In Search of Perdition

And so it is here, my last time to judge the entries, a task made so hard week in, week out through the sheer quality of writing which has been poured forth onto these pages. My winner this week is an absent friend who returned this week. That friend is  Crimson Archer  with his entry Try and Try Again . Paul - I thought that the writing was exquisite. That opening line "A whole shattered into fragments becomes an enigma." was just beautiful and there were so many other phrases to admire. And then that shock of an ending. Wow. I do hope you won't be a stranger to The Prediction at Colleen's place with writing like that. No runners-up but, and this is the second time of me doing this, a more than honourable mention to RR Kovar and Colleen for their Nate and Seth series. I have become seriously addicted to this series and am not sure if it will continue at Prediction Fiction . It feels like there is still a bit more to come and I would love to read it. Now this is...

Well, this time next week I shall be posting up the winners for the final time before rushing on over to Colleen's place at http://predictionfiction.blogspot.co.uk/  to find out what the new words will be. Exciting times. I for one cannot wait to continue the party over at her place! But, before I announce this week's winners, I have some news to share. I was greeted with a rather wonderful package in the post today. Sandra Davies has collated her tale The Blacksmith's Wife, crafted at The Prediction (both under Lily's and my watch), into a wonderfully illustrated printed version and more can be found out about it on Sandra's blog . Thank you so much Sandra - a pleasure to be re-acquainted with her and to see her in print. Now this week's winner I suspect will not come as much of a surprise to anyone looking at the comments made. With a runner-up spot in his last visit, David Barber  goes one better this time round with God's Work . Dave - you made me we...

Hi all, I'm not sure if Lily is going to have time to do her February Femme Fatale (FFF) this year as I know she has oodles of things she is working on (do correct me Lily if you are though). However, I came across this open submissions for female horror writers which closes on 1 February for Siren's Call Publishing http://www.sirenscallpublications.com/open_subs.htm  (details at the bottom of the page). Similar to FFF and they have a version for men in April. Go check it out and good luck to anyone who enters. Cheers Phil

Firstly, may I wish you all a happy new year. May it be full of opportunity and joy for you all. Secondly, I have news this week, something which I have been pondering for a little bit and something which I hope you will understand. I have decided that I will retire from hosting The Prediction, having taken it on from Lily back in May last year. Whilst it has been a great honour to host such fine writers over the past eight or nine months, I am finding that my time is getting more and more limited in life and my own time for writing has dwindled greatly. Something needs to give and, unfortunately, it is The Prediction. Please be assured it is not a decision I have taken lightly and I have changed my mind a number of times (even whilst writing this) but this feels (kind of) the right decision for me at this time in my life. My biggest concern is letting you all down and I apologise that I will be unable to host this wonderfully supportive group in the future. If anyone would ...

If you believe the stories being bandied around on the internet and in the tabloids, the world is due to end on Friday 21 December as foretold (or not) by the Mayans. So, will the impending apocalypse inspire you or send you screaming to the hills? Well, I guess we shall have to see. In the meantime, you have a fortnight to get your entries in as I have a social engagement on Thursday next week so will be unable to judge. Therefore I will close The Prediction on Thursday 27 December so you have a bit more time to fit writing around last minute Christmas shopping (or world destroying meteor showers, whichever comes first). If you want a chance to write over both weeks then don't forget to check out Hunted , our collaborative chain story. Sandra added another piece this week. Do go and check it out and write the next installment if you are so inclined. Now on to the winner for this week. Tough, tough decision this week (isn't it always though) and I've thought long and ...

This weekend I am off to brush shoulders with some of the great genre writers of our time at FantasyCon in Brighton. I shall also get to meet the wonderful Lily Childs in person for the first time. I shall be sure to send her love and warm feelings from The Prediction gang.   Now, how the hell do I judge last week's offerings? Each one would normally have been a winner in its own right on any other week but it seems that the changing of the seasons has inspired you all into even higher levels of literary excellence. So a winner there must be and that winner is....   .... MuckieDuckie with Riven . MD - you tugged on my heartstrings here to great effect. So much heartache throughout this piece, touching pieces of sentimentality littered throughout that work so well, and that final line just had me welling up. I will hug my son hard tonight. A well deserved win for an intense tale.   And my runner-up is, well I have two. Firstly Antonia Woodville with...

