tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690210611290807122024-03-16T18:52:00.849+00:00Sophie's Thoughts and FumblesHi, my name is Sophie Duncan. I'm an author of fantasy, paranormal, horror and erotica. Welcome to my blog. Here I'll ramble on about the books I'm reading and writing, ebooks, publishing and anything else I happen to think of.Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.comBlogger524125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-12273059316752308412020-08-18T13:25:00.007+01:002020-08-18T13:32:36.987+01:00Sexy Stories 20 - Reunion: Dancing with the Spirits - Sensual magic<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuV9GLwz-ENU-FtgFE2_bZ3SPFbPgP5NsnTsX3O7GbPonc_2ObVhVZnF9BVkcrr5A2CPMx4Yq_5azECYv-eX4yfc2UjAsGk4IWHHVXJy8BAUARVqtV-sxROnNeou1WPW14KXjZr3u-sEk/s550/ss20+Reunion.png" style="background-color: #fcecec; color: #990000; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Sexy Stories 20 - Reunion" border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuV9GLwz-ENU-FtgFE2_bZ3SPFbPgP5NsnTsX3O7GbPonc_2ObVhVZnF9BVkcrr5A2CPMx4Yq_5azECYv-eX4yfc2UjAsGk4IWHHVXJy8BAUARVqtV-sxROnNeou1WPW14KXjZr3u-sEk/d/ss20+Reunion.png" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" /></a></p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6444905846988849994" itemprop="" style="background-color: #fcecec; color: #444444; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 630px;"><p></p><h4 style="font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">The Sexy Stories Podcast 20<br /></h4><h2 style="border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 0.6em 15px 0.5em; position: relative; text-align: center;">Reunion: Dancing with the Spirits</h2><h3 style="margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">by Ariana Lovelle<br /></h3><p>Hi All. I have a new alter ego, <a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/authors/ariana-lovelle" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Ariana Lovelle</a>, an erotica author who is guesting on the Virginia Waytes Sexy Stories blog and podcast this week. Virginia narrates my story, <a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/books/reunion-dancing-with-the-spirits" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Reunion: Dancing with the Spirits</a>. It is a sensual tale of magic and love set in a fantasy world where having power is not always safe.</p><p>See below for:</p><ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">the podcast with all the lovely naughty bits</li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">the eBook links with the full plot and delightful background story</li></ul><p><b>Thank you so much to everyone who purchases any of the <a href="https://www.virginiawaytes.com/p/ebooks.html" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">for sale eBooks</a>, it really helps up keep things running.</b></p><h4 style="font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a name="more"></a> </h4><br /><h4 style="font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><u>Sexy Stories Podcast</u></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdB-aeq5tRuK75neCNEHE4D2fCvOeAeghqQBGp7abvQo9BflPT04cJ6QGEWXLiAdOxP1My3YFa-a1ZGfdrkQpklo0JH0t7X_7QkWe848Npph3CT6_JohG6jwv9sOBb86IWpqOJpxDHpxI/s2048/20+Reunion+Podcast+Covers+2043x2048.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #990000; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Sexy Stories 20 - Reunion" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdB-aeq5tRuK75neCNEHE4D2fCvOeAeghqQBGp7abvQo9BflPT04cJ6QGEWXLiAdOxP1My3YFa-a1ZGfdrkQpklo0JH0t7X_7QkWe848Npph3CT6_JohG6jwv9sOBb86IWpqOJpxDHpxI/w200-h200/20+Reunion+Podcast+Covers+2043x2048.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></div>Escaping torture and imprisonment, Manu has been healed by the water spirits and in turn has used his magic to partially restore their remote home. Now he is reunited with his husband and their love and sensual union will bring more than just healing.