you used to the way words work and even sometimes allow you to see what works less well. If you're frighten you might end up impersonating one of the greats- just read in another genre.

 

Befriend other writers

Maybe join a critique group but take care with this. Make sure you find the right sort of group. Join writers' online forums but again be careful about which ones. Be a little picky.  Find the right group of friends and these will be of true value. They'll understand exactly what you're going through.

 

Writing is rewriting

Be prepared for a lot of this.  Make your text shine.  And then ….

 

Send your work out

Boldly.  Do your due diligence.  Look for the right places. Don’t let rejection crush you. Get back on the horse.  Have lots of fishing rods hanging off the end of the pier.

 

Competitions

Yes there are only ever a handful of winners but it is useful discipline, especially if you take the trouble to see who has won and study what they’ve written.

 

TV and cinema are good too

Because after all it’s all about story. As is the gossip in the pub.  In fact, there is story all around you. Keep your eyes and ears open.

 

Writerly events

Get to as many writers' events, festivals and conferences as you can.

 

And did I mention it before? Just write!    

An interesting event tomorrow

 Tomorrow we launch  The Spruce and On the feast of Stephen.  

These are both feel-good Christmas stories for young children and children are welcome at the event.   

Will you join us? 

  

Join here.  

 

 Join through this link  or  jut email me for the Zoom link direct.

 

More info about the books:  

 

It's rotten having a birthday just before Christmas. 

Sometimes Toby gets just one present for both his birthday and Christmas. Sometimes people just give him money because they've run out of present ideas.  Then when he comes to spend that money there's hardly anything left in the shops. It’s the same this year. He can't find any Lego bricks he wants. 

An old man who reminds him of his Grandpa Jack is sitting cold and hungry on the street. Toby thinks of another use for his birthday money.  What he does afterwards reminds his Grandpa Jack of a well-known Christmas song.  

On the Feast of Stephen by Gill and Ashleigh James is a feel-good story for early readers. 

 

Find your copy here  

 

The finery of Christmas only lasts a short while.

The excitement fades and the children lose interest in the little tree.  It now longs for the life it had before.   It realises that being amongst nature even in all sorts of weather was far more rewarding that being stuck indoors.  And it would have had an advantage over the other trees; it would have remained while they lost their leaves in the autumn.

Now, though, the warmth in the house has made it shed most of its needles and it is confined to a dustbin.

Yet there is hope. One of the children finds a way of being kinder to its nature. 

Find your copy here  

 

It would be great to see you there.   

 

 

 

  

Book bundle

 I'm offering copies of The Best of CafeLit 12, 13 and 9   for £15.00, postage free. 

This year we present a selection of some of the best stories from each month. There is a balance of longer and shorter stories, darker and lighter tales, serious and funny prose, experimental and conventional. Many of them invite you to reflect. There is also a welcome balance of old friends, writers who have contributed to CaféLit over the years, and of new voices.

Each story in this little volume is the right length and quality for enjoying as you sip the assigned drink in your favourite Creative Café. You need never feel alone again in a café. So what’s the mood today? Espresso? Earl Grey tea? Hot chocolate with marshmallows? You'll find most drinks in our drinks index.

 

This year contributors were asked to select stories they enjoyed the most. For each story they had published, they could select one. This produced quite a long list. There is real mixture of authors here: ones we’ve published several times and know really well, others we are just getting to know, and some who are published with us for the very first time.

Each story in this little volume is the right length and quality for enjoying as you sip the assigned drink in your favourite Creative Café. You need never feel alone again in a café. So what’s the mood today? Espresso? Earl Grey tea? Hot chocolate with marshmallows? You'll find most drinks in our drinks index.

We asked those writers who were published in "The Best of CaféLit 8" to vote for their five favourite stories published on the CaféLit web site in 2019. We awarded five points for number one choices, four for number two and so on. These are the stories that received the most votes.

Each story in this little volume is the right length and quality for enjoying as you sip the assigned drink in your favourite Creative Café. You need never feel alone again in a café. So what's the mood today? Espresso? Earl Grey tea? Hot chocolate with marshmallows? You'll find most drinks in our drinks index.

