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ABCtales

@abctales.bsky.social
661 followers 708 following 785 posts

ABCtales.com is the place for writers to share, discuss and develop their talent.

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Paul @paulwritespoems.bsky.social · 14h
Let’s share a warm welcome for the latest featured poet in the Poetic Voice series, the excellent @annestgwilym.bsky.social
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 8h
A perfect start to October. Do enjoy this great tale from marandina. It’s our Pick of the Day. www.abctales.com/story/marand...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Capturing the cadence of the classic original. Ewan’s ‘Frankenplot: The Hacker’ is adroitly done and is the Pick of the Day. www.abctales.com/story/ewan/f... Please share if you can.
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today's Pick of the Day is Gloskat's Missed. Short, disturbing and full of the unsaid. It piece makes a virtue of its brevity, that's why it's today's #PickoftheDay. Do please share it, if you like it too. www.abctales.com/story/gloska...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Powerful and complex, this wonderful poem is our Pick of the Day: www.abctales.com/story/leanne...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Sometimes loss is a release. Makis' story of endurance and quiet victory is our wonderful Pick of the Day: www.abctales.com/story/makis/...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Some very sharp and extremely funny observation in this new story from Jane Hyphen: www.abctales.com/story/jane-h...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The theme of autumn has inspired some wonderful poetry this week. Here’s another to add to the gallery. Robert Craven’s ‘God’s perfect little time machines’ is beautifully done. www.abctales.com/story/robert... Please share if you can.
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Our Saturday Pick is another of Sean McNulty's beautifully written and acutely observed slices of life. A family reunion that somehow emphasises distance: www.abctales.com/story/sean-m...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is our wonderful story of the week! Another thoroughly entertaining tale of the indefatigable Amandarella from Eric Marsh. www.abctales.com/story/eric-m...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Our Pick of the Day is Present, Fifteen. Great writing from SoulFire77. Do read and share. You can start at the beginning here: www.abctales.com/story/soulfi...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The start of something new and very promising by cliffordben502: tinyurl.com/5ynpkhuf (Picture credit: tinyurl.com/ycx635fy )
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This wonderful poem from Angusfolklore is Tuesday’s Pick of the Day. www.abctales.com/story/angusf... Image source and author: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ca... M J Richardson Please share if you can.
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This very powerful piece, "White Noise", from skinner_jennifer is our #PickoftheDay. Do please share if it if you read it, so others may too. www.abctales.com/story/skinne... #poetry
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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
This arrived on Friday. A very beautiful collection by @annestgwilym.bsky.social which takes us on a vivid and lyrical journey across the seasons; anchored in the natural world and Wales. 👇 www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HG7ZY1Z4
Photo of cover; pale pink or peach with illustration of pink roses. Contemplation of Roses
Annest Gwilym
Lapwing
BallyhalbertIntroduction to Poetry
After Billy Collins
I ask you to take my poem,
hold it like an opal to the bright eye of the sun, see the colours.
Or clasp it to your ear like a seashell.
I suggest you drop an adder into my poem, watch it slide around the curdle of words.
Or you could walk into the poem's dungeon, try to unpick the locks.
I want you to swim in the river of my poem, see if you can get to shore.
But all you want to do is place my poem in a birdcage, force it to sing its song.
You start by starving it
to find out what it really means.
Annest  Gwilym
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Drew Gummerson @drewgum.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Latest article. On Vacances. In Nice. Some reading. Some writing. A new fiction prize. Cheese. Wine. Iron men. @renardpress.com @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social drewgummerson.substack.com/p/on-vacance...
drewgummerson.substack.com
On Vacances
Writing and reading and the cure
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Ewan Lawrie, @ewanl.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Another "Kind of" Review: Altered Images, The Picturedrome, Holmfirth ewanlawrie.wordpress.com/2026/09/12/a...
ewanlawrie.wordpress.com
Another “Kind of” Review: Altered Images The Picturedrome, Holmfirth, 11th September 2026
©T Y Lawrie Last night we took a visit to Planet Clare – (nothing to do with The B-52s) – Grogan, that is. Altered Images are currently touring with a show based on their breakout album…
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
We have a new Frankenplot challenge from SoulFire77. Take a guess and win us some money! www.abctales.com/story/soulfi...
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Andy Humphrey @andyhumphrey11.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This is great! Brilliantly witty and inventive, as one would expect from @drewgum.bsky.social, this is a fine start to a new series of chapbooks from @sunburntsaints.bsky.social.
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This latest instalment of Eric Marsh's fabulous Witch of the Dark Forest series is Pick of the Day! Please do share if you can. If you read previous parts of this story you will appreciate the unsettling feeling as it accumulates. www.abctales.com/story/eric-m...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Bristling dark comedy from the wonderful Jane Hyphen. Enjoy our Sunday pick! www.abctales.com/story/jane-h...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Relatable characters dealing with troubles piled up and about to tip, and then... This start of a new story from SoulFire, is Pick of the Day! Please do share if you can www.abctales.com/story/soulfi...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
It’s a Bank Holiday weekend so what could be better than a trip to the seaside? Canonette’s St Leonard’s to Bexhill-on-Sea is our Pick of the Day. Enjoy your visit! www.abctales.com/story/canone...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Rich with colours and smells, this action packed instalment of StrayCat's gripping story 'You Cry, You Die', is Pick of the Day! Please do share if you can www.abctales.com/story/strayc...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Pick of the Day - a short story that's quite a tough read but very well done. www.abctales.com/story/cliffo...
abctales.com
Appetite | ABCtales
The holding cell is smaller than Lindsay’s walk-in closet was, in the old apartment, and this seems to her the most important fact about the room — more important than the bolted bench, or the toilet ...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
