Thank you to Alex Pearl for inviting me to write a poem for this charity anthology of cricket writing. Here’s me with my copy.
Book overview
“In this beautifully curated anthology, authors and writers who might never normally do so are given free rein to train their gaze on this most full-bodied of sporting muses. What results is a reminder that truly nothing in life cannot be improved with a generous dollop of cricket.”Daniel Norcross
This eclectic collection of short stories, reminiscences, essays, and poems will appeal to anyone with a soft spot for the noblest of summer games. Besides being entertained and amused by this compilation, the reader will discover some interesting and little-known cricketing facts such as Adolf Hitler’s view of the game.
Alongside a Foreword penned by Daniel Norcross, contributors to this attractive addition to the rich canon of cricket writing include:● John Corcut ● Bud Craig ● Judith Cutler ● Jessica Davis ● Geoffrey Dean ● Robert Deighton ● Isabelle Duncan ● Laura E. Goodin ● Pete Langman ● Ben Macintyre ● M. J. Mallon ● Jonathan Margolis ● Sean O’Leary ● Ann Parker ● Alex Pearl ● David Pearl ● Hugh Salmon ● Paul Stewart ● Sarah Traynor ● David Whittle ● Peter Wise ● David Alan Woods
All authors’ royalties are being donated to Surrey County Cricket Club’s charity foundation.
It was a tricky one as I don’t know much about cricket.
So I wrote a cheeky poem entitled Faking it! Jock Strap Blues which seemed to go down well 🤔
Review of the anthology (my poem gets a wee mention!)
My YA fantasy Bloodstone, Book 1 The Curse of Time: (mental health rep, female protagonist, coming of age, dark elements, curse, crystal wielding magic, mystery, ya, fantasy.)
My YA fantasy Bloodstone, Book 1, & Book 2, Golden Healer, The Curse of Time: (mental health rep, female protagonist, coming of age, dark elements, curse, crystal wielding magic, mystery, ya, fantasy.)
The Curse of Time series is on offer at Smashwords! Book 1 Bloodstone is free!
Book 2 Golden Healer is currently .99c!
Are you looking for a captivating, imaginative series with a rich and mysterious world that blends fantasy, time, and emotional depth in a way that’s truly unique and compelling for teen and young adult readers?
With a fresh and lyrical storytelling voice the symbolism woven throughout the narrative gives the book a rare literary dimension. Readers are not just entertained, they’re invited to reflect, dream, and connect deeply with characters who face challenges far beyond the ordinary.
I’m taking part in the Indie Visible Events Charity Week Sale organised by Hayley Anderton @ Indie Visible raising money for Brain Tumour Research UK.
My books featured in the sale are:
Bloodstone, (my ya fantasy,) book 1.
my poetry collections:
Mr Sagittarius, The hedge witch, & Do What You Love.
Unfortunately I can’t do a kindle countdown deal as Amazon wouldn’t let me. I’ve already had my days. So, these books will be FREE!
Bloodstone may be .99p some territories, as it is not limited by KU.
My poems are included in the Indie Visible charity anthology, Life In Colour: A Charity Anthology, £5, for Brain Tumour Research with many featured authors. I’ve ordered a copy!
You can order these and many other bookish goodies/books via the website:
Trevor Barcroft is convinced that mystery/true crime author Brody Thompson wrote the scene in which Trevor’s father Wilson Barcroft was murdered.
What should be a simple answer to this five-year-old crime is one that neither the police nor the FBI want to uncover; and one Bernie Bouchard doesn’t want his young investigative reporter, Rascal Todd, digging into.
Warned to stay away from the investigation.. Brody and Trevor begin a dangerous quest, led by the musings of a mysterious poet who has been hiding in plain sight for decades.
What does the Poet know that keeps him in hiding? What did Wilson Barcroft know that got him killed? Why can’t Brody walk away from a meaningless and dangerous pursuit?
Q & A with Dan & Willow
You must have been delighted when Dan asked you to be co-author..
Dan: I don’t know if Willow was delighted, but I was thrilled when she replied to my first email and said she’d like to work with me. Reaching out like that was hard for me.
