Reviews, Interviews, Guest Posts and Contests at The Cult of Me blog

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease we feature an excerpt from Justin Bienvenue' western horror 'A Bloody Bloody Mess in the Wild Wild West':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

Do you enjoy reading short or flash fiction? Or are you a writer looking to show off your flash and short fiction?

Readers and writers are all welcome at the Short Fiction Writers and Readers group, you can join now via this link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/27659...

[Michael]

The winning stories for January's short fiction contest have been announced, congratulations to the winners!

First prize of a £50 Amazon gift card goes to Darren Grey for his story 'The Playground'
Second Prize of a £20 Amazon gift card goes to Andrew Campbell-Kearsey for his story 'Urban Myth'
Third prize of a £10 Amazon gift card goes to Jason Purdy for his story 'Turpentine'

You can read the winning stories here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease we have an excerpt from Julia Kavan's short story 'Dreaming, Not Sleeping':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

Have you entered February's short fiction contest yet?

We're two weeks into the latest short fiction contest and so far I've received 15 entries inspired by this month's rather happy looking clown. I'm sure there are more stories to come!

It's easy to enter, write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image, you can then submit the story through the form on the competition page, you'll find the rules for the competition there as well:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

There's no entry fee and the winning story will win a £50 Amazon gift card, there's prizes for second and third place as well.

If you haven't read the winning stories from January's contest then you can do so here, they're a cracking read!

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you're a fan of short and fan fiction, or your a writer wanting to show off your work in those forms you should come and join the Facebook group I have set up:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...

As always a big thanks to everyone who has entered so far, thanks also to everyone who has posted or tweeted about this contest, your support is much appreciated and please continue to help spread the word.

[Michael]

Book shout out for Sherrie Cronin's new release 'C3', find out more here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease we feature an excerpt from Kath Middleton's excellent debut novella 'Ravenfold':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

This week's Tuesday Tease is an excerpt from Marc Nash's dystopian detective novel 'An Eye For An Eye For An Eye' and I bought my copy it intruiged me so much, maybe you will too!

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

Come and see my celebration of the darker side of Valentine's Day as part of The Bloody Valentine Blog Hop:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

Make sure to check out the other great blogs taking part, you'll find their links at the bottom of the post!

[Michael]

You only have one week left to enter February's short fiction contest, this month's scary clown has already inspired 24 suitably creepy stories and I'm looking forward to reading through them. The competition isn't over yet though, you still have time to enter and it's easy to enter. All you have to do is write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's picture. You then submit your story through the form provided on the competition page, you'll also find the rules there as well.

There's no entry fee and you could win the first prize of a £50 Amazon gift card, enter the competition here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you haven't read the winning stories from January's contest yet then now is a good time to check them out, there are three cracking stories for you to enjoy:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

For fans of short and flash fiction you can find more great stories to enjoy in the Facebook group I've set up for these forms:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...

[Michael]

This week's Tuesday Tease is the first chapter from J. D. Brink's military sci-fi novella 'The Thorne Legacy':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

Amon Amarth's 'Under the Northern Star' is the first song featured in my new Thursday Tune feature, find out why I like this song so much here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

Jerome Brooke provides a guest post entitled 'Astarte and her Dark Empire' telling us about the world he has created:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you have an idea for a guest post then drop me a line!

[Michael]

Book shout out for the latest Off the KUF anthology, it features novellas from some of my favourite indie authors, check it out here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

March's short fiction contest has now started and this month we have a rather mysterious African face mask as inspiration. To enter you need to write a story of no more than 500 pages and then submit it through the form provided on the contest page here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

There's no entry fee and the winning story will win a £50 Amazon gift card, there's prizes for the second and third place winners as well.

I will be announcing the winners from February's contest this coming weekend.

For fans of short and flash fiction why not come and join the Facebook group I've set up, there's some great stories to be discovered there!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...

[Nancy]

THE LUMINARIES by Eleanor Catton

Check out my 5 star review: http://imobookreviews.blogspot.com/

[Michael]

Congratulations to the winners of February's short fiction contest:

First prize of a £50 Amazon gift card goes to Elizabeth Foshee for her story 'Face in the Window'
Second prize of a £20 Amazon gift card goes to Daniel Richardson for his story 'Smiles on a Screen'
Third prize of a £10 Amazon gift card goes to Darren Grey for his story 'My Father, The Clown.'

