Scribblers' Books, Books, Books

    This is a short sharp collection of well-told stories by Jim Bates who once again brings us some evocative writing with a strong literary voice. We meet a plethora of characters, each with their own concerns and triumphs. They face life’s challenges and often have to turn situations around. Will they succeed? Will they make life good again? In this collections of flash fiction, Jim Bates packs a lot of story into a few words. Find your copy here   Nick is dying. Barney spends much of his time keeping him company, helping him to lead an almost normal life and sharing his carefully guarded secret. The two boys often go down to the old harbour, to look at the boats and take photographs. Barney finds it hard watching his friend getting weaker and weaker. And then there are the other problems. He worries about his relationship with his first real girlfriend. He worries about his schoolwork.. He is under pressure to perform well as a county swimming champion. And he needs a part time j

 Buy signed copies from the author: all four £20.00, any three £18.00, any two £15.00, any one £10.00       Kaleem Malkendy is different – and on Terrestra, different is no way to be. Everything about Kaleem marks him out form the rest: the blond hair and dark skin, the uncomfortable cave where he lives and the fact that he doesn’t know his father. He’s used to unwelcome attention, but even so he’d feel better if some strange old man didn’t keep following him around. That man introduces himself and begins to explain the Babel Prophecy – and everything in Kaleem’s life changes forever. Babel is the second part of the Peace Child trilogy. Kaleem has found his father and soon finds the love of his life, Rozia Laurence, but he is still not comfortable with his role as Peace Child. He also has to face some of the less palatable truths about his home planet: it is blighted by the existence of the Z Zone, a place where poorer people live outside of society, and by switch-off, compulsory eutha

 These are called fast- track because they are  single author collections pulled together of stories already published on CafeLit or in one of our anthologies.      In this collection, Jim looks into what it means to be human in this day and age. How do we cope with the loss of a loved one? What brings us joy? How important is friendship? Can Nature heal? These are heavy questions, and Jim tackles them head-on with stories that are both intriguing and entertaining. He is not afraid to delve deep into life’s challenges. He looks at love and loss, our hopes and dreams, and our own inner fears. Ultimately, his stories show us the strength of the human character. Jim’s gentle stories are sensitively written and character-driven. The main character often confronts issues shared by us all, such as coping with day-to-day annoyances or finding a way to derive meaning in a complicated world. These stories are heartfelt, and told with quiet passion and a gentle touch. In the end,

  Pot-luck selection   Just a sample here.   Buy a randomly selected bunch of three books for just £10: 

  F ifty-seven easy to use fact sheets that cover all that you need to know if you are relatively new to writing. Ideal too for the creative writing teacher.    Topics include:  story structure  poetry forms  presentation of work  how to get your work out there script writing  networking  organisations that can help  self-publishing  getting new ideas  building characters  The Tip Sheets have deliberately been left as a Word document so that users may customize them.   Gill James is an experienced writer and teacher. The Tip Sheets pass on information that she has acquired over twenty or so years.    Get your copy here. Pay what you like. Suggested fee: £2.00    There are three prompts a day for the whole of 2023. Some are short and pithy, others are inspired by obscure days e.g. 8 January Bubble Bath Day , and some go into more detail on an aspect of writing craft. There are series that go over a number of days. A few prompts are about works in progress and several give you t