Fancy Some Magical Mischief?

I’ve got a (sort of) short story in this excellent new collection of short stories from the listeners of the Bestseller Experiment podcast (click on the image to get your hands on a copy)…

Why only sort of? Here’s my authors’ note from the collection…

Author’s Note (and excuse)

What you’re about to read is not exactly a short story. I did start one — honest, guv! — and it was a belter, all set in the world of my Witches of Woodville series. It started in the 1920s and ended in the 1970s*… which is where the problems started. As I began jotting down ideas for the story it soon became clear that I wasn’t about to squeeze it all into the allotted five thousand words. No, it soon became clear that this was going to be a whopper, perhaps even a novel all of its own. And things happen in the story that, at first, I thought I didn’t want to rush. Then it occurred to me that the real reason that I didn’t want to rush it was that, actually, I might not be ready to write them yet, as it meant saying a final farewell to certain characters. So I’ve popped that story back into a drawer at the back of my mind and will wait till the time is right to go back and see if I’m ready to finally [REDACTED] to poor old [REDACTED].

And if that wasn’t enough of a tease, then what you’re about to read is the first chapter of a thing that might never happen. It’s a new story, set in the world of the Witches of Woodville, and I’m still wondering where it might go, if anywhere. But I had great fun writing this opening chapter and I think it almost works as its own little standalone moment. So, in the spirit of mischief, I offer you The Canary Girls…

Happy reading, and please send all complaints to Miss Araminta Cranberry at the Woodville Village Library,

Mark Stay

*If you’ve ever wondered why the Woodville Village motto is ‘Witch-free since 1973’ this story was going to reveal all

So there you have it… and don’t forget, the anthology is packed with terrific stories from amazing authors, including (deep breath) W. J. Grupe, Jr, Rosie Stirling, Phil Oddy, Jeevani Charika, Jan Carr, Eva St. John, Dylan Blake, Anne Woodward, Angela C Nurse, Andrea Corzatt, BR Dexter, ZA Gowland, WA Leggatt, Trey Montague, Tommy Wills, Morgan Delaney, Kate Baker, Karen Storey, Julian Barr, Jocelyn Sordoni, GM White, GB Ralph, Gareth Lewis, Emmanuella Dekonor, Andrew Guile, Andrew Chapman, Alex Weight, SC Gowland.

Treat yourself…

Get your copy here