The Basilwade Chronicles as Audio Book

 

                             

                                                                   

Yes we have this as an audio book now.  There are two ways to get one for free: 

• order a copy form us and we'll give you a free one in exchange for a review.  
• subscribe for an Audible trial 

A collection of humorous stories set around the eponymous Basilwade. Every character has their own peculiarity and, despite knowing the author is playing them for laughs, we still recognise them and their foibles. A light hearted book to cheer dark days. 

 

This is a great collection of tales. I love humorous fiction and The Basilwade Chronicles is a wonderful example of that.  

 

Hilarious! Like a modern-day Carry On movie, this book is full of laugh-our-loud slapstick humour. You will recognise the cream of parochial middle-England eccentricity here. Meet the ghastly Revd Forbes-Snell and his tipsy housekeeper, his much put-upon sister and his aggressive church council. Get to know clairvoyant Ichabod Bunch (ooh, those eyes!) and be sure to avoid the sadistic Vilya Chekarova from Muscle Bounders gym.
This book will make you cry ... with laughter!  

The World in an Eye

                                                                                                                            

        "The World In An Eye" is an eclectic collection. It ardently and boldly tackles issues that plague our societies. Presenting diverse flash fiction stories set in America, England, Germany, Italy and other places where poignancy, rawness and sensitivity are propelled to the foreground. This evocative compilation also thrusts taboo topics out from the fringes into the spotlight. Here, they explore and expose the lives of those not fed with golden spoons.

"The World In An Eye" shines a light on the neglected lives of children, women and men, who bravely inhabit the outskirts. Most of the characters are after a communal goal. They long for a semblance of hope, serenity, understanding, and shelter.

In an ideal world, everyone is welcome to sit at the table, regardless of colour, creed or race. Until we achieve this, stories about adversity will keep airing on the world stage. The World In An Eye supports that tone. Change needs to come!

 

 

"A thought provoking read. Each short chapter is full of rich poetic description of both the inner lives of the protagonists and the tough environments they live in. The stories are a window into people’s day to day struggles but also how they respond to the dramatic and sometime shocking events around them. The language is accessible while at the same time being insightful and illuminating. Would thoroughly recommend this short read."

 

“A thoroughly enjoyable read: A collection of short stories that challenge the mind and bring awareness of real-life experiences affecting the vulnerable and marginalised. Written with humour and flair, the writer successfully draws the reader in to experiencing a journey of discovery. The clever storytelling provokes interest in topics which are very much woven into the fabric of Society.” 

"Short striking stories capturing pivotal moments of peoples' lives, tough lives in the fringes of society, in a starkingly brutal but honest manner dressed poetically with mesmerising and haunting language.

A captivating must read."

 

 

The Jinn by Mason Bushell

 

                                                                

 

Meet the Jinn.

At just five-inches tall, he’s a demon with attitude, and he is fed-up with people summoning him through his talisman. With sass and cheek aplenty, he wanders grumpily through a saga of adventures. He meets learner drivers, babies, and zoo creatures, to name but a few, each in need of his special brand of help.

 

He's irresistible

Tripping the Flash Fantastic

 

                                      

                                                              

Allison Symes loves reading and writing quirky fiction. She discovered flash fiction thanks to a Cafélit challenge and has been hooked on the form ever since. In this follow-up to her "From Light to Dark and Back Again", Allison will take you back in time, into some truly criminal minds, into fantasy worlds, and show you how motherhood looks from the viewpoint of a dragon. Enjoy the journey!        

 

'What an entertaining read, all with a paranormal flavour, and written in her chatty style and earthy language. ' Silly me. It's sod's law. I should've thought of that, shouldn't I?' Even her witches are humorous, one of them just finishing planting her runner beans (as witches do, of course) when a farmhouse landed on top of her.'

 

A lovely little collection of quirky and often surprising stories and poems. Fairy godmothers who aren't what they first appear. Mini revenge tales. Hints of the Gothic. Santa and tooth fairies as you've not met them before. One favourite of mine is 'Bypassing the System', a story that illustrates the fact that, magician or no magician, sometimes you just have to do things the way everyone else does them. An enjoyable mix with, as I say, lots of surprises, which is just how flash fiction should be. 

 

Fabulous collection of poems and flash fiction. Some made me giggle, some made me gasp, all surprised me! I found it a real page turner, as the stories had such unexpected twists and turns! Some were actually quite moving. Highly recommend this! Makes a lovely present as well, with its (to me) unusual shape.

                    

Latest of our Flash Collections

                                                                        

                                                                                                  

"The World In An Eye" is an eclectic collection. It ardently and boldly tackles issues that plague our societies. Presenting diverse flash fiction stories set in America, England, Germany, Italy and other places where poignancy, rawness and sensitivity are propelled to the foreground. This evocative compilation also thrusts taboo topics out from the fringes into the spotlight. Here, they explore and expose the lives of those not fed with golden spoons.