You can read the winning stories through the link below and there are three cracking stories for you to enjoy:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease we feature an excerpt from Gregor Xane's 'Six Dead Spots', his book is now in my TBR after reading the chapter he provided, maybe it will entice you to do the same!

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

In this week's Thursday Tune I feature one of my all time favourites - Metallica's 'One' from the the And Justice For All album, take a look here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

There's only two weeks left to enter March's short fiction contest, if you have a story inspired by this month's mysterious mask image then submit it through the contest page here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

The rules are simple, the story can be no longer than 500 words and must be submitted through the form provided on the competition page. If your story is picked as the winner then you will win a £50 Amazon gift card, the second and third prize winners will receive £20 and £10 Amazon gift cards.

Thanks to everyone who has entered so far, I'm looking forward to reading through all of them by the end of the month. A big thank you to everyone who has shared the competition through blogs, facebook and twitter, please continue to do so, your help is much appreciated.

The winning stories for February's contest were superb, if you haven't read them yet then you can read them here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

For fans and writers of short and flash fiction I've set up a group on Facebook that all are welcome to join for sharing and discovering great stories. Come and join the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease we have chapter 11 from L. F. Falconer's novel 'Exit Strategy', take a look here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you'd like to take part in the Tuesday Tease then drop me a line, note that the tease only includes books that I like to read, you can find out what they are by looking at the reviews on my blog :-)

[Michael]

Discover ThirdScribe, a new place for authors and readers to connect in a guest post from its founder:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

If you haven't entered March's short fiction contest yet then you only have a week left to do so. This month we continue the face theme with a rather mysterious mask and so far I've received 25 excellent entries. It couldn't be easier to enter, all you have to do is write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's image and you can then submit it through the form provided on the competition page. You'll find all the rules for the contest there as well, I'll pick the winning stories by the end of the month and you could win a £50 Amazon gift card.

You can enter the contest here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

The great part of the contest is the stories that I receive, it makes the task of picking the winners, a difficult, but most definitely a fun one. If you haven't read the winning stories from February's contest then you can do so here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

For fans of short and flash fiction come and join the Facebook group I've set up, both writers and readers are welcome, come and join the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease we feature an excerpt from James M Corkill's thriller 'Cold Energy':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you'd like to feature your book in the Tuesday Tease then get in touch, you can take a look at my reviews and other teases to see what type of books I like to feature!

[Michael]

Pink Floyd's 'On the Turning Away' is featured in this week's Thursday Tune:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

April's short fiction contest has now started and this month we have a nice happy (ok rather creepy) image of a doll that I'm sure will inspire some suitably dark stories.

I will announce the winners for March's contest next weekend and a big thanks to everyone who entered and also to those who helped spread the word, please continue to do so, your help is much appreciated.

The rules for the contest remain the same, you can find them on the contest page linked below, but simply put you just write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image and submit it through the form provided. You can enter the contest here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

For fans of short and flash fiction come and join the Facebook group set up for those forms of stories:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease you can read the prologue from Ken Doggett's epic science fiction novel 'Ship of Storms', check it out here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

March's short fiction contest winners have been announced, discover the winning stories here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who took part!

[Michael]

This week's Tuesday Tease features an excerpt from Brandon R Luffman's excellent horror novel 'Frostwalker':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

We're two weeks into April's short fiction contest, which means that there is only two weeks left for you to enter. This month's creepy doll has already inspired fourteen suitably spooky entries and I'm sure that there's many more to come!

It's easy to enter, you simply write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's image. You then submit the story through the form on the competition page, you'll also find the rules for the contest there. If your story is picked as the winner then you'll win a £50 Amazon gift card, there are prizes for second and third places as well. You can enter the competition here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

The flip side to entering the contest is reading the great stories that are entered, if you haven't read March's winning stories yet then you should check them out at March's winners page here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

Feel free to comment about the stories on the page and also please share the links for the contest and the winners wherever you can, everyone's support is much appreciated.

For fans of short and flash fiction I've set up a Facebook group dedicated to stories in those forms, come and join the discussion here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...

[Michael]

We have a treat for horror and thriller readers this week with the opening chapter (it has one of my favourite opening lines from a book) for Shaun Jeffrey's 'The Kult':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

I'm setting up a new regular feature to highlight all of the great blogs out there. If you have a blog and would like to take part then drop me a line and we can set something up.

Naturally if you are able to reciprocate then that would be appreciated, but that isn't a prerequisite.

