Writing My City – Update

July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 Chris Hall4 Comments

Just a quick update on the outcome of the submissions to the #WritingMyCity project.

To recap: Cape Town Libraries, in conjunction with the Book Lounge and the Fugard Theatre, launched the project earlier this year to encourage Capetonians to write stories and poetry about the city they live in.

The initiative was aimed at giving Capetonians, from a broad range of backgrounds, the opportunity to tell their stories to a wider world, and for more local community stories to be told and shared. By doing this there is an opportunity to celebrate and deepen the understanding of who and what makes Cape Town the city it is, and build better social cohesion.

You may remember that I volunteered to facilitate a series of workshops, leading a group of people to help them produce their own unique submission. Things didn’t entirely go to plan but in the end we did tell our stories and we did submit to the project.

My hope was that at least one of the ladies’ stories might be accepted. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Perhaps their stories were just a bit too gritty. But it was an interesting journey for us all, and I hope that one or two of them will continue to write and get that release and enjoyment from doing so.

The names of those who have been selected suggest that a range of different voices will be published, including the immigrant English woman who wrote a little piece from the point of view of a child from the township.

Author Angst

July 28, 2019July 28, 2019 Chris Hall14 Comments

Nothing to Say by Chris Hall lunasonline

Drag open cupboards! Rummage the dusty shelves!
Words spill out; letters separate, scatter across the floor.
Photos flame to ash, picture frames’ contents
ooze sludgily down the walls.

You fling open a window. There’s a beach, sunshine and the smell of the sea!
Waves lapping; a boy in a boat.
He points and you look
but there’s nothing to see.

A sudden squall
slams the window
shut.

Here’s a door; chained and padlocked.
There’s a message, curled and yellow, stuck to the frame
A single word, written in your own hand:
No.

You step away, anxiously.
You know. Now
is not the time.

Turn away, turn back!

You trudge step-by-step
over the disturbed contents
of your untidy mind.

Empty handed.
Empty headed?

You take a breath, drain the mug of tepid tea and realise that
Today, you simply have
Nothing to say.

Space Cadets #3

July 26, 2019August 11, 2019 Chris Hall11 Comments

Space Cadets by Chris Hall lunasonline — Source

Previously…

The music fades out as we leave the planet’s atmosphere. The viewing screen blinks.

[STARDATE: 2607.7 – DESTINATION: SECOND STAR ON THE RIGHT]

The letters dissolve. The screen is filled with huge rocks, hurtling towards us.

“Asteroids!” yells Stevens.

The warning siren starts to wail and the red light flashes.

“Does this thing have shields?” I wonder out loud.

[SHIELDS ACTIVATED]

A medium-sized asteroid glances off the screen; the ship slews. Only our seat straps save us from being thrown to the floor.

“How do we steer?” shouts Harris.

A joystick, with a large red button on the top, sprouts from the console in front of him. He grabs hold and his eyes fix on the screen. His tongue pokes out of the side of his mouth; his gaming face. The control is hyper-responsive. Harris dodges nimbly through the asteroid belt, blowing rocks to smithereens with a dab of his thumb.

Then we’re through. The asteroids are behind us and all we can see is the inky blackness of space, peppered with bright pinpricks of light which are the stars.

All is quiet. We sit back and admire the view. My thoughts wander.

A huge black cube appears on the left of the screen. It glitters menacingly.

[You will be assimilated]

Stevens peers at the screen. “The Borg Cube!”

The ship is being pulled towards the vast angular vessel. Sirens wail, warning lights flash.

“But that’s not real!” Harris protests as he wrestles desperately with the joystick.

The ship judders ominously.

[Resistance is useless]

Stevens turns to me. “Hold on. Remember what the Zyborgatron said?”

I think for a moment. “Something about the ship being ‘guided by your imaginations.’ “

“Okay, who imagined The Borg?” Harris growls.

“Never mind who’s responsible. Just think of something else; something friendly!” I yell. “Hurry!”

The Borg Cube fills the screen. Harris jabs the red button repeatedly.

The viewing screen goes blank.

Then I hear a familiar sound.

Tune into episode #4

Home

July 24, 2019July 24, 2019 Chris Hall2 Comments

Take a last look at the world we call Home. You’ll never see it again. After this generation, and maybe the next, nobody will. It won’t exist.

And we, brave comrades, will not see our next home, nor the several generations which will succeed us. Our new home is far, far too distant. Almost too distant to contemplate. It lies beyond our own planetary system, beyond anything visible to our eyes. Only our most powerful telescopes can see; reached only by a single exploratory probe which has travelled over many of our lifetimes.

Thus our new home has been identified. All available data indicates it is suitable for life. Or was. Remember we are travelling such a very great distance across the galaxy, that what we know about this planet is only its past.

But we are optimistic. No other race could have been so stupid. No other beings would wantonly destroy their planet.

So, brave comrades, we boldly go, across to the westward arm of the great spiral galaxy, to a group of eight planets which orbit a sun, just like ours. Our destination is the third from that sun, a blue planet, and we will call it Home.

I miss you

July 22, 2019July 24, 2019 Chris Hall9 Comments

Where you ever there by Chris Hall lunasonline

You were there when I arrived
You nodded in my direction
And I felt the warmth of your smile.

Your wit lit up the room
Your laughter sparkled
Your stories enlivened, inspired
Touched a heart; a nerve.

