am reading

Author Interview – Introducing Penny Rogers and Amelie At The Window

November 7, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Penny Rogers and Bridge House Publishing for supplying book cover and author shots. Other images created in Book Brush using images from them or from Pixabay using their photos. One image from a past Bridge House Publishing celebration event was taken by me, Allison Symes.

It is always a joy to welcome fellow authors to Chandler’s Ford Today, especially when they are fellow Bridge House Publishing writers. Penny Dale, who writes as Penny Rogers, is someone I have often chatted to at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event held annually in December.

Penny has had many stories in The Best of CafeLit anthologies. Indeed she and I have had our work in the same books but it is a great joy to congratulate Penny on her forthcoming book, Amelie at the Window.

The title story started life as a short story but other stories about Amelie’s life emerged in response to popular demand and this led to the book being written. It is written in two halves as a collection of short stories about the people who lived in a fictional small town in France in 1914 and again in 1924. So much happened in those ten years.

Tags: am reading, am writing, Amelie At The Window, author interview, book launch, Bridge House Publishing, Cafelit, flash fiction, historical fiction, marketing, new book, Penny Rogers, short stories, writing tips

Author News – Allison Symes – Getting Out and About with ACW

October 31, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: One image directly from Pixabay. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos or images taken by me, Allison Symes. Other photos were taken by me, Allison Symes, at the ACW Autumn Gathering event in 2025 (and for the funny captions on the tables from their event in 2024 but the captions do not date!).

Last Saturday, 25th October, I had the joy of going to Egham for the Association of Christian Writers Autumn Gathering. It is the annual in-person gathering. The other ACW meetings are held on Zoom and are so useful but there is something special about getting together with other writers in person.

Tags: ACW, am reading, am writing, Association of Christian Writers, author event, creative writing, networking, the writing life, writing event

Flash Fiction Collections

September 5, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:- Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Book cover images are from Chapeltown Books/Bridge House Publishing.

I make a point of mixing up what I read in terms of genre and type of story. So as well as reading novels, I read novellas and, naturally for me, flash fiction and short story collections.

Tags: am reading, am writing, Bridge House Publishing, Cafelit, Chapeltown Books, creative writing, fiction, flash fiction collections, From Light to Dark and Back Again, putting a story collection together, Seeing The Other Side, short story anthologies, Tripping the Flash Fantastic

Stand Alone Books

August 29, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books.

I love reading stand alone novels. One of my favourites here is The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. The story is complete. There could not be a follow up. But especially in genre fiction, there is a lot of the room for the series novels. Crime and historical fiction seem to me to lead the way there. I will be interviewing an American author shortly who is renowned for her crime series, but I thought for this post I’d take a look at the joys and challenges of writing stand alone books.

[Read more…] about Stand Alone Books

Tags: am reading, am writing, complete stories, fiction, reading, satisfying story endings, stand alone books

Visiting Jane Austen in Dorchester

August 8, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Photos were taken by me, Allison Symes. Some images created in Book Brush using my images or those from Pixabay.

I had the opportunity recently to go and see a Jane Austen exhibition at the Dorset Museum in Dorchester. This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth and there have been various events to commemorate this. (I am sure there will be more as we head to Miss Austen’s birthday in December and it would pay to keep an eye out for events at Winchester Cathedral, where Jane is buried).

Tags: am reading, celebrating Jane Austen, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Down To The Sea Exhibition, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, The Dorset Museum, Thomas Hardy

Breaking Down Why A Story Works

July 18, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

Breaking down why a story works may seem a strange thing to do. Surely you just want to read an enjoyable tale and move on to the next one, ideally having a good mix of genres, classic and contemporary works as part of your “reading diet”?

Well, yes, but if you want to write your own stories, it does pay you to work out what it is you love about those you enjoy reading. You will learn a great deal from this, some of which at least you will be able to apply to your own writing.

Tags: am reading, am writing, breaking down why a story works, creative writing, fiction, learning from other writers

Stories in Troubled Times

July 4, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One photo taken by me, Allison Symes, at an Association of Christian Writers event.

Do you read more or less fiction when the news is grim? Are you conscious you’re doing so? I know I deliberately listen to more classical music, write more, read more. All of these are good to focus on, so unlike the news. I recall there was always a funny or warm hearted story at the end of the main news bulletin. Do those still exist? I haven’t come across them recently.

