So, a week ago I blogged a writing challenge to celebrate the launch of Xbox Live TV, and its integration with YouTube. I’d decided that it’d be a good idea to put together a collection of flash fiction stories, all inspired by songs on YouTube. And I’d decided that the collection would be published as an eBook on Amazon with ALL money collected going to the charity One in Four (a registered charity which provides support and resources to people who have experienced sexual abuse and sexual violence).

My personal aim was for a collection of 33 stories (think RPM), so I hoped for about 50 entries and set the deadline leaving the judges a single day to read them all. But, as is often the case with me, things didn’t quite turn out that way.

So – one week on:

• Over 350 entries.
• An overwhelming amount of RTs and shares and emails offering help (you lot are ace!).
• Judges volunteered (they have been amazing).
• Judges read all of the stories and decided on the 100 stories that would go in the collection.
• I read all of the chosen entries and listened to every song that inspired and emailed each author.
  
• Becky Adams (she designed/hand-stitched both the covers for my novel ‘Like Bees to Honey’ and novella ’99 Reasons Why’) agreed to design the front cover.
• There is talk of a singer-songwriter, mid-1980s pop-teen-idol-star writing the foreword.
• And the title has been narrowed down to ’100 RPM’, ’100 WPM’, or ‘Juke Box Stories’ or ‘Juke Box Stories: 100 WPM’ or something else. I am taking advice from a publisher.

It’s been quite a week (who needs sleep?).

Next it’ll all be about the title, about editing, arranging an order and proofing.

But. And this is the bit that I both love and hate. Today I announce the writers who will have stories in the collection. Some have more than one.  I know that this means that some people I really like and think are very amazing will not be in the collection. I’m sorry. This was not my decision.

But it also means that lots of VERY fabulous authors will be in the collection and there’s such a range of amazing stories in there. I’m stupidly excited.

And so I offer my congratulations and thanks to the following authors (in no particular order). They will all have stories in the collection:

Rowan Coleman, Angi Holden, Matthew Borgard, Stephen Shieber, Matt Hill,  Pat O’Connor.

Nasim Marie Jafry, Sylvia Petter, Cally Taylor, Angela Readman, Ray Robinson.

Katie Gunn, Angela Powers, Nick Cernis, Sophie Mackintosh, Peter Lewis, Laura Crosby.

Dan Purdue, Stephanie Ressort, Jessica Patient, Ryan Millar, Máire Carr, Dave Cornmell.

Ruth Aird, Nicola De Gouveia, D. J. Kirkby, Elizabeth Player, Dan Powell, Michelle Flatley.

Isabel Serval, Sara Crowley, Lynsey May, Simon Kewin, Fat Roland, Cathy White.

Karl McIntyre, David Kendrick, Vikki Ross, Alison Woodhouse, Scott Pack, Sal Page.

Helen Ladderbird, Hannah Harman, Catherine Walter,  Suzy Floyd, Sonya Oldwin.

Sam Wyld, Rachel N Joy, Emma J. Lannie, Annie Evett,  Jennifer M Schmidt, Anna Cardus.

Jodie Ansted, Red Morgan, D.E. Oprava, Donna Henderson, Xenia Smith, Louise Pearson.

Cassie Morrison, Cassandra Parkin, Sam Thewlis, Polly Burns, Pete Domican, Hannah Simpson.

Crystal Schwanke, Jennifer Domingo, Katherine Lewis, L J Hart-Collins, Lorna Louise Hutchinson.

Rebecca Emin, Caroline Luxford-Noyes, Edward Price, Carole McDonnell, Sarah Dunnakey.

Teresa Nusbaum, Simon Kearns, Mike Bursell, Lisa Richardson, Cath Bore, Edie Best, Alex Brown.

Tracy Tidswell, Sylvia Kelso, Kim Smith, J Bateman-Irish, Sarah Hutchinson, PC Wheeler.

