Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "fire"

Whatever your plans for Bonfire Night, stay safe and enjoy it!

I have posted an excerpt from one of the short stories from my collection Pieces of a Rainbow on the BestsellerBound Blog. It's called "Fire" and has a Bonfire Night theme, so I thought it appropriate! Here's the link if you want to read it: http://quietfurybooks.com/bestsellerb...

24 Stories: of Hope for Survivors of the Grenfell Tower Fire by Kathy Burke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a wonderful collection of 24 short stories (including a poem and a story written in the form of a comic strip) written on themes of community and hope. It was released to support the charity efforts to raise funds for survivors and the families of victims of the Grenfell fire.

I enjoyed all of the stories although some resonated with me more than others. There were four stand-out stories for me: The touching tale, "Shifa'", by Yasmina Floyer; "The Dish With The Dancing Cows", by Meera Syal, a poignant story which deals with the topics of bereavement and friendship; "The Dreamers", by John Niven, which is a fictional story based around the tragic Grenfell fire; and "Cannonball Ashtrays", by S.J. Thompson, which explores the subjects of homelessness and community/friendship.

Other stories I particularly liked were: "A Bridge", by Dan Rebellato, which is based on a true story; "Bad At Bay", by John Fidler, a humorous and thought-provoking story; "The Good Sandyman", an entertaining, insightful story by Mike Gayle; the reflective "33 RPM", by Mark McLaughlin; and "Oh, My Hopeless Wanderer", by Zoe Venditozzi, a touching story about an unlikely friendship.

The book starts with a foreword from Dr Dean Burnett explaining PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). The book contains a real mix of stories that all touch upon how people interact with each other in difficult times. Some of the stories do mention the Grenfell fire. There are insightful observations throughout, and on the whole it's an uplifting collection.

Definitely worth a read if you're a fan of short stories.







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"Fire" is the second story from my collection "Pieces of a Rainbow". The collection was originally released in 2009 but is now unavailable. I will be re-releasing each of the stories over the coming months on Kindle. You can pre-order "Fire" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSS5FYMN/

About Fire

More than thirty years after a tragic event, fate brings Julia back to the place she had hoped to never see again...





"Seeing Red", the first story is now available: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ7F83XN/




"Fire" will be released on 22 February 2023.

If you enjoy reading short stories, I have a new one out this month. FIRE originally appeared in my collection "Pieces of a Rainbow", which was the first short story collection I released, back in 2009.

I recently decided to rewrite the stories and republish the collection. I've always liked these stories and it felt like the right time to republish them as the collection has been out of print for a while. I am currently working through the rewrites one story at a time and releasing them individually on Kindle.

The first story, "Seeing Red" was released last month: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ7F83XN/



"Fire" is now available on Kindle at Amazon worldwide. You don't need to own a Kindle eReader to enjoy Kindle books, just download the app from Amazon and read the stories on your PC, laptop, smartphone, etc.

Get your copy of "Fire" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSS5FYMN

My latest short story, "Sign of the Times" is now available on Kindle at Amazon worldwide.

About the story:

"Sign of the Times" is the third story from the Pieces of a Rainbow collection. Originally published in 2009 and now out of print, these stories are being given new life.

Quote from "Sign of the Times":

"These sunny flowers always come to say hello when the winter is over; it’s like a message that no matter how hard life gets there will always be something beautiful to look forward to."



Buy a copy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXQPYXVS


You can purchase the first two stories from the Pieces of a Rainbow collection at Amazon:

Seeing Red: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ7F83XN

Fire: /www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSS5FYMN

My latest short story, "Envy", will be available to purchase on Kindle at Amazon on 22 May 2023. You can pre-order it now!

Envy is the fourth story from the "Pieces of the Rainbow" collection, which I am currently re-editing. The stories were originally released as a collection in 2009. That version is now out of print.

I'm hoping to release the whole collection on paperback eventually, when I have had time to re-edit all the stories. For now, I am releasing them one story at a time on Kindle.

About Envy:
Envy is Sandra and Mima's story. They first met at primary school and were best friends. This tale tells the story of how jealousy ended their friendship, and how perception and reality are often at odds.



Pre-order Envy:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Envy-Maria-Sav...
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Envy-Maria-S...

Other stories in the collection:

The fifth story from my "Pieces of a Rainbow" collection has now been released. The story FOREVER BLUE is a romantic tale that takes a look at lost love and how one moment can remain with us forever. It's probably my favourite story of the whole collection.

It's available on Kindle for just 99c/78p or the equivalent currency worldwide.

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C8F2NRCZ/r
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8F2NRCZ/r





The other four stories from the collection that have been released so far are also available on Kindle as individual stories.








My plan for the final two stories is to edit them and then release them as part of the paperback that I hope to release later this year. Also included in the paperback version will be some bonus stories, including two of the original drafts that never made it into the collection when it was first published in 2009.

I'll post some more news when I have it. I hope you are enjoying the stories so far.