<div><br /></div>Transcript available at the <a href="https://www.virginiawaytes.com/p/transcripts.html" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Transcripts page</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe data-name="pb-iframe-player" height="122" scrolling="no" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/hpgiy-e77dbc?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&auto=0&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=2&pfauth=&btn-skin=109" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial;" title="20 - Reunion - Sensual Magic" width="100%"></iframe><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Please be aware, the Podcast has ADULT content.Do not press play unless you wish to hear it.</p><h4 style="font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><u>Books</u></h4><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Book of this week's episode:</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeI8HAQQaooUQ3btOD2Fjpc8AOdol2Qc9C-Yj4C8C9CrAnUn-PLtUdB5NgPR42V2NLLePbv0fQLGG1otzXYoLPmYeL-nHO_5LHULMXFLyscJjuJGFlPcs6xuxuUmLzy0ge4suKSCjXtoE/s480/SS20+-+Reunion+320x480.png" style="clear: left; color: #990000; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Reunion: Dancing with the Spirits by Ariana Lovells" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeI8HAQQaooUQ3btOD2Fjpc8AOdol2Qc9C-Yj4C8C9CrAnUn-PLtUdB5NgPR42V2NLLePbv0fQLGG1otzXYoLPmYeL-nHO_5LHULMXFLyscJjuJGFlPcs6xuxuUmLzy0ge4suKSCjXtoE/w213-h320/SS20+-+Reunion+320x480.png" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h4 style="font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/books/reunion-dancing-with-the-spirits" target="_blank">Reunion: Dancing with the Spirits</a><br /></h4><h3 style="margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">by Ariana Lovelle<br /></h3><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Magic can mend, but only love can heal.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Dying, broken, his identity lost, one man has fought his way out of the hands of his kidnappers. Tortured by the Collectors for control of his magic, he has only one goal left: to heal the place they had ripped him away from. He remembers that pool and the spirits living within its waters. Yet Owen has been hoping and praying for the return of this man, and he is determined to wake Manu’s memories.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Love has to be stronger than the pain both of them have been through, but will it be enough to mend all the damage the Collectors have left behind?<br /><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://smarturl.it/wpamzrdwts" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Amazon Kindle" border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="240" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGubuIjkhHdx4u_EsSAvnLhc9jtpkW0IjhHkqsQQNf2YkB3qvXFlBBTp-HuUL9yn6POUMecK-ybe7QWmFsheStNpGAl3e8fbLZo2Nf_-hEsGZWBaZ28sns4ZkvBwV4mVpizje-EXuja8/s200/Amazon+Button.png" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" title="Amazon Kindle" width="50" /></a> <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1038212" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Smashwords" border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="240" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaJY0YHl1siOHbDTOKsY8THdZiGu2wT-ey_IQV6GBGTspmXdQoIE9-c7O5V0_rmF5tLznJJ6CcZ9NHp5JuCkR8cgm5WC3E6N1mzyyLwOpBz_eRCjNm56rJJxip52Kz8l-ixnuTp_oSI8/s200/Smashwords+Button.png" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" title="Smashwords" width="50" /></a> <a href="http://smarturl.it/wp_itunes_sr3" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Apple Books" border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="240" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilhHQMXaNi3ChTUH6sdZckRF_2Yv1C7AlzkD3unqw_fQLlZsXkAQZLUJDo_v55tu0Dns2KYNVOP4mIqDQOrKk9lwFkjoct32NcSfaAeoKcIF7IIA5EP1DL6ciVeOwsNHRBdX6kGJFgieM/s1600/Apple+Button+greyed.png" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" title="Apple