The Cult of Me - Interviews, Guest Posts, Short Fiction Contest and so much more!

[Michael]

We visit Jaq D Hawkins's 'Goblins and Steampunk' blog in this week's Blog Shout Out, discover her blog in her own words here:

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

If you run a blog you'd like to see featured drop me a line and I'll take a look.

[Michael]

Crystal A Bourque (author of Eve's return) joins me in the latest guest author interview, discover more about her and her writing 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...

[Michael]

This week's Sunday Story is the winning tale from last November's short fiction contest - 'Worms' by Emily Nemchick:

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

[Michael]

Science-fiction author Therin Knite joins me in today's guest author interview, discover more about him and his writing here:

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

[Michael]

We have a delight for horror fans in this week's Tuesday Tease, especially those who like their horror set in Victorian times and enjoy a fresh take on the Dracula story. Stephen Curran provides an excerpt from his novel 'Visitor in Lunacy', I've already read this and can tell you that it's an excellent read, take a look at the tease here:

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

[Michael]

In this week's blog shout we take a trip to C. S. Bailey's blog 'Alternate Hellos', discover more about this blog here:

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

[Michael]

There's only two weeks left to enter June's short fiction contest. This month we have a rather abstract science fiction image for inspiration, although the story can be of any genre. The contest is open to anyone and unlike many similar contests it's free to enter. To take part you just have to write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's picture and then submit it through the form provided on the competition page here:

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

The winning entry will win a £50 Amazon gift card or a £50 PayPal payment, there are prizes for second and third places as well.

If you haven't read the winning stories from May's short fiction contest then you have a treat waitting for you here:

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

If you're looking for more great stories to read then come and join the Facebook group I've set up to showcase short and flash fiction:

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

[Michael]

To wind up this fine Sunday I have a guest post and a book shout out for Jan Sikes' book 'Flowers and Stone':

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

[Michael]

We have a new delight for horror fans in this week's Tuesday Tease. C. Robert Cales provides a preface for his novel 'The Bookseller', you can read it here:

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

[Michael]

For this week's blog shout out we visit Carmen Stevens' blog about her books and life in general, discover more here:

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

[Michael]

HL Carpenter provides a guest post entitled 'Hopping Down the Blogging Trail', a useful read for authors. They also provide an excerpt from their novel 'Taxing Pecksniffery':

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

[Michael]

This is the last week to enter June's short fiction contest here on The Cult of Me blog. The rules have changed this month so if you win you can receive the prize as either an Amazon gift card or a PayPal payment. The top prize is worth £50 and it's free for anyone to enter!

To enter all you need to do is write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's rather unusual image. When the story is done you submit it through the form provided on the contest page. You'll also find the rules for the competition there:

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

If you haven't read the winning stories from May's contest yet then you're missing out on three excellent stories. You can find them here:

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

And if you're appetite for short stories or flash fiction isn't sated then come and join the Facebook group dedicated to those forms:

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

[Michael]

This week's Sunday Story is from one of my favourite Indie horror writers, visit the link below to read 'Pick a Cup' by David Haynes:

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

[Michael]

Fantasy author K.M. Woodward joins me for today's guest author interview, discover more about her and her writing here:

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

[Michael]

For this week's Tuesday Tease we have an excerpt from Jaron Lee Knuth's excellent sci-fi/cyber adventure 'Level Zero':

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

[Michael]

For this week's blog shout out we visit author Shaun Jeffrey's blog 'in the Shadows', discover more in his own words below. On a completely unrelated note I'm enjoying his short story collection 'Voyeurs of Death' at the moment and if you enjoy imaginative horror it's well worth checking out - a proper review will be coming soon!

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

[Michael]

July's short fiction contest on The Cult of Me blog has started. This month's image has a post apocalyptic feel and as always I'm looking forward to reading the stories you all write inspired by the picture.

You have until July 20th to enter a story of no more than 500 words and submit it through the form provided on the competition page. The prizes for the winning story are now available as either an Amazon gift card or a PayPal payment and unlike many similar contests there's no entry fee.

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

So get writing and please share the link for this contest wherever you can - thanks!

[Michael]

This week's Sunday Story is one of my own. A priest talks with a dolphin in 'Preaching with Dolphins':

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

[Michael]

In today's guest author interview I am joined by fantasy author Andy Peloquin. You can find out more about him and his writing here:

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

[Michael]

I need your votes here on Goodreads for the Blog of the Month poll in the Firequill group. You need to join the group, but that's nice and painless! Then vote for The Cult of Me in the poll below:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

All votes greatly appreciated!

[Michael]

For this week's Tuesday Tease Christopher Mannino provides the first chapter of his novel 'School of Deaths'. You can read the excerpt here:

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

[Michael]

We have a double bill of blogs from Wayne Marinovich, his wildlife photography blog and his newer book blog. Discover them both in his own words here:

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

[Michael]

Welcome to the start of a new feature on The Cult of Me blog. Poetry is a form of writing that I have sadly neglected over the years. I've read many of classics, indeed John Milton's 'Paradise Lost' is my favourite story ever written. So in an attempt to remedy this I am starting the Friday Poem feature.

Each week I post an excerpt either from a poem I have enjoyed, or has been provided by another writer. I know there are more than a few poets that follow my blog so this is an opportunity for you to show off your work! If you want to get involved then just drop me a line and we can take it from there.

We start the feature with an excerpt from book I of 'Paradise Lost' by John Milton:

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

[Michael]

The winning stories for June's short fiction contest have been announced!

