Paula R.C. Readman's Blog, page 15

A question of love.

Bloganuary writing promptCan you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?View all responsesA piece of flash fiction

Sitting on the park bench overlooking the boating lake on a cold winter’s morning wasn’t Ben’s idea of fun. Was this going to be another failed blind date? Goodness, how many more times does a man have to be stood up before he calls it quits?

Okay, so in his past, he might have stood a couple of dates up; he was just one of the lads back then. Now he could see it wasn’t the right thing to do. After all, age brings wisdom. Someone in his age group wouldn’t do such a thing. Ben checked his phone. Nope, no message to say the date was off.

Maybe, Simon was mucking him about, but he’d exchanged phone numbers with Lizzy. They even chatted on the phone and FaceTime over the net. It wasn’t as if it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. They had chatted about their past and hopes for the future. Explained, what had led to their loneliness. A failed marriage, a life partner passing away.

Ben looked along the path in both directions. Lizzy seemed sweet, but there was something about her. Ben liked her lively, laughing eyes. Her bright, positive attitude and outlook on life. What had she said about every cloud? Maybe he should learn to listen more.

‘Ben, every cloud has a silver lining. Something good always comes out of something negative. If I hadn’t been stood up on that blind date forty years ago I would never met the man of my dreams. There I was sitting in the cold all dressed up with nowhere to go. Charles came along with a group of friends. I knew him briefly before. Seen him around.’

‘The love of my life,’ Lizzy had said. Oh, to have known such a love her Charles had with Lizzy would have made him the luckiest man on earth Ben thought as his phone buzzed.

‘At last,’ Ben said, pulling his phone from his pocket. His fingers were numb with cold.

The text read: ‘I know forty years is a long time to carry a grudge, Benjamin, and if you hadn’t stood me up… well, do I need to say more. At least, I’ve sent you a message to say there’s a lovely coffee shop behind you that’s just opening up about now. Who knows you might just meet someone nice in there while you warm up.’

(A woman scorned is never a good thing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯(¬‿¬))

I hope you enjoyed my tale.

Have a great day.

I’m Not A Hoarder.

Bloganuary writing promptWhere can you reduce clutter in your life?View all responsesA piece of Flash fiction:

Okay, so I’m sentimental about certain things. Things that have real meaning to me, but even that has changed over the years. For years, the old-fashioned coffee pot had stood on the shelf,’ Jane explained to her friend, Lucy. ‘I had loved it, believing it was my grandmother’s. I had found it in the cupboard at my mother’s. It looked old and well used.’

‘What made you think it was your grandmother’s?

‘I really can’t say. Anyway, I asked my mother if I could have it. I wanted a keepsake, which the generations had passed on. The old brown earthen pot has a look of age about it. Mother just shrugged her shoulders and said, ‘Take it.’

‘So why are you throwing it out now?’

‘What’s the point of cluttering up your life with things that are no longer important. When you get to my age you’ll have a house full of important stuff to no one, but yourself. In the end, it’ll all be binned.’

‘That’s sad,’ Lucy said. ‘But I can see your point. Humans are hoarders.’

‘I’m not. Well, not anymore. It’s time I had a good clear out and downsized, especially since divorcing my husband. That’s what the skip is for, so I can make a fresh start after years of his hoarding. A clean slate, both physically and mentally.’

Lucy laughed. ‘I love your positivity. So I take it you’re coming out with the girls tonight.’

‘You bet I am.’ Jane dropped the coffee pot into the skip on top of a pile of her ex-husband’s old clothes. Well, If he could buy a whole new outfit to look young and trendy for the younger woman in his life, she could start afresh, too.

Off to a Flying Start.

I want to enter at least ten short story writing competitions this year. Last year, I focused more on painting, but this year, I need to concentrate on my writing. My plan has always been to write 30 books and get them published in my lifetime. We have no idea what’s around the corner, and our lives can be cut short at any moment. This hard fact has already been brought home to me with the news that two people I’ve known for a long time discovered quite recently they have lung cancer.

It’s so important to stay positive and focus on what you enjoy most in life. I never wanted my writing to become a job, a nine-to-five chore. I have had enough of that with my other job. Being a housewife, as much as I love my husband, cleaning the home isn’t the most exciting thing I can think of doing. I like having some structure around keeping the house clean otherwise I wouldn’t stay focused on my writing. I can’t bear things being in a mess. I’m not bothered by how other people live, but for myself, I would become very depressed.

