Blog Archives - McStorytellers

Tussle at the Top

30/11/2010

With two dozen stories now published on the site and with more than 80 story ratings received so far, it's time for our next McTop Ten. So here are the latest positions, with the total scores for each story in brackets.

1.   Maggie Murphy's Home For Bad Boys (39)
2.   A Slice of Undead Life (38)
3.   Digging For Gold And Finding Coal (34)
4.   Echoes from the Past (33)
5.   Angels Don't Have Wings - Take 1 (33)
6.   Ping Time (15)
7.   Bite (15)
8.   Angels Don't Have Wings - Take 2 (15)
9.   Harry's Big Night (11)
10. Promotion (8)
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The scores reflect both the number of raters and their enjoyment of the stories, with the latter calculated in the following way: Very much = 4, Quite a lot = 3, So-So = 2, Not very much = 1, Not a lot = 0.)
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Once again, Pat Black holds on to the top spot with Maggie Murphy's Home For Bad Boys - but only just, with stories by January Bain, Gavin Broom and Ron A. Sewell all contending for that coveted position. Keep watching, though - it could all change overnight!

Next up, some slices of fantasy and mystery - and those geriatric angels again...

Ghosts, Fairies & Regrets

26/11/2010

An eclectic mix of new stories for your weekend reading.

First up is The Quarrel, a short, haunting tale from our mega-contributor Ron A. Sewell.

Then Glasgow-born Harriet Goodchild graces the site with a beautiful fairytale entitled The Seal's Daughter.

Oh, and there's another twisted piece from me called Regrets.

The latest McTop Ten coming soon!

From Heaven to California, Via the Love Boat

23/11/2010

Three new stories are up on the site.

We start off in heaven with Angels Don’t Have Wings – Take 2 by Ron A. Sewell, in which those septuagenarian saviours, Doris and Elsie, are up to their tricks again.

Then Angus Shoor Caan takes us on some post-War island hopping in Love Never Runs On Time.

After which we’re off to California for a taste of family drama in Digging For Gold And Finding Coal by our latest contributor, Alloa-based writer Gavin Broom.

Enjoy the trip!

Pat Black Still on Top!

22/11/2010

With 18 stories now published on the site and with more than 50 story ratings received so far, it's time for our next McTop Ten. So here are the latest positions, with the total scores for each story in brackets.

1.   Maggie Murphy's Home For Bad Boys (31)
2.   A Slice of Undead Life (30)
3.   Echoes from the Past (29)
4.   Angels Don't Have Wings - Take 1 (27)
5.   Ping Time (12)
6.   Harry's Big Night (11)
7.   Bite (11)
8.   Promotion (8)
9.   Asylum (8)
10. When You Stop Believing (8)
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(The scores reflect both the number of raters and their enjoyment of the stories, with the latter calculated in the following way: Very much = 4, Quite a lot = 3, So-So = 2, Not very much = 1, Not a lot = 0.)
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Maggie Murphy's Home For Bad Boys by Pat Black is still holding the top spot, but stories by January Bain and Ron A. Sewell are now in hot pursuit.

The scores are changing daily, so remember to check back here regularly.

More stories to follow soon. Keep reading and rating meantime!

Sheep, Goats & Bukisa

16/11/2010

As promised, a couple of short shorts to make you smile on a dark winter's night.

Angus Shoor Caan provides a cynical sheep's eye view in Wintercoat. And Gurmeet Mattu acts the goat again in The Goat Woman.

Also courtesy of Gurmeet, we're now receiving more promotion in this terrific article in Bukisa:

A Paying Opportunity For Writers With A Scots Connection

Vampires & Angels

14/11/2010

Another couple of contrasting stories to keep you going.

Canadian writer, January Bain, contributes our first tale of the dark world in A Slice of Undead Life.

Then in Angels Don't Have Wings, Edinburgh-born author, Ron A. Sewell, provides the first in a series of light-hearted takes on life and death.

More short shorts to follow soon.

The Good, The Sad & The Ugly

13/11/2010

Three contrasting stories have just been added to the site.

First up is The Gesture, a peculiarly Scottish romantic tale from surrogate Agony Aunt, Gurmeet Mattu.

Then there's Bite, a poignant story by Pat Black which has featured in the Glasgow-based magazine, Letters from the City.

Finally, acting as a counterpoint to these two, is a bitter and twisted piece from me called When You Stop Believing.

Next up - some vampires and angels!

Our McTop Ten

11/11/2010

With eleven stories now published on the site (and many more in the queue) and with more than two dozen story ratings received so far, it's time for our very first McTop Ten. Here's how it looks.

		Ratings	Score
1	Maggie Murphy's Home For Bad Boys	8	31
2	Echoes from the Past	6	21
3	Harry's Big Night	3	11
4	Promotion	2	8
5	Asylum	2	8
6	Being Male	2	7
7	Hard Times	1	4
8	A Glimpse At The Past	1	3
9	They Thought I Was Asleep	0	0
10	Ping Time	0	0

(The scores reflect raters' enjoyment of the stories and are calculated in the following way: Very much = 4, Quite a lot = 3, So-So = 2, Not very much = 1, Not a lot = 0.)
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The clear winner at this moment is Maggie Murphy's Home for Bad Boys by Pat Black, who is a self-confessed pimper of his stories.

My own tale, Ping Time, is languishing at the bottom of the chart. Taking a leaf out of Pat's book, I would say that it's definitely worth a read, honest. The megalomaniac of the piece is still alive and kicking and living in Glasgow. And I've just heard that the business he's been presiding over has gone bust. No surprise there, then.

Keep reading and rating!

We Like Short Shorts!

8/11/2010

Yes, we do. Just uploaded are four new stories, all of them under a thousand words.

Angus Shoor Caan begins the quartet with They Thought I Was Asleep, a tale about a strange gentleman of the road.

In Asylum, Gurmeet Mattu takes an irreverent look at a particular asylum seeker.

There's a piece of nostalgia from yours truly in When the World Changed.

And all the way from Cyprus, Edinburgh-born writer Ron A. Sewell provides us with a timely reminder of the futility of war in Echoes from the Past.

Enjoy!

A Trio of Terrific Tales!

5/11/2010

Three more stories have now been published on the site.

Ayrshire writer, Angus Shoor Caan, has contributed a salutary story called Hard Times.

Edinburgh-based Tom Greenwood is the author of our first sci-fi story, Being Male.

And Glaswegian Pat Black, a relative youngster in this trio, has provided us with Maggie Murphy's Home For Bad Boys, a children's story that's not all what it seems.

Read, enjoy and rate the stories. Come back here and comment on them if you like. And please, please remember to tell your friends about us.