Books" width="50" /></a> <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=W1PQs9y/1/c&mid=37217&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.kobobooks.com%2Fen-gb%2Fbooks%2FFortunate-Soul-Soul-Reader-3%2FgP9Rj6ld3U6hYUczv9k1HA" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Kobo" border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="240" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8oi7JKYjQ7Jzarbs16cUhSAz1RX5SaxHI_whZMVPs8y3eDDG8wg107th1wFS_GawCF9LrHxV-UL3OEyftJbOtwy159os5CjuGpj61cEIYKbP-pqz3K0GNxh_inKA_tlUj_MS8Cu1W0U/s1600/Kobo+Button+greyed.png" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" title="Kobo" width="50" /></a> <a href="http://www.qksrv.net/links/7737731/type/am/http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fortunate-soul-natasha-duncan-drake/1113573626?ean=2940044991248" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Nook" border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="240" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgABi4u8LHAGvQa0YoysLsS8mBBfzXttnI_HqhIl5xHLNGkT5RPOXQYWFBl9P08rsko1If2Opf3bwSNIKSqT1RnqxMD8Ncpt8KIECG_DKz2NqfZtNdC4j9BBVNYoQsApVdxu5TqG6gcFyM/s1600/nook+Button+greyed.png" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" title="Nook" width="50" /></a> <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=fP33DwAAQBAJ" style="color: #990000; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Google Play" border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="240" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZRCFD5DoTF4WS9ulD0rfjn5uPFfMp9rI2O8P-Qqpg7qJZFRWp5LzvfCZBOfjBkZNHJVS06BViv6LuMIt8D99Tt4atADM95v7IrdRToPkyEL9-cV9FNUCRSlxxjQHhvPfQ2YulqBPLdA/s1600/google+play+button.png" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" title="Google Play" width="50" /></a></div></div>Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-19275301179427628782019-10-31T08:11:00.000+00:002019-10-31T08:11:04.666+00:00Free Halloween eBook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiReDtCcAuApeHgazvFSvPaW36s1YEHqZUROcrUc8hzUBhj5CoveLVMOS7WmLsD7NmdcHk_17VwF1uGbzsqlH_ZJdDUOsa3w3pd4yXSUqA3M0VKLs1fShQz7BlkTIuebwZ1moYOGewSXxw/s1600/bloghop_banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Free Book - Trick or Treat Blog Hop" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiReDtCcAuApeHgazvFSvPaW36s1YEHqZUROcrUc8hzUBhj5CoveLVMOS7WmLsD7NmdcHk_17VwF1uGbzsqlH_ZJdDUOsa3w3pd4yXSUqA3M0VKLs1fShQz7BlkTIuebwZ1moYOGewSXxw/s1600/bloghop_banner.png" title="Free Book - Trick or Treat Blog Hop" /></a></div>
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<u>Free Book - Trick or Treat Blog Hop</u></h2>
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Greetings and welcome to my blog on the spookiest of spooky days. It is a tradition of Tasha and I that we always produce a free eBook at Halloween. Usually it is for AllHallowsRead, but they don't seem to have updated their website this year, so just think of this as a trick or treat that is better for your teeth.🎃<br />
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<u>Beyond Death - Tales of the Macabre</u></h2>
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<u>Sophie Duncan & Natasha Duncan-Drake</u></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbVGTZTBQwBpHksTbfwyefBSAnRYbPSzxQgtK-Y8zHEoU_zlhugM4HNE4NIpPOIJ-33RcLcOrIfAZyRb6-qR7H9ebfT-LWj77oGipCyxBeHYfDsFdgCm2g6uHTlttsgQ908i3fTzCrXk/s1600/Halloween+19_v1+320x480.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbVGTZTBQwBpHksTbfwyefBSAnRYbPSzxQgtK-Y8zHEoU_zlhugM4HNE4NIpPOIJ-33RcLcOrIfAZyRb6-qR7H9ebfT-LWj77oGipCyxBeHYfDsFdgCm2g6uHTlttsgQ908i3fTzCrXk/s320/Halloween+19_v1+320x480.png" width="212" /></a></div>
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Two tales that look past death into the terror beyond.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Cup Runneth Over by Natasha Duncan-Drake</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>You have been tempted into places unknown and there are
things lurking in the shadows.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Promise by Sophie Duncan</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>When a person makes a commitment, they should stick to it.
