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

[Michael]

You can win a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize by entering March's Short Fiction Contest. It's free and easy to enter - simply write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. You can then submit it through the form provided on the competition page here:

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

If you're looking for great stories to read then you should check out the winners from February's contest - as a certain Tiger would say "They're great!":

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

[Michael]

Continuing the music theme from last week's Flashback Friday I'm re-posting my thoughts on how music improves your writing:

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

[Michael]

We've entered the final week to enter March's Short Fiction Contest.so if you haven't entered yet then you're running out of time! It's easy to enter, all you have to do is write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's image of a rather frightened looking robot painted by the talented Radoslaw Walachnia.

There have been some excellent entries so far and I'm looking forward to reading more. There's no entry fee and the winning story will win a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize. There are prizes for second and third places as well. You can enter your story through the contest page here:

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

Each month I receive many well written entries and it's a tough task picking just three winners. You can see what I mean by reading the three winners from last month's contest here:

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

[Michael]

In this week's Tuesday Tease Kath Middleton provides an excerpt from her latest release 'Top Banana'. It's already on my TBR list and I'm looking forward to reading it!

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

[Michael]

April's Short Fiction Contest has started over on my The Cult of Me blog and this month's image is a rather intriguing image of a puppet - yes I know I use puppets a lot!

You have until April 19th to enter a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image and there's no entry fee. The winning story will receive a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize and there are prizes for second and third place as well.

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

[Michael]

In the latest Tuesday Tease Roderick Vincent provides an excerpt from his thriller 'The Cause':

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

[Michael]

Loukia Borrel provides a guest post about originality:

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

[Michael]

May's Short Fiction Contest has now started and we have a musical theme this week with a remarkable image of a black violin. There's no entry fee and the following prizes are available:

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

To enter write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's image and submit it via the form on the contest page here:

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

[Michael]

Thanks to internet woes at home (all resolved now thankfully!) I've not been able to post any reminders for May's Short Fiction Contest - my apologies for that. On the plus side there's still a week left to enter, so if you haven't enetered yet then you have time to do so. This month's imagine has already inspired some interesting stories and I'm looking forward to picking the winning stories.

If you've not entered yet then it's easy to do so. First you write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's rather fine image of a black violin. You can then submit the story through the form provided on the competition page here:

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

There's a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize for the winning story and prizes for second and third place as well.

If you've not read April's winning stories yet then you should check them out. You can read them here:

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

[Michael]

Rick Haynes is a master of the short story and Alfred the Great is one of my favourites. You can read it in full here:

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

[Michael]

I have the pleasure of adding Rick Haynes' short story 'Derby Day Leftovers' to the Short Fiction Archive - you can read the story here:

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

[Michael]

There are only two weeks left to enter July's Short Fiction Contest. We have an Alice in Wonderland theme for this month's competition and there's already some imaginative tales of what the girl sees in the mirror. What do you think she sees? Why is she looking? If you know, or have another story that fits the picture then write it in no more than 500 words and submit it through the form on the contest page here:

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

The closing date is July 26th and the winning story will win a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize. There are prizes for second and third places too.

If you haven't read the winning stories from June's contest yet then you will find them here:

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

[J.D.R.]

I am participating in a blog hop for International Authors Day. Here is the link:
http://jdrhawkins.com/2015/07/14/inte...
Thank you!

[Michael]

The winners for July's Short Fiction Contest have been announced:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to David H Fears for his story 'The Pig'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Jonathan Hill for his story 'The Mirror'
- Third prize of a £10 Amaon or PayPal prize goes to Allen Stroud for his story 'Looking'

Congratulations to the winners and here are their stories:

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

[Michael]

There's only two weeks left to enter August's Short Fiction Contest, so if you haven't entered your story yet then now is the time to do so. It's easy to enter, first write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's image of a satanic altar. You then submit the story through the contest page here:

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

There's no entry fee and there are prizes for the three winning stories:

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

If you've not read the winnings stories from July's contest yet then you will find them here:

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

[Michael]

We've entered the final week of August's Short Fiction Contest and this month's image has already attracted some excellent entries. However there is still time for more! So if you haven't entered yet then this is your last opportunity to do so.

