The Best of CafeLit 12

 

This year we present a selection of some of the best stories from each month. There is a balance of longer and shorter stories, darker and lighter tales, serious and funny prose, experimental and conventional. Many of them invite you to reflect. There is also a welcome balance of old friends, writers who have contributed to CaféLit over the years, and of new voices.

Each story in this little volume is the right length and quality for enjoying as you sip the assigned drink in your favourite Creative Café. You need never feel alone again in a café. So what’s the mood today? Espresso? Earl Grey tea? Hot chocolate with marshmallows? You'll find most drinks in our drinks index.

 

RRP £9.00

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First, I loved the structure of the book, with stories assigned to each month and with each one designated a drink to enjoy while reading. Brilliant idea. The stories are all a pleasure to read and so diverse. I was particularly struck by the portrayal of extreme cold in January’s offering by Jim Bates, the poignancy of the disappointment of Ma in Never Count Your Chickens, the true-life pain and reconciliation in S. Nadja Zajdman’s How My Mum Came to Forgive Omar Sharif and Dawn DeBraal’s Good Times with a portrayal of a burgeoning friendship between two senior citizens. But every story brings something different and as each one is short, it’s the perfect book for the bedside table or the sun lounger. And add a drink of your own choice, of course!

 

I have to declare an interest here as one of the authors represented but this is a fine collection of short fiction to dip into and out of as you please. There are perspectives from across the globe and its cultural variations. Well worth snuggling up with, accompanied by your favorite drink. 

 

 

Contributors:

Swati Moheet,Agrawal,,Lynda Baker,Jim Bates, Anna Braverman, Lynn Clement, Sue Cook, Liz Cox, Chris Darrock, Mary Daurio, Dawn DeBraal,Tony Domaille,Jane Edgerley, Stacie Eirich, Lena Green, Clive Gresswell, Doug Jacquier, Gill James, Sara Jenkins, Rosemary Johnson,Dawn Knox, Henry Lewi,Eamon O 'Leary, Fleur Lind, Chris Pais, Jenny Palmer, Mari Phillips,  Hannah Retallick, Judith Skilleter, Roberta Smithies, Phyllis Souza, Jane Spirit, Allison Symes, Julie Wise,Julia Wood, S.  Nadja Zajdman. 

The Big Book of Prompts

 

There are three prompts a day for the whole of 2023. Some are short and pithy, others are inspired by obscure days e.g. 8 January Bubble Bath Day, and some go into more detail on an aspect of writing craft. There are series that go over a number of days. A few prompts are about works in progress and several give you the choice of working with a text you have already created, creating something new or even editing a completed piece of work. But every prompt gives you the opportunity to write something as well.

These prompts were put together by writers published by the Bridge House, CaféLit and Chapeltown imprints, and their friends.

Happy writing!

 

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Gill James is a great asset to all writers, especially those who hope to publish their short stories and possibly earn money. If you've heard of Bridge House Publishing or Café Lit, you will know this powerhouse of encouragement.

There are several prompts for each day of the year. So ... I am going to complete 366 pieces of writing, mainly fiction flashes, because I am a slow writer. Only I shall start today, 16th March 2023. Who will join me?  

Here are some ideas of how to use this with you awrtiting group 

Devils, Demons and Werewolves

 

Devils, demons, werewolves and other creatures of the night don’t have to be scary. In fact, at times they can be downright funny. They have their fair share of the type of problems we humans have – pesky monthly cycles, others out to get them, a lack of what they need and a surfeit of what they don’t want. They’re not immune to recessions either.

But we wouldn’t want to disappoint you. There are plenty of moments in this little collection that make you hold your breath, make you want to lock the door and turn the lights up and make you wish you hadn’t stayed home alone.

Laugh, cry and prepare to be scared… 

 

RRP  £7.00

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Contributors:   

Marion Clarke, Juliet Corbett-Jones, Julie-Ann Corrigan, Kirsty Ferry, Linda Flynn, Catherine Hargreaves, Alyson Hilbourne, Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, Sophie Jackson, Gill James, Heather Parker, Clarissa Pattern, Holly Stacey, Sally Startup, Elaine Westley. 

ISBN: 9781907335082

 

 

The Best of CafeLit 7

 

Each story in this little volume is the right length and quality for enjoying as you sip the assigned drink in your favourite Creative Café. You need never feel alone again in a café. So what's the mood today? Espresso? Earl Grey tea? Hot chocolate with marshmallows? You'll find most drinks in our drinks index.

 

RRP £6.00

Buy from Amazon 

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

Buy from The Hive (UK)

Buy from Barnes and Noble (US)

Buy from us (1-4 books)  

 

Buy from us (5+ books) 

   

"A small collection of short stories which can be dipped into depending on your mood and time constraints. There is a variety of writing which will suit every taste. Some are simple and cheery whilst others are much, much darker. A nice gift for anyone who enjoys a good story."

 

What a wonderful idea, to collect stories of the perfect length to enjoy over a hot drink. Just like a cup of tea, some of these are good while others are the perfect brew. The variety of topics covered showcases the imagination and creativity of the writers and have been selected from those published on the Cafe Lit website, based on votes and most visited.
I was gifted a copy of this collection in return for an honest review and spent an enjoyable week looking forward to seeing what the next story would bring. 

 

A really interesting and varied mix of stories from Sophie Flynn's super Flash Fiction to longer stories like Penny Rogers 'Waiting for Pogo' which is a story of its time, but still resonates now and Gill James' 'Film Noir' about the dangers of a modelling agency. There is really something for everyone. I'd like to think I'd read one whilst drinking the suggested drink, but so far, I've stuck to black coffee.

 

Contributors

Gail Aldwin, Glenn Bresciani, Derek Corbett, Ann Dixon, Sophie Flynn, Laura Gray,Keith Havers, Richard Hough,Gill James,Dawn Knox, Fiona Mills, Roger Noons, Wendy Ogilvie, Paula R C Readman, Penny Rogers, Robin Wrigley 

ISBN :

9781910542408

 

  

Crackers

 

Every year we pick a very vaguely Christmas-related theme for our annual anthology. Then we invite our writers to subvert it. In this collection, they’ve certainly done that to the extent that we almost had a picture of cream crackers for the cover. Our theme this year is “crackers”. So, we have Christmas crackers, cream crackers, cracking dresses, a cracked antique and many, many other interpretations. We hope you will find this a cracking good read.

Some fantastic writing was offered and the most of it was potentially publishable. We chose the pieces in this collection because they told a good story, had a strong voice and were imaginative in their interpretation of the theme.

This anthology of literary fiction is so apt for the 21st Century.

RRP £9.00

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Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

Buy from The Hive (UK)  

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Buy from us

 

Contributors

Sally Angell, Christopher Bowles, M Bulleyment, Elizabeth Cox, Stephen Faulkner, Alyson Faye, Linda Flynn, Boris Glikman, Ian Inglis, Karen Kendrick, Dawn Knox, Stuart Larner, G. Norman Lippert, Kay Middlemiss, Adrian Naylor, Jennie E. Owen, Paula R C Readman, L F Roth, Michele Sheldon, Dianne Stadhams, Steve Wade, Merlin Ward, Clare Weze, Anne Wilson  

ISBN: 781907335594