Jamieson Wolf, Theresa Milstein, Jacqueline Christodoulou.

First of all, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. I’ve had an amazing response to my call for 100 word stories. I’ve already had over 150 entries (in less than 3 days!), I’ve been RTd and shared and favourited and emailed. I NEVER expected to have so much support, so many people wishing the project well and so many offers of help.

Almost all of the entries and support have come from people not at all involved in the short story world. They’ve come from published, unpublished and ‘first time ever trying to write a story’ writers. It shows that writers do, quite simply, want to write. And the entries have all been amazing. The song choices add a level of fun and depth to the writing. I’m truly excited about what we’re creating together.

Again, thank you ALL. And, KEEP THEM COMING. I’m very much open to advice and help and anything, really.

BUT.

It’s a known fact that I am a bit rubbish and a bit indecisive when it comes to titles. And that’s why I’m asking for help, today, again. I need to look at trying to get a front cover designed and that means I need a title.

So, could you throw some ideas my way? Please. The main points are:

• The stories are all flash fiction of 100 words or fewer.
• The stories are all inspired by a piece of music or a song.
• I’d quite like the cover and content to be influenced by vinyl – so 33/45RPM could be a theme. I may go for 78 stories being included or 33 or 45.
  
• This is going to be an eBook.
• There is a fun element to this writing.

So… any ideas?

Either leave a comment or tweet me (@Caroline_S with the hashtag #XboxMoreThanGames to ensure I see it).

I am proposing a writing challenge.

• Are you a writer?
• Would you like to be a writer?
• Do you write flash fiction?
• Do you fancy seeing your work published?

To celebrate the launch of Xbox Live TV, and its integration with YouTube, I am putting together a collection of flash fiction stories all inspired by songs on YouTube. This will be published as an eBook on Amazon with ALL money collected going to the charity One in Four, a registered charity which provides support and resources to people who have experienced sexual abuse and sexual violence.

I’ve always used music to inspire writing. This was the case for virtually every short story I wrote for ‘Freaks!’ and there’s a single line in a song that inspired novel 4.

It seems to me that many writers can find inspiration in a song lyric or video or the emotion that a certain song evokes within. I know that there are songs that I loved last year that will take me back to certain writing moments by hearing their opening bars. Those songs will take my breath away, just for a moment.

NOW, tie all of this in with it being a new year and many of us all being armed with our new notebooks and determination to write BRILLIANT things this year… AND I have a TINY writing challenge for you.

So here’s what will happen:

• Someone (still a secret, sorry) will pick the best stories (and I’ll be throwing one of mine in there too).
• These will then be professionally edited by BubbleCow and I’ll find someone to proof  (Eek! I like a challenge!).
• A Kindle version of the book will be available on Amazon for a small price (all money going to charity so no one will make a penny from this book other than Amazon and the charity).
• The cover will be professionally designed (Eek, again, but a challenge is being set!).

So what do you have to do?

• Write a story or a flash of a moment based on, linked to or inspired by a song on YouTube.
• It MUST be 100 words or fewer and in a language I can understand.
• Either email the story to me or blog it and let me know about it by leaving a link in the comments here or tweet the blog link to me (@Caroline_S with the hashtag #XboxMoreThanGames).
• Remember to name the song that influenced the story – that way we can build a track-list too.
• No song (for copyright reasons) lyrics should be included in the story.
• It must be written and given to me (in one of the above ways) by Wednesday 11 January (GMT). So you have less than ONE week!
  
• I’ll then bribe someone to read them all and select the stories to include.
• And THEN I’ll post the names of the selected stories on my blog on Friday 13 January.
• This writing challenge is open to everyone and the judge’s decision is final, but obviously you can send them abusive emails if you don’t get selected.
• Writers MUST hold the copyright to their stories and the stories MUST NOT have been published elsewhere.

