Things not to do

When submitting work to a magazine, which I do all the time, do not include the phrase "No AI was used in this writing. My robot told me to say that. :)"

They have no sense of humour about this.

Quiz Answers

1 Which planet is furthest from the sun?
Nobody knows (many planets are outside the solar system) but I will accept Neptune as an answer!

2 It takes five men six hours to dig seven holes. How long does it take one man to dig half a hole?
You can’t dig half a hole

3 The straits of Gibraltar are between the Atlantic and ?
A The Mediterranean

4 A yellow ball in snooker scores?
Two

5 Which sport uses a foil?
Fencing

6 What does a dosette box contain?
A Pills

7 In Thomas the Tank Engine, Henry is which colour?
Green

8 The Aran islands contain how many islands?
Three islands

9 Where is Wadebridge?
A Cornwall

10 Which planet is famous for the Great Red Spot?
Jupiter

11 What is Cafe au Lait?
A White coffee

12 Joe Davis was a world champion in?
Snooker

13 Who wrote the book “Tom Jones”?
Henry Fielding

14 What is a penstemon?
a flowering plant

15 Which was Daniel Craig’s first James Bond film?
A Casino Royale

16 Marzipan is made from?
Almonds

17 Where would you find seas with no water?
On the moon.

18 The chemical element with the abbreviation Br is?
A Bromine

19 The Hoover Dam is on which river?
A The Colorado

20 What is a Manx Shearwater?
A bird

And the ever-popular grid. You need to find groups of four. All words have capital initial letters by tradition.

Police	Trouble	Jeopardy	Ponce
Lear	Christmas	George	Top
Phantom	Paul	Poor	Bed
John	Water	Jump	Money

Box – Police, Christmas, Poor, Money

Double – Trouble, Jeopardy Top, Bed

Saint = John Paul George Ponce

Jet = Lear, Phantom, Water, Jump

Rage

I notice that after calling for people to "rage", millionaire Nigel Farage made sure he was well away from the racists who were raging in the streets with bricks and bottles.

It would have spoilt his suit. 

Quiz

1 Which planet is furthest from the sun?

2 It takes five men six hours to dig seven holes. How long does it take one man to dig half a hole?

3 The straits of Gibraltar are between the Atlantic and ?

4 A yellow ball in snooker scores?

5 Which sport uses a foil?

6 What does a dosette box contain?

7 In Thomas the Tank Engine, Henry is which colour?

8 The Aran islands contain how many islands?

9 Where is Wadebridge?

10 Which planet is famous for the Great Red Spot?

11 What is Cafe au Lait?

12 Joe Davis was a world champion in?

13 Who wrote the book “Tom Jones”?

14 What is a penstemon?

15 Which was Daniel Craig’s first James Bond film?

16 Marzipan is made from?

17 Where would you find seas with no water?

18 The chemical element with the abbreviation Br is?

19 The Hoover Dam is on which river?

20 What is a Manx Shearwater?

And the ever-popular grid. You need to find groups of four. All words have capital initial letters by tradition.

Police	Trouble	Jeopardy	Ponce
Lear	Christmas	George	Top
Phantom	Paul	Poor	Bed
John	Water	Jump	Money

Cash machine

Self-explanatory

Second Hand Books

It is most gratifying that World of Books and other second hand booksellers are selling my books. I don't make any money out of it but people do get to read the books.

If you are a writer, I suggest searching on eBay for your books. You might surprise youself.

Murder from Beyond the Grave

                                                   Space Dog Alfred

                                                         In the Mirror of Eternity

                                                                The Miranda Revolution

The whole eBay list is here

May the Fourth be With You

Worthing Symphony Orchestra is 100 this year. This is amazing as many of them don't look a day over ninety.

They celebrated Star Wars Day (May the Fourth) with a spectacular concert of music from the movies.

This included a medley of James Bond themes featuring the work of Monty Norman and John Barry.

The most evocative and memorable themes were from Jaws by John Williams and Psycho by Bernard Hermann.

There was a lot to enjoy in this programme.

The finale was a performance of the Star Wars music. A volunteer taking the role of Princess Leia appeared during her theme but the best and most dramatic theme is that of Darth Vader. At the end a player representing the man himself appeared with a red lightsabre and bowed to the audience.

It was a great evening.

The Call of the Wild

Jack London made a fortune from the Klondike gold rush. He didn't find any gold but he wrote many successful stories instead. "The Call of the Wild" is an example. It is the story of the evolution of a dog (Buck) from the south lands who learnt the harsh lessons of life in a dog team.