All entries must be in by the end of play August 23rd and there's no entry fee. The story should be submitted through the form provided on the contest page here:

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

There is a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize for the winning story and prizes for second and third stories as well.

If you haven't read the winning stories from July's Short Fiction Contest then you really should as they are a cracking read. You can read them here:

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

[Michael]

To celebrate the launch of her latest novel 'Morrigan's Shadows', Michelle Barclay provides a guest post listing her top ten horror novels:

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

[Michael]

September's Short Fiction Contest has started and this month's image is painted by the talented Luciana Nedelea. Your challenge is to write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's image.

As always it is free to enter and the following prizes are available:

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

Entries must be submitted by September 20th and you can enter through the contest page here:

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

[Michael]

I'm pleased to announce the winners of September's Short Fiction Contest:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to John Moralee for his story 'Appy Endings'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Diane Arnelle for her story 'Paulie's Mom'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Lee Hodgson for his story 'The Devil's Barber'

Congratulations to the winners and you can read their stories here:

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

[Michael]

Have you entered September's Short Fiction Contest yet?

We're now two weeks into the competition Luciana Nedelea's spooky image has already inspired some excellent stories. What do you think the figure in the painting is doing? Tell me your answer in a story of no more than 500 words and submit it through the form on the competition page here:

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

There's no entry fee and there are the following prizes to be won

First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
If you haven't read the winning stories from August's contest then you'll find them here:

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

[Michael]

October's Short Fiction Contest is now open and this month's image is a little whimsical compared to my usual choices.

To enter the contest write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's image and submit it through the form on the competition page here:

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

There is no entry fee and the following prizes are available:

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

The winners for Septembers Short Fiction Contest will be announced next weekend.

[Michael]

Luciana Nedelea - Artworks​'s awesome picture inspired some wonderful stories for September's Short Fiction Contest and the winners have now been announced:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to R. Judas Brown for his poem 'Mary, Mary'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Pete Fisher for his story 'The Last Child of Eden'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to David J Wing for his story 'Entrenched'

Congratulations to the winners and here are their stories:

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

[Michael]

As part of her blog tour celebrating the release of her latest book Famous Animals: Volume 1 Katie Stewart has written a blog post about how she created the charming illustrations in the book:

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

[Michael]

Where has the month gone? We're into the final week for October's Short Fiction Contest already, so if you haven't entered yet then now is the time to do so! This month's image features four bemused gentlemen and an unusual visitation. What do you think is going on there? If you think you know then write a story of no more than 500 words and submit it through the form on the contest page here:

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

There's no entry fee and the following prizes are available:

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

If you enjoy reading short fiction then make sure to read the winning stories from September's contest. There's three cracking stories here:

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

[Michael]

November's Short Fiction Contest has started and we have a bit of a steampunk theme for this month's image. The enigma of what the device does that attracted me, so what do you think the machine does?

There's no entry fee for the competition and the following prizes are available:

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

Your story should be no more than 500 words and should be submitted via the contest page here:

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

The winners for October's contest will be announced next weekend.

[Michael]

As part of the blog tour celebrating the release of Beyond the Wail: 12 Grave Tales of Love and Loss, here is an interview with one of the collection's authors F. M. Longo:

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

[Michael]

Picking the winner's for October's Short Fiction Contest proved to be a tricky task. The image inspired some diverse and wonderful stories and I think you'll enjoy the three stories I've selected. Thanks to everyone who submitted their stories - I enjoyed reading them all! Thanks also to everyone who shares the links to these contests, please continue to do so, these writers deserve their stories to be shared.