 

 

News 3 December 2025

 

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By coincidence I and one of our other Chapeltown writers have a feel-good picture book coming out on the same day - 11 December, so we've decided to do a joint launch – 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm. We're going to read the books and show them on screen. We'll talk a little about how the stories came into being. And we'll answer a few questions. This is an event for all the family and young children are especially welcome. Book your slot here   Writing news I’m continuing with my work on the seventh Schellberg book. My protagonist and her new flat mate are now talking about creating an underground satirical theatre.    I wrote about joining the Walks for Dementia for Talking About My Generation    I offer a review of the Whitefield Garrick's production of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher   My short story 'Early that Morning' appears on Booksie: On My Blog I have an offer on three of my books about the craft of writing:   I list the twenty great things about being a writer, in my opinions.   I have created a book club guide  for 140 x 140     I talk to Jim Bates about his collection Where the Heart is.    The Young Person’s Library No books were added this month though obviously the two mentioned above will be put up there soon.  Recommended read This month I've chosen Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell.     Is this a book way ahead of its time? It contains the richness of plot that all the 21st century gurus say we must have, including two rather nasty things happening just before it ends.  The characters are believable and rounded. Yes, it's a classic and the print is rather small. Yes, there is a lot of description.  There is also a lot of head-hopping. Novelists had not yet mastered the discipline of a constant close third person narrative. Elizabeth Gaskell jumps into the text frequently. The story is at once harrowing and promising of hope.  Ruth is a fallen woman and there was not much sympathy for such as her then. Yet she takes on a brave task and her illegitimate son may be proud of her, not ashamed.    I'm now tempted to read more by this insightful novelist.  This particular text was very well annotated which made the whole process even more rewarding.  Find you copy here: Giveaway   This month I'm giving away The House of Clementine.    There is unease on Zandra. On far away Zenoto a young president appears to be turning his back on the innovative and hugely successful financial regime. The Peace Child again has much to do. It becomes personal. Kaleem’s former girlfriend and her desperately ill step-daughter are attacked. Some strange encounters partly answer some of Kaleem’s questions. But as he begins to understand what “snazzy” really means and what the brown tunics want, he is faced with yet more puzzles: who or what exactly is Meelak, what is the House of Clementine and how much control does it have, and what or who is really behind the unrest? Will the Peace Child find his own peace? Find out in this fourth novel in the Peace Child series. Grab your copy here.  You’ll find an e-book file and a PDF plus a lot of other free materials here. Please leave a review on Amazon, if you’re allowed to, on Good Reads and anywhere else you can.   The Schellberg Project The posts may be helpful for teachers who are familiar with the Schellberg stories or who are teaching about the Holocaust.  They may also be interesting for other readers of historical fiction.   This month I’ve taken a look at some satirical caricatures of Hitler:   Some notes about my newsletters and blogs They do overlap a little but here is a summary of what they all do.   Bridge House Authors For all those published by Bridge House, CaféLit, Chapeltown or The Red Telephone or interested in being published by us. General news about the imprints. News for writers. Links to book performance. Sign up here.   The Bridgetown  Café Bookshop where you can buy my books and books published by Bridge House Publishing, CafeLit, Chapeltown Books and The Red Telephone.  Visit us here.        Gill’s News: News about my writing, The Schellberg Project, School Visits and Events. Book recommendations and giveaways. Find it here.      Pushing Boundaries, Flying Higher News about conferences and workshops to do with the young adult novel. (infrequent postings) Sign up here.     Red Telephone Books News about our books and our authors. Sign up here.   A Publisher’s Perspective Here I and some other editors blog as a publisher. Access this here.      The Creative Café Project Listings and reviews of creative cafés. See them here.      CaféLit Stories Find these here   Gill James Writer All about writing and about my books. View this here.   Gill’s Recommended Reads Find information here about books that have taken me out of my editor’s head and a reminder of the ones I’ve highlighted in this newsletter.       Gill’s Sample Fiction Read some of my fiction here.   The House on Schellberg Street All about my Schellberg project. Read it here.   Writing Teacher All about teaching creative writing.  Some creative writing exercises. Access this here.  I also invite other writers to provide prompts and work for critique.        Books Books Books Weekly offers on our books and news of new books. Find them here.    The Young Person’s Library The children’s book catalogue. Access it here.   Fair Submissions  Find it here.    Opportunities for writers are added several times a day. Roughly once a month I send it out to a list. If you would like to be on that list, sign up here.   Happy reading and writing.