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)

Freebie this week!

July 1, 2019June 30, 2019 Chris Hall31 Comments

You'll Never Walk Alone by Chris Hall on kindle pic

It’s holiday time! At least, I think it is in most parts of the world. Anyway, just to say that I’ll be running a little
five day giveaway of the ebook version of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone‘ for you to add to your holiday reading.

So from Wed 3rd July to Sunday 7th July (midnight PST) you can download from these links:
USA ~ UK ~ Australia ~ Canada ~ India
Other countries, such as South Africa

Hope you enjoy!

Book Review – “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Chris Hall

June 29, 2019June 29, 2019 Chris Hall6 Comments

I’m mega chuffed with this great review from Joe Leonardi!
Check out his work on Short Story Scribe. He’s a great teller of tales and also a Hemingway aficionado which is what originally drew me to his site.

Short Story Scribe

You’ll Never Walk Alone is a slow read, and that is a good thing, because the story should be read slowly and digested in increments. There is more than one story being told, and the details are such that at least two distinct books could have been crafted —which, in the hands of an author of lesser skill, could have been disconcerting. Not so with a scribe of Hall’s talent, in You’ll Never Walk Alonethe stories converge perfectly at the end.

In addition to the multiple story arcs, there is an array of interesting characters, none of whom exist simply to fill up space. Some stay for the entire journey, others pop in and out, but each is essential to the story.

In You’ll Never Walk Alone, Chris Hall tells a good story a story I highly recommend.

“Who am I?”

I am an independent, self-published teller of tales, an…

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Aether Prompt Winner: Chris Hall

June 24, 2019 Chris Hall6 Comments

I won! What a super surprise! Isn’t the way Jason has presented this great? Just like he does with all his work. Check him out if you haven’t already discovered his dark and humorous little stories!

Aethereal Engineer

Storyteller and Accidental Blogger Chris Hall of luna’s on line won the May 22nd Aether Prompt with her deliciously dark piece, “Woman Scorned No More”:

She holds the golden sphere in the palm of her hand. It glows, warm with all that remains of him. She has him now, resting in the palm of her hand. His soul, trapped. He in her power; not she in his.

Revenge is sweet, she thinks.

She curls her fingers and feels the sphere pulsate. She turns and walks the few steps to the bridge. Leaning on the rail, she watches the greasy, grey river flow beneath her.

She tosses the sphere in the air and catches it. Tosses again; lets it fall.

Goodbye traitorous heart, she whispers.

Congratulations! Now you’re in the running for the 2019 AETHEREAL ENGINEER WRITER SUPPORT PRIZE PACKAGE! How might she, or possibly you, perchance win such…

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Ducking Under the Radar

June 16, 2019June 28, 2019 Chris Hall13 Comments

cropped-editing-youll-never-walk-alone-by-chris-hall-lunasonline.jpg

Okay, those of you who’ve been following the unfolding story of ‘A Nick in Time’, my children’s novel, will know we are reaching the climax and soon the story will draw to a (very satisfactory) close.

I’ve decided to devote the next couple of weeks to doing just that, so I shall be going rather quieter than usual, although I will be popping up now and then to see what you’re all up to.

One more cliff-hanging chapter will appear here, but the ultimate finale will remain undisclosed until the story is ready for publication. Then you, loyal followers of ‘A Nick in Time’ (and you know who you are), will receive a free advance copy of the ebook.

Bear with me. If I work hard it shouldn’t be too long.

see you soon

Submission Day – we did it!

June 12, 2019 Chris Hall15 Comments

Well, if you’ve been following my #writingmycity project journey, you’ll know we’ve had a few challenges along the way. Now we’ve come to the end of this particular road and there’s really good news.

Stories have been written, author’s bios have been composed and now our entries to the project are ready to go.

How pleased and proud I am of this group of women. They’ve produced disturbing, gut-wrenching and thought-provoking stories. There’s been anger, there’s still sadness but there is definitely hope.

These stories may not be selected for the Cape Town Library Book, but they will certainly give the selection panel food for thought. I don’t know what image of the ‘Mother City’ the editors of the publication intend to portray, but members of the Suiderstrand Library writing group have borne vivid witness to the gritty, dirty underbelly of beautiful Cape Town.

The voices of these strong women deserve to be heard. My thanks to every one of them for sharing their stories with such bravery and honesty.

Just sayin’

June 10, 2019June 10, 2019 Chris Hall8 Comments

000Make an author's day by JI Rogers

Some really helpful advice from author, J I Rogers.

If you were wondering how to jump aboard the ‘author’s helping authors’ band wagon, this makes it so easy!

You can see from the side panel that I regularly read and review books on Goodreads. I also post the review to Amazon for the books I’ve downloaded and read by indie authors. I know how important it is.

So, all of you ‘indies’ out there, time to help each other out. Share the message and post your book links!

And to all you gallant readers: let’s have your reviews! Pretty please?

A Tom’s Life

June 9, 2019June 9, 2019 Chris Hall17 Comments

A Tom's Life by Chris Hall lunasonline

Romeo clung to hope as fiercely as he clung to the gutter, eavesdropping on Nero as he chatted up the new little cat in town. The pretty princess had never given Romeo a second glance, but his hope swelled when he heard her rebuff his rival.

Nero leapt down, landing with the soft thud of paws on paving-stones. Immediately Romeo swung himself up onto the roof and stretched seductively before the little queen.

She slammed her paw down on the tiles. ‘Enough of you toms, you’re just after one thing! I’m going to hang out with the girl cats.’ Tossing her pretty head, she flounced off into the night.

Romeo stared after her open-mouthed. He peered down into the street below where Nero was twitching his tail in irritation. He jumped down and landed beside him. Nero turned his head. ‘No luck either?’ Romeo shook his head. ‘Wanna go rat-catching?’

From a prompt by Hélène Vaillant of Willow Poetry: What do you see? June 4, 2019