Jim Bates talks to me about his involvement with The Best of CafeLit 14

 

How did you come across CafeLit in the first place?

I came to CafeLit via Gail Aldwin. This was back in 2018. I’d met Gail through a writer friend of mine Kathy Sharp. Gail suggested I send a story to CafeLit. It was the first time I’d ever submitted any of my work ANYWHERE, and I was extremely nervous. Incredibly, my story was accepted. Thank you, Gill! I was over the moon with joy!! Since then, I’ve submitted many stories to CafeLit and have been fortunate to have had many accepted. I’ve also sent in stories for the themed anthologies and have been lucky to have been accepted a few times. So, I must say, “Thank you so much for supporting my writing! You all mean the world to me!”

Tell us something about your contribution to this year’s book?

My story is entitled “Simon Hope.” It was written as a challenge to me to write a story based on a character in literature. I chose Sherlock Holmes, one of my all-time favorites. In my story, Simon Hope is a detective who specializes in finding lost animals. It was fun to write. I hope people enjoy reading it!

How did you choose the drink to go with your contribution?

My drink was chosen because that’s what I was drinking at the time. During the day, I drink coffee, ice water, or iced tea. Or a combination of the three. So, whenever I submit to CafeLit, the drink will be one of the other of those three. For this selection, “Simon Hope,” I chose an Arnie Palmer because it was so hot here in Long Lake when I sent in the submission that for me, lemonade added to my iced tea was just the ticket!

 

What do you like about writing short stories / and /or flash fiction?

I love the creative process for both genres. Most of my stories tend to be character-driven, and I enjoy the challenge of coming up with a character, putting that person in a challenging situation, and then seeing how they respond. It’s quite fun/interesting to see what the outcome is.

 

What else do you write? 

I write poetry, novellas, and novels. My poetry collections are: “Haiku Season,” “The Metaphysics of Now,” “The Science of Forever,” “The Alchemy of Then,” and “The Evolution of Tomorrow.” My novellas are aimed at the YA readership, although adults will like them, too. I promise! They are: “The Battle of Marvel Wood,” “The Time Traveling Healer,” and the first two books of my “Creekside Chronicles” series – “The Defectives,” and “The Gallantiers.” Soon to be published are Book 3, “The Two Tribes,” and Book 4, “The Invaders.” My novels are: “The Alien of Orchard Lake,” “Something Better,” “Conversations With the Dead,” and “Eye of the Beholder.”

They are all available through traditional outlets.

Tell us a little about your life as a writer.

I always wanted to be a writer, I think mainly because I’ve always liked to read. But I put it off for years and years, letting LIFE rule my life (LOL!) Finally, while taking care of a very sick family member, I realized how important it was to make the most of one’s life. With that realization, I decided to focus on that dream. That was in 2011. I started writing every day, mostly poems. In 2015, I took an online writing class and met Kathy Sharp who, along with Gail Aldwin, encouraged me to begin submitting stories. The first story I ever submitted, “Remembrance Day,” was submitted to you and CafeLit, Gill. It was accepted! That acceptance gave me the confidence to continue writing and submitting. You and Bridge House published my first collection of short stories, “Resilience,” in 2021. Thank you so much. Since then, you’ve published “Short Stuff,” a collection of flash fiction, and a collection of short stories, “Old Man Jasperson and Other Stories.” You’ve also recently published “Where the Heart Is,” another collection of short stories. Again, thank you so much!

Are you working on any interesting projects at the moment?

Yes. As I mentioned earlier, I’m working on Book 3 and Book 4 of my YA fantasy/adventure series “Creekside Chronicles.” It’s a fun series. I plan to publish “The Two Tribes” in early September and “The Invaders” in December. Book One, “The Defectives,” and Book Two, “The Gallantiers” are available at most traditional outlets.

Do you have any events planned?

Resilience

ShortStuff 

Old ManJasperson and other Stories

Where The Heart Is and Other Stories

The Best of CafeLit 14  

 

Website: www.theviewfromlonglake.wordpress.com

Finally, Gill, I just want to say that knowing you and your team has been a highlight of my writing career. You guys are professional yet easy to work with. I love that you continue to give us emerging writers a place to submit work. CafeLit continues to be one of the premium sites out there. Thanks so much for being there! Keep up the great work!

