Scribbling

Old stories can come in really useful sometimes. I rarely throw them out, no matter how many years ago I wrote them or how dreadful they sound, because I can always rewrite or recycle the ideas. I've done that with two this week. Torquere Press are running a 'things that go bump' contest for Halloween so I brushed off a short story set in a haunted house, cut it down to the required word length and will send it off in due course. And whilst I was browsing the old files for that, I came across a story I'd completely forgotten about, even though I only wrote it last year. (I know, I know, it's my age creeping up on me. LOL) It was an 'undercover cop' story set in the world of sleazy telephone sex lines and I reckon it could be perfect for the Torrid Teaser that Whiskey Creek Press - Torrid want to put together with 'To The Rescue'. It's a bit overlong so I spent the morning hacking it down (not too difficult as it was surprisingly wordy) and it needs a bit more sex. But once that's done, it can go off too. I wish all my *new* stories were as easy to write!

I started one after we got back from holiday, inspired by lakes like Thirlmere and Haweswater which are actually artificial reservoirs. The valleys they're set in were dammed, and several old villages were drowned in the process. Local myth says you can still hear the church bells from the villages ringing from under the water and I thought it was a great idea for some sort of ghost story. I haven't got very far with it yet but it's definitely one for the work-in-progress folder....