After an enforced pause to life during lockdown, my summer has been a busy one. First we moved out of the old house and in with my parents. At the same time it became noticeably busier at work. Then in August we finally completed on the purchase of our new home. Since then, as you will see from my social media feeds, a lot of my time has been taken up with moving, unpacking and DIY. And mixed into my free time, the wife and I have been trying to get out and about into nature near where we live in lieu of travelling further afield.
With all the excitement, it might seem I have been neglecting the writing, and to a degree I have. I do not mean I have given up writing, I have been working on a couple of projects over the summer which I hope to expand on as the nights draw in.
Rather, I have not been posting about my writing as much, and have nearly missed telling you about two pieces which I have written which have been published in two different media.
The Bard’s Ring
Firstly, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to write a chapter in a writing circle being hosted by Bard of the Isles. Bard was set up by a group of Irish and British writers to showcase some of the brilliant writing we have in these Isles, and this summer they decided to run a writing circle fantasy story.
If you have never heard of a writing circle before, the premise is simple. Each chapter is written by a different author, with the story revolving around two characters, one from the previous chapter and a newly introduced character.
The instructions for Bard’s Ring were simple; it is set in a fantasy land with a magical ring and an ageing King. The characters were chosen to resemble characters from Dungeons and Dragons, and I had been given chapter 6, Paladin and Wizard. I
f you want to read the chapter (and let’s be honest, of course you do) as well as the other chapters in the story, then click the link above. The final chapter is to be released on the 27th September, and it is set to be a fantastic finale.
Prompted
My second piece released just today was on the Prompted podcast Summer special. The challenge they had set their listeners over the summer was to complete a 500 word piece using one of three prompts;
- Someone must have lived here, once. Someone with a garden. Honeysuckle doesn’t grow here naturally.
- I’m that aunt that has a crystal ball and howls at the moon every third Thursday of the month
- Hey, stop disrobing in my living room!
Naturally, I could not restrict myself to just using one of the prompts, I just about managed to fit all three in. My piece starts around 27minutes, but the whole show is great. If you click the link about it will take you to their Instagram page and you can find their whole back catalogue from there.
Self-Indulgent Twaddle 