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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

In this week's Blog Shout Out Brianne Marie invites us to visit her fantasy book blog 'Searching for Harry':

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

I've put together an archive of all of the book and story reviews on my blog:

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

I first started posting reviews in February 2013 and since then have posted over 160 reviews! Rosen Trevithick is my most reviewed author, followed closely by Jonathan Hill, David Wailing and David Haynes.

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

Mystery author Michelle Goff joins me in this week's Guest Author Interview to tell us about her release 'Murder on Sugar Creek':

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

[Michael]

Pelmus Razvan joins me in this week's Guest Author Interview to talk about his latest release 'Reborn from Blood'. Discover more here:

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

[Michael]

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.

[Michael]

Gabriel Boutros joins me in this week's Guest Author Interview to tell us about his latest release Face/Mask:

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

[Michael]

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...

[Michael]

R. L. Henry joins me in this week's Guest Author Interview to tell us about her latest release 'Hybrid':

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

[Michael]

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...

[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]

Allen Miles joins me in this week's Guest Author Interview to tell us about his latest release - 'This Is How You Disappear':

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

[Kath]

I've read that book. Very striking, some of those stories.

[Michael]

I did spot your review.

[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 Guest Author Interview Fleur Tomargo tells us about her latest release 'A Dragonfly's Dream':

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 this week's Guest Author Interview I am joined by Mercedes Guy who talks about her debut novel What It Took To Realize & Voodoo, Daughter of the Ocean Book One:

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]

The winners for March's Short Fiction Contest have been announced.

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Samson Stormcrow Hayes for his story 'One of our Deathbots is Missing'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to James Sauger for his story 'Night in the Tunnel'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Christopher Odette for his story 'Curious Curiosity'

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

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

[Michael]

Mystery author Laurel Heidtman and romance author Lolli Powel (they are the same person!) join me in this week's Guest Author Interview:

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

[Kath]

Two for one offer? :)
Nice interview.

[Michael]

There's only two week's left to enter April's Short Fiction Contest, so if you haven't written your story yet then you need to get cracking! This month's image is a rather startling (and let's face it, a bit sinister) picture of a finely carved puppet. It is a bit of a theme in this contest, but there's already a wealth of stories inspired by this image, but still time to add yours.

To enter the competition you first need to write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. You then submit it via the form provided on the contest 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 second and third place as well.

If you haven't read the winning stories from March's contest yet then you will find them all here and they are an excellent read:

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

[Michael]

Eve Karlin joins me for this week's Guest Author Interview to tell us about her latest release 'City of Liars and Thieves':

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

[Michael]

As we've entered the final week of April's Short Fiction Contest time is running out to get your entries in. If you've not entered before then the rules are simple. First you write a story of no more than 500 words inspired by this month's picture. You then subit the story via the form provided on the contest page here:

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

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

If you enjoy reading short ficion then you should check out last month's winning stories:

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

[Michael]

Richard A Lester joins me in the latest Guest Author Interview to tell us about his latest release 'The Check Out':

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]

Fantasy author Tony Leslie Duxbury joins me in this week's Guest Author Interview to discuss his debut release 'The Adventures of JoJo Smith':

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

[Michael]

The winning stories from April's Short Fiction Contest have been announced:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Michael Gunter's story 'Let Me Out'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Jon Jefferson's story 'Splinters of a Wooden Heart'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Jillian Bost's 'Virtue Rewarded'

Congratulations to the winners and here are their stories:

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]

Discover a wealth of short fiction from a range of talented writers in the Short Fiction Archive here:

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

I've just added the winning stories from July 2014's Short Fiction contest to the archive.

[Michael]

In this week's Guest Author Interview J W Nelson tells us about his release 'Joey's Place':

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]

June's Short Fiction Contest has now started and I wonder what lies behind that rather wonderful door...

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
Third prize is a £10 Amazon gift card or PayPal prize

Enter the contest here:

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

[Michael]

I am joined by crime fiction author Tony H. Latham in this week's Guest Author Interview - discover more here:

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

[Michael]

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

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Sheila Deeth for her story 'My Brother's Keeper'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Nav Logan for his story "The Midnight Serenade'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Lauren M. Gunter for her story 'Unfinished Symphony'

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

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

[Michael]

June's Short Fiction Contest is in full swing and if you haven't enetered yet then it's time to get those fingers tapping on the keyboard! There's already some surprises lurking behind the door in this month's image and you can add your own. It's easy to enter - write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image. It can be of any genre and unlike many similar competitions there's no entry fee.

Submit your story through the form on the contest page here:

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

The winning story will receive a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize and there's prizes for second and third place winners too.

If you've not read the winning stories from May's contest yet then you can read them here:

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

And make sure to share them with your friends!

[Michael]

I've added the winning stories from August 2014's Short Fiction Contest to the Short Fiction Archive. Discover those and many other great stories from a diverse group of writers here:

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

[Michael]

With only two week's left in June's Short Fiction Contest you don't have much time left if you want to enter. And it's easy to enter. The hard part is to write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image of a door I's love to own. It's free to enter the contest and your story can be of any genre as long as it relates to the image in some way.

Submit your story through the form on the contest page here:

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

The winning story will receive a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize and there's prizes for second and third place winners too.

If you've not read the winning stories from May's contest yet then you can read them here:

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

[Andrew]

I had a stab this month, I had the idea at about 23:30 last night, and scurried to the pub with my notebook.

I typed it up this morning and it still looked OK sober, so I submitted it. Let's just hope I really have sobered up...

[Michael]

Thanks Andrew.

[Michael]

July's Short Fiction Contest has started and this month we have another mystery to solve - just what is the girl seeing in the looking glass?

To enter write a story of no more than 500 words and enter it via the form on the page linked below. There's no entry fee and there are prizes for the 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

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

[Michael]

The winners of June's Short Fiction Contest have been announced:

- First prize of a £50 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to Nav Logan for his story 'The Gatekeeper'
- Second prize of a £20 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to David J Wing for his story 'The Thinker'
- Third prize of a £10 Amazon or PayPal prize goes to G E Smith for the story 'Living Exhibit'

Congratulations to the winners and here are their stories:

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...