And here are the winners:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize goes to Chad Lutzke for his story 'Tug 'o War'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize goes to Tim Robson for his story 'The Earnest Discussion'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize goes to Rose Thurlbeck for her story 'Games Night'

Congratulations to the winners and here are their stories:

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

[Michael]

We've entered the final week of November's Short Fiction Contest - so if you haven't entered yet then now is the time to do so! The competition has already attracted some weird and wonderful uses for the device shown in this month's image. If you have an interesting idea of what it is for then write a story of no more than 500 words and submit it through the competition page here:

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

There's no entry fee and the following prizes are available:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

If you haven't read the winning stories from October's contest yet then you can do so here:

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

[Michael]

December's Short Fiction Contest has started and this month we have another piece of Luciana Nedelea​'s amazing artwork. There's no entry fee and the following prizes are available:

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

The story must be no more than 500 words and should be submitted through the contest page here:

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

[Michael]

As part of the release of her new book Chocolate Making Adventures'Chocolate Making Adventures' Rosen Trevithick has written a guest post explaining why you should try making your own chocolate:

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

I've bought my copy - will you do the same and plunge into a delicious adventure?

[Michael]

The winners for November's Short Fiction Contest have been chosen:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize goes to Tim Roberts for his story 'Lot 66'
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize goes to Jon Jefferson for his story 'Dr. Killian's Portable Ray'
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize goes to John Moralee for his story 'The Translucidator'

Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you to everyone who entered and those who support this contest.

Here are those winning stories:

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

[Michael]

December's Short Fiction Contest is well under way and this month's image is a lovely image painted by the talented Luciana Nedelea. To win one of the three Amazon or PayPal prizes write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's picture and submit it through the contest page here:

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

Last month's contest winners have been announced and you can read their stories here:

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

[Michael]

January's Short Fiction Contest has started and this month we have a classic Penny Dreadful cover as inspiration. To enter write a story of no more than 500 words and enter it through the submission form linked below.

Entry to the competition remains free and the following prizes are available:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

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

[Michael]

The winning stories for December's Short Fiction Contest have been announced:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Sheila Deeth for her story 'Chalice'.
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Nicola Ferguson for her story 'Black & Grey'.
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Andrew Dempsey for his story 'Firestarter'.

Congratulations to the winners and you can enjoy their stories here:

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

[Michael]

I might not have reached my Goodreads target this year, but last year was still a damn fine year for reading and here are my highlights with my Top Five Reads of 2015:

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

[Michael]

There's only two week's left to enter January's Short Fiction Contest and this month's Penny Dreadful cover has already inspired some delightful stories. If you haven't submitted your story yet, then now is the time to do so!

Entry to the contest remains free and the following prizes are available:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

You can submit your entry through the form on the contest page here:

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

If you haven't read the winning stories from December's contest yet the you're in for a treat. You can read them here:

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

[Michael]

We've entered the final week to take part in January's Short Fiction Contest, so if you haven't entered yet then you're running out of time! There's no entry fee and it's easy to enter. First write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. Then enter it through the form provided on the contest page here:

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

Here are the winning stories from December's contest - if you've not read them yet then you really should!

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

[Michael]

We've entered the final week for February's Short Fiction contest and this month's image of Death by Luciana Nedelea has already attracted many excellent entries. But there's still time for more! To enter, simply write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's picture and submit it through the form provided here:

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

There's no entry fee and you could win one of the following prizes:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

If you've not read January's winners yet then you will find them here:

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

[Michael]

March's Short Fiction Contest has started and with February's being the most successful so far, let's see if we can make March's even bigger!

To enter write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image and submit it through the form on the contest page here:

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

There's no entry fee and you could win one of the following prizes:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

The deadline for entries is March 20th.

[Michael]

Picking the winners for the Monthly Short Contest is never an easy process and this was even truer for February's winners. The contest attracted more entries than any previous month with over 120 submissions. Even with such a high number I was still impressed by the quality and variety for the entries - Luciana's amazing art inspired some excellent stories!