And then you left.

And it was as if
You’d never been there.

Three things cannot long stay hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth. – Buddha

July 21, 2019 Chris Hall2 Comments

I’m delighted with this review of my debut novel and so pleased my words have brought someone pleasure. Thank you Emily!

Emily Stone Author

When 30 year old Laura Peterson unexpectedly inherits a house in rural Lancashire, she seizes the opportunity to take a break from the busy but unrewarding life she has in bureaucratic Brussels.
Her discovery of an old silver locket hidden in the attic prompts Laura to delve into the history of the house and its former inhabitants. But the locket is more than just a pretty trinket. Under its influence Laura’s sleep becomes increasingly troubled; her dreams are haunted by the young girl who once wore the locket and her waking hours by a sinister old woman in a brown coat who seems to be following her.
Laura engages the services of a landscape gardener, Tom, to help her restore the old kitchen garden at the back of the house. Their work is hindered by a series of disturbing and unexplained incidences and when Tom tries to fell an old…

View original post 252 more words

Space Cadets #2

July 19, 2019July 26, 2019 Chris Hall11 Comments

Previously…

Lights flicker into life. We remain strapped into high-backed chairs. The Professor has vanished. The spherical console in front of us rotates, lights flashing amber and green. A countdown commences: ten, nine, eight… A screen flips up showing the surface of the barren planet outside.

An engine powers up beneath us. The countdown continues: five, four… Behind us a siren wails and a flashing red light reflects on the console. The engine judders: two, one… We are thrown back in our seats. Lift off. The siren ceases. All lights turn green.

The screen shows the planet’s surface receding rapidly. I can just make out the shape of the Professor’s Space Machine on the ground below where we left it.

I turn to Harris on my right. “Who’s flying this thing?”

On my left, Stevens points at the screen where the picture has changed. It is not a life-form I recognise. Humanoid certainly but…

“I am the Zyborgatron,” it says. We look at each other. It continues. “This craft is powered by your minds and guided by your imaginations. Welcome to the Fantasy Tribute Space Opera.”

The signature tune to my favourite TV series from the mid-20th century starts to play…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHhePr0TKfc

Look out for the next episode of Space Cadets…

The Hatter

July 17, 2019July 16, 2019 Chris Hall9 Comments

She makes hats for a living. Every kind of hat, for every kind of occasion. Very special hats.

She’s famous in the town for her hats and what her hats can do. You see, she’s a crafter of dreams, a bringer of good fortune and her hats are enchanted.

They bring you health and wealth and happiness. But there’s a catch. You must pay her your dues. And once she’s caught you in her net, there’s nothing you can do.

Try to speak out against her? Denounce her actions?

Better not. Not if you want a long and happy life.

Without you

July 14, 2019July 14, 2019 Chris Hall16 Comments

On the blank screen
the cursor blinks

Impatiently?
Accusingly?

Like a heartbeat?
A countdown?

Close your eyes
Listen and look

Who’s there?
What are they doing?

Write it down
Quickly! Quickly!

Be nice to them
Nurture them

Or one day they
your characters, might run away.

And then where would you be?

Your time’s up on Sunday!

July 5, 2019July 5, 2019 Chris Hall7 Comments

It’s been an interesting few days running the freebie promo for this new book of mine.

Those of you on Twitter might have seen some interesting activity on my feed in the past couple of days. Unless you’re from (certain parts of) the UK it might not have meant that much to you. Suffice to say, some of us Northerners are very tribal, particularly over our football (soccer) teams.

Actually, let me elaborate a little more.

Of course, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ isn’t really about football. However, writing a book set in Liverpool (to me) requires a passing mention or two of that fine sport. The book title somehow wormed its way into my consciousness and fixed itself there. I never gave a thought to the impact it would have on my fellow Scousers* and other folk beyond the boundaries of our fair city.

You see the rivalry between our two football teams, Liverpool and Everton, is legendary. Between Liverpool and Manchester United (just 30 miles away), it is epic. Seriously so. And LFC’s anthem, shared by a number of other teams incidentally, is the Rogers and Hammerstein song, from the musical Carousel, You’ll Never Walk Alone.

The song is pretty much synonymous with Liverpool Football Club and its supporters, of which you will have guessed I am one. Did you spot the top my husband and illustrator was wearing at the book launch a few weeks ago?

So, the result of this reckless labelling for my book? It was said I was sticking my neck out way too far, that I’d alienate 50% of Liverpool, all of Manchester… and so on. Oops!

So, maybe an ill-judged title? I don’t know. There was a bit of back-tracking on the Twitter feed, and now I’m honoured to find an Evertonian** has downloaded my book and has even tweeted that, having read the blurb, he’s actually looking forward to doing so!

I thought the whole thing was hilarious.

And before I go, just a reminder that the free download runs until midnight on Sunday (Pacific Standard Time) which is 9am on Sunday morning here in South Africa, 8am Sunday morning in the UK, and 4pm on Saturday afternoon in Sydney, Australia etc. We are so very international aren’t we?

Thank you to everyone who’s downloaded the book. I hope you enjoy reading it and look forward to your feedback.

Have a great weekend and happy reading!

___________________________________
*a person coming from Liverpool
**a supporter of Everton FC (and possibly a resident of the Everton district of Liverpool)