I have two cats so I’m obsessed with making sure no fleas are floating around enjoying life in my house. If they are, then I expect them to pay rent. No freeloaders here.

During the week, I have certain days when I like to do things around the house; like changing the bed sheets, getting washing done, etc. At the beginning of the day, I sort out the evening meal prepare vegetables in advance and pop them in the fridge. When it is nearly time for my husband to come home, I rush downstairs and switch the dinner on. By the time, he turns the key in the door, the dinner is ready to serve up. Once a month, I deep clean the house. I moved the furniture to clean beneath, walls in the kitchen and bathroom are washed down, along with the floors.

Yesterday, I managed to send in two submissions. Great start to the beginning of a New Year. I shall let you know whether I’m successful later on in the year.

Have a great weekend.

Short Stories, a Witch & Owls.

I’ve just finished my first short story of the year. I’ve asked my neighbour, Joan for an honest review. I’m concerned it isn’t a strong enough read. It’s not my normal type of storytelling, but hopefully, others will find it to be an enjoyable read. I’m sure it’s a problem all writers have, not being able to judge whether the story will be a success or not until someone else has read it.

For anyone who hasn’t read my short sharp read: https://mybook.to/thefuneralbirds
the paperback is on special offer for £3.48.
Please do check it out. It has a murder, a witch and a ruined church along with some nesting owls.
Thank you.

Just as I started writing this blog the phone rang. It was Joan. I’m pleased to say she liked the new story, but found a few mistakes, which I thought there might be. It wasn’t my final draft, just a completed storyline. I wanted Joan to read so I had an idea of what readers might think of it. It’s not an intense story, but I hope others might enjoy it. I know many readers see my work as being purely horror stories, which they are not. My work is more mysteries. So now I’m experimenting with different styles of writing, hoping to reach a new audience.

“Joan said, she found my new story an easy read, which I’m guessing is good. I asked, if the story held her attention and kept her reading. ‘Oh yes, I enjoyed reading it, and I wanted to know what happened next.”

My goal for this year is to produce ten original short stories for my next single collection. I want the anthology in terms of genre be quite similar, rather than diverse. So we shall see how it turns out once I’ve completed all the stories. I working on the first of the new stories. I’m quite excited by it now I have the storyline clear in my head.

This photo was taken in 2017.

It looks as though winter has arrived in Britain. It’s turned much colder now. We had snow showers this morning, but it didn’t last long in my part of England. As the temperature drops overnight, I shall see how frosty it is tomorrow morning, so hopefully, I can take a walk over the fields. It’s been too wet and muddy. The hard ground will be much better for walking on, and it will be far prettier with the frosty trees and plants. I will share some new photos with you.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Chat again soon.

The Goodreads Challenge.

If you love reading, you might want to join the Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2024.

It’s a fun way to track your progress and discover new books throughout the year. You can also share your thoughts and opinions with other readers in the community. I’m planning to read 80 books this year. I always write a short review and share them on Amazon, too. I try to read a mixture of old favourites and new authors when selecting a book. I like to step outside my comfort zone, too. Maybe I’ll inspire someone else to pick up one of the books I’ve read.

How about you?

How many books do you want to read this year?

Look forward to reading your name on the challenge feed. Don’t worry if you don’t meet your challenge target there’s no pressure. It’s all about reading for pleasure.

Happy reading in the New Year and welcome to 2024.

Chat again soon,

Happy New Year, Everyone.

Please allow me to wish all my followers and readers a very Happy New Year. I hope 2024 brings you and your loved ones much peace, happiness and prosperity.

I know 2023 has been a difficult year for many people and their families as we are still recovering from the after-effects of the pandemic. Hopefully, 2024 will be a positive year for us all.

I look forward to catching up with you all again soon.

My very best wishes,

Paula R. C.

Busy Making Ads for my books.

Been busy makes more adds for my books. What do you think of this one?

On the hunt for your next read for 2024. Here are three dark reads to start you off. Just follow the link https://mybook.to/ycd7 Then click on the book cover you want more information on. Thank you.

