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

[Michael]

In this week's Guest Author Interview Maggie James tells us about herself and her writing. Discover more here:

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

[Michael]

We have something 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...

[Michael]

Cathy Murray joins us for this week's Blog Shout Out to tell us about her Indie Bookworm Ebook Reviews. Discover more here:

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

[Michael]

There's only two week's left in which to enter November's short fiction contest. This week's image of the Tower of Babel is proving a challenge, but I'm sure that many will rise to the challenge! Remember that the story can be from any genre, I'm more interested in a good tale rather than which marketing slot it fits in.

It's easy to enter and I don't charge an entry fee. The winning story will win a £50 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize. To enter write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's picture. Then submit it through the the form provided on the competition page here:

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

If you haven't read the winning stories from October's short fiction contest then you'll find them here:

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

This week's blog shout is for Caroline Clemens's blog - The Ivory Tide. Discover more here:

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

[Michael]

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!

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

I'm joined by Aida Jacobs in this week's Guest Author Interview. Discover more about her and her writing here:

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

[Michael]

This week's Tuesday Tease is 'Civil War', the second book in Mike Gullickson's 'The Northern Star' series. I read it a few weeks ago and if you enjoy military sci-fi then it's well worth checking out. You can read an excerpt here:

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

[Michael]

For this week's Blog Shou Out Scott Larson tells us about his movie blog. Discover more here:

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

For this week's guest author interview I am joined by Norm Hamilton. Discover more about him and his writing here:

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

[Michael]

I've added the winning stories from April's short fiction contest to the short fiction archive. Discover these and other great stories here:

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

For this week's blog shout out Jonathan Hill tells about his 100 Word Reviews blog:

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

[Michael]

We're entering the final week for December's Short Fiction Contest so if you haven't entered yet then now is the time to do so! This month we have a bit of a fairy tale theme with the Hansel and Gretel silhouette which has already inspired some great entries. To enter you just need to write a story of no more than 500 words and submit it through the form provided on the competition page here:

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

There's no entry fee and the winning story will receive a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize. There are prizes for the second and third place winners as well.

The monthly contest isn't just for writers, readers get a treat to - in the form of some excellent stories. Check out last month's winners to see what I mean:

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

Rhoda D'Ettore joins me for this week's Guest Author Interview to discuss her writing and her latest release 'Newborn Nazi'. Discover more here:

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

[Andrew]

I just entered the monthly competition - I'll have to take a look at the drabble one when I get back from Christmas shopping!

[Michael]

Sounds good :-)

[Michael]

January's short fiction contest has started and I have picked something spooky and seasonal - I hope it inspires you!

There's no entry fee and you could win a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize. To enter write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image and submit it through the contest page here:

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

[Andrew]

My first entry is up, it's a fun competition!

[Michael]

Excellent!

[Michael]

This week's Tuesday Tease is provided by Gabriel Boutros from his thriller 'Face/Mask'. Discover more here:

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

[Michael]

The winning entries for The Twelve Drabbles of Christmas competition have been selected and the first drabble is from Chris Bailey - check it out here:

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

[Michael]

For the second drabble of Christmas Kathh Middleton gives us:

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

[Michael]

Midwinter comes with the Third Drabble of Christmas from Ulla Susimetsä:

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

[Michael]

The Fourth Drabble of Christmas is a rather poignant tale from Jonathan Hill:

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

We're halfway through the Twelve Drabbles of Christmas and for this sixth drabble Nav Logan provides a different version of the nativity:

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

[Michael]

For the seventh drabble of Christmas Jennifer Hanning delves into the spirit of Christmas:

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

[Michael]

In the eighth drabble of Christmas Andrew Lawston reveals one of the mysteries of Christmas...

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

Happy New Year!

[Andrew]

Thanks for a double whammy of prize action over the last few days!

[Michael]

No worries :-)

[Michael]

The ninth drabble of Christmas is a rare treat, namely a drabble from Rosen Trevithick. In it we discover the perils of waiting for Santa:

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

[Michael]

Rick Haynes tells us about the spirit of Christmas in the tenth drabble of Christmas:

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

[Michael]

For the penultimate drabble of Christmas Ken Magee highlights one of the horrors of Christmas:

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

[Michael]

After a brief hiatus over the festive period the Guest Author Interview feature returns with an interview with mystery author Andrew Stanek:

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

[Michael]

For the twelfth and final Christmas drabble Jonathan Hill returns with 'The Present'. I'll admit I didn't get it on the first read. Thanks to everyone who has participated in this series of drabbles - they've been a lot of fun to read and have brought some different perspectives on the Christmas season. Thanks everyone!

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

Children's author Morey Kunin joins us for this week's Guest Author Interview. Discover more about him and his writing here:

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

For this week's Blog Shout Out Chris Jane invites us to visit her book blog:

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

[Michael]

In this week's Guest Author Interview fantasy author A. L.Butcher returns to tell us what she's been up to since she was last featured back in October 2013:

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

[Michael]

For this week's Blog Shout Out March Myers invites us to visit his Author, Artist and Nerd blog. Find out more here:

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

In this week's Guest Author Interview I am joined by Mel Ostrov, author of 'Mud Castles':

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

[Michael]

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...