BULL RING

When we moved to Tenerife in 2000 I explored this ruin, though it has been fenced off now. I marvelled at the intricate mosaic tiling that covered every surface - walls, tables, the bar, the toilets. I sat on a bench beside one of the sand-filled rings, imagining what it might have been like to be there with a group of friends, sharing a bottle of Sangre de Toro while real Bulls' Blood was spilled only metres away. I stood in the doorway of an animal pen looking at the deeply scratched walls, breathing in the stench of old sweat and piss and fear along with the ghosts.
You can read my short story it inspired by going to this month's issue of the online magazine.Running Out Of Ink  where you will find eight short stories each month to read - and they're FREE! Go back through the issues and you will find two more of mine as well.

Running out of Ink - Home

I TOLD YOU I WAS ILL!

That's reassuring - despite me being off-line for a week I have still had a few visitors to my blog. Welcome to you all, and thank you!
I've been a bit off-colour and the old brain cells aren't functioning properly. My sight's blurred and my fingers forget how to type, so there have been some very strange words on the page that even I have been unable to interpret,

But enough of that - discussions of ill-health are boring. Cue cute photo of bored baby.

I am trying to decide what to do next. First there is this blog to maintain - my own - and the one month A-Z challenge is coming up - should I join this year or not? Last year I was keen and had half of it planned out in advance. This year I think I've got too much else on my plate.

I have had two short stories issued on the online magazine http://runningoutofink.com and am in the process of submitting another, I've entered a few short story competitions and even written a poem or two, but my main job had been, and still is, the re-write of A Volcanic Race, the first novel I ever wrote. Even that has a sting in the tail, as I  allowed myself to be persuaded to blog about the process on http://shortbreadstories.com  And with my various ailments - those boring ones, remember? - I haven't got on as fast as I would like.

And now I have heard from an agent who likes my novel Helter-Skelter enough to have given me detailed feedback and will look at it again if I address the issues she raised. It#s great to be told I am "An exceptional writer" but devastating to get yet another refusal. Yet I am so near with HS that I shall have to do what the agent asks and "Have another bash at it" - once I've got A Volcanic Race out of the way.

D'you reckon the Doc might have some pills to make me an instant genius?

One small sad tale to end with - my grandsons' cat died last week. RIP Marley.

HUMPS, SHORTS, STORIES AND STATS

As this is my first post of 2013 I thought I should attempt to make it a serious one.
A couple of years ago the Cabildo finally decided to improve the road that runs through Parque de la Reina, which involved straightening its serpentine course and levelling the humps, but there was a snag - some old houses were in the way.
The occupants were offered apartments which they quite understandably refused, and after some years and a lot of wrangling, the road near our block was completed with a massive hump in the middle and the houses stayed. This makes crossing to the Supermarket like dicing with death, but what is life without risk?
Anyway, today I approached this hump behind a cyclist who had to stand on his pedals to get over it, and I was so entranced by his bum that I didn't mind waiting. In the rear of his white shorts was a black padded patch - in the shape of a heart.! ...Bless.
I couldn't take a photo for obvious reasons, so the above picture is a free stock image which I found after Googling 'Men in cycle shorts' Would you believe there are twelve pages of photos? I am no doubt now on a list of internet porn surfers.

I have had two short stories issued in an online magazine called Running Out Of Ink, which publishes eight short stories a month - all free to download and read. Check it out - it's not fame and fortune, but it is recognition at last!
http://www.runningoutofink.com  One story is in December's issue and one this month.

It being a new year, I had to sign in rather than just log on to my blog, and there's this page of stuff I never see otherwise. Apparently since I started blogging late in 2011 I have posted 190 blogs and have attracted 9273 page views! That's 48.8 per post, if my long division is correct.
And there I was wondering whether to give up due to lack of support.

PUBLISHED AT LAST!

This is the first time I have been published so you will forgive me for being excited and blowing my own trumpet! A new online magazine called Running Out Of Ink publishes eight short stories a month, and in December's issue is one of mine.
Here is the link - I hope it works!

http://www.runningoutofink.com/current_issue.html