Hear ye, hear ye! Listen up one and all. For those of you that don't know, I podcast on the Geek Syndicate network with Dion and a couple of others. As part of a Geek to Geek special the lovely Lily Childs , the wonderful Dion Winton-Polak and my good self had a good old natter about Flash Fiction. You can hear the edited version on Geek to Geek here http://geeksyndicate.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/geek-to-geek-issue-5/  about 57 minutes in and also hear Matt Farr, Keehar and I discuss horror about 1 hour 39 minutes in Both are well worth a listen and you get to hear what we all sound like!   A longer version of the flash discussion will be released later on Scrolls with Dion, Lily and I reading some of our favourite flash which includes some of the works to grace The Prediction. I'll let you know when it's out.   Right, to my winners for this week.   First spot goes to the is Marietta Miles  with her Unti...

Oh, oh, oh! The Olympics are here. The Olympics are here!!! A fortnight of the world's finest coming together to compete for glory in honour of the ancient gods. So let us pay homage to the ancient gods here on this week's Prediction challenge and see what Herculean acts of writing can be achieved over the 100 words dash!   Before I fire my starter's pistol though, let me tell you who is on the podium this week.   My gold medalist this week is Matt Farr with Exhibit F - Note Found Next To First Body . Matt - I thought that this was an incredibly well written piece which drew us into the mind of the killer. A tale which tells us the dangers of letting obsession become all consuming with a killer final line. Superb.   My silver medallist is the ever elegant Lily Childs with 'untitled' .  Lily - there was just something wonderfully mystical about this piece. There's a lovely ambiguity to the situation which intrigued me greatly, making me read those ...

What with the gorgeous weather and the forthcoming four day weekend (UK only - sorry international friends) I could have forgiven people for sitting back and relaxing. But I'm glad you didn't with yet more cracking entries for last week's Prediction. So, I've put on my judge's wig, and a mighty fine wig it is I must say, whilst I've scrutinised the offering from last week. Tough as ever but I have come to a decision. I have two  winners  this week as I have been flicking between the two stories for a good twenty minutes now and just cannot separate them in my mind. My first winner is newcomer  Dex  with his entry  The Killing Field .  Dex - I could envisage myself crouched down there in the cornfield with Peter as the reaper stalked him in the moonlight. Incredibly atmospheric and superbly written. My second winner is the originator of The Prediction Lily Childs  with her second entry of the week Lachrymosa . Lil...

Hello, hello, is this thing on, testing, testing. Well welcome everyone to the new home of The Prediction; I'm so glad that you've made it safely. Do pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. And please invite friends around, there's plenty of room; all are welcome as long as they play nicely. Before I begin I have to say a huge thanks to Lily Childs , not only for hosting The Prediction for the past two years, but also for all the encouragement she has given me in the past year with my own writing. In the words of one of The Prediction regulars, bravo! For the final winner(s) of Lily's Prediction do go and visit Lily's Feardom . My congratulations go out to everyone for such a fine collection of writing last week. So, onto the new Prediction, what's changed, what happens next? Well, other than the decor and the host, not a lot. The same rules apply: 100 words maximum, excluding the title, of flash fiction or poe...

Getting a bit nervous now as it is just one week to go until the responsibility of hosting The Prediction comes my way. For those who did not read my earlier post, it is a weekly 'competition' where people write some wonderful 100 word flash fictions based on three words with a winner chosen (no prizes, just satisfaction of winning and reading the other great entries) and everyone is welcome; just play nicely! Lily Childs has been an amazing host for the past two years at The Feardom  and I hope I can carry on the tradition in a similar vein. It's kind of fitting that during Lily's last week of hosting The Prediction that National Flash Fiction Day falls on 16 May; a lovely piece of cosmic symmetry at play here. I'm personally going to miss Lily hosting things but she's promised that she will pop by here from time to time with some of her delicious, home-baked horror for us to sample when the words are ripe. Anyway, what are you doing still readin...