It goes on to talk of the dreams which take Buck back to a primordial age.

Jack London's sense of humour is fierce and there is more than a little schadenfreude about his depiction of some of the quite unsuitable people who wound up out of their depth and frequently died from ignorance during the gold rush.

Compare

Murder from Beyond the Grave (hardback)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/168278555319

The hardback edition of "Murder from Beyond the Grave" came out today.

Nell Gwynne by Ferring Amateur Dramatic Society

The play opened with a messenger reading from a scroll. By Royal Command, the audience were forbidden the use of mobile phones. This set the tone for the production. You name it, this play ridiculed it.

Women were not allowed on the stage. Their roles were taken by men and boys. It was only in the reign of Charles II that this changed and the actors who had been sarcastic and unpleasant about Nell Gwynne ( played by Julie Cleasby) were forced to change their tune when they realised she not only attracted the hoi polloi to the theatre but also earned them royal patronage.

To say that Charles II (played by Roy Stevens) was a bit up himself would be an understatement. However, Nell Gwynne knew exactly how to bring him down to earth. He was not used to people who were not flattering him and that was the last thing she would do.

Credit must go to Martin Hoskins whose role of John Dryden ridiculed the writer's dependence on plagiarising Shakespeare and his inability to complete his work in time.

The fatal game of Pell Mell (a predecessor of Croquet), which put an end to the reign was depicted using mallets provided by Worthing Croquet Club. On his death bed, the king insisted, "Do not let poor Nelly starve."

The conclusion sees Nell return to the theatre and even take over the role of Dryden by writing an epilogue to the play.

It was a fun evening for all concerned.

Places to submit work

Places to submit work

http://newpages.com/

https://www.newpages.com/writers-resources/young-writers-guide

http://www.pw.org/literary_magazines?&perpage=*

http://www.everywritersresource.com/literarymagazines/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/35517751475/

https://discover.submittable.com/

https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/

https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/

https://chillsubs.com/

https://heavyfeatherreview.org/calls/#journals

https://www.clmp.org/programs-opportunities/calls-for-submissions/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/35517751475/

https://discover.submittable.com/

https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/

https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/

https://chillsubs.com/

https://heavyfeatherreview.org/calls/#journals

https://www.clmp.org/programs-opportunities/calls-for-submissions/

Advice for writers in ‘All Your Stories’

“All Your Stories." was kind enough to ask for my advice to writers and here it is. 

Advice for Writers

Stephen King wrote a book of advice for writers. About half way through he said, “I can tell you how I write. I cannot tell you how you write!”

Nor can I. However, consider this advice and take it if it suits you.

There are editors who promote mimesis over diegesis. In other words, they will reply to your submission suggesting or instructing you to “show not tell.” They would have rejected Charles Dickens and Jane Austen on those grounds because they were great ones for telling and didn’t they do well!

Write the story the way you want to write it and find a different editor who is less hidebound.

I suggest you get someone to read your work for you. They will notice things you have not noticed yourself.

I write flash fiction, so I am bound to say that cutting out any unnecessary words from your work will always result in a better story. Think of poetry. The best-loved poems are less than a thousand words in length.

For practice, I advise writing a letter to the local paper. The shorter the better and it is more likely to be published because editors like short letters which get to the point without going all round the houses.

Read. It is obvious but a writer who reads is more likely to succeed. In particular, reading works in the genre of your own story and reading magazines in which you would like to be published.

And then look at the formatting. Does this editor want your work in Arial and double-spaced or do they favour Times New Roman?

I would avoid AI, not only because many editors forbid it but also because I submitted three speeches from Shakespeare to Grammarly and the smug little bot thought it could improve on his work!

I hope this advice is of use to you. You will admit it is brief.

The End

Resources on the TES Website

This is a link to the resources:
https://www.tes.com/resources/search/?authorId=23034873

The TES is not connected with Rupert Murdoch and provides free resources for teachers.

And this is the anime version of my picture. Not bad, I thought.

I don't use AI for writing or resources. 

What Wikipedia said about the Shah

The Imperial State of Iran, the government of Iran during the Pahlavi dynasty, lasted from 1925 to 1979. During that time two monarchs — Reza Shah Pahlavi and his son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi — employed secret police, torture, and executions to stifle political dissent. The Pahlavi dynasty has sometimes been described as a "royal dictatorship", or "one-man rule". According to one history of the use of torture by the state in Iran, abuse of prisoners varied at times during the Pahlavi reign.

