Image Credit: All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing.

It has been a busy couple of days on Facebook and Twitter and I share some tweets below relating to Tripping the Flash Fantastic, my latest flash fiction collection from Chapeltown Books. Of course, it will be hectic in the run-up to my cyberlaunch on Saturday 10th October 2020. Hope to see you there!

https://t.co/0W01RAz1iG Have been having some fun with Canva as I get ready for my book launch for Tripping the Flash Fantastic on Saturday.— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) October 5, 2020

Join me today on #PatriciasPen with the lovely Allison Symes @AllisonSymes1 chatting about her writing. https://t.co/jyuIw4s9rM@CHINDIAuthors #IARTG#flashfiction#newrelease#writingcommunity#blog #Tuesdaytreat pic.twitter.com/6fjfQRHMTK— Patricia M Osborne (@PMOsborneWriter) October 6, 2020

Am thrilled to share my book trailer for Tripping The Flash Fantastic. Hope you enjoy. Cyberlaunch on Saturday 10th October between 7 pm and 9.30 pm UK time. pic.twitter.com/TY9CgVhoY7— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) October 6, 2020

Facebook – General

Many thanks to the lovely Patricia M Osborne for hosting me on her blog today. It was great fun to take part!

I talk about Tripping the Flash Fantastic (of course!) and how I relished having input into the cover design. I also share how I become a flash fiction writer in the first place. All the details you need for my cyberlaunch are in this piece too.

Now a word to the wise: I will be setting a quiz during my cyberlaunch. Keep an eye out on what appears in my blog appearances this week including my own Chandler’s Ford Today post on Friday. It might prove useful and that’s all I’m saying for now!😊

Guest Feature – Allison Symes

Facebook – From Tripping The Flash Fantastic Cyberlaunch page

FOUR DAYS TO GO and another double bubble from me.

Firstly, a huge thanks to #PatriciaMOsborne for featuring me on her blog today. It was great fun to take part.

(Oh and I love the Queen of Flash Fiction title, says she blushing!😍😆).

Coming up very shortly…. my book trailer for Tripping The Flash Fantastic.

AND SECOND POST

I’ve been looking forward to sharing this since the weekend. Hope you enjoy my book trailer for Tripping The Flash Fantastic.

For anyone who didn’t see the poster a day or so ago, sorry. I suspect it was a formatting thing. The original poster was a pdf. This below is a jpeg file. Hope you like it (and you learn so much doing this kind of thing!)

Hope your week has got off to a good start. Lady had a fab time today with her best buddy, a wonderful Rhodesian Ridgeback, and other pals in the park this morning. Think furry toddlers running around, stopping every so often for a drink, and then home for biscuits and rest. Very much like a trip to the day nursery for them! It was great to see them run.

Pleased to say I’ve now got the link for the Chat and Spin Radio Show. I was on Saturday night (3rd October 2020) and come in about the 7 minutes mark on the link below. Hope you enjoy. Link above and below.

See https://soundcloud.com/ian-johnson-75/saturday-3rd-october-saturday-weekend-show-909pm-1035pm-part-2

Just so you know, Chat And Spin Radio are an Internet Radio Station based in the UK. They broadcast to half a million UK & International Listeners per week 24/7. Their site is at www.chatandspinradio.com

Their blurb says they are looking for Writers, Artists, Illustrators, Bands & Singers and Charities to come on the Radio Station over the Phone or by Skype / Facebook for FREE PUBLICITY/PROMOTION to get out to their listeners.

The 10 Minute Live interview goes out on their Evening & Late Show. They broadcast that for 6 nights a week. Do see the site for more details.

For both of the occasions I’ve been on, I’ve found it paid to prepare something to say well in advance. I didn’t use all that I prepared but it did help me to focus on what was really important to get across. I found that so useful.

Facebook – From Tripping The Flash Fantastic Cyberlaunch page.

Double bubble from me on here tonight. As you’ll see from the post below I’ve been having fun with Canva!

Delighted to now share the link to my interview on Chat and Spin Radio on Saturday night. I am the first guest on Part 2 of their Saturday show and the interview starts at about the 7 minute mark.

Hope you enjoy – and tomorrow… the book trailer!

See https://soundcloud.com/ian-johnson-75/saturday-3rd-october-saturday-weekend-show-909pm-1035pm-part-2

FIVE DAYS TO GO (and see jpeg file above).

Due to tech issues I’ll have to share the link to my interview on Chat and Spin Radio tomorrow. Tech issues are the bane of us all! The interview was great fun and I look forward to being able to share that.

Meanwhile, I was on the show back in May and am delighted to repeat sharing the link for that here now. I come in at about the 27 minutes in mark. Hope you enjoy. (And I look forward to sharing what is effectively Part 2 tomorrow, hopefully!).

