We hit our funding target so I can now confirm this project will go ahead!

There's still time to pre-order a copy or pledge for some of our awesome and unique extra rewards, so make sure you check out the project page.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thegreatesc/great-escapes-volume-1-0

Hi everyone,

I'm currently running a Kickstarter project to raise the funds to print an anthology of short stories, micro fiction and poetry from 18 different authors. It's going to have a great mix of horror, fantasy, romance, humour and everything else you might associate with escapist entertainment. It's also going to feature illustrations and you can get art cards, prints and other extras when you pre-order through Kickstarter.

Read all about the Kickstarter project here - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thegreatesc/great-escapes-volume-1-0
Or watch the video below

You can also find out more about the book's contents and download a free sample short story in epub format at http://thegreatesc.com/books

http://www.youtube.com/embed/VCkfvJu_DmY

There's still a few days left to enter and the score stands at 10 all! Come and join the battle by entering your work.

Hey everyone,

The indie film making group I'm part of have just released a trailer for our upcoming web series! Check it out at http://gabrielcushing.com

http://www.youtube.com/embed/BEX0y2VJjyU

Website - The Great Escape
http://thegreatesc.com

Twitter - http://twitter.com/thegreatesc
Facebook - http://facebook.com/thegreatesc


Personal Pages - Chrissey Harrison

Blog - http://chrisseysgreatescape.wordpress.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/arcadestarlet

http://thegreatesc.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Escape-poster.png

Hi all,

I'm running a new writing contest on the site I help run The Great Escape.

Full details available at http://thegreatesc.com/competitions

DETAILS:

Are you team Micro Fiction or team Poetry? Join in the battle of the short form literature by entering your work into our competition. The team with the most entries will be declared the winner.

Your theme is “Escape”, what you do with it is up to you. We’re looking for originality, creativity and powerful expression in a short space.

Flash fiction pieces must be no longer than 150 words, written in prose with standard prose formatting (e.g. paragraphs, speech marks around dialogue, etc.). Try to give your piece a story structure.

Poems must conform to a 40 line limit AND 150 word limit. They may take any form, including free verse. If you wish to use any unusual formatting, such as line spacing, please include a PDF or JPG version to show how it should look on the page.

Illustrations may be submitted with entries, and may be picked to feature on the site, but will not influence the judging process.

Please refer to the general terms below for instructions on how to submit your entry and further information.

Prizes

Two 1st prizes (one for each category) of £5.00 cash.

Winners and selected runners up will be be offered the chance to have their entry published on both the site and the Great Escape’s second print Anthology (Winter 2013).

This week on my blog I'm looking at the realities of timescale when it comes to "getting good" at writing...

http://chrisseysgreatescape.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/the-10000-hour-rule-or-prepared-for-the-long-haul/

My goal has become quite simple - I want a career as a writer.

That's not just about being able to make it financially viable enough to be my full time job, it's also about developing my craft to the best of my ability, participating in the wider writing scene and everything else a career entails.

So far I've had a couple of short stories published. In the short term my goals are to self publish a collected anthology for my website and try to get more of my shorts published. In the longer term I want to find an agent and publish novels.

Welcome back :)

Liam was beyond hearing me, trapped in a world of touch, scent and taste, but the liquid sloshing around in the stoneware jar I carried was just a temporary state for him. Each touch of the misty air and dew on the grass drew a faint glow from my skin and awakened my senses. Moonlight, bright enough to cast shadows, glinted off the river up ahead where she wound through the valley in...

Added 19 Sep 2012 | Category Supernatural | Votes 5 | Avg Score 4.2 | Views 1,614 | 1 Comment

This morning I got up at 7:50am, watched the news (well, BBC Breakfast, but close enough) while eating my breakfast. I worked crunching number for an education organisation (I’m an office temp) for six hours, bar a half hour lunch break. On said lunch break I read a few more chapter of Dante’s Inferno: A retelling in prose *. At 3:00pm I headed home to switch bags and catch the bus into the...

Added 14 Apr 2012 | Category Musings | Votes 4 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,611 | 5 Comments

“You girls have work to do.” The six Girl Guides reluctantly sloped away from the fence that separated our pitch from the neighbouring one where a group of scouts kicked a football about. They walked past me to the QM tent where I was about to set them preparing lunch and one of them, Gemma, shot me a glare. “You won’t be giving me that look when those boys start giving you trouble.”...

Added 29 Feb 2012 | Category Young Adult | Votes 63 | Avg Score 2.44 | Views 2,278 | 2 Comments

Steam rose from the paper cup sitting on the low table by Derek’s knees. He watched the coffee scented mist swirl into the air while people bustled around him; chatting, laughing, eating. He could hardly sit still for the excitement of seeing her after so many weeks. The answers he’d been looking for came out of the blue in the end. All he’d needed was a little space, just like he’d said....

Added 26 Jan 2012 | Category Drama | Votes 12 | Avg Score 4.25 | Views 1,606 | 5 Comments

Crisp, brittle dune grass scratched against my jeans as I hiked up the slope. Molly followed behind on her leash, head down, her soft, floppy ears drooping even more than normal. I reached the top of the dune and scanned the horizon; nothing but more dunes as far as I could see in one direction. Pale, sickly sunlight filtered through the thickening clouds that had drifted in from the coast...

Added 06 Dec 2011 | Category Supernatural | Votes 4 | Avg Score 4.25 | Views 1,308 | 2 Comments

When troubles plague And you know not the way, To the Man in the Moon You have to say. All on your mind, Leave nothing out, Just talk and talk, Till he’s nothing to doubt. Give all the pieces And lay down to sleep, While ponders the man And thinks so deep, That in the morning The answers he’ll know And if you listen Your path he’ll show. ~ Inspired by the 1991 film of the same name. ...

Added 01 Feb 2012 | Category Poetry | Votes 4 | Avg Score 4.75 | Views 1,567 | 3 Comments

Lady was not a very clever cat. She was getting a little old, she had lost a few teeth and she dribbled a bit. She often forgot things like what she was doing or where she was going. She lived with another cat called Holly in a house with a family of people. Holly was strong and athletic. She liked to hunt animals in the garden and bring them home, even full grown rabbits sometimes, which...

Added 25 Oct 2011 | Category Flash Fiction | Votes 7 | Avg Score 4.71 | Views 1,806 | 5 Comments

In June 2010 a freak fire gutted a 16th Century farmhouse in Hampshire. During the renovation following the disaster the owners found, concealed beneath the floorboards, the diary of one Joseph Mortimer; a thirty-seven year old land owner of modest holdings, who died in 1583. The details of his fate are vague and his body was never found. Below is presented the final entry. The language...

Added 14 Oct 2011 | Category Horror | Votes 13 | Avg Score 4.69 | Views 1,611 | 7 Comments

I recently lost two relatives who I was not close to. I have also been thinking a lot about separation and the reasons behind it. This poem is about making amends and finding peace before it’s too late. Souls like lights, travel through space, Trails crossing, lighting the face, Of the beautiful world they roam, This rich and varied Earth called home. Each soul we touch with recognition,...

Added 02 Feb 2012 | Category Poetry | Votes 4 | Avg Score 4 | Views 1,426 | 1 Comment

There was once a little bird and she lived free and explored the world. If someone offered her a crumb she would sing and fly for them to make them smile. Late one spring, she found someone who loved her songs and the shimmering sun on her wings so much he would come every day to his window with crumbs of cake to encourage her back. Some days she came, other days she flew around...

Added 27 Jan 2012 | Category Fantasy | Votes 6 | Avg Score 4.83 | Views 4,397 | 4 Comments