Do hope you enjoy reading my books.

An Amazing Review.

The specific relevant content for this request, if necessary, delimited with characters: Yes, it’s true writers live for reviews. Of course, they help with marketing and finding new readers. This review arrived today. I’m over the moon with it, which has lifted my spirits. Click on second photo to read the review

If you haven’t already read Days Pass Like a Shadow then click on this link. If you do, I will look forward to reading your review, too.

I look forward to catching up with you all in the New Year.

On the hunt.

Today, my last story of 2023 will be released on Cafelit. I’m hoping to have more writing accepted throughout 2024. This year I want to focus on my writing for most of the year as I need to write two novels. It will take a year to write, edit, and publish them. Normally my focus is 100 percent more on writing in the winter months than summer. In the summer, the garden calls to me. This year, I was still painting in October and November, so I’ve lost two months of writing.

I want to have a go at writing a different kind of novel to my normal style of writing. I’ve been running through a few ideas, but still haven’t settled on any one thing. To find what I’ve been looking for, I have been playing around with different styles of short stories. These I’ve submitted to Cafelit.

Every year I enjoy doing the GoodReads challenge where you state how many books you hope to read. At the beginning of 2023, I stated I wanted to read 70 books, but in the end, I read 76 in total. This is a personal challenge.

There are no winners or losers in the GoodReads Book Challenge. You just read for the pleasure of reading. It doesn’t matter whether you complete it or not. The reason I join in, is it allows me to record the number of books I read and what I think of them, as I always leave a review. It’s interesting to read other people’s reviews on the same book, too. Book reviews are to be taken with a pinch of salt. Reading is like eating; it’s all down to personal taste.

My latest short story is called (click on this link) The Wisdom of the Ancient One. It tells the tale of what happens when an ancient artefact is uncovered and taken to a university professor for identification. I hope you enjoy reading it and do let me know what you think.

Best wishes for 2024.

Cold stops Creativity

This week, not much has happened. I had a head cold, which meant I couldn’t think straight. The last painting hasn’t been completed as I had hoped. Not to worry, as the owner won’t be back in England until March. I was hoping to get back to my novel, or at least complete a short story before Christmas.

I decided to play around with some polymer clay. For two years, I have promised myself I would create fungus using polymer clay. I had bought the oven, all the tools and clay, so as my brain wasn’t up to much, I thought I would watch some videos on YouTube and see how it went. Goodness me, it’s time-consuming. The clay needed working before it was soft enough to work on. I’m certainly going to need more time before I start playing around with it to create the sort of detailed fungi I have seen in some of the videos.

Today, eleven years ago, I had my first crime short story published by Bridge House. “Rat Trap” tells the tale from a serial killer’s point of view and was the forerunner to “Stone Angels”. In “Rat Trap,” the main character, Aaron, is the story’s narrator and speaks directly to the reader. When I wrote the story, I was on a huge learning curve and still unsure of my writing ability. Although it was the second short story I had published, I still didn’t feel confident in myself.

I just felt I had gotten lucky when my story “Rat Trap” was accepted. It was also the first time I had worked with an editor as we got the story ready for publication in the Crime After Crime anthology. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy working with Bridge House Publishing because working with an editor helped me to understand the editing process, too. All of their writers have the same opportunity to work with an editor when their stories are published in any of their anthologies. At that time, I was unsure of how a sentence worked, whether I was using the right grammar and punctuation, etc. I wasn’t sure whether I really understood how to write or whether I was any good at it. Bridge House and its sister, Cafelit, allowed me to develop my writing skills along with learning how to feel more confident when reading aloud to an audience. It’s amazing to see how far I have come in eleven years. Now I have six books published and over a hundred short stories too.

Today, my husband and I went shopping. Shopping isn’t something I enjoy. We were hoping to buy the Christmas gifts in one go, but unfortunately, it wasn’t something we achieved. I know this might sound mean but what do you buy people when we all seem to have more than we need already? I know most of us could do with more money to pay household bills. Some people don’t see money as being a thoughtful gift.

Over Christmas holiday we are having friends coming for the evening. I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be a fun evening as both couples live in our street so no traveling is required.

I look forward to catching up with you all in the New Year. Have a brilliant, peaceful holiday, everyone.