Carol is determined to stick to hers no matter how scary it may become.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/988628" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Get it from Smashwords, totally free.</span></a></div>
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The book will only be free until Thursday 7th Nov - so get in there quickly.</div>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-69126084149316094862019-08-23T09:36:00.000+01:002019-08-23T09:36:01.561+01:00Book Review: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/210329.The_Dark_Is_Rising" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Dark Is Rising" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349051230l/210329._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/210329.The_Dark_Is_Rising">The Dark Is Rising</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7308.Susan_Cooper">Susan Cooper</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/170921156">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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<strong>A classic that can be read again and again </strong><br />
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I first read this book when I was doing by gcse English and that is when I fell in love with it. Susan Cooper has a wonderful sophisticated way with words that weaves image and feeling together while still being able to appeal to both the adult and child in me. There is wonder in these pages, and magic and mystery all set in the backdrop of English countryside. As Will learns the truth of himself and the rising Dark, Cooper compells us to read on and discover with him. Don't be put off by him being an 11 year old boy, he needs no ageing up (like the terrible movie) to make him relatable, Cooper's storytelling does that.<br />
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A great read for children and adults alike.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5504624-sophie-duncan">View all my reviews</a>
Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-82132251168181527052019-08-02T14:01:00.001+01:002019-08-02T14:01:39.560+01:00Haunted Words! #FreeFictionFriday Exclusive Free Short Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAkzlMbYGoQcuSQIePJbtCplLC8M9kEvvZrXXSKRQgAss2JY55aioB4lk6doUg31RZbKtyb5rKeGtdIA86ltpovo9naRrC2ybg94XPlz_10eLpkpgoj9_hZxS6_7O36SVmsIU-dMgzZaD/s1600/19-05+Haunted+Words_blog+-+banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A piles of books" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAkzlMbYGoQcuSQIePJbtCplLC8M9kEvvZrXXSKRQgAss2JY55aioB4lk6doUg31RZbKtyb5rKeGtdIA86ltpovo9naRrC2ybg94XPlz_10eLpkpgoj9_hZxS6_7O36SVmsIU-dMgzZaD/s320/19-05+Haunted+Words_blog+-+banner.png" title="Free Fiction Friday Haunted Words" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u>Haunted Words! #FreeFictionFriday Exclusive Free Short Story</u></h2>
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It's Friday and we're now in August, which means it's Free Fiction Friday.</div>
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This month's story is a short about a haunted book.</div>
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Haunted Words </h2>
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by Sophie Duncan</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvBjfIgwmw3TAckG9OmQWdWRyeBsF3wMMzdgu4m3aSrCUV_JM1h-vsgBHv3g37b1lgBzWe8qwFApCR_cMfrl-xB7KRVzcxwRqbMS5dPTpyVIjHRHxWLipjenD5mvRyEG17uwGHpgq_4_t/s1600/19-08+Haunted+Words+200x300.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Haunted Words Sophie Duncan background a pile of books and flowers" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvBjfIgwmw3TAckG9OmQWdWRyeBsF3wMMzdgu4m3aSrCUV_JM1h-vsgBHv3g37b1lgBzWe8qwFApCR_cMfrl-xB7KRVzcxwRqbMS5dPTpyVIjHRHxWLipjenD5mvRyEG17uwGHpgq_4_t/s200/19-08+Haunted+Words+200x300.png" title="Haunted Words Sophie Duncan" width="133" /></a>When a bibliophile finds a book of awful love poetry, she has no way of knowing where Wilbur's purple rhymes will lead her. <br />
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-77161300942099090862019-03-10T12:24:00.000+00:002019-03-10T12:24:12.887+00:00Review: Fire Devil - Ellie Jordan Ghost Trapper #11<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42994915-fire-devil" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Fire Devil (Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #11)" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1543532558m/42994915.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42994915-fire-devil">Fire Devil</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2917423.J_L_Bryan">J.L. Bryan</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2690201694">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
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This book is the second of a pair, and I will say upfront, this killed much of the enjoyment for me. I gave the first book in this pair, The Monster Museum, a 1 star review, because the split just left it without a substantial story, but you can read that review separately. I am not being as caustic about this book, but my rating is low compared to most of the Ellie Jordan books, and here's why - it was too 'big'.<br />
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I don't mean in length, I mean in scope - like Terminal, which is #4 in the series, I felt the widening of the geography and the sheer number of ghosts detracted from the story - not to mention, it's finishing off the story that I think should have been in The Monster Museum. There's a whole mini story in the middle about a haunted hotel that could have been a book on its own, and it was the bit I enjoyed the most, and I loved the outcome of that bit. The actual climax of the main story I found overly large and therefore a bit anti-climatic, and I thought it was missing bits.<br />
