A Very Unseelie Act by Kate Lowe

Kate Lowe is the author of the urban fantasy series The Riley Pope Case Files. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, and her story The Wolf Runs in the Barley received an Honourable Mention in the Best Horror of the Year Volume 4. You can visit her website at www.kateloweauthor.co.uk to find out more.

 

To: customerservice@dust-o-matic.com

From: FairyFae@SeelieCourtLeicester.com

Dear Customer Service,

I recently acquired one of your products, the Dust-O-Matic 5000, which was advertised on your website as 'the answer to every busy fairy's prayers'. Said website promised a product that was 'lightweight, dependable and easy to use, with a sprinkle radius of approximately three dandelion stems'. According to the product description, all I had to do was load in the dust, press the button and let the Dust-O-Matic spread the happiness in one easy sweep.

Now, being one of those above-mentioned busy types, I thought the Dust-O-Matic would be ideal for me – no more lugging sacks of dust around, no more trips to the doctor with another case of sprinkle-sprain – and with a thirty percent introductory discount, how could I refuse?

On the morning my prized purchase arrived I had a very busy day ahead of me: two weddings to magicate, a driving test to successifize, not to mention the obligatory string of tooth collections and money drops. Great, I thought. This is exactly the kind of day the Dust-O-Matic was made for.

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About the author Kate Lowe is the author of the urban fantasy series The Riley Pope Case Files. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, and her story The Wolf Runs in the Barley received an Honourable Mention in the Best Horror of the Year Volume 4. You can visit her website at www.kateloweauthor.co.uk to find out more.

A Little Bit of Sparkle by Elizabeth Cox

Born in Yorkshire and now residing in Anglesey, Elizabeth spends her time working at the ‘day job’ and writing short stories, poetry and attempting to finish a novel. She had her first short story, Winking at Angels, published in the Baubles anthology in 2016. When inspiration dries up, she gazes at the wonderful Snowdon mountain range from her window until it returns.

Ruth pulled her summer jacket tightly around her and zipped it up. Even though it was still August, it had been raining earlier and the sky was overcast. She hurried to the pay station to get a ticket for her car, as she was running late. Her friends would think she had stood them up. Hunger was eating away at her; she was eager for her coffee and scone. Without looking where she was going, she was scrabbling in her bag to find loose pound coins in the voluminous interior, when she stumbled. As she steadied herself on the wet metal pole, there on the floor she saw a pair of child’s trainers, silver and covered with sequins. Neatly placed side by side, as if left there on purpose. They were filled with rain water.

She looked around her, thinking that someone had just put them down while on a similar mission to herself and had simply forgotten to pick them up. But there was no one to be seen. She reasoned that they must have been left there some time ago to be so full of dirty water. She didn’t know what to do. Should she tip the water out? She might save the shoes from becoming soaked through, but looking at them it appeared to be too late for that. Should she pick them up? No, someone might remember where they left them and come looking. It would be unfair for her to take them away. No, she would leave them. She expected they would have been retrieved by the time she left the café.

As Ruth crossed the road to meet her friends her thoughts were occupied by the shoes to such an extent that she almost walked under a black car, only brought out of her daydream by the angry honking of a car horn. Smiling a vague apology, she raised her hand to the irate driver and continued towards the café. 

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Event at the Old Pint Pot

Dear all,

In case you didn't get the newsletter:

I’ve arranged for a get-together in the summer in Greater Manchester as promised. I’ve picked a venue in Salford for this as Salford Stories came out in the last year and Neil Campbell’s collection of short fiction will be out by then. Both feature The Old Pint Pot, so that’s where we’ll be on 3 June 2.00 until 4.00. Even more appropriate, it’s right by the University of Salford and many of us have a connection there as well. 

 

You can book your place here.(https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bridge-house-chapeltown-celebration-red-telephone-celebration-tickets-33776672938)   It is free but ticketed. You may invite a guest as well. Invite as many people as you like and promote like mad. Wouldn’t it be great if we  “sold” all 200 places? Our London events generally attract about 50 and it was touch and go last year. We “sold out” We’re at the same venue this year but we may have think again for 2018.

 

If you would like to read, let me know by return.  

 

 

Generally we have:

• general mingling
• cash bar
• an opportunity to buy books at an advantageous rate    
• “speed-dating”  where you get to speak to as many people as possible in the room i.e. promote yourself to readers, swap tips with other writers
• author readings
• latest news from me  
• collection for a local charity
• big book swap (bring one of your other titles and take something else home – hopefully all will be reviewed. If you bring a non-writing friend they can just bring a book they love)  

    Hope you can all make it! See you there?
Gill James