William King

The Bench by William King. It was just one of those idle moments, I had time to kill and decided to stroll along the front. The warm breeze off the sea rustled the palm leaves making a symphonic cacophony as background to the occasional screeching of the parrots. Looking up to the majestic tops of those trees I could hear, but not see those allusive birds. Only an occasional glimpse, a flash of barely perceived colour. There was practically nobody about. Unsurprising for three in

Encounter, surprise, remeniscents, promise. An old man, a youth, and a bench. A short story.

@glennish and that was a very nice comment, thank you, and also @JeffreyL and @deville I appreciate all your words and everyone's likes.

Speechless by William King. A modern building of concrete and glass dominated the plaza. Sturdy old plane trees spread their broad canopy of leaves over the wide pavement. Raised flower beds and bench seats filled the middle of the open space. This was a stark contrast to the Victorian Town Hall which dominated the approach from the bustling town centre. It was a bold architectural statement, but was nevertheless tucked away behind that other much older building. It was one of tho

Speechless by William King Edited by William King and Nick Campanella A semi-autobiographical story about a library that brings together two boys, reveals some secrets, and leaves them speechless. .

It might feature such thought-stretching concepts as time travel and warp drives, but reading science fiction actually makes you read more “stupidly”, according to new research. In a paper published in the journal Scientific Study of Literature, Washington and Lee University professors Chris Gavaler and Dan Johnson set out to measure how identifying a text as science fiction makes readers automatically assume it is less worthwhile, in a literary sense, and thus devote less effort to reading it. This is an interesting article and you can read it in full here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/23/science-fiction-triggers-poorer-reading-study-finds

It’s ironic that he sang Hallelujah to enter through the pearly gates in this religious fable about being true to yourself. The words of that song describe the struggle of a love affair, “and love is not a victory march, it’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.” But then perhaps those words reflect the turmoil of a failed artist and what happens to him in the end. The moral of the story? I leave you to work that one out for yourself.

It's another interesting topic, one I can't very well comment on, because when I was young we didn't have mobiles and dating Apps. Dating Apps, now there is a euphemism for sex encounters, but there is nothing intrinsically wrong with meeting up for sex, no difference using an App to picking or getting picked up at a disco or club. Don't tell me you went to a club because you like dancing or felt like a drink with friends! Even if that’s true, your eyes looked around at all those guys, sex was in the air. There is no way to know how or when you might meet the guy for you, and if it will last a night or a lifetime. Personally I have never had sex with someone I didn't love or wouldn't have been ready to start a relationship with. If it never happened, there were reasons why, but those reasons would never be about where or how I met the guy, on an App, in a club, or on the beach.

This short story was all about the clever twist at the end, which I loved, along with the descriptiveness: "I smelled the guilt on him. It was overpowering the dark roasted coffee in the shop that day..." And, it's thanks to @R J Drew whose review made me stop to read it.

The comments about what and why readers skip stuff is interesting, but also frustrating and handicapped - without actual examples it is difficult to be clear about what people are saying when they start to be specific, but don't go the whole way and quote. What are sex scenes that go on and on? Well written, trundles on, lacks dialogue and doesn't engage (does beg the question, why are you reading it?), but doesn't help much with knowing what you are talking about, the example. I only pick these comments because they are the most recent, not for any other reason. You see, six pages in and I know there are loads of things readers don't like and skip, but I'm not too clear as to exactly what, because no one wants to quote. I don't see how you can progress with generalities. I find it annoying that several people complain about grammar and even go as far as saying they would not read something that doesn't have an editor. I find it annoying because I am an author without an editor and probably with bad grammar thrown in for good measure. I find it annoying because you would make that choice not to read without opening chapter one. Of course that is your choice, but excludes the vast majority of amateur writing on here that doesn't have an editor, or beta readers.

This could be incorrect, but in the example given, "The green balls," is a fragmented sentence. However, if you were trying to achieve an effect, you might write - The green balls! - the exclamation emphasising the "green balls" which you would explain, reveal, in the following sentence. The reader is startled by these "green balls" as is the person observing them in the story. I can only see this working with an exclamation.

Nice one Emi. You should have told everyone it costs only US$ 3.00, 2.50 €uros, or £2.26 if you buy it. Good luck with the book and the competition.

The thing I found odd about "what do you skip" is that I did not imagine people read books skipping through bits, because I don't. A good story grabs me with the first line, the first paragraph, first few paragraphs, or by the end of the first chapter. Someone here once told me that in the absence of summaries or reviews you should read the first chapter or two to see if you like it. That is what I do, and I will read on into the second chapter if I am not sure about the writing. If I find I have to skip bits of the first chapter, or get into chapter two and skip bits, for whatever reason, they have all been mentioned previously, then I drop the book, I put it down and don't read on. Therefore, I never read a book and skip bits, I savour every word and description the author has written, sometimes I even reread a paragraph because I think I read it too quickly. Yes, I do read fast and slow, better I never skip through a book I have chosen to read.

