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Reviews, Interviews, Guest Posts and Contests at The Cult of Me blog
For this week's Tuesday Tease Guy Portman provides an excerpt from his novel 'Necropolis'. I read this recently and rated this story about a happy sociopath working at the council as 5 stars. It's an excellent read with a fun blend of dark and humour. Check out the excerpt and see if you agree:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
This week's Friday Poem is 'Dusty Grins' by Adriano Bulla who has a poetry collection called 'Queer Poems' due for release soon. Enjoy his poem and discover why he wrote it here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
If you've written a poem you'd like to show off to the world then drop me a line and I'll take a look.
This week's chilling Sunday Story is 'The Thrift Store Tome' by Randy D. Rubin:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The winners for August's short fiction contest have been announced:First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to John Boden for 'The Going Rate'
Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Kath Middleton for 'Dead End'
Third Prize of a £10 Amazon pr PayPal prize goes to Matt Porter for 'Friend or Foe'
Congratulations to the winners and you can read the winning stories here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Please help showcase these deserving winners by sharing the link wherever you can!
Roderick Vincent has provided a guest post called 'Where is the President?' to tease his upcoming release 'The Cause':http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Edward Parker provides this week's Tuesday Tease with the prologue of his novel 'Clown Friday'. I read it recently and it's a fantatstic horror read. I rated it five stars and it's definitely one to read if you're afraid of clowns!
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Joan C Curtis provides a guest post introducing her blog and soon to be released novel 'The Clock Strikes Midnight' Discover more here:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
There are only two weeks left to enter September's short fiction contest - so it's time to get those entries in! The rules are simple. Write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image of an old tome. The story can be of any genre it just has to relate to the image in some way. Once you have written the story you submit it through the form provided on the contest page here:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The winning story will receive a £50 prize as either an Amazon gift card or PayPal payment. There are also prizes for second and third place.
If you haven't read August's fantastic winners then you need to go to the winner's page immediately and enjoy the three amazing stories:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
We have something a little different for this week's Tuesday Tease and that is an excerpt from Jonathan Hill's debut novel 'FAG'. I read this recently and it provided one of my reading highlights for the year. It's a fantastic read and a very emotional story - well worth checking out!
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
This week is your last chance to enter September's short fiction contest, so if you haven't entered yet then you had best get writing! This month's inspiration comes in the form of an ancient looking tome. What secrets does it contain? Well that's up to your story.It's easy to enter the contest. You first need to write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. You can then submit the story through the form provided on the contest page here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Before the end of the month I will pick three winning stories. The winning story will win a £50 Amazon or Paypal prize. There are prizes for second and third place as well.
If you haven't read August's winning stories then you can read them here. There are three great stories for you to enjoy.
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
I'm a big fan of drabbles and also enjoy reading horror and the two come together in the superb collection '100 Nightmares' by K. Z. Morano. I reviewed this as a 5 star read because of the quality and dark imagination of the stories. She has provided five of those drabbles for this week's tuesday tease so indulge in a taste of darkness for yourself here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
In this week's Friday poem David Slater provides his dark piece beginning 'When does a dream'. He's also a talented artist as well as a poet so I've featured a painting I think accompany's the poem nicely.http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
October's Short Fiction Contest on The Cult of Me blog has started.
As October is the month of Halloween I decided that something suitably sinister is in order - although I could be accused of doing that every month! Although this doll has an element of cute about it I'm sure you would agree.
As always the stories can be of any genre. They just have to be inspired by this month's image and no more than 500 words.
Entry to the contest remains free and there are prizes for the three winners.
First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
Thirds prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
This week's Tuesday Tease is the first chapter from Lucas Bale's superb debut novel 'The Heretic'. I enjoyed reading this immensely and I think you will to:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
For this week's Friday Poem Rick Haynes provides a moving poem called 'My Little Runaway':http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
I'm looking for new poems to feature in future posts, so if you have a poem you'd like to share with the world or would like to guest post about a poem written by someone else drop me a line and I'll take a look.
The winners of September's short fiction contest have been announced:
First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to David Turnball for 'The Book of Remembrance'
Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Kath Middleton for 'Arbow's Notebook'
Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Chad Lutzke for 'The Damned Thing'
Congratulations to the winners - you can read their superb stories here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
This week's Tuesday Tease has to be displayed in image form for it's full effect. Anthony Cristina has provided the first three pages for his latest release 'Gentlemen Pigs':http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
As part of A. F. Stewart's blog tour celebrating the release of Killers and Demons II, she has provided a guest post titled Splatter & Gore vs. Psychological Horror.