First prize (£50 value) goes to Lee Tonks for his story 'The Last Mother'

Second prize (£20 value) goes to John Moralee for his story 'Dream Baby'

Third prize (£10 value) goes to Michael D Brooks for his story 'Making Change'

Congratulations to the winners and please share this link so more people can enjoy these excellent stories.

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

[Michael]

This week's sunday story is 'Garbage' by Jason Purdy which is one of the entries from June's short fiction contest that reached the final short list.

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

[Michael]

In this week's guest author interview I meet Harriet Pike, author of Enemy in the Garden, you can discover more about her and her writing below:

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

[Michael]

The Tuesday Tease is a fun feature for me as it often adds new books to my TBR list! That was the case with this week's tease as the excerpt from Conrad Jones collection of horror stories 'The Book of Abominations' encouraged me to pick this up immediately. Have a read for yourself and see if it does the same for you:

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

[Michael]

To celebrate the release of her latest novel 'The King's Redress' Devorah Fox has written a guest post called 'Cheap at Twice the Price':

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

[Michael]

My Friday Poem feature is a day late but I'll make up for that by featuring one of my favourite poems - 'The Raven' by Edgar Alan Poe:

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

[Michael]

We're two weeks into July's short fiction contest and if you haven't submitted a story yet then you best get writing! We have a grim post-apocalyptic feel for this month's image although you should take your story in whatever direction you want to. It's easy to enter, write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image and then submit it through the form provided on the contest page:

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

The three winning stories will win a choice of Amazon gift card or PayPal prizes and there's no entry fee so you have nothing to lose!

The winners for June's contest have been announced and if you haven't read them yet then you have a treat in store. You can read the winning stories here:

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

Keep an eye for the Sunday Stories on my blog where I feature other great entrants who didn't make the final three but are stories that shouldn't be missed.

[Michael]

This week's Sunday Story is another excellent entry from June's Short Fiction Contest - 'Deities for Dummies' by Nav Logan:

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

[Michael]

In this week's guest author interview I am joined by Carmen Stevens, author of the historical thriller 'Anne'. Discover more about her and her writing here:

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

[Michael]

For this week's blog shout out we pay a visit to Scott D Southard's blog 'The Musings & Artful Blunders of Scott D. Southard'. You can discover more about his blog in his own words here:

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

If you have a blog you'd like featured then drop me a line and I'll take a look!

[Michael]

This week's Friday Poem is 'Do Trees Dance' by Coralie Rowe. You can read the poem through the link below and discover why she wrote it.

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

[Michael]

We're half way through July's short fiction contest which means that you only have two weeks to enter the contest. There's a bit of a post-apocalyptic feel to this month's image, although you shouldn't feel restricted by genre. As long as the story relates to the image then you can submit it. The story should be no more than 500 words and you then submit it through 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 or PayPal payment. There's prizes for second and third place stories as well.

The contest isn't just for writers though! The competition attracts some incredible stories. If you haven't read the winners from June's contest yet then you should do so and see what I mean. Yoiu can find June's winning stories:

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

[Michael]

Judy Kelly joins me in this week's guest author interview to talk about herself and her novel 'That Ever Died so Young'. Discover more below:

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

[Michael]

Today we have a guest post entitled 'Who we are' written by Alanna Sharpe, one of the characters in Don A Martinez's latest release 'Eden Inviolate' (part of the Phantom Squadron series):

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

[Michael]

We have something special for horror fans in this week's Tuesday Tease! This has been languishing in my TBR list for too long and this week's excerpt is encouraging me to bring further up the reading list :-) Have a read for yourself and see if it invites you to do the same:

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

[Michael]

For this week's blog shout out we visit Justin Bienvenue's blog 'The Plasmatic Writer', read more about his blog in his own words here:

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

[Michael]

Today we have a guest from Harold Titus about teaching students to write visual imagery. If you're looking for a historical thriller to read then check out the details for his novel 'Crossing the River at the end of the post:

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

[Michael]

This week's Friday Poem is 'Hurt' by Jazmen Bishop:

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

[Michael]

Mark Matthews provides a guest post talking about the wonder of horror in children's literature. You also have the chance to discover his own writing at the end of the post

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

[Michael]

We are entering the final week for you to enter July's short fiction contest. This month has proved to be one of the most popular so far with 40 entries already! I have been busy promoting the contest and even putting my money where my mouth is by purchasing some ads in various places. However the real secret to the success remains the writers that continue to enter the contest every month and to everyone who supports the contest by sharing the links. Your help is much appreciated and please continue to share the links and tell everyone you can.

If you haven't entered the contest yet then it's quite easy to do so. You first write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. When the story is ready you can submit it through the contest page here:

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

There's no entry fee and you could win a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize. There's second and third prizes as well. I'll also feature outstanding entries that don't make the final three on my blog.

The contest isn't just for writers, it's for readers too. The standard of the entries is very high which makes the winning stories a joy to read. If you don't believe me then take a look for yourself with June's winners:

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

[Michael]

For this week's Sunday Story we revisit January's short fiction contest and the winning story for that month called 'The Playground' by Darren Grey. You can read it here:

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

[Michael]

In this week's guest author interview I am joined by B. White, author of 'Cuba After Dark'. Discover more about him and his writing here:

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

[Michael]

Sam Kates provides an excerpt from his excellent post-apocalyptic novel 'The Cleansing' for this week's Tuesday Tease:

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

[Kath]

I'm waiting for Part 2 of this! ;)

[Michael]

Indeed.

[Sam]

Thank you, Michael!

Kath - on final edit. Sending it to the publishers next week.