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease we feature an excerpt from Newton's gothic tale of magic, mystery and shattered romance 'Set in Stone':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

Today sees the start of a new feature on my blog, each week I shall feature a new blog for you to take a look at. The first blog to be featured is from Jim Webster:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you'd like to take part and have your blog featured then get in touch.

[Michael]

May's short fiction contest has started and this month we return to the origins of story telling with the Moon as the inspiration for the new competition:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

I'll be announcing the winners to April's contest next weekend and as always thanks to everyone who took part. Please continue to help spread the word by sharing the link wherever you can. Your support is much appreciated!

[Michael]

Abby Vandiver has provided a guest post about the importance of research as part of the celebration of the release of 'At The End Of The Line':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

This week's Tuesday Tease is provided by Mark Anson from his sci-fi novel 'Acid Sky':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you would like to provide a tease then get in touch with me and I'll take a look, note that the tease needs to fall within my reading taste.

[Michael]

There's a name change to the Wednesday Blog feature, it will now be called Blog Shout Out, which is a bit clearer I'm sure you'll agree! This week we feature Dianne Harmen's blog, you can read all about it in her own words here.

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you have a blog that you would like featured then drop me a line and I'll take a look.

[Michael]

The winners of April's short fiction contest have been announced, congratulations to the winners and you can read the excellent winning stories here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

We have a treat for horror fans in this week's Tuesday Tease, noted writer Frazer Lee provides an excerpt from his novel 'The Jack in the Green':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

There's only two week's left to enter May's short fiction contest, this month's image is the moon on a cloudy night. This has been the set up for many a tale and I'm looking forward to reading the stories it inspires, there's already been some excellent entries. To enter the contest you need to write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. You then submit it through the form provided on the competition page, there's no entry fee and you could win a prize of a £50 Amazon gift card. Enter the contest here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you haven't read last month's winners then check them out here, there's three excellent stories for you to enjoy:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

Readers and writers of short and flash fiction are welcome at the Facebook group dedicated to those forms, come and join us here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...

There's more great stories for you to discover there!

[Michael]

Sunday Story is a new feature on my blog that revisits the winning stories from the short fiction contest, although there will be some surprises along the way! We start with the very first story to win the contest - The Young Kellar by John Mulligan:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

Jason Jack Miller provides the excerpt in this week's Tuesday Tease from his excellent horror novel - Hellbender, take a look here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

We're about to enter the last week of May's short fiction contest, I know many of you like to wait until the last minute, but you only have until next Sunday! The rules to enter are simple, write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's image and then submit it through the form provided on the competition page. The winning story will win a £50 Amazon gift card, with prizes for second and third places as well. And unlike many competitions like this there's no entry fee, so there's no excuse to not take part :-)

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

Even if you don't win, you'll have a story that you can share on your own site!

If you haven't read the winning stories from April's contest yet then you should check them out, There are three great stories for you to enjoy:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

I'd also like to thank everyone who has supported the competition, whether it is by entering, reading the stories, or by sharing the links. Your support is much appreciated and the stories deserve to be read by a wider audience so please continue to share the links.

[Michael]

This week's Sunday Story is 'Out of my Window' by Lisa Williamson, the winning entry from September's short fiction contest:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

If you have a short story you'd like to share on my blog then get in touch and I'll take a look.

[Michael]

J. Thorn provides an excerpt from his dark novel 'Reversion: The Inevitable Horror', which is the first book in his 'Portal Arcane' series. I read this recently and enjoyed it a lot, the opening chapter is provided here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

Welcome to the latest Short Fiction Contest here on The Cult of Me, this month sees the one year anniversary from when I first started the competition. In that year I've read some great stories and the competition has gone from strength to strength thanks to all you wonderful writers and readers!

To celebrate I'm making a few changes to the contest, the biggest change is that the prizes are now available via PayPal as well as Amazon gift cards, so the prizes are now:


First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal payment
Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal payment
Thirds prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal payment

We've had quite a few horror themed pictures recently, so I've decided to take inspiration from my other love - science fiction - for this month's picture. Your story doesn't have to be science fiction though, it can be of any genre as long as it is 500 words or less and relates to this month's image.

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

It's lovely day out there today and what better way to enjoy the sun than by reading a story with a cool drink? For this week's Sunday Story we journey back to October's short fiction contest and the winning story 'Achromic' by Colbey Pratt:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease we feature an excerpt from Bryce Allen's thriller 'The Spartak Trigger', take a look here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Michael]

The winning stories from May's short fiction contest have been announced. Congratulations to the winners and you can read the three winning stories here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...