A retired man, divorced and home from working abroad, is facing up to life without his family. He returns to a favourite place – a beach in the Northeast of England – with his memories, to try to come to terms with what he has lost. However, what he finds on the beach is completely unexpected.

This story is about an older man looking back at a pivotal point in his childhood, where he and the rest of his family learned some home truths, courtesy of a farmer’s wife, and, of course, a llama.

This relationship story covers from when boy first meets girl, all the way to when death shall part them. As they first met in a treehouse, treehouses feature in their story all the way through to the end. A tale of the passing of time.

The theme we were given, was ‘travel,’ but, though international travel does make an appearance by the end, this story majors on the journey of life for two star-crossed lovers from differing social backgrounds who meet (where else?) while performing ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ A happy ending for once? Read on to find out …

This is the draft opening chapter of the second book about Podevin and Emma. It is ten years since we left them at the end of ‘Warrior Princess, Errant Page,’ but their peace is about to be disrupted by the machinations of others; like the Saxons, and Emma’s husband. I hope you enjoy this taster of my latest writing …

I was challenged to write a fantasy short story. Although it is not my usual genre, I came up with a tale about the ‘fey’ offspring of a human father and a fairy mother – and what happened when he and his mother wanted to return to fairyland. The tale is told in two halves: Benjamin’s story, and the judge’s response.

I originally wrote this story a couple of years ago, but now I, like my fictional characters, am in the middle of house move (though not because of any bullying!), it seemed appropriate to post a revised version here. The story is about the lengths some parents will go to, in order to secure their child’s happiness.

The theme for this month’s short story was ‘brief encounter,’ and what could be briefer than an anonymous, paid-for sexual encounter? However, if the young lady in question has reached the end of her tether, her father is her pimp, and the ‘client’ not very nice … Well, it could all end in a murder, or possibly two, couldn’t it?

A double bluff is usually defined as an action or statement that is intended to appear as a bluff but is in fact genuine. Here an older brother uses a double bluff, and some straight-forward untruths, to get his younger sibling out of trouble. Whether he is likely to succeed in the long-term remains to be seen.

This is a tale about someone bullied at school finally striking back forty years later. In a way, he loses so much, but he also gains his freedom, and his truth. He can stop living in the shadows and emerge into the light.

Choose a poem and write a story based around it – that was the task. I chose ‘A Smuggler’s Song’ by Rudyard Kipling, and weaved a dark tale about the head of a smuggling gang, his family, and his war with King George’s excise men. For those who do not know it, the poem is at the end of the story.

These days, many of us only ever think about chimneys at Christmas-time, when Santa comes to visit. However, this story reminds us it wasn’t all fun and games when the coal fire in the lounge was the only source of winter heat – which was true for a lot of people back in the nineteen sixties and seventies.

My Brother’s Keeper is a follow-up story to Twoc’ing. Told from Charles Holdsworth’s point of view, it describes what happens a decade after the incidents shown in Twoc’ing. Unfortunately, it looks as if the two brothers are unlikely to be reconciled.

TWOC’ING is a story of survival against the odds. Our protagonist, Peter Holdsworth, is framed for a crime he did not commit: Taking WithOut Consent. he serves time as a young offender, and he is then forced to join the Army. However, the Army doesn’t turn out to be what he expects …

This is my “seven objects” story from the workshop I led last October. The challenge was to write a short story having just seen the seven objects I presented to the group. Everyone was able to make a start in the time given, and the completed stories were presented to the group two months later.

The Denim Birthday was written for my writing group after I was given the challenge to write on the theme of ‘Blue Jeans.’ I came up with this story of a birthday and the clash of generations over what was appropriate wear. How to use, or not use, mobile phones also features, and there is, of course, a twist at the end!

What’s In a Name? is a short story where a self-centred character gets his comeuppance. Alex thinks he has a perfect right to spy on his university girlfriend, especially as she wants to break off the relationship – but she is smarter than he thinks!

XOL 802 is a coming-of-age story that uses two voices: Andrew is six years old and we see his parents’ marriage break up, and a car crash (hence the number plate of the title) through his eyes. The other voice is the older, adult Andrew trying to make sense of all that happened. Has the family found peace?

The Accidental Smuggler is a cautionary tale of criminal involvement. The theme set for this story was ‘crossing the border,’ and the main character does this more than once. The tale is about a young, naïve teacher, in his first job, who is inveigled into taking a parcel across an international border between two African countries. He loses his naivety, his girlfriend, and almost his freedom, but does he ever gain understanding?

Spike is a young adult short story, with a twist in its tale. I wrote this when challenged to write a short story about a particular character, but the tale had to include references to soup, diamonds, and being naked! We meet the young man in question playing truant, and spraying graffiti on an underpass, but what happens when one of his teachers comes along?