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This book is the culmination of the long running arc featuring Anton Clay, and, as an aside here, I will mention the bits of the story that were written from Anton Clay's POV - I skipped every single one of them and it didn't matter a jot to the story - they were totally unnecessary and interrupted the flow of the plot, which has always been from Ellie's exclusive POV before. Okay, back to the finale - given how long we've been waiting for this showdown between Ellie and Clay, I knew it would be bigger than the 'villainous ghost of the book' encounter, but I was also expecting the climax to pick up other references from throughout the other books. Some it did, some it didn't, and the big one I think that was left out was Ellie's ability to skip out of her body, which seems to have just been dropped in the last few books - was it too useful? I can see why it was left out, because so much was thrown in that the climax was overstuffed anyway, but it's a talent I found interesting, so I was a bit disappointed when it didn't get used. For the climax itself, the use of an entire town full of ghosts had the same effect as in Terminal, it spread out the threat and it was just a distraction. Greta and Clay were the only two ghosts who made much impact, even Amil from Monster House was just a sidekick with a few mentions, diminishing his threat in my head - his ring was more important than him in the end. I did enjoy how Clay and Ellie faced off though - that was a well written bit of drama.<br />
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So, in summary, this is not my favourite book of the Ellie Jordan series, in fact it's my second worst, just coming in better than The Monster Museum, but unlike that book, I did not want to throw my kindle across the room after 'finishing' it, and I used quotes, because The Monster Museum didn't finish. It was an adequate conclusion to the Anton Clay arc, and I want to read more Ellie Jordan books, where I hope to be raising my review scores back up to 4's and 5's again.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5504624-sophie-duncan">View all my reviews</a>
Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-89190398795841178852019-01-04T11:18:00.000+00:002019-01-04T11:20:01.135+00:00Newsletter Exclusive - Free Fiction Friday - Two Free Stories for the New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u>Free Fiction Friday</u></div>
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Happy New Year everyone! To wish all our Newsletter subscribers the best this year, and to thank you all for sticking with us, we have 2 stories instead of 1 this month: a fantasy story of a young girl taking her first steps into magic and a contemporary fantasy m/m short about a young man, his dragon, and his best friend. You can find both of these for <a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/free-fiction-friday-month-every-month" target="_blank">Free Fiction Friday</a> over at <a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/tag/free-fiction-friday" target="_blank">Wittegen Press</a>.<br />
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<u>This Month's Short Stories</u></h2>
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<a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/newsletter-exclusive-the-wand-by-sophie-duncan.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="192" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/The-Wand_banner.png?w=500&ssl=1" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/newsletter-exclusive-the-wand-by-sophie-duncan.html" target="_blank">The Wand</a></b><br />
<b>by Sophie Duncan</b><br />
<b>Genre</b>: fantasy<br />
<b>Length</b>: ~3.5K wds<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Description</b>:<br />
<i>Aelwin is a Maker, like her mother before her: she knows this in her heart, but will the fae Match her to her calling? When a hostile Shadow Coat arrives to perform the New Year Matching Ceremony for her and her friends, disaster threatens. </i><br />
<i>Only Aelwin can stop it, but she doesn’t know how.</i><br />
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<a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/mark-of-the-dragon-nsfw.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuknkxtakpQltMBGchk4bXvLlRbZvcaznmyk7diU3j_ARKU7vLXNiIqMRCKJoH9h2QiomB0SFuUIQJIHDAu0QSEX92sVhJ1Mnt6SQKLiGwNI62gcrMR6xnnvcZtK5pPAMZwf4cNBUqcS5/s320/mark+of+the+dragon_banner.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/mark-of-the-dragon-nsfw.html" target="_blank">Mark of the Dragon</a></b><br />
<b>by Natasha Duncan-Drake</b><br />
<b>Genre</b>: contemporary fantasy, m/m, adult<br />
<b>Length</b>: ~3.5K wds<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Description</b>:<br />
<i>Luke has always known he has a destiny, after all he has the manifestation of a dragon on his skin that moves around as it pleases and a book in his head that explains all about it. However even dragons can't help with relationships, or can they?</i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wittegenpress.com/assassins-blood" style="font-size: medium;">Assassin's Blood<br />Natasha Duncan-Drake</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wittegenpress.com/curse-of-a-banshee" style="font-size: medium;">Curse of a Banshee<br />Sophie Duncan</a></td></tr>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-64291988573780796912018-09-06T10:38:00.000+01:002018-09-06T10:38:44.626+01:00Book Review: The Monster Museum by J.L. Bryan (Ellie Jordan 10) - well, that was disappointing<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40242929-the-monster-museum" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Monster Museum (Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #10)" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1527708715m/40242929.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40242929-the-monster-museum">The Monster Museum</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2917423.J_L_Bryan">J.L. Bryan</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2450632217">1 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