But, really, this is all about writing. Because that’s what writers do, isn’t it? And if we can raise a few pennies for charity, then that’ll make me VERY happy. The reasons for choosing the charity One in Four will be obvious if you read THIS post.

So, off you go… 100 words or fewer in a week.

I’m waiting.

I am very VERY delighted that four stories from ‘Freaks!’ have been selected to appear in Issue 7 (Winter 2011) of The Moth Magazine.

This is a biggie for me (and I’m sure for the talented Mr Perring too). The stories chosen will give people the first taste of what to expect in ‘Freaks!’ (eek!) but also not quite. By this I mean that the mighty Darren’s illustrations won’t be in The Moth Magazine, so that big reveal is still to come (in only FOUR months now!). It’s all a bit terrifying really (these are my first short stories to be published!), but having four stories selected to be in a magazine that is so well-respected in the short story world is a huge honour. I am very proud of ‘Freaks!’ but that’s a different blog post, one for nearer publication (FOUR months!).

And, I especially like that the four stories selected are said to be written by both Nik and I. This reflects the actual collection of short stories. Because, in ‘Freaks!’ the writer of each separate story is NOT revealed (I mean, it could even be that some of the stories were written together). Because that’s what ‘Freaks!’ is all about. It’s about secret identities and not everything being as it first appears.

To buy Issue 7 (the current issue) of The Moth Magazine and get a taste of four of the stories from ‘Freaks!’, go here. And, as an additional selling point, there is a poem in there from the talented Mr Pack. Bonus!

Today I’m chatting to the delightful Ben Johncock about my Bookish Half Dozen.

Do pop over and say hello.

‘Wherever and however we journey, there are books to inspire and take with us. Reading Places is a series of events and book displays designed to take us to new places from the comfort of your local library. There is something for everyone whether you prefer memoirs and accounts from intrepid travellers, stories which evoke the sights, smells, and sounds of other places, or writing about your own intrepid journeys.’

On Friday November 4, I’ll be doing my final ‘Reading Places’ event. It’s at Sandiway library. I’ll be chatting about my relationship with Malta, my writing world and (again!) my deepest darkest secrets.

The event starts at 2.30pm and tickets cost £2 for members and £3 for non members. To book a place or for more details, do call the library on 01606 888065.

‘Wherever and however we journey, there are books to inspire and take with us. Reading Places is a series of events and book displays designed to take us to new places from the comfort of your local library. There is something for everyone whether you prefer memoirs and accounts from intrepid travellers, stories which evoke the sights, smells, and sounds of other places, or writing about your own intrepid journeys.’

Tomorrow (Thursday October 27), I’ll be at a ‘Reading Places’ event at Altrincham library. I’ll be chatting about my relationship with Malta, my writing world and (again!) my deepest darkest secrets.

The event starts at 7.00pm and tickets are free. To book a place or for more details, do call the library on 0161 912 5920.

So, my ebook, the one with 99 chapters, the one with 11 different endings, the one that was written to be a digital project, well it now has a front cover. And I’m sure some of you will recognise that Becky Adams (who designed the front cover for ‘Like Bees to Honey’) has been working her magic again…

“Wherever and however we journey, there are books to inspire and take with us. Reading Places is a series of events and book displays designed to take us to new places from the comfort of your local library. There is something for everyone whether you prefer memoirs and accounts from intrepid travellers, stories which evoke the sights, smells, and sounds of other places, or writing about your own intrepid journeys.”

This  Friday (October 14), I’ll be at a ‘Reading Places’ event at Ellesmere Port library. I’ll be chatting about my relationship with Malta, my writing world and (again!) my deepest darkest secrets.

As always, I’d VERY much love to see a friendly face there:

The event starts at 1.30pm at Ellesmere Port Library. Tickets are £2 for library members and £3 for non members. To book a place or for more details, do call the library on 0151 337 4684/5

For one month only,  the Kindle edition of ‘Like Bees to Honey’ is a mere 49p.

Yip, I’m ever so cheap.