I am appearing on blogs in the next few days too and look forward to being able to share those as and when. Many thanks, all.

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Facebook – From Tripping The Flash Fantastic Cyberlaunch page

I plan to share snippets over the next few days in the run up to Saturday’s event. Hope you enjoy.

It’s going to be a busy few days in the run up to Saturday but hopefully a lot of fun too. I was interviewed on Chat and Spin Radio on Saturday night and I hope to share the link for that tomorrow.

I will be appearing on blogs over the next couple of weeks, before and after the launch, and am looking forward to sharing the links for those.

Things to look forward to then include:-

Sharing my book trailer.

Sharing a couple of stories during the next couple of days from Tripping The Flash Fantastic PLUS I talk about how I came to write these tales. (And I don’t know about you but I LOVE being read to so I hope you will enjoy my reading to you!).

Sharing a link to my podcast appearance on #WendyHJones‘ marvellous The Writing and Marketing Show. Do check this show out as there are some fab interviews on here and there is so much useful advice. I was on for Episode 4 naturally talking about all things flash fiction related.

Talking of which, over to you now. If you have questions about flash fiction, working with a small press and so on, do send them in.

Meanwhile, here is a taster of some of the work I do. This is Job Satisfaction from my debut collection, From Light to Dark and Back Again.

Interesting day. “Went” to the Association of Christian Writers’ event day via Zoom. Lovely to see a good attendance and great insights from the guest speakers.

Later this evening, I’ll be on Chat and Spin Radio. I hope to be able to share the link tomorrow.

And it is one week to go to my cyberlaunch for Tripping the Flash Fantastic. Should be a fun week!

Today was one of those rare days when I didn’t have to go out at all. Wasn’t sorry. Tipped it down for a lot of the day here. (Got a real soaking yesterday so think I had my fair share of the rain then!😊).

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Facebook – From Tripping The Flash Fantastic Cyberlaunch page

ONE WEEK TO GO TO CYBERLAUNCH! And I start the countdown for this week with a radio interview.

Delighted to chat to Ron on Chat and Spin Radio tonight. I was talking about what flash fiction and Tripping The Flash Fantastic (of course!). Looking forward to sharing the link tomorrow.

And I’ll be popping up on blogs over the next couple of weeks. Looking forward to sharing the links but keep an eye open for these. You may find the information in them useful for the quizzes I’ll be setting next week – and there will be prizes!

Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

It was great fun taking part in #PatriciaMOsborne’s blog today.

I started writing flash fiction in 2013. Seven years and two books later (and a number of pieces in anthologies), I think it was a good move!😆😆😆

It was a delight to chat about flash fiction on Chat and Spin Radio on Saturday. Always happy to spread the word about the short word!😆😆

Am looking forward to sharing links to blogs I will be appearing on later this week. Am also looking forward to sharing the book trailer for Tripping the Flash Fantastic tomorrow too.

What does flash fiction writing mean to me? It means I’ve found a form of writing which means I have to invent characters all the time, which I love doing.

I have constantly changing situations too as one story might be 100 words long, another 500 or so. And the settings vary. For this new book, I’ve used time as a setting too and written historically based flash tales. I love the variety. The only restriction is not going above 1000 words and that’s fine with me!

I will be posting daily on the cyberlaunch page for Tripping The Flash Fantastic this week. The discussion page will include videos, links to interviews and blogs I am or will be appearing on. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1246876649024453/?active_tab=discussion for more.

And if you have questions about flash fiction or working with a small press, do send them in either during the week on at my launch on Saturday night.

I use all kinds of writing prompts to get me started on stories, especially for flash. I love the opening line kind most but picture prompts are useful and I occasionally use one of my own photos to inspire ideas.

And what is particularly nice is one of the prompts that came up during the cyberlaunch for From Light to Dark and Back Again, I actually did something with! That prompt became the story The Terrified Dragon which is in Tripping The Flash Fantastic.😊. Need to do that kind of thing more often I think!

Goodreads Author Blog – Book Buying

Book buying is a habit. It’s a very good one!

I like to buy online and, of course from physical bookshops when I can get to them.

I like to buy at book launches (online or otherwise) and I usually ask for books for presents for Christmas and my birthday.

So nothing unusual there then. True but it’s getting into the book buying habit to begin with that matters, I think.

I’ve heard people moan about the price of books but what they forget is the hard work that goes into producing them.

They also forget that you can read a book you own as many times as you like. The same people often think nothing of spending much more on a meal out etc. (So I am puzzled as to why they moan about a book but they do and I’ve heard them – at a Book Fair too – argh!).

So I guess it is down to what you prioritise. Books are high up on my list and always will be!