In our Pick of the Day today take a trip to Sink Creek with SoulFire77 in his brilliant Fifth Row From the Front. Check it out via the link. www.abctales.com/story/soulfi...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"The danger lies not in revering the past, but in mistaking it for destiny." Lille Dante's wry, sharp and perceptive tale is our Friday Pick of the Day: www.abctales.com/story/lille-...
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marandina @marandina.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
My latest poem: 'The Call of the Night' Creature comforts www.abctales.com/story/marand...
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Annest Gwilym @annestgwilym.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Thank you so much Paul @marandina.bsky.social for your thoughtful and perceptive review of my new poetry book Contemplation of Roses which is available from: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HG7ZY1Z4 #poetsofbluesky #poetrycommunity #poetsonbluesky #blueskypoets #poetryreviews
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Annest Gwilym @annestgwilym.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A poem about early autumn from my new poetry book Contemplation of Roses, published by Lapwing Publications. First published in Reach Poetry. Available from: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HG7ZY1Z4 #poetrycommunity #poetsofbluesky #poetsonbluesky #blueskypoets
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Drew Gummerson @drewgum.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Like Wil E. Coyote on Roadrunner Short Story September is upon us. Here I talk all things short story, practice, a festival, favourite collections, and the @galleybeggars.bsky.social short story prize drewgummerson.substack.com/p/on-short-s...
drewgummerson.substack.com
On Short Story September
Prizes, prompts, collections and all that.
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Sean McNulty @thispersona.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Story: The Murder of the Lord Mayor of www.abctales.com/story/sean-m... Political heroes, mistaken identity, and parasol patents
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Sunburnt Saints Publishing @sunburntsaints.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
You, too, could be as delighted as Ian. An annual £20 subscription means you’ll be delighted four times a year. Be like Ian. Sunburntsaints.co.uk
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Sean McNulty @thispersona.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Very happy to review Drew Gummerson's wonderful reinterpretation of Kafka. From @sunburntsaints.bsky.social @drewgum.bsky.social seanmcnulty1.wordpress.com/2026/09/10/a...
seanmcnulty1.wordpress.com
A review of Gregor by Drew Gummerson
Of all the esques, Kafkaesque gets bandied about a hell of a lot, doesn’t it? It might even outsell picturesque and grotesque in the global word markets. Pythonesque is still around but doesn’t hav…
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Ewan Lawrie, @ewanl.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Rant. Nothing to see here. www.abctales.com/story/ewan/g...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Funny, cheering and life-affirming: all of these slices of Bulgarian life are funny in the manner of Flann O'Brien, Giovannino Guareschi or even Spike Milligan. That's why this one, "Oh Ambassador, You Are Really Scaring Us", is our #PickoftheDay today. www.abctales.com/.../oh-ambas....
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Ewan Lawrie, @ewanl.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
More of this (whatever this is). www.abctales.com/story/ewan/m...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Very entertaining, our Pick of the Day is Eric Marsh’s first chapter of Amanderella and the Mystery of Wittering Crags. You can read it here: www.abctales.com/story/eric-m...
Alfred Sisley, 1899, painting of Storr’s rock on shore, sea and sky in background.
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Sean McNulty @thispersona.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Tentative work-in-progress. Delighted to be picked.
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philwhiteland @philwhiteland.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The Undertakers are back! www.abctales.com/story/philwh... @abctales.bsky.social
abctales.com
(Too) Many Happy Returns? | ABCtales
Josiah and Archibald muse about the ageing process.
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philwhiteland @philwhiteland.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I've updated my latest short story with a bit more dialogue that I intended to include, but didn't. Blame it on my advancing years 😉 www.abctales.com/.../philw...... @abctales.bsky.social
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philwhiteland @philwhiteland.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
In case you were wondering! www.abctales.com/blog/philwhi... @abctales.bsky.social
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
An intriguing start of something bigger? Sean mcnulty’s ‘The Murder of the Lord Mayor of’ is today’s Pick of the Day www.abctales.com/story/sean-m... Please share if you can.
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Funny, cheering and life-affirming: all of these slices of Bulgarian life are funny in the manner of Flann O'Brien, Giovannino Guareschi or even Spike Milligan. That's why this one, "Oh Ambassador, You Are Really Scaring Us", is our #PickoftheDay today. www.abctales.com/.../oh-ambas....
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Story and Poem of the Month now LIVE on ABCTales! www.abctales.com/blog/insertp...
abctales.com
Story and Poem of the Month | ABCtales
Our Story and Poem of the Month for August, very kindly chosen by Jane Hyphen
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Inspired by Cornish legend, Lethowsow, The Drowned Land, by Angusfolklore is our Pick of the Day: www.abctales.com/story/angusf...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
An account of a spur of the moment trip that almost happened, this is our Story of the Week: www.abctales.com/story/turlou...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Something to lighten the spirits today. 'The Ballad of Reggie's Bonce' is a delightfully absurd and very funny poem from Makis. And don't forget to follow the link to the equally delightful audio! www.abctales.com/story/makis/...
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Where philosophy meets fantasy – there’s whimsy and sadness in this poem from Jennifer. ‘If (Just a Fantasy)’ is today’s Pick of the Day. www.abctales.com/story/jennif... Please share if you can.
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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Eric Marsh's Amanderella and the Casket Mystery Chapter 3 is pick of the day today. #Fiction #PickofthDay www.abctales.com/story/eric-m... Do please share if you like it too. Image By Nabokov at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0,
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