Final Stages

Sadly living alone again I'm spending more time writing than before. Someone said to me once that writing can be a lonely occupation. At the time I thought that it was just a statement, not a prophesy. So, now there's only myself and my dog, Bella, who's a lovely beast and great company.

As mentioned the writing is really going well. 'A Pride Of Lions' has now been rewritten for the 4th time and is in the final editing stages. Likewise my short story collection, 'Distant Shores'. I'm concentrating heavily on these and have moved away temporarily from other writing, to get these works completed and, as they say, 'out there'.

The MA is also almost finished too, thank heavens. I sent a submission to the Uni earlier in the week and only have one edit of the same to complete and submit, before waiting for feedback from the tutor. When I've had that it's a case of re-edit my last two submissions and send off a total of 15,000 words and a contextual essay, then await the MA submission results. Job done.  But I still need to decide what area to concentrate on for the essay (although I have a few ideas) and the editing is easier said than done, for we never seem happy with our work; and, as Oscar Wilde once said, 'books are never finished they are merely abandoned'.

'A Handful Of Stars' reviewed

In the early hours of this morning, when I was finally signing off after a long days editing, Geoff Nelder sent me the following review on my short story 'A Handful Of Stars', which was published in the Escape Velocity Anthology and which is now available for sale on Amazon. The review was kindly conducted by Dellani Oakes, an American author with Second Wind Publishing.

 A Handful of Stars – Mark Iles

Connor is a problem child. Constantly running away and getting in trouble, he's become difficult for Miranda to cope with. Called yet again to the facility where he lives, she finally has a frank talk with him. What she finds out surprises her.

Miranda discovers that Connor isn't like most children. He's not from around here. She doesn't immediately believe what he tells her, but eventually comes to an understanding. With Miranda's encouragement, Connor strikes out on his own once more, searching for his family in earnest.

"Handful of Stars" is a tenderly depicted story of loss, fear and acceptance. It is the very definition of a leap of faith.'

 

I'd like to thank Dellani for her very kind words and also Geoff, for sending this to me.