Tags: am reading, am writing, stories, stories as escapism, stories inspiring writers, stories sparking other stories in different formats

Why Write Fiction

June 13, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

This may be a strange question for a fiction writer to ask but it’s not a bad thing to look into as it ties in closely with why write at all. I believe the creative arts as a whole are worth celebrating and supporting. Fiction writers, though, have the chance to show reflections on humanity’s behaviour all through the medium of entertaining stories.

[Read more…] about Why Write Fiction

Tags: am reading, am writing, empathy from reading fictional characters, fiction, libraries, stories as escapism, why write fiction

History and Stories

May 30, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One image taken by me, Allison Symes, at The Hilt Book Fair.

History is full of stories, which is one reason I love it. Of course, history is said to be written by the winners. There is truth in that but every so often someone will come along and come up with alternatives to the “orthodox” version. Josephine Tey did this in fiction regarding Richard III with her marvellous The Daughter of Time, which The Richard III Society credits as being a major reason for many people joining them.

[Read more…] about History and Stories

Tags: am reading, am writing, Annette Carson, historical fiction, historical non-fiction, history, Josephine Tey, Philippa Langley, Sharon Penman, social history, technological history, telling details, The Daughter of Time, The Maligned King, The Princes in the Tower, The Sunne in Splendour, using history in stories, writing advice

What You Need to Know About Character Creation

April 18, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos

As I write a lot of flash fiction and short stories, I need to create a lot of characters. I do re-use some but not many compared to the numbers I’ve created in total. My characters often have one story in them, though occasionally one may play a “bit part” role in another tale.

For me, any good story of whatever length is all about what happens and, specifically, what happens to the lead character. I must know what happens to them. I must care about what happens too, even if they’re a villain and I am hoping their evil plans will fail. I also need to know whose story it is.

Tags: am reading, am writing, character attitudes, character creation, characterisation, creating characters, creative writing, dialogue, fiction, flash fiction, positive and negative sides to traits in characters, short stories, situations, what you need to know when creating characters

What Makes A Story Work

April 4, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images

You take in what makes a story work subconsciously. Even as a child, when I read the classic fairytales, I knew on the third time of something occurring, there would be a different result leading to the happy ever after ending. I had no idea that was the Rule of Three in action. I just knew if this didn’t happen, there was something wrong with the story. I also knew early on I had to want to find out what happened to the characters so there had to be something interesting about them to grab my attention (and just as importantly keep my attention going).

Tags: am reading, am writing, beginnings middles and ends, creative writing, description, dialogue, fiction, keeping the reader interested, learning from what you read, understanding characters, what makes a story work

The Writer’s Wish List

February 28, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos, with some directly from Pixabay.

Picture the scene. You discover this dodgy lamp. You polish it. A genie appears and grants you the ability, as a writer, to create your own wish list. You can have five items on it. Better still, all of those wishes will be granted. The only rule here is no wish should be harmful. You think fair enough and then compile what you would wish for.

So what would I choose and why?

Tags: AI and creative writing, am reading, am writing, handling rejections, learning your writing craft, useful writing information, writer's wish list, writing journey, writing scams, writing sources

Making the Most of Your Writing Time

January 17, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

Making the most of writing time is always a timely topic. Every writer will have their own answer to this.

Tags: am reading, am writing, creative writing, making the most of your writing time, planning your writing, productivity

Story Tips

January 3, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

I catch up with a lot of stories during the Advent and Christmas periods but not always via books (of any format).

[Read more…] about Story Tips

Tags: am reading, am writing, characters, creative writing, learning your writing craft, story writing tips, writing advice

New Year, New Writing Hopes

December 27, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the two photos from The Hayes, Swanwick from 2024.

I know it is a little early but Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2025 proves to be a good year. It would be nice to have less grim news but I think that may be something I will have to put on a wish list somewhere.

Tags: am reading, am writing, Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group, editing, evaluating your writing, Happy New Year, having a writing agenda, new writing year, story competition judging, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, the writing journey, workshops

Bridge House Publishing Celebration and Broadcasting News

December 20, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

One image created in Book Brush using a photo taken by Lynn Clement and a screenshot taken by me, Allison Symes. Other images from the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event were taken by Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, Lynn Clement, and me, Allison Symes. One image from CFT archives. Two other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

It’s a lovely way to finish my Chandler’s Ford Today posts for Christmas by sharing festive related writing news.

