A confirmed Egyptophile, Alasdair has also been busy setting the record straight on events much further back in time. What were the real reasons behind the Children of Israel’s flight from Egypt to the Promised Land? Read Alasdair’s fascinating alternative history, The Exodus: Aaron’s Story, now out on Kindle.
Most people wear rose-tinted glasses when they look back at their childhoods. Not so one of our favourite McStorytellers, Dalmuir-born Alasdair McPherson, who discovered recently that The Good Old Days weren’t really all that good... especially when it came to heating the house in winter. See if you’re old enough to agree with him!
A confirmed Egyptophile, Alasdair has also been busy setting the record straight on events much further back in time. What were the real reasons behind the Children of Israel’s flight from Egypt to the Promised Land? Read Alasdair’s fascinating alternative history, The Exodus: Aaron’s Story, now out on Kindle.
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The fact that Christmas is still a whole month away provides us with the perfect excuse to reveal our brand new McTop Ten.
So, with 274 stories by 54 McStorytellers now published on the site and with close to 1,300 story ratings received so far, here are the latest positions, with the total scores for each story in brackets. 1 Dead End Street by Alan Crossan (157) 2 At This Moment by Melissa Palmer (145) 3 Ping Time by Brendan Gisby (131) 4 A Slice of Undead Life by January Bain (102) 5 The Resurrection of Andy McPhail by Karen Jones (90) 6 Angels Don't Have Wings - Take 1 by Ron A. Sewell (89) 7 Postcards from the Departure Lounge by Gavin Broom (87) 8= Eliminating Heat by Bill Kirton (86) 8= Past Perfect by Karen Jones (86) 10 Crack: it gives you wings by Lee Carrick (85) (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.) Once again, therefore, it’s no change at the top. Paisley-born Alan Crossan safely retains the Number One spot with Dead End Street, his perfectly crafted tale of a father’s relationship with his sons. Also continuing to occupy the next three places are stories by New Jersey writer Melissa Palmer, Edinburgh-born author Brendan Gisby and Canadian author January Bain. But crashing in at Number Five is Glaswegian writer Karen Jones with her droll take on life after death, The Resurrection of Andy McPhail, a story that was published on the site less than a week ago! If you haven’t read any of our McTop Ten stories, just click on the story titles above – and get rating! But will it all change by Christmas? Watch this space. Coming next – Alasdair McPherson rewrites history again. A few weeks ago, we brought you Tattie Zkowen’s Day Aff, a warm-hearted, feel-good tale by our favourite Ayrshire storyteller, Angus Shoor Caan.
If you read the story and wondered what happened to Wee Jinky, the long-haired Jack Russell that adopted Tattie, well wonder no more because here now is the sequel. Called Tattie Zkowen Boaxes Clivur, it’s another gentle, everyday tale of ordinary Ayrshire fowk. Okay, we’re lying about the gentle bit! A wee warning. Just like the original, the sequel is written completely in Tattie’s own dialect. But gie it a swatch anyways, gadgie. An’ watch oot fur the (No’ The Christmas) McTop Ten coming next. Check oot the latest movers ‘n’ shakers on McStorytellers. So far this week, we’ve published stories by the Flashmaster and the Crimemaster. Now it’s the turn of the Mistress of Droll.
That’s right, Glasgow’s very own Karen Jones returns with a cracker of a new story. It’ll make you laugh. It’ll make you cry. It’ll make you wonder. It’s called The Resurrection of Andy McPhail. Enjoy! Coming next – the further adventures of Tattie Zkowen and his wee dug in anither stoater fae Mister McCool himsel’, Angus Shoor Caan. Tonight there’s another big McStorytellers welcome, this time to master of crime fiction, Gretna Green-based Graham Smith.
Graham makes his debut on the site with The Smell of Perfume, a large chunk of noir with a killer ending. So grab a Jack Daniels, sit back, read and enjoy! Coming next. From master of crime to mistress of droll – a brand new story by Karen Jones. It’s a big McStorytellers welcome today to acclaimed short story writer and master of flash fiction, Aberdeen-based Bill Robertson.
Bill marks his debut on the site with a trio of stunning flash pieces. Remember to breathe after you read The Rabbit. Don’t be fooled by Independence Day. And thank your lucky stars for The Kindness of Strangers. Enjoy this Sunday treat. And watch out for the crimemaster himself, Graham Smith, coming next. The art of delusion is demonstrated in our three new stories today.
We kick off with a piece by McStorytellers newcomer, Dunfermline-born Andrew Velzian. In B1InD dRuNk, the narrator may well be deluding himself – big time. Then it’s a double helping from the pen of the ever thought-provoking Turriff-based author, playwright and reviewer, Cally Phillips. Terrorists Need to Plan tells the tale of a terrorist masquerading as an ordinary housewife. Or is it the other way round? And in Saddam Insane, is violence really about to erupt on the top deck of a bus? Remember, nothing is what it seems. Enjoy being deluded! Three wars. Three memories. Three stories.
The Lamplighter by Bill Kirton After the War by Brendan Gisby Two Charcoal Statues by James McPherson The limerick is thought to take its name from the City of Limerick in Eire. It became popular in the mid-nineteenth century after the London-born poet Edward Lear published his Book of Nonsense.
So it’s a type of poem named after an Irish city and it was first popularised by an Englishman. But what do you call a limerick that’s been written by a Scotsman? Why, a McLimerick, of course! Coont Thum is a collection of over 100 McLimericks. They’ve all been penned by regular McStorytellers contributor, the Ayrshire writer and poet Angus Shoor Caan. And, in true Scots fashion, every one of them is witty, down-to-earth and totally irreverent. In fact, we at McStorytellers were so tickled by them that we rushed to publish them. We hope you’ll be tickled by them as well. So please delve into Coont Thum. You’ll find a McLimerick for every occasion. Download the Kindle version or order the paperback at the links below. Amazon.co.uk (Kindle) Amazon.co.uk (Paperback) Amazon.com (Kindle) Amazon.com (Paperback) |
McBlog AuthorBrendan Gisby is McStoryteller-in-Residence. He's the author of four novels, three biographies and several short story collections. The McStorytellers
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