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
I've bought my copy - maybe you will too!
This week's Tuesday Tease is an excerpt from David Wailing's excellent sci-fi book 'Duallists'. It's available for free from Amazon - so you have no excuse not to give it a try!
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
This week's Friday Poem is 'Snapshot' by Maureen Duffy, take a look here:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Calling All Poets! If you have a poem you'd like featured then drop me a line and I'll take a look!
We're entering the final week of October's short fiction contest so if you haven't entered yet then you had better get writing! It's easy to enter - write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. Then submit your story through the form provided on the contest page here:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The winning story will win a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize and there are prizes for the second and third place winners as well.
If you've not read the winning stories from September's short fiction contest then you're missing out on a treat! You'll find those stories here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
For this week's Tuesday Tease Rick Haynes provides a couple of pieces from his book 'Drabbles 'n' Shorts'. I read this recently and it's an excellent collection of short stories and drabbles - definitely one worth picking up!
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Nav Logan provides this week's Friday Poem with a rather whimsical piece called 'My Life as a Frog':http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
I'm looking for new poems to feature in this slot, so if you have one you'd like to show off to the world then give me a shout and I'll take a look!
The three winning stories have been added to Short Fiction archive. Discover these and a glorious abundance of other fantastic tales here:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
November's short fiction contest has started. This month I've picked a somewhat classical image of the Tower of Babel and I'm looking forward to reading where that image leads in your stories.
It's easy to enter. Write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's image and submit it via the form provided on the contest page here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The three winning stories will all win PayPal or Amazon prizes:
First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
Thirds prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
I will announce October's winners next weekend.
An excellent sci-fi thriller is featured in this week's Tuesday Tease with an excerpt from Jim Webster's novel 'Justice 4.1'. I read this a few week's back and enjoyed it a lot!
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The winners for October's short fiction contest have been announced:
First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Jaime Villarreal for his story 'Share'
Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to A. W. Hendry for the story 'Dolly Doll'
Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Nathanael Munn for his story 'The Soul Snatcher'
Congratulations to the winners and you can read the winning stories here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
We have a bit of a coincidence for this week's Tuesday Tease. Mike Gullicksen has provided an excerpt from his novel 'The Beginning' which is the first in his 'The Northern Star' series. I also started reading the second book in the series last night and I'm enjoying it so far. The series in a near future military sci-fi adventure with some cool tech and tense action - well worth checking out!
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
We have something special for fantasy fans for this week's Tuesday Tease. Jaq D Hawkins has provided an excerpt from The Goblin Trilogy. This book is on an Amazon countdown until Novemeber 10th - so grab your copy at the sale price now!
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
This week's Tuesday Tease is provided by Dylan J Morgan from his novel 'The Dead Lands'. I read this a few months ago and enjoyed it. Discover a taste of the book in the excerpt here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
For this week's Friday Poem Francine Samuel provides a double dose of verse. Take a look here:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
If you'd like a poem featured then give me a shout and I'll take a look!
We've entered the final week of November's short fiction contest so if you haven't submitted your entry yet then now is the time to do so. To enter write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. It can be of any genre as long is relates to this month's picture of The Tower of Babel.You then submit your story through the form provided on the contest page here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
If you haven't read the winners from October's contest then you're missing out on three great stories. You can read them here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
December's short fiction contest has started and this month's image features three rather familiar characters.
Entry to the contest remains free and there are Amazon or PayPal prizes for the three winning stories. Find out more here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The winners of November's Short Fiction Contest have been chosen. The image of the Tower of Babel proved to be a challenging one from the number of entries. That made the task of selecting the winners only marginally easier as the standard of the submitted stories remained high. There was also a decent variation on the original story about the tower, so I enjoyed reading through the stories.
Before announcing the winners I'd like to thank everyone who submitted. I'd also like to thank everyone who supports the contest by reading the stories and sharing the links. Please continue to do so!