Tags: Allison Symes, am reading, am writing, Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group, author update, Bridge House Publishing Celebration event, Christmas story by Allison Symes, festive flash fiction, Friday Flash Fiction Christmas Competition, Hannah Kate, networking, North Manchester FM, Tact by Allison Symes, The Best of CafeLit 13, Theodore Bullfrog, Three Minute Santas flash fiction show

What I Look For In A Good Story

December 13, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

Everyone has their own tastes in books and stories, of course. The publishing and literary world would not be so interesting and extensive if we all read the same thing. Genres would disappear and creative imagination would be limited to whatever it was we all read. But there are elements in books and stories which cross all genres. These are the things I look out for whenever I read any kind of story, regardless of its word count.

Tags: am reading, am writing, books, characters, flash fiction by Allison Symes, gripping reads, long fiction, plots, short fiction, stories

Behind The Curtain with Anita D Hunt

September 27, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Lynsey Adams for supplying book cover, blog tour, and author pics. Many thanks to Anita D Hunt for supplying images from Cornwall relating to Behind The Curtain. Images of Anita from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, were taken by Keith Hinchy. Other Swanwick images were taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the screenshot of Anita’s fascinating memory workbooks. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images with some directly from Pixabay.

It is with great pleasure I welcome debut novelist and fellow Swanwicker, Anita D Hunt, to Chandler’s Ford Today. Anita’s novel, Behind the Curtain, is a domestic noir published by SpellBound Books.

The novel was launched at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick following its release in paperback on 2nd August. Anita had the joy of signing copies in the Book Room, almost literally hot off the press.

Tags: am reading, am writing, Anita D Hunt. Behind The Curtain, author inspiration, blurbs, book blog tours, book launch, Cornwall Writers, creating characters, crime fiction, domestic noir, Lynsey Adams, marketing, Reading Between The Lines Book Vlog, Spellbound Books, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, themes, writing groups, writing journey

Swanwick 2024

August 23, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Jen Wilson, Penny Blackburn, Val Penny, Keith Hinchy, and June Webber for images from Swanwick. Other images from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, were taken by yours truly, Allison Symes. Other images created in Book Brush using my photos.

When this post goes out, I will be back home, having recently enjoyed another lovely week at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, which is based at The Hayes, Derbyshire. This week sees me immersed in the world of writing, which is just one of many reasons I adore going. It is also the place from where the only German prisoner of war from World War Two successfully escaped and fled back to Germany.

On the writing front, delegates are free to choose which courses and workshops they go to and there is a wide range of topics to choose from too. There is something to suit everyone, no matter where they are at in their writing journeys.

There are four part and two part courses to choose from, as well as the one hour workshops, plus I find I always learn something useful, as well as enjoying being entertained, by the after dinner guest speakers, who are all renowned in their fields.

[Read more…] about Swanwick 2024

Tags: am reading, am writing, Continuing Professional Development, courses, creative writing, networking, residential writing school, The Hayes, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, workshops

Having a Superpower

June 14, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

I run a monthly Zoom workshop on flash fiction writing for the Association of Christian Writers. It is great fun to do and the online aspect helps so much as the members live several hundreds of miles apart so we could never get together in person.

I usually set a monthly theme and then set exercises based on that. Sometimes I will prepare an answer to an exercise to show as an example but most of the time I will write on the night of the meeting with the other members.

[Read more…] about Having a Superpower

Tags: am reading, am writing, Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction group, creative writing, limiting character powers and why, live writing, problems with fictional superpowers, setting writing exercises, superpowers, writing exercises

am reading

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Penny Rogers and Bridge House Publishing for supplying book cover and author shots. Other images created in Book Brush using images from them or from Pixabay using their photos. One image from a past Bridge House Publishing celebration event was taken by me, Allison Symes.

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Image Credits:- Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Book cover images are from Chapeltown Books/Bridge House Publishing.

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Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books.

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Image Credits: Photos were taken by me, Allison Symes. Some images created in Book Brush using my images or those from Pixabay.

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Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One photo taken by me, Allison Symes, at an Association of Christian Writers event.

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Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One image taken by me, Allison Symes, at The Hilt Book Fair.

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Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos, with some directly from Pixabay.

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Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the two photos from The Hayes, Swanwick from 2024.

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Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

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Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Jen Wilson, Penny Blackburn, Val Penny, Keith Hinchy, and June Webber for images from Swanwick. Other images from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, were taken by yours truly, Allison Symes. Other images created in Book Brush using my photos.

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Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

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