Author: navalairhistory
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Stories for Homes anthology – supporting Shelter
Several very good friends of mine have stories in this very exciting anthology, just released today. Stories for Homes is a collection of stories inspired by the theme of ‘home’, and all the proceeds will go to the charity Shelter. If that weren’t reason enough, early feedback suggests that this is an amazingly good collection…
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Matt Willis story shortlisted in competition
Matt Willis’ story ‘As Cute As A Pet Fox’ has been shortlisted in Retreat West’s June competition. Retreat West is run by writer Amanda Saint. (See an example of Amanda’s work in the story Playing Nurses, published by Number Eleven magazine). It offers retreats for writers which can include walking or cooking, though the main…
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Difficult Second Novel
It’s so hackneyed a concept as to be a cliche. The difficult second novel/ album/ breakfast (delete as applicable). The problem, as with most old saws, is that there is truth in it. This is why it doesn’t go away. My first novel – and please prepare for a second cliche – ‘amost wrote itself’.…
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The chase – a story of a spy in the sky
Since he arrived in Malta, it had been drummed into Pilot Officer Peter Ross that using your radio in the air was “a wonderful way to commit suicide.” Air Commodore Frank had snapped that at him on his first day. “The enemy has stations only a handful of miles away. They’ll have a fix on…
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The Whitsuntide Mummers – a story of May
The mayor’s response was the same as everyone’s. “A newcomer as May King? Never!” Kristjan redoubled his efforts. He informed the mayor that it had once been customary for an outsider to take the lead role in the Whitsuntide mummery. It may even have been true. He suggested that the Lord’s new gamekeeper, Juhan, was…
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Shipping forecast stories
The short series of stories about the shipping forecast were originally written for the monthly competition on the Word Cloud writing community. There are three so far, but another is on its way. The first, ‘German Bight’ is based around the Battle of Heligoland Bight, one of a series of clashes between German and British…
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Matt Willis story shortlisted in Retreat West competition
Matt Willis’ story The End of The Road was shortlisted for the Retreat West website’s April competition on the theme of ‘A Walk’. The story didn’t win one of the main slots, but has now been rewritten and entered for another competition. Retreat West is run by writer Amanda Saint. It offers retreats for writers…
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The inspiration for Blue Skies
Blue Skies was written as a tribute to a pilot who died during an airshow in 2007. I was present at the event, and watched the crash taking place. The climax of the airshow was a re-enactment of the Battle of Britain, on a beautiful day that would have been similar to the summer of…
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Blue Skies – a story of flight
The pilot knew exactly what was wrong, and that there was nothing he could do about it. But he felt no fear, possibly because everything was happening so quickly, or perhaps because he was busy in his final seconds considering options he already knew were futile. He realised he was about to die, but that…
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Dogger – a story of the rising sea
The ceremonial site had, for years, flooded when it rained hard. The ring of massive oak posts planted in the earth smelt faintly of damp and rot. It had been that way for as long as anyone living remembered. This year, as his extended family approached the site for the gathering, Shrimper detected a new…
Air and Sea Stories 