Willow: Marjorie I was absolutely amazed! to be honest I was worried that I would not be good enough to work with someone as established as Dan.
Then I thought I can only do my best.
How did you find writing as a team on this novel? What was the process?
Willow: To be honest it was much easier than I expected…not that I actually had expectations not having ever done this before..
We were on different continents and had a five hour time difference. With the help of Trello, email and Box all of this was new to me, we found we communicated very well and soon we were both on the same page. So to speak.
Where your surprised at how the storyline, etc, developed?
Dan: I was surprised how the plot developed after Willow started contributing the poems. At first, I thought I’d leave a placeholder and ask her to fill it in. But I started telling her where I thought I was going and her poetry often led me down a different path.
Willow: Again as I was new to all this I was so surprised at how the poetry affected where the story went and after a while we started discussing how things might happen. To be honest I thought my part was peripheral but very soon the poet and I were sucked in to the centre.
Is thriller your favourite genre to write/read?
Dan: I’ve been trying to write a true mystery, but the stories end up more complicated than what a mystery lover would expect. I like working with a group of characters and letting them lead the way.
Willow: I love a good thriller, murder mystery but until now I have always favoured sci-fi…I find that easier to write because you can make things up….after this experience I am not so sure.
Why political thriller?
Dan: Vietnam was a difficult time for me. I turned 18 three months before Nixon stopped drafting people for the war, but I knew people who served there, people who died there, and people who came home suffering in various ways. Most of them are dead. So much has been written about the war, so I was looking for a fresh approach.
I love the title Poetic Justice. I love poetry! Did that title come to you quickly?
Dan: I’ll have to let Willow handle this. I was struggling to come up with a title, and she suggested Poetic Justice and I loved it.
Willow: When we started working together the work in progress was called “Not My Job…”after the story grew and we could see what was happening, what the poet was trying to do. Dan asked me if I had any ideas for a title. I can’t remember what the other ideas were but Poetic Justice stood out…our poet was seeking justice and Trevor was too. So eventually Poetic Justice became the favourite. I think it took two emails to decide that.
You’re both active members of the blogging community. I expect this is how the connection developed
Dan: Yes, I’ve been following Willow for a long time. I love poetry. I follow a lot of poets. I thought I needed a poet who could work from prompts and handle dark material.
Willow: Yes I have followed Dan for a good while now, I have enjoyed all his books and I find his blog great fun…He even makes the tools in his workshop look glamorous. I have learnt a lot from Dan.
So when he reached out and asked me to write a few poems I thought yes! Then it grew like Topsy.
How long did the process take?
Dan: I started playing with the idea early in 2024. I reached out to Willow in May and we’ve been at this for a year.
What advice would you give emerging authors?
Dan: I don’t feel qualified to offer advice, but I’d certainly tell people to listen to their characters. I know that sounds silly, but when I’ve tried to stuff my characters into a pattern I think will work, it never does.
Willow: I agree with Dan.
Willow this is your 1st novel! How do you feel?Would you do it again?
Yes I definitely would like to. Also if Dan needs a poet or anything again ….yes I would.
Who’s the pantser & who’s the plotter?
Willow: Dan is definitely the plotter he knows exactly where his Characters and Plots are going.
I write stream of consciousness all the time whether it’s poetry or prose. I do the research, read the plot but then I just write the poetry or story… I hear it in my head.
Excerpt
Trevor parked in the lot behind the restaurant. Inside, one man was seated at the bar. He resembled the headshot on the book jacket, but that was dated.
“Excuse me, are you Brody Thompson?”
“Yes, I am.” Brody tipped his beer to the stranger.
“I’ve been looking for you, Mr. Thompson. I heard I might find you here.”
“You have a reliable source. Mr….”
“Barcroft, Trevor Barcroft. Does that name ring a bell?”
“I can’t say that it does. Mr. Barcroft, I’m self-absorbed enough to think that you’ve read one or more of my books. Am I correct?”
“One of your books, yes. Harlan Springer’s Cash Call.“Brody put his glass down.