"The World In An Eye" shines a light on the neglected lives of children, women and men, who bravely inhabit the outskirts. Most of the characters are after a communal goal. They long for a semblance of hope, serenity, understanding, and shelter.

In an ideal world, everyone is welcome to sit at the table, regardless of colour, creed or race. Until we achieve this, stories about adversity will keep airing on the world stage. The World In An Eye supports that tone. Change needs to come!                                    

"A thought provoking read. Each short chapter is full of rich poetic description of both the inner lives of the protagonists and the tough environments they live in. The stories are a window into people’s day to day struggles but also how they respond to the dramatic and sometime shocking events around them. The language is accessible while at the same time being insightful and illuminating. Would thoroughly recommend this short read."

The Best of CafeLit 9

 

  

We asked those writers who were published in "The Best of CaféLit 8" to vote for their five favourite stories published on the CaféLit web site in 2019. We awarded five points for number one choices, four for number two and so on. These are the stories that received the most votes.Each story in this little volume is the right length and quality for enjoying as you sip the assigned drink in your favourite Creative Café. You need never feel alone again in a café. So what's the mood today? Espresso? Earl Grey tea? Hot chocolate with marshmallows? You'll find most drinks in our drinks index.

Clara's Story

 

View on Amazon 

Clara will not be daunted. Her life will not end when her beloved husband dies too young. She will become a second mother to the young children who live away from home in order to visit a rather special school. When life becomes desperate for a particular class of disabled children growing up in Nazi Germany she takes a few risks. Is her ultimate faith in the goodness of human beings a fatal flaw that leads to her tragedy, or is her story actually one of hope?
 

 

"the social history starting before World War 1 and continuing to the present day, was extremely interesting and Clara herself had the attitude that where there’s hope there’s life. A well-written and thought-provoking book. "

 

Find on Amazon
Or Waterstones  

Also available as a audio book.  Like to hear it? 

UK  

US 

FR 

DE

 

What happens when the Queen visits Zedgate Zoo? Well she meets a lot of amazing animals and finds out a lot of amazing facts about them.
This delightful story is told through a series of colourful and entertaining pictures and a lively text. There is plenty of extra story in the pictures for the child who has the book read to them, and the text is of an appropriate language level for the emergent reader.

Buy the video  for £3.50
 

 

 

The Creative Cafe Project and Cafe Lit

The Creative Café Project and CafeLit

One of the greatest pleasures in my working life is selecting the story for the CaféLit blog . Then there is the annual pleasure of putting a book together of the best stories of each year. For the past few years we’ve involved readers and writers in the section for this.

CaféLit, with its short fiction and flash fiction, supports the Creative Café Project which is all about putting creative practitioners in touch with their audiences and readers in a café setting and about getting the general public involved in creative activities. 

This is so much a part of our active city life which I hope we can return to soon.  In the meantime we can read CaféLit online and the Best of  books are available as e-books or in paperback.  

Click on the image above for more information.            

Reviews of Brightly Coloured Horses

"What a delightful book - beautifully written and so many stories, each one pulling you in to moments in the characters life."


"This beautiful collection of flash fiction demonstrates the author's mastery of the form. Poignant stories of love and loss sit comfortably with humorous tales of adolescent snogging. Huggins has a great ability to capture complex human emotions in a fleeting moment or a tiny detail."


"Each one is beautifully crafted; some made me cry, some made me laugh, but none failed to touch me, and all gave me food for thought. Mandy Huggins makes every word count as she explores a range of characters, cultures and countries." 

"A mind blowing collection of flash fiction stories. So many great windows of life in it, I don’t know where to start. Perfect Word - loved it "


"Imagine opening a box of luxury chocolates. There's enough to pick and mix to suit everyone. There's so many choices of times, places and emotions for any mood."

 

A Most Amazing Zoo

Find on Amazon
Or Waterstones 

What happens when the Queen visits Zedgate Zoo? Well she meets a lot of amazing animals and finds out a lot of amazing facts about them.
This delightful story is told through a series of colourful and entertaining pictures and a lively text. There is plenty of extra story in the pictures for the child who has the book read to them, and the text is of an appropriate language level for the emergent reader.

Buy the video  for £3.50
 

 

 

Basilwade

The Basilwade stories were originally published on the CaféLit website, where you can access short stories that go nicely with a cuppa. We even suggest a drink! Dawn Knox’s stories contain characters and situations that may seem a little larger than life at first glance but we can soon see that everyone involved is very human. And don’t we all recognise the quirkiness of village/small-town life?

" What a stress-buster The Basilwade Chronicles by Dawn Knox has been. Knox is an excellent story-teller. From the side-splitting conversations  to the comical event, she tickles just the right bone. "
Ankita Shukla for Reader's Favourite.      

Click on image to view on Amazon.