Lynn Clement tlaks ot me about her involvment with The Best of CafeLit 14

1.  

        

    How did you first find out abut cafeLit? 

I cI came across Cafélit through Allyson Symes, who gave an inspiring talk at a Hampshire Writers’ Event. We got chatting and she informed me of Cafelit.

 

Can you tell us something about your contribution to this book? 

2.    My contribution to The Best of Cafelit 14, WEATHER THE WEATHER, is a dystopian piece of flash fiction.

We’d had a lot of rain. The newspapers were headlining that rain was the forecast for the future of England, so I sat down to write how it might be, with water, water everywhere, and how isolating that could become. The ending was a bit of fun.

 

 How did you decide on a drink? 

3.    A Hot Toddy as a drink for the piece seemed appropriate as the weather outside was miserable, and my thoughts went to warming myself up.

       

W What do you like about writing short stories / and  /or flash fiction? 

4.    I enjoy writing short stories and flash fiction as there is the challenge to complete a story within a word limit. Selection of the correct words is all-important. I like to ensure my stories have movement in them, so choosing strong verbs is key.

 

 What else do you write?

5.    My preference in writing is short stories or flash fiction. I have dabbled with drabble and poetry, but my attempts at novel writing come unstuck, as I have too many ideas for other stories that distract me.

 

Tell us a little about your life as a writer.  

6.    I write for fun. I belong to four writing groups and enjoy the test of a prompt. I like to look at subjects with a slant on them. I relish ‘having a go’ at varying genres but often find myself writing Sci-Fi/dystopia, although I don’t necessarily set out to do so!

 I travel a lot and take inspiration from the scenes, but more importantly, from meeting people and overhearing conversations/phrases that I bank.

 I give presentations to groups on various aspects of writing and chair a critiquing group.

Chapeltown Books published my first collection of flash fiction and poetry. The City of Stories is available on Amazon. I have received some super 5* reviews.

I have pieces included in The Best of Cafelit– 11,12,13, and 14.

Are you working on  any interesting projects at the moment? 

7.    I’m not working on anything specific at the moment, although I keep promising myself, I will submit more stories for a compilation to Bridgehouse Publishing.

I've entered a few local competitions recently and won them with short stories.

 Do you have any events planned?

8.    I have no events planned apart from ‘hopefully’ attending Bridgehouse Publishing’s ‘Christmas do.’ I love meeting the other authors, hearing their stories, and performing my own. Again, I keep promising myself that I will attend a writers’ retreat to get some writing done, but … (off to Portugal soon.)

 

        Find your copy of the book here 

 

Claire Jaggard talks to me about The Best of CafeLit 14

 

How did you come across CafeLit in the first place?

I was recommended CafeLit by a couple of your other writers as a respected and trusted outlet for stories. As a relatively new fiction writer, it's hard to know where to send material, and I value the support and advice of fellow writers who know better than me! 

Tell us something about your contribution to this year’s book?

I love the idea of something being "off" and knowing in your gut that a situation is wrong before your brain processes the information logically. Sometimes the universe is screaming at us, but it'll be something as simple as an offhand comment that pushes the final piece of the jigsaw into place.

How did you choose the drink to go with your contribution ?

This was really easy, as fizzy pop drives the plot in my story. Those big bottles of pop always topple over when you try and wrestle them into a bag, and it's this that brings two of the characters closer together - briefly!
 

What do you like about writing short stories / and  /or flash fiction?

Being able to polish off a story in an afternoon is so satisfying. At first you convince yourself it's perfect, then you realise it's anything but... and the harder work of rewriting begins. You can read more of my stories here: https://clairejaggard.com/

What else do you write?
I'm almost at the end of the first draft of a cosy murder mystery, and I'm very excited that it's already been longlisted for an award - I can't say more just yet. I'm drawing on experience from my first two careers as a journalist and local events website editor to try and create an entertaining tale, in the hope of launching a third career as an author.

Tell us a little about your life as a writer.
I've always wanted to write novels, but became a journalist to pay the bills, and it's only since my boys have grown up that I've had the time to indulge in writing fiction, rather than fact. What's amazed me most is how sociable writing has turned out to be, and how incredibly supportive other writers are - the ethos that "everyone's welcome" is a joy!

