S.C Newland - Writer

It was Ian Fleming's birthday yesterday and I noticed several lists popping up on the internet citing the best Bond books in order - a countdown if you like from 14 - 1. I haven't read them all, but when I do pick them up, I usually enjoy them. The books are not all novels. Fleming wrote two Bond short story collections: For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy.  One thing I noticed was that the least favourite story was: The Spy Who Loved Me. It's written in first person from the point of view of a female character called Viv. It's about her life. Bond doesn't appear until halfway through or so. I found this frustrating when I read it years ago in my teens, but did enjoy the gangster plot and the tension Bond brings to his scenes. It's become one of my favourite's over the years and doesn't in any way match the plot of the Roger Moore movie - which is cracking. An oddity in the Bond canon, but then Fleming also wrote Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang. Nuff said. Here...

It's world Dracula Day today. The seminal vampire novel written by Bram Stoker was published on May 26th, 1897. Bram Stoker's Dracula was meticulously crafted, drawing from folklore, history, and extensive research. Here are some fascinating facts about its construction: Epistolary Format : The novel is told through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles, creating a fragmented yet immersive narrative. Historical & Folkloric Influences : Stoker researched vampire legends and historical figures, including Vlad the Impaler and Countess Elizabeth Báthory, though recent scholarship suggests he may not have directly based Dracula on them. Whitby Connection : While vacationing in Whitby, England, Stoker discovered the name "Dracula" in a public library and chose it because he believed it meant "devil" in Romanian. Extensive Notes : Stoker compiled over a hundred pages of notes while developing the novel, ensuring a rich and detailed world. Binary...

Today is Sherlock Holmes Day. A way to celebrate his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday. The author was born 22 May 1859. The great detective character first appeared in 1887 in the story A Study in Scarlet. His fame for deduction soon caught on and many came to believe he was actually a real person living at 221B Baker Street in London. Together with his side-kick Dr.Watson, Sherlock appeared in innumerable novels and short stories.  My personal favourite is The Hound of the Baskervilles. Doyle threw everything into the novel - Dartmoor, escaped prisoners, and a monstrous hound that make it still enjoyed to this day.

Hooray! I'm excited to announce - my short Flash fiction piece 'White Goat', came Runner Up in the Tortive Lit Flash Fiction 101 March Competition.  The theme prompt was: A Flaw in Time. Entries were restricted to exactly 101 words. And the guest judge was writer Richard Curnow. You can read 'White Goat' - a one-minute read on their website via this link:  March 2025 Runner Up: White Goat Hope you enjoy it. Pic AI Generation.

Crutch Words are fascinating.  What are they? Words frequently overused in your writing. I discovered mine was soft  and all derivatives - eg: softened, softening.  Used it seven times in a 3,000 word short story! The story made sense with them, but it was annoying. Needless to say, they were surgically replaced. Talking to other writers: that, slightly, look, probably and seem are quite popular.

It's time to hail the leprechauns and enjoy a jig or too, it's St Patrick's Day in Ireland. To add to the celebrations here's a list of 10 great writers from the home of Guinness: James Joyce – Renowned for groundbreaking works like Ulysses and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man . W.B. Yeats – A Nobel Prize-winning poet and playwright, known for works such as The Tower and The Wild Swans at Coole . Oscar Wilde – Famous for his wit, plays like The Importance of Being Earnest , and his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray . Samuel Beckett – A master of absurdist theatre and literature, known for Waiting for Godot and Endgame . Seamus Heaney – Another Nobel laureate, celebrated for his poetry collections like Death of a Naturalist . Jonathan Swift – The satirist behind Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal . Edna O'Brien – Acclaimed for her novels such as The Country Girls trilogy. Roddy Doyle – Known for contemporary works like The Commitments and Pa...