The Harmony Of Immortal Souls

J.S. Bach, violin concerto in A minor BWV 1041
(Hipstamatic Jane camera, Kodot XGrizzled film)

The new flash story in 'The Machine Sequence' is now up over at Imaginalis!  As I've stated earlier on the blog, these are prequel stories to my novel 'Machine Songs', which is currently proceeding through a second draft.

This piece features two Shakespeare quotes:

The first is from Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice, Act V, scene i:

‘Such harmony is in immortal souls,
But whilst this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.'

Enter musicians 

The second is from Duke Vincentio in Measure for measure, Act IV, scene i:

' 'Tis good; though music oft hath such a charm
To make bad good, and good provoke to harm.'   

If you want to read them in order, check out the separate 'Machine Sequence' page in the site's menu.


More to follow over the next few weeks/months.  

The Leaf Of Valerian

OK, this isn't Valerian. But it is another awesome photo from Peter Isherwood...

The next story in 'The Machine Sequence' has now been published by Imaginalis!  This is called 'The Leaf Of Valerian', in which the Botanist comes up with a plan. But will they ever find Fenix? 

These flash stories all precede my (as yet unpublished) novel: Machine Songs (working title).  If you want to read them in order, they have a separate page in the blog's main menu.


More to follow over the next few weeks/months.  

The Witch In The Forest

The next flash story in what I am now calling 'The Machine Sequence' is now up on Imaginalis. This is called 'The Witch In The Forest' and touches on some legends of the Black Forest.

These flash stories all precede my (as yet unpublished) novel: Machine Songs (working title).  If you want to read them in order, have a look at their separate page in the menu.

More to follow over the next few weeks/months.  

FIve Hundred Years Later

Artwork by Iestyn Rhobet

Bento Box #15 is out now, from Mysteria Press!  This features one of my flash short stories 'Five Hundred Years Later'.  Bento Box #15 was edited by Lisa Knight, of Imaginalis fame...

You can download the entire anthology, for free, from here (or click the picture).  Enjoy!

On The Brink Of An Unknown Future

'Clouds Roll Over The Valley' by Peter Isherwood

The next Flash Fiction in the sequence has been published by the lovely people over at Imaginalis!

This story references a famous quote by John Wyndham, from his 1951 novel 'The Day of the Triffids': 'And we danced, on the brink of an unknown future, to an echo from a vanished past.'  

I'd been wanting to pay homage to Wyndham for a while - you can't really write about aggressive botany without including some kind of Triffid quote! The 80s BBC adaptation of the book which I watched as a child still haunts me to this day...

These flash stories all precede my (as yet unpublished) novel: Machine Songs (working title).  If you want to read them in order, check out the separate page at the head of the blog entitled: 'The Machine Sequence.'

Grains Of Pollen, In Twilight

Imaginalis has just just published 'Grains of Pollen, in Twilight', the next flash in the sequence of stories that precede my (as yet unpublished) novel: Machine Songs (working title).

If you want to read them in order, have a look at their separate page in the menu.

More to follow.

Time Out at the Café Metropole

I'm very excited to announce that my story 'Time Out at the Café Metropole' has been published in Perihelion! 

This story is in the same 'Universe' as my novel 'The Scion'.  The Sassrit and their henchmen, the shapeshifting Jarthiala, both feature.  The events in the story are however unrelated to the novel, occurring centuries beforehand.

Note: this story is no longer available on line (23.05.15).