Are you working on  any interesting projects at the moment?  

 With a background in radio news, I value the spoken word, and I've been lucky enough to be able to collaborate with others on broadcasting stories on local radio: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06lsfdp and https://www.thornbury.radio/. Writing for the ear, rather than the eye, demands a different skill set, but helps in every type of writing.

Do you have any events planned?
 

I’m delighted to be sharing a stage with Bristol-based writers Hilary Smith and Ali Bacon in an evening of "Telling Tales" for the FOCCAL (Friends of Clifton Centre and Library) autumn series of talks. Details will be available soon here: https://foccal.com

 

Find your copy of the book here 

 

Steve Gerson talks to me about The Best of CafeLit 14

 

How did you come across CafeLit in the first place? 
 

I'm not 100 percent sure. I think I read about CafeLit in an online article listing journals that considered flash fiction.  CafeLit was prominently featured as accessible and responsive.

That's  good to know, Tell us something about your contribution to this year’s book?

"Autonomic Again."  It's me. I say, "sorry" constantly, and I mean it.  But, still, saying "sorry" constantly deflates the impact and suggests that maybe I'm being somewhat dishonest as a way of deflecting rather than engaging in dialogue.  Hmmm.

 
How did you choose the drink to go with your contribution ?  

I mention "Bloody Mary" in the story, but I think I chose it because it's not a real drink, sort of half alcohol and half nutritious fruit drink.  It's a drink that says, "I'm trying to join in with you other serious drinkers, but I'm going to stand back a bit and watch."

 
What do you like about writing short stories / and  /or flash fiction?  

I love flash.  Part of this is because I don't have a long attention span nor do I want to invest in the demands of writing chapter after chapter of a novel.  But, more importantly, I like the ability to condense a life into a moment.

 
What else do you write?  

poetry

 
Tell us a little about your life as a writer. 

I am a retired college professor.  I spent forty years writing academic stuff and publishing college textbooks.  When I retired, my creative impulses exploded.  In ten years after retirement from academia, I've published eight poetry/flash chapbooks and about  300 poems. I'm making up for lost time.

 
Are you working on  any interesting projects at the moment?  

Ideas come to me.  I await them.  I have no plans.

Find your copy of the book here  

An Interview with Rosemary Johnson

 

Rosemary' collection of short stories, Past and Present  has recently been released.  Here we talk about it and Rosemary's writing in general.  

 

What prompted you to write short stories? 

 

I wanted to write, even when I was at primary school, and, because I was reading children’s novels, voraciously, I fell into the idea that I also should write novels.  As time went on, I saw how some characters and their situations don’t need the 100,000 word treatment and focus can be sharper in fewer words.  I have since discovered flash and come to appreciate the impact of just a few well-crafted hundred words.

 

What other sort of material do you write?

 

Novels.  (Now there’s a surprise!)  My historical novel, Wodka or Tea With Milk, which features the Polish Solidarity trade union in the 1980s was published by The Conrad Press in 2023.  Before that, I had written many others, ‘practice novels’ you might call them, none of which have been accepted for publication – thank Goodness! 

 

Do you have any tips for the would-be short story writer?  

 

When submitting stories to ezines and print magazines or entering competitions, follow the guidelines exactly.  Keep to deadlines.  Keep to word counts.  Use the format requested eg .docx.  Gain yourself a reputation for being professional.  If you are fortunate to have your single author collection published by Gill and she asks you for edits, do them promptly.  (When Gill asked for the first lot of edits for Past and Present, I was on the Danube on a cruise, but I set myself the task of editing one story per day.)

 When writing a short story in any genre, get your facts straight.  You’d be amazed how lax some writers are.  Look at as many primary sources as you can.  For The Witch, I downloaded and pored over a word-by-word account of Nicolae Ceausescu’s last speech from the Communist Party headquarters in Bucharest in 1989.  Look at photographs of the places where the action in your story took place.  If possible, visit this place.  I visited what is now called Solidarnosc Square in Gdansk which featured in Anna the Dissident (and in my Wodka or Tea With Milk novel).  If you’re writing ‘historical’, think about how people spoke at the time you’re writing about; if you’re setting your story in the twentieth century read fiction written at the time in question.  But don’t over-egg it.  A few well-chosen expressions will establish the period, but the dialogue will still be comprehensible to the reader.

