Natasha Duncan-Drake's Blog, page 17

The Perfect Boiled Egg

The Perfect Boiled EggNow, I know, there is much debate about the perfect boiled egg. I'm not trying to be controversial

Writing and General Update

Hello, one and all. Sorry I have been remiss in posting here recently, I've been super focused on writing and getting one of my novels ready for submission.

The Writing
I've mentioned before that I'm writing a novel series based off of my novella Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula and I've been focusing on that a lot. It's going well and the second books is shaping up nicely, while plans to extend Mina's Children into a novel are afoot too.

It's weird, but having a notepad for this one...

New Free Exclusive Short Story - #FreeFictionFriday

It's that time of the month again, and by that I mean Free Fiction Friday!

Every month we, over at Wittegen Press, have a free short story for the wonderful subscribers of our Wittegen Press Newsletter. Never fear, if you are not yet a subscriber, it is easy to join and the links to this month's story are in the final welcome email.

The stories rang in genre and length and we try to mix it up so that everyone has something they enjoy.

Join here via  our landing page at Mailchimp .
This month's...

A Break Can Be Just What the Doctor Ordered

https://media.giphy.com/media/fRda6i3CP2QWz0Sazx/giphy.gifA Break Can Be Just What the Doctor Ordered
I was on holiday last week from Sunday to Friday and it has worked wonders for my inspiration and general outlook on everything.

It pains me to admit it, but I was feeling a bit burnt out before we went away. Writing seemed like so much effort. The ideas were all in my head, but turning them into words was hard. The break was just what I needed.

I took my hard drives and my laptop with me,
Photo...

The Cold Inside: Call of the Necromancer - #Free #Novella #WriterlyWednesday

The Cold Inside: Call of the NecromancerFree Novella
The Open Novella Contest happens once a year over on Wattpad. It has 3 rounds:

Round 1 - 2000 words
Round 2 - +6000 to reach 8000 words
Round 3 - ~12000 to reach 20,000 words

Then there is a long list and a short list, after which the winners are announced.

It's a lot of fun and I've taken part both years. Last year I came 5th, this year I made it to round 3 but didn't make the long list, but still had a blast. My novella is up on Wattpad for eve...

Thought by Natasha Duncan-Drake #FreeFictionFriday

Free Fiction Friday - May 2019It's the first Friday in the month, which means Free Fiction Friday at Wittegen Press. Every month we give the little gift of an exclusive free short story to all the subscribers of our newsletter. This month we have a contemporary fantasy tale.
Our newsletter is run on Mailchimp, so it’s secure and reliable, as well as being easy to join and we promise there is no spam. Fill in the form on  our landing page at Mailchimp  and you're done. The links for thi...

Z is for BrenZett - Denizen by Natasha Duncan-Drake - Day 26 #AtoZChallenge

Z is for BrenZettYes, I'm late again, sorry - truth be told I just completely forgot about this yesterday! I had my head down doing other things and it totally slipped my mind. Apologies.

Today's ghost story is inspired by the village of Brenzett and a ghost story written by E.Nesbit. The ghost story is a grim one and can be found here: Man-Size in Marble. It's a great ghost story, so I recommend reading it yourself.

This one is a scary one.

Denizenby Natasha Duncan-Drake
The church was absolutel...

Y is for the Bell Inn, hYthe - Yikes by Natasha Duncan-Drake - Day 25 #AtoZChallenge

Y is for the Bell Inn, hYtheGreetings and welcome to the penultimate day of the AtoZChallenge. Where has April gone?

For today's ghost story I have taken the Bell Inn at Hythe as my inspiration. They have haunted cellars and a Grey Lady is said to walk the darkened alcoves. Legend says she it the ghost of a former proprietor who dies during childbirth - which seems very specific.

Think of this one like a tame horror movie with a jump scare.
Yikes 
by Natasha Duncan-Drake

The cellars gave Karl...

X is for Pillow Talk seX Shop - eXtraordinary by Natasha Duncan-Drake - Day 24 #AtoZChallenge

X is for Pillow Talk seX Shop
I had to cheat a little for X, because it's not a letter you find in many Kentish place names, but I found one that almost counts for today's ghost story.

Today's tale is inspired by the former Pillow Talk sex shop in Margate. It was rumoured to be haunted by the playful spirit of a girl who once worked in a brothel on the site.

This is definitely not a scary story, and don't worry, it's not adult rated.

eXtraordinary by Natasha Duncan-Drake
The first thing Susan...

W is for Wayfield - Walking by Natasha Duncan-Drake - Day 23 #AtoZChallenge

W is for WayfieldHello and welcome to day 23 of the AtoZChallenge - can you believe we're almost at the end? I have to admit I have mostly failed this year - not only have I been late posting, but I haven't done anywhere near the visiting I usually like to do. However, I plan to finish my ghost stories, if nothing else.

W is for Wayfield in Waterslade which has a park which has a grizzly story of murder attached to it. Now I couldn't find many details, but is sounds like more of an urban legen...