A big thanks to everyone who entered and also those who support the contest by reading and sharing - please continue to do so. I wish I could support more winners, but there has to be three and here they are:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to R.D. Piner for 'Life and Death'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Annie Percik for 'The End of All Things'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Hugh Clarke for 'Gelosia'

Congratulations to the winners and here are their stories:

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

[Michael]

March's Short Fiction Contest is well under way and if you haven't entered yet then you only have two weeks left to do so. It's easy to enter - the hard part is writing a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. Once it is written you submit it through the form provided on the contest page here:

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

There's no entry fee and you could win one of the following prizes:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

If you haven't read last month's winning stories yet then you're in for a treat - check them out here:

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

[Michael]

We've entered the final week for March's Short Fiction Contest - so if you haven't enetered yet then now is the time to do so. To enter, write a story of no more than 500 words and then submit it through the form on the contest page here:

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

There's no entry fee and you could win one of the following prizes:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

If you haven't read last month's winning stories yet then you're in for a treat - check them out here:

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

[Michael]

April's Short Fiction Contest has started and this month's image is a little more light hearted than usual. Entry to the contest remains free and you could win one of these prizes:

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

The story must be no more than 500 words and the deadline is 21st April 2016. You should submit your entry through the form on the contest page here:

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

[Tara Woods Turner]

I am interested in providing article posts for your site. Please email me at tarawoodsturner@yahoo.com. I can do a one time guest post or a series of installments with topics ranging from writer's block to forum etiquette to reviews etc. quality, original content for your readers!

[Michael]

I've posted the winning stories from March's Short Fiction Contest:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to John Moralee for 'The Great Narrator'.
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Betty Rocksteady for 'You'.
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Jonathan Hill for 'The Literary Magician'.

Congratulations to the winners and you can read their stories here:

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

[Michael]

The deadline for April's Short Fiction contest is rapidly approaching, so if you haven't entered your story yet then now is the time to do so. The contest remains free to enter and you could win one of the following prizes:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

The deadline is April 24th and your story must be no more than 500 words and based on this month's image. You enter your story through the form provided here:

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

If you haven't read the winning stories from last month's contest then you really should! You can read the stories here:

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

[Michael]

We've entered the last week of April's Short Fiction Contest, so this is your last call to submit your entry if you haven't yet. The deadline is this coming Sunday, the 24th April. It's easy to enter, first write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image and then submit it through the form on the competition page here:

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

There's no entry fee and you could win one of the following prizes:

- First prize is a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Second prize is a £20 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize
- Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

If you've not read the winning stories from March's contest yet then you will find them here, and they're a cracking read:

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

[Michael]

I've finished reading through the entries for April's Short Fiction Contest and as always I'm astounded by the variety and the quality of the stories. There were some excellent tales on offer, and it was difficult to pick just three, but here they are:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Tim Maidment for 'The Road Crew'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Jason Purdy for 'Frank and the Faeries'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Jay Bookout for 'The Tinkerbell Gang'

Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you to everyone who entered - keep on writing!

Unfortunately this will be the last short fiction contest as I'm pretty much out of time or energy for anything but work at the moment. I'd like to thank everyone who took part, whther by submitting stories, or reading the winners, or by sharing the links and posts - it's been a great couple of years.

And now enjoy the winning stories here:

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

[Michael]

Here's the first of a new feature on my blog - The Five to Five Thousand Challenge. It looks at what our future might hold in 5, 50, 500, and 5,000 years time. Sci-fi authors and futurists have been invited to take part, although I've taken the plunge for the first one.

See what I think our future holds here:

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

If you'd like to take part, then get in touch and we can set something up.

[Michael]

The second Five to Five Thousand challenge has been accepted by Dan Grubb, head honcho at Fantastic Books Publishing - you can read his predictions for the next 5, 50, 500, and 5,000 years here:

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

If you'd like to take part then just drop me a line, and we can take it from there.