Makes a nonsense of saying what a wonderful thing it would be to go back to the good old days in Iran.

The Concept of Evil

Kindle free from 2-6 March.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B3IK76A 

The Frozen People

I like Sci-Fi and detective stories. So this book is just up my street. You will have gathered that it is about the problem of solving crimes when none of the protagonists are still alive and a solution in the form of time travel.

When I first heard about the idea, I didn't think it would work but it does. The result is an excellent book which provides a window into the past as well as a classic "whodunnit" with the unexpected twist which readers have come to expect.

Read it.

Christian Heritage

It is so nice of Zia Yusuf to defend our Christian heritage for us. I assume that includes treating others as we would be treated ourselves. That would be a new departure for Reform UK. Perhaps we should forgive their trespasses?

Lent

There was a man in America who lived to 100. The local radio station sent a young whippersnapper to interview him. He asked for the secret of his longevity. "I never argue," he replied.

"Come on, Grandad, there must me more to it than that, ."

"I guess you're right."

----

So I've given up arguing for Lent. I've already given up booze and cigarettes.

Ashes of London

Everybody learns about the great fire of London at school but this book brings out a lot of detailed information which you may not be aware of.

The political background to the fire is fascinating. In particular, the book references the "Fifth Monarchists". The name comes from the idea that the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman monarchies would be succeeded by the reign of "the great beast" (a term which might apply to numerous other royals in history) and then the fifth monarchy, the kingdom of Jesus. You can see why people living in poverty and dire oppression might find it attractive.

There is also a reference to the significance of 1666 as a number but you will have to read it to find that out.

This is a good read. 

Better end-of-life care

There is a campaign for assisted dying. We need a campaign for better end-of-life care. 

The media and the politicians support assisted dying.

The Marie Curie charity is one campaigning for better end-of-life care. Too many people are suffering avoidable pain and the politicians’ only answer is death. Not for the politicians obviously. Just the hoi polloi.

Jim Ratcliffe

I find it interesting that Jim Ratcliffe paid £0 in personal income tax in the UK in 2025, as he resides in Monaco, a tax haven where no income or property taxes are levied.

By contrast the OBR said that migrants’ per capita contribution to the UK is around £19,500 per year.

So who is colonising whom?

Flash Phantoms

Fresh Words

It is so gratifying to be published by a literary magazine!

Feedback on eBay

Peace with Honour

To offer a peace prize to someone who has invaded your country is strange behaviour by Machado. Would we have done the same for Hitler, I wonder? #machado #venezuela #trump 

The Cracked Mirror

I think all crime stories have something of a twist in the tail. However, this one is twistier than most. I will not spoil the fun for you though.

This is a book in which the traditional English detective, exemplified by the character of Penny Coyne collides with a more brash and foul-mouthed American version in the person of Johnny Hawke.

Penny Coyne plays within the rules and although she is frequently at odds with the police because they fail to take her advice, she is not at odds with the law. On the other hand, Johnny Hawke will break any laws if he can get to the truth.

There are a number of chapters which intersperse their two stories.Then the tale becomes a single story told from both points of view. It is quite clear who is who and the different approaches which they take.

There are a series of crimes involving Penny's village, the movie business, the publishing business and the strange world of video games. The detectives begin to see a pattern.

And then...well, I'll let you find out what happens next.

List of stories

Mr friend Google provided the following:

https://peacockjournal.com/derek-mcmillan-the-stranger/

https://www.flashphantoms.net/june-micro-fiction-horror

https://everydayfiction.com/the-broken-nutcracker-by-derek-mcmillan/

https://arena.westsussex.gov.uk/local-authors-for-adults

https://bookhill.co.uk/bookDetail.php?id=83

https://fiftywordstories.com/2023/10/19/derek-mcmillan-in-the-soup/

https://freeflashfiction.com/fiction_authors/derek-mcmillan/

https://www.freedomfiction.com/2019/04/advent-in-the-graveyard-by-derek-mcmillan/

https://everydayfiction.com/laughing-larry-by-derek-mcmillan/

https://everydayfiction.com/a-boxing-day-to-remember-by-derek-mcmillan/

https://everydayfiction.com/the-vicars-laptop-by-derek-mcmillan/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flash-Fiction-Mr-Derek-McMillan/dp/B0DJ8RDMT7

TBC