Andrew Ferguson
Children's/YA Author
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Penstricken: Collected Stories by Andrew Ferguson – Out Now!
Posted on February 18, 2021 Leave a Comment
There are short stories, there are very short stories and then there is flash fiction: the delicate and often tricky art of telling a story in as few words as possible.The stories in this tiny little book (all originally published between 2015 and 2020 on the fiction blog, Penstricken) are deliberate exercises in brevity.
In total, this book contains twelve flash fictions ranging from fifty to 2,000 words apiece, plus six collections of six word stories.
While these stories vary in mood and genre, you will find in many that the author’s tongue was firmly entrenched in his cheek; whether it be in the brief tale of a Martian liberating his ‘kin’ from the deep fat fryer of a Glasgow chip shop or the nightmarish tragedy of Santa Claus’ true genesis, Penstricken: Collected Stories is a brief snapshot of one writer’s meandering imagination.
8 Super Snappy Speed Reviews
Posted on January 31, 2021 Leave a Comment
Well this might be a great idea or it might not be, but I thought it might be fun to knock together a couple of two or three sentence book reviews based on a selection from my bookshelf. Who knows, if it’s a hit, I’ll maybe do it again… maybe with movies or TV shows. But for today, it’s books.
I selected the books for review entirely at random. They are not necessarily of the same genre, nor are they necessarily books I particularly liked or disliked, nor are they sorted into any particular order.
What I have written about them are my entirely own impressions and opinions, compressed, squeezed and crammed into a few short sentences.
Penstricken: Collected Stories by Andrew Ferguson – Out Now!
Posted on January 23, 2021 Leave a Comment
There are short stories, there are very short stories and then there is flash fiction: the delicate and often tricky art of telling a story in as few words as possible.The stories in this tiny little book (all originally published between 2015 and 2020 on the fiction blog, Penstricken) are deliberate exercises in brevity.
In total, this book contains twelve flash fictions ranging from fifty to 2,000 words apiece, plus six collections of six word stories.
While these stories vary in mood and genre, you will find in many that the author’s tongue was firmly entrenched in his cheek; whether it be in the brief tale of a Martian liberating his ‘kin’ from the deep fat fryer of a Glasgow chip shop or the nightmarish tragedy of Santa Claus’ true genesis, Penstricken: Collected Stories is a brief snapshot of one writer’s meandering imagination.
PENSTRICKEN: COLLECTED STORIES – OUT NOW!
Posted on December 19, 2020 Leave a Comment
There are short stories, there are very short stories and then there is flash fiction: the delicate and often tricky art of telling a story in as few words as possible.The stories in this tiny little book (all originally published between 2015 and 2020 on the fiction blog, Penstricken) are deliberate exercises in brevity.
In total, this book contains twelve flash fictions ranging from fifty to 2,000 words apiece, plus six collections of six word stories.
While these stories vary in mood and genre, you will find in many that the author’s tongue was firmly entrenched in his cheek; whether it be in the brief tale of a Martian liberating his ‘kin’ from the deep fat fryer of a Glasgow chip shop or the nightmarish tragedy of Santa Claus’ true genesis, Penstricken: Collected Stories is a brief snapshot of one writer’s meandering imagination.
To Judge a Book (Not By its Cover)
Posted on December 19, 2020 Leave a Comment
I didn’t actually know what I wanted. I just wanted new books. Exciting stories, riveting stories, poetically crafted and well researched works of fiction. Unfortunately, that’s a little too vague for the average search engine to reliably cope with. I know what I like when I read it but… how do I know I like it until I read it? I’ve always had this problem with choosing new books, films or other forms of fiction.
It is wise, of course, to begin by whittling the choice down to include only your favourite genres. Most bookshops are organised this way anyway, regardless of whether you are looking online or in a physical shop. Unfortunately, if you’re like me, there’s a good chance that you’ll want to peruse almost all of the genres, which doesn’t really help much. You could, of course, always fall back on that age-old game of literary roulette called ‘Judge a Book by its Cover’. Alternatively, you could do what I do and ignore the categories the shop gives you and make up your own categories instead.