When a story is complete there are two options: Review or Comment. Reviews are there to assist readers in choosing a book to read, that is why it is called a review and why there is a second option called comment, and also why there is a button "was this review helpful." Before the site was updated there were simply comments, now there is a review section, which quite obviously is for reviews. It is not being elitist to point this out, it is an intelligent discussion about reviews versus comments and what you do regarding rating. That members might be leaving comments in the review section because that is the only way to rate a story. There is no disagreement here about readers being able to leave any comment they wish. At the risk of labouring the point, having two distinct sections for completed stories Reviews and Comments is because they serve different purposes. Saying it is not quite working as intended is an observation which it seems reasonable to make, there is a place for reviews and a place for comments, but comments are appearing as reviews. We are also in agreement that guidelines are not required, just common sense, if you write "I liked this story," it isn't a review and properly belongs in the comments section. If you do not agree with that observation then what are the two sections Reviews and Comments for, indeed why have two sections?

Rating a story is not a review, perhaps it would be an idea to put the star rating on the COMMENTS, it would seem more appropriate judging by what you are saying. You would then have the whole COMMENTS section completed with the short one liners, "I liked it very much" and a rating 5 stars. @mollyhousemouse I don't think a review needs to be several paragraphs, but it does need to be more than a few words or a couple of lines, which is a comment. So yes, I agree with you that "less can be more" but a review is a review, there to assist other readers ( which is why there is a button to say 'was this review helpful ).

@Mikiesboy I understand people want to just write "I liked it" which is exactly what the COMMENTS are for. The star rating admittedly is fixed on the REVIEWS section, but is it really necessary?

What is the difference between a review of a completed book versus a comment? A book review should contain a few minimum elements: a short summary of the story without giving away the plot, a critique of what you liked/didn't like about the story, and a word or two on the writing style. It doesn't need to be too long, but a couple of lines are a comment rather than a review. There is no guidance about what constitutes a review - but you can Google it! I find it a little disappointing when clicking on the list of latest book reviews to just read something that basically says "I liked it." That's great, but doesn't give any information about the book and whether I might want to read it. I wonder if members are posting comments as reviews so that they might rate the story five stars, or perhaps because that's how it was in the past, before the update. If this is the case, then it might be a good move to get rid of star ratings. If members want to promote their favourite book, there could perhaps (suggestion) be a book of the month readers choice - a poll to vote for the best story you read this month. In any event the reviewing of completed stories is not quite working as it was intended.

What you cannot fail to like about this book is how the author is telling you Cal's story through the voice of our protagonist, but he is also speaking directly to you, the reader. We learn how somewhat by accident Cal meets Davey, an event that is going to seriously impact his life. As their relationship develops so we get to see more of Cal, his thoughts, feelings, and inner struggles. Cal confides in us what he is going through, in a way that makes you a sort of silent witness. The dialogue is brilliant, spot on, for example when Davey tells him: “You look really cute when you’re concentrating. ...... You have this look, where you bite your bottom lip on one side, and sort of stare at stuff as if it’s going to be scared into doing something for you.” The descriptions are just right, enough detail that you can conjure up a picture of places and people. There is emotional turmoil and Cal certainly has to struggle, but he seems to innately know his own weaknesses, though not necessarily how to overcome them. You feel privileged when he addresses you, the reader directly: I shuddered just a little bit remembering my mum yelling my full name at me when I was in trouble. Not like serious trouble, she wasn't really around in my life by then, but like the time that I broke some stupid ugly glass-vase-bowl-dish thing, you know the sort of thing that costs enough so it really should have some sort of actual purpose, but it never fucking seems to ever get around to it. I was probably only 6 or something, and I thought that if I just kept saying that I hadn't done it, then everyone was going to have to believe me. Obviously that didn’t work, but I was a kid, it made perfect sense to me at the time. He shares what he's going through which draws you into the story and makes you like him, just as you would if you met him for real, he becomes your friend. This story is all about relationships, confronting and dealing with what life throws at you. It is not simply the burgeoning friendship between Cal and Davey, but the impact of others around them. It is a gentle story that at times cloaks dark and threatening forces. I highly recommend what I found to be a refreshing and well written novel. Read it, and enjoy it, you will come back wanting more!

And I'm going to cook Sunday lunch! Cya.

Okay well let's discuss Catalonian independence... oops! Only kidding!

Only the old folks voted for the British Empire, with the exception of myself, I even have a few ex-pat Brits over here who voted leave, I thought that was a bit hypocritical after you've been enjoying the benefits of another European country for x number of years. Bit like staying with friends then saying f**k o** I don't want anything to do with you, never really liked it here anyway.

Hey Myr, is that an unintentional pun - LOL! Chicken can be used, usually by gay men referring to other gay men, to mean a young gay man or young-appearing gay man—stereotypically describing an adolescent or pre-adolescent youth - (Wiki).

There really is no limit to how long you can spend in a coffee shop using the WiFi connection and working or playing. Cafe owners want full cafes, happy customers, repeat customers, good reputation, etc., etc. Some coffee shops are now introducing a WiFi connection timer, in which case you have your answer from the owner as to how long!

Hello - hey I never chat - how the hell did I end up reading this? Guess cos it's not real chat, lol. It was the GMT attracted me - that mean time - and cos we just gained an hour - like winning time!

“Good afternoon Mr Richardson, what can I do for you today?” “Hi Nihal.” I honestly didn’t mean to, but I think I probably spoke with a sigh, much like he did all the fucking time. He possibly thought I was taking the piss, and maybe I was. That little exchange was just so fucking hilarious, no I mean you really captured it well, I can just picture the expression on Nihal's face. Somehow I lost this story about halfway through, but I found my way back, and I'm loving every chapter. Very well written, refreshing story, great characters, and it just happens to be in London, England - in English (or should that say London English), LOL!