Jane Jago's Blog, page 45

The Easter Egg Hunt – XXVII

Since Ben and Joss Beckett took over The Fair Maid and Falcon, they have had to deal with ghosts, gangsters and well dodgy goings-on. Despite that they have their own family of twin daughters and dogs, and a fabulous ‘found family’ of friends.

As I was wondering what to say next a big black cloud sailed across the moon and I heard Mark shout.
“Somebody douse that fucking light.”
Ben kicked it over and stamped on it just as the situation turned ugly. Whoever was left in the beat-up minibus by th...

Dying to be Roman IX

Dying to be Roman  by Jane Jago and E.M. Swift-Hook is a whodunit set in an alternative modern day Britain where the Roman Empire still rules.

They were greeted by a whey-faced curator who seemed to be expecting them.
“That was fast, but I’m glad you are here so quickly – I’ve tried to stop anyone going near the area, of course, but I didn’t want to start a panic by letting people know what had happened.”
Dai opened his mouth but Julia beat him too it.
“Of course. I understand. Perhaps you could ...

The Secret Life of ‘Nomes – Lost

Though the biggers never see it, there is much going on in their own backyard where the ‘nomes make their home…

Knobsie was in the cabbage patch sobbing. He had lost his tiny pink winkle and he was inconsolable.
“Where did you lose it?”
“Me doesn’t know. It just gone.”
Which, in an acre and a half of garden, wasn’t much help.
The gnomes tried, but it was close to impossible, a one centimetre piece of pink plaster wasn’t going to be found unless they got very lucky indeed.
A week later, a sparrow o...

How To Speak Typo – Lesson 43

A dictionary for the bemused by Jane Jago…

atate (adjective) – looking as if it has been chewed by a rodent

arpmit (noun) – fireproof glove used in World War Two

bugnee (noun) – leg joint of a beetle

doungut (noun) – hefty stomach often the result of eating too many doughnuts

eflephant (noun) – profane pachyderm 

garvity (noun) – body weight in a swimming pool that has a high concentration of p*** in the water

juist (noun) – fight club for dyslexic knights

kagewl (noun) –...

Drabblings – Elephant

Telling an entire story in just one hundred words…

Every morning for thirty years, Geoff walked past number forty and saw the stone elephant. It stood three foot high with flowers cascading, changing according to the season, from the howdah on its back. It had been part of his morning commute.
As the years went by he found himself making up stories about it on the train.
The day he retired, he saw the elephant for the last time and made a decision. Taking a picture of it on his phone. He got ho...

Moonbeam Farquhar Metheringham IV Advises on Writing Cliffhangers

Moonbeam Farquhar Metheringham IV takes time from his immensely important life to proffer profound advice to those who still struggle on the aspirational slopes of authorhood…

Howdy again,

It is I, your inspirational instructor in the arcane literary arts, Moonbeam Farquhar Metheringham IV. Again it falls to me to remind you of my impeccable credentials as the author of ‘Fatswhistle and Buchtooth’, once described as ‘amazingly….written….incredible….story’. One comes to you this week, brigh...

At rest

The rain is gone, the morning shines
Where I can rest a while
Sheltered from the teasing wind
And by the warmth beguiled
The humans pass and never pause
To smell the first of spring
But sitting by the kindly wall
I hear the robin sing
Here, as I doze I hear the feet
Of ghostly builders pass
As through the earth old voices sing
And I’m at peace at last

©️jane jago 2024

The Easter Egg Hunt – XXVI

Since Ben and Joss Beckett took over The Fair Maid and Falcon, they have had to deal with ghosts, gangsters and well dodgy goings-on. Despite that they have their own family of twin daughters and dogs, and a fabulous ‘found family’ of friends.

I smiled at the idea I was hunting and followed Simeon out of the door into what was now a pale moon-washed night. We formed a sort of loose procession with Simeon in front followed by me, Ben, Neil, Stan and Ollie. The rest fell in behind walking quiet...

Dying to be Roman VIII

Dying to be Roman  by Jane Jago and E.M. Swift-Hook is a whodunit set in an alternative modern day Britain where the Roman Empire still rules.

Dai pulled the man out of the computer chair. Njord might be big-boned but he clearly was not one to keep himself much in shape.
“The domina is asking you a polite question, Torkel. I am not quite so polite. I want to know how a virus that affects your security surveillance on two separate occasions could have got onto your system without you knowing abo...

The Secret Life of ‘Nomes – The Glazier

Though the biggers never see it, there is much going on in their own backyard where the ‘nomes make their home…

The glazier was a buffly handsome young man with no shirt and some tattoos. Female teenage bigger exerted herself sufficiently to make him a cup of tea.
Bertha watched over her spectacles.
“Trouble brewing,” she muttered to herself when the young people wandered off in the direction of the summerhouse.
Mother Bigger emerged from the house ten minutes later. She found a half-finished wi...