Spotlight: Weeks by Jasyn T. Turley
Posted on November 10, 2020 Leave a Comment
Phil, Tim, and Dakota are three survivors taking refuge in Atlanta, Georgia. The year is 2027, ten years after a nuclear fallout decimated the known world and left it in shambles. With hordes of the undead flooding their once safe home and a city now depleted of all resources and supplies the three must make a daring gamble. To trek across the States and Canada, looking for a new place to call home; safe from the monsters that plague the lands. In their daring gamble this trio encounters more than just zombies. They are relentlessly pursued and hunted by both an old and new nemesis’. Trying to survive and stick together, no matter the odds, they must rely on their faith, bond, and past experiences to live through their tribulations. In this world, a fool’s chance is usually their only chance.
Spotlight: Love Offline by Olivia Spring
Posted on November 3, 2020 Leave a Comment
Emily’s Struggling To Find Romance Online. Will Ditching The Dating Apps Lead To True Love?
Online dating isn’t working for introvert Emily. Although she’s comfortable swiping right at home in her PJs, the idea of going out to meet a guy in person fills her with dread.
So when her best friend challenges her to ditch the apps, attend a load of awkward singles’ events and find love in real life, Emily wants to run for the hills.
Then she meets Josh. He’s handsome, kind and funny, but Emily’s had her heart crushed before and knows he’s hiding something…
Is Josh too good to be true? Can Emily learn to trust again and if she does, will it lead to love or more heartache?
Love Offline is a fun, sexy, entertaining story about friendship, stepping outside of your comfort zone and falling in love the old-fashioned way.
Spotlight: The Girl She Wanted by K.L. Slater
Posted on October 27, 2020 Leave a Comment
Alexa has always looked up to her older sister Carrie. Carrie lives in Alexa’s family home, and adores her one-year-old niece Florence. Alexa doesn’t know how they would cope without her. So when Carrie is suspended from her job as a senior nurse, accused of the most terrible crime, Alexa reels in disbelief. Alexa knows how caring Carrie is, and as she watches Florence gurgling and cooing whenever Carrie is around, she knows her little girl is in safe hands.
Alexa’s husband doesn’t trust Carrie. He wants her out of the house, unable to ignore what people are saying about her. But when he suggests that Carrie could be a danger to their daughter, Alexa shuts him out. Nobody will ever come between her and her sister.
Then Florence is hurt while in Carrie’s care and Alexa at last starts to wonder. Alexa has always wanted to protect Carrie from the past they have hidden. But does Alexa know what Carrie wants? And will the secret that has kept the sisters together now destroy her little girl?
5 Nifty NaNoWriMo Blog Posts
Posted on October 25, 2020 3 Comments
I’ve selected five posts from across the internet, each with two things in common: 1) they’re about NaNoWriMo and 2) I enjoyed reading them.
I trust you will too.
Spotlight: Opposable by Kirk E. Hammond
Posted on October 20, 2020 Leave a Comment
The Arca Trochia; a shifty, omniscient mega-fungus two billion light years from Earth, impregnated Dr. Vanderbilt’s mind with Sparks; thought spores carrying ideas. The Sparks search the cosmos for other habitable planets and germinate in fertile minds. Once rooted, they create Spires; portals allowing for instantaneous travel between the two worlds.
The first Spark told Dr. Vanderbilt to document every detail of the Arca Trochia’s home world; Halteres. The second Spark told him to attach bionic, opposable thumbs onto his cats.
PAY ATTENTION. THIS IS SERIOUS.
The ambivalous Dr. V thinks these ideas are his, and what he’s too aloof to know, will kill us all.
EARTH’S FATE COULDN’T REST IN WORSE HANDS.
Can psychotic cyborg cats, a pyromaniac alien, the punk rock Veteran of Chemical Wars, a merc known as Lilac Vengeance, and a severed head convince the unwitting doctor that he and his cats hold the key to thwarting the imminent alien invasion?
It’ll take every gram of effort (and drugs) the multi-species cadre of rebels can score to knock some sense into Dr. V as they cut a swath of debauchery through the Rocky Mountains and Southwest on their way to head off the attack.
ALIENS, PREPARE TO ABDUCT SOME LEAD.
Andrew Ferguson 