 

How do you feel that past and present  intertwine in this collection?

 

The big question for me is what is ‘historical’ fiction.  According to the Historical Novel Society, the action in historical fiction must take place at least 50 years ago, but, in my opinion, where setting is defined by events at a particular time, even a recent time, that piece is ‘historical’.  For instance, the action in Tomatoes and Their Part in Brexit, could only take place within a specific few days in June 2016 – just nine years ago.  At this moment in time, Eight O’Clock belongs to the present, because many people struggle to make appointments with their doctor over the telephone.  In a few years, maybe the NHS will improve and this will no longer be the issue, so the story may become ‘historical’.

 

How did you decide to  put these particular stories together? How do they form a collection? 

 

When putting together this collection, I selected what I considered to be my ‘best’ stories, but now I realise that the ones I chose cover the range of my short story writing.  I love history.  I am a history graduate.  Mancunians following Gill’s blog may like to know that I studied at Manchester University.  Communism and the fall of Communism are topics which particularly interests me, which is why I came to write Anna the Dissident and The Witch.  Local history also fascinates me; the idea for Not a Proper Evacuee came from seeing photos at an exhibition of London Routemaster buses driving down Halstead High Street in Essex, bringing in the evacuees at the start of World War 2. 

 I also like to observe human nature and its foibles, and the common irritations of modern  life, such as ringing an unhelpful helpline (An Important Call) and a village community pussyfooting around a noisy peacock (Bachelor Boy).  I love writing humour and these sort of situations lend themselves to it.

 

Are you working on another project at the moment?

 

I am currently looking at other short stories, which I wrote while Past and Present was under production, and considering submitting another collection.  I would like, also, to write more longer works.  I like to get stuck in with a group of characters and spend several months with them.  I have an idea for a novel about middle-aged women football supporters.  My Blue Period was a sort of dry run for this.

 

Do you have any event planned to do with Past and Present?  Or any other of your publications?

 

There will be an online launch of Past and Present with Gill, and also Allison Symes (who will be very familiar to Bridge House readers) on Friday, 1 August at 7.15pm.  Readers can book  this through Eventbrite.  We would love to see you!

 

I am attempting to arrange a book-signing at local libraries.  Unfortunately, our library service is underfunded and so librarians are not in a position to offer many promotional opportunities to local authors.  Online promotion events are therefore very important.  I have also placed both Past and Present and Wodka or Tea With Milk in the Essex Libraries Local Writers’ Showcase which is also online.

Thank you, Rosemary

Find a copy of Past and Present  here.     

 

 

 

The Pros and Cons of Publishing with Amazon KDP

 

You can publish both paperbacks and e-books with Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct publishing)

Some of the advantages

• There is no set up fee.
• There is no yearly distribution fee.
• Amazon will not say it’s unavailable.
• You books will be available everywhere there is an Amazon.
• You can enter the Amazon Storyteller competition.
• It’s quick and easy to correct a mistake.
• The paperbacks and the e-book are more easily linked.
• You can easily alter the price.
• You can enter the Kindle edition for Kindle Unlimited and earn money for the number of pages a customer has read.
• Amazon pays promptly.
• You can do countdown deals.  You set the book for a lower price than normal, reverting to the normal price after no more than a week.
• There are other types of promotion you can do easily with Amazon.

 

Some of the disadvantages

• It’s harder to get the books into bookshops in Europe though there is now an enhanced scheme that allows this. However, this brings the price up to higher than using Ingram’s; which is the  other popular option for self-publishers,
• There is slightly less choice in formats than with other printers
• If Amazon doesn’t like something you’re doing and you haven’t done anything   wrong it can be hard to convince them.
• It’s harder to get your book to where Amazon isn’t.
• You can’t carry on obtaining author copies if you take it out of print.   

Buy three CafeLit books for £15.00

 I've been involved in the editing book design and writing of these three 'Best of CafeLit' books and  am offering package of the three paperbacks 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.

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.

Buy all three for £15.00