And now for the winners:
- First prize of a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize goes to D. Morgan Ballmer for his story 'More than Dust'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize goes to Nav Logan for his story 'Babel's Tower'
- Third Prize of a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize goes to Samson Stormcrow Hayes for his story 'Babel On'
Congratulations to the winners and here are their stories:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Clare O'Breara provides this week's Tuesday Tease with an excerpt from her collection of stories 'Dining Out Around the Solar System':
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Calling all drabblists for The Twelve Drabbles of Christmas!The festive season is almost upon us and what better way to celebrate than with twelve of the finest Christmas themed drabbles? So I'm looking for a drabble for each of the twelve days of Christmas to be posted here on my blog and for each one I post the winner will receive a £10 Amazon gift card.
You can enter more than once, but only post the same drabble once. The prize is for each drabble used so you could win more than once. The drabbles should be related to Christmas in some way but can be from any genre - although extreme erotica should probably be avoided :-)
I'll pick the winners and post the first drabble on Christmas Day - so get writing!
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
This week's Tuesday Tease is provided by Gabriel Boutros from his thriller 'Face/Mask'. Discover more here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The winners of December's Short Fiction Contest have been announced:
- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Stuart Ayris for his story 'Under the White'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to John Moralee for his story 'A Hunter's Tale'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Andrew K Lawston for his story 'Hansel and Grendel'
Congratulations to the winners and you can enjoy their excellent stories here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
For this week's Tuesday Tease Chantal Noordeloos provides an excerpt from her excellent collection of horror short stories 'Deeply Twisted':
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Generally blogging is all about new content, but there have been some highlights that I'd like to revsist so here is the start of a new feature called 'Flashback Friday'. I'll start with perhaps my favourite blog post and that is why I think that John Milton's 'Paradise Lost' is the greatest story ever told:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
I read and enjoyed reading C. S. Bailey's debut novel 'Maybe, Misery' a few weeks ago and I'm happy to share an excerpt in the week's Tuesday Tease as you might like it as well:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
February's Short Fiction Contest has started. And this month's image of dancing dolls is both beautiful and more than a little creepy. It's free to enter the contest and you could win a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize.
All the rules and the form to submit your entry of no more than 500 words can be found on the competition page here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
In the Flashback Friday feature I re-post a highlight from the history of this blog. In today's feature I talk about my favourite novel - Excession by Ian M Banks. Since first posting this he unfortunately passed away and it's sad to think that there'll never be any more of his great writing.
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The winning stories from January's Short Fiction Contest have been chosen and we have three cracking reads!
- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Paul R Hardy for his story 'Edmond Halley: Moonhunter'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Randy D Rubin for his story 'The Bone Frigate'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Matthew M Bartlett for his story 'The Birth'
Congratulations to the winners! You can read their entries here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The guest author interviews have been a regular feature on my blog almost since the beginning. One of the highlights was interviewing Andy Weir after reading 'The Martian' which was my favourite read for 2014. If you're a science fiction fan and you haven't read it yet then you really should!
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
There's only two weeks left to enter February's Short Fiction Contest, so if you haven't submitted your story yet then it's time to get writing! To enter all you have to do is write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. You can then submit your entry through the form provided on the contest page here:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
It's free to enter and the winning story receives a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize. There's £20 and £10 prizes for second and third place as well.
For me the best part of the contest is picking the winners and I'm always amazed at the quality of the entries. You can see what I mean by reading the winning stories from January's contest:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
March's Short Fiction Contest has started and this month we have a wonderful picture from Radoslaw Walachnia. You can enter your story of now more than 500 words based on this month's image from the contest page link below:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
The winning story will win a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize and there are prizes for second and third places.
The winners for February's Short Fiction Contest have been announced:
- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Matt Porter for his story 'Dead of Night'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Nav Logan for his story 'The Puppeteer'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to John Moralee for his story 'The Ones Left Behind'
Congratulations to the winners and here are their stories:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
For this week's Flashback Friday feature I revisit one of my favourite songs and in particular the lyrics that make it so:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Making Connections
Books mentioned in this topic
The Hangman's Daughter (other topics)Chronicles of Drenyon: The Golden Sword (other topics)
Chaste: A Tale from Perilisc (other topics)
Dark Intelligence (other topics)
Emanation (other topics)
More...
**** LOOKING FOR BLOGGERS **** My book The Bridge of Deaths was reviewed by some of you, I am releasing a revised version on September First, the revisions are based on much of what your reviews said, NO MORE FOOTNOTES! I would love it if those of you with Blogs would be so kind if you have a day in September. Please contact me at m_c_v_egan@yahoo.com or check out the event sign up at http://www.badassmktg.com/current-and...
THANKS ,CATALINA