“That’s interesting. That was my second novel. Did you find it in a little free library somewhere?”
“No, a friend of mine gave me a copy. He said he thought I might find it interesting.”
“Did you?”Trevor pulled the stool next to Brody away from the bar. He noticed Brody’s near-empty glass. “Can I buy you a beer, Mr. Thompson.”
Brody nodded. Trevor pointed to Brody’s glass and asked the bartender for any good local IPA for himself.
She poured him a taste of Rock River IPA. “How’s this? It’s fairly new,”
“That’s nice.” She filled a chilled glass, and a new glass of Dos Equis for Brody.
“That’s on my tab, Miss.”
“You can call me Joy.”
“Thanks Joy.” Trevor took a sip of his beer.
“Mr. Thompson…”
Tiring of the formality, Brody interrupted. “Please, call me Brody. Do you go by Trevor?”
“My friends call me T-Bar, but Trevor works.”
“Fine Trevor. Please continue.”
“The reason I asked if my name is familiar to you is that your book includes a scene about my father.”
“Barcroft?” Brody looked away in thought. “I’m sorry, Trevor but I’ve written eighteen books, and I ended the Detective Springer series after five. I don’t recall all my characters. Barcroft is an interesting name, I may have used it, but I assure you, my characters are all fictional. I didn’t know your father.”
Trevor took a longer drink of his beer. He wiped his mouth with a small cocktail napkin. “Brody, on page one-hundred-eighty-two of Cash Call, your detective removes a piece of evidence from a crime scene. A piece of evidence that would have linked the murder of a character named Harry Wilson to a mob boss named Carmine Arletti.”
Brody finished his original beer and took a sip of the fresh one. “Your memory of my book is superior to mine, Trevor. Like I said, the book is fiction, and I wrote it ten years ago.”
“Harry Wilson was my father.”
“I don’t follow.”
“My father, Wilson Barcroft was murdered in Pittsburgh by a mobster named Roland Fisch. The police couldn’t prove Fisch did it because a weapon was never found. A witness heard the shots. He told the police that as he was running over to check the body, he saw another man run over from across the street. That man picked up a gun, two shell casings and left. That’s exactly what happens on page one-eighty-two.”
Brody gave Trevor a quizzical look. “I remember the scene, now. My detective wanted the gun to exchange for some information from the mob boss about a different case he was working on.”
“Exactly, and the murder of my father was never solved.”
*********
Bios.
Dan’s Bio
Dan is retired from a 42-year-long career in systems development and other technology and began writing his first book the next day.
He’s married, the father of one child, and although there are no pets around today, he and his wife have had four Irish Setters and a handful of Tuxedo cats over time.
Dan is the author of the Dreamer’s Alliance Series and the Rascal Todd Mysteries.
When Dan isn’t writing, you might find him in his woodshop, working around the house, or walking around with a camera.
He also might be having a beer with friends and some of those encounters have inspired the fictional bar stories on his popular blog—NoFacilities.com
Willows Bio
London born Willow Willers is retired and lives in Berkshire, Southern England.
Along with her husband and a steady stream of foster dogs mainly Guide Dogs for the Blind. Willow is mother to three sons all grown and flown and two fast growing grandsons.
Writing, poetry and prose have always been her passion in fact she wrote her first pieces before she was eight.
After two life changing accidents Willow started writing in earnest and has found it a life saver.
The sale continues, hurry! Grab yourself a bargain!
Thanks to fellow poet Amy Garratt for recommending my poetry book, Shh Purely Poetry along with @ally_author A generation of sunflowers both of which are on .99p offer:
Thank you to Aline P. MORA for mentioning my books amongst fellow fantasy authors:
My YA fantasy Bloodstone, Book 1 The Curse of Time: (mental health rep, female protagonist, coming of age, dark elements, curse, crystal wielding magic, mystery, ya, fantasy.)
My YA fantasy Bloodstone, Book 1 The Curse of Time: (mental health rep, female protagonist, coming of age, dark elements, curse, crystal wielding magic, mystery, ya, fantasy.)
M J Mallon YA Author and Poet 