I have been known to rave about Ellie Jordan novels, frankly I love them, and I had this one on pre-order. Unfortunately, I found this one disappointing and frustrating, let me tell you why.<br />
<br />
I love Ellie Jordan novels because they are exciting and mysterious spook hunts with a side of personal tension for the main characters, each adventure has a beginning and an end, and then there may or may not be a background arc that continues into the next book or two. Well, in this one, I was left with an impression that it's more personal angst for Ellie with a tiny side of ghosts.<br />
<br />
Each story focuses on a haunted location, with Ellie and friends solving the mystery of who the ghost is and how to get rid of them and the important bit - they solve the problem, that's the satisfying ending. Well, in this book, that gets lost in two things:<br />
- Ellie obsessing about her attraction to two men - now Ellie has a tendency to brood about relationships, but this goes way beyond that and just gets frustrating, it doesn't really have a point, or take the plot anywhere and doesn't get handled realistically at the end<br />
- so that brings me to the second thing, the end, which is swamped by a huge drama mostly unrelated to the haunted location that diminishes the build up and mystery to a point where I thought it was all rather pathetically handled, undervaluing the trauma and drama of the haunted location and its inhabitants . <br />
<br />
This felt like a good story (The Monster Museum piece) sacrificed to the 'background' arc, which took control (not very originally IMO - spotted it from the moment it was hinted at and just hoped throughout the book we weren't going in that repetitive direction, but we did) and left a cliffhanger that really got me annoyed (I don't like cliffhangers at the best of times, but when it undermines any satisfaction in the solution to the mystery at the heart of the title of the book, I get stompy). <br />
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Please, please, please, make the next book better, I don't want to stop reading what is one of my favourite series ever.
<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5504624-sophie-duncan">View all my reviews</a>
Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-2477108018710183822018-08-03T06:53:00.000+01:002018-08-03T06:53:00.644+01:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u>Free Fiction Friday</u></div>
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Happy August everyone, we hope you are not sweltering too much in the Summer heat. We have some contemporary fantasy for you this month for <a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/free-fiction-friday-month-every-month" target="_blank">Free Fiction Friday</a> over at <a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/tag/free-fiction-friday" target="_blank">Wittegen Press</a>. This month's exclusive short story is an exciting tale of magic and self discovery, as ever, free to our wonderful subscribers.<br />
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What we WILL DO for our subscribers:</h3>
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<u>This Month's Short Story
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<a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/sistiri-awakenings.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="192" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Sistiri-Awakenings_banner.jpg?w=500&ssl=1" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/sistiri-awakenings.html" target="_blank">Sistiri: Awakenings</a></b><br />
<b>by Sophie Duncan</b><br />
<b>Genre</b>: contemporary fantasy, magical realism<br />
<b>Length</b>: ~8.5K wds<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Description</b>:<br />
<i>‘Skin as white as ice, heart as black as coal.’</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>That’s how Sky understood Mountain Elves, blood enemies of Hearthfae, and, a nerd that she was, allergic to magic, the last thing she expected was to end up tutoring the first diplomatic exchange student at the Interpeoples College for Magical Sciences. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Freya Bloodstone is powerful, scary and determined, and she is about to awaken depths in Sky that she never knew she had.</i></div>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-36181227664635563112018-07-28T21:03:00.000+01:002018-07-28T21:03:32.858+01:00Blanket Box - Movie Magic!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><br /></b>
So my sis, Tasha, kicked me off on this blanket box talking about movies, favourite ones, dreadful ones, funny ones. <a href="https://tashasthinkings.blogspot.com/2018/07/lets-all-go-to-movies-another-blanket.html" target="_blank">This is where Tasha's is.</a> If you fancy joining in, the questions are at the bottom of Tasha's post. So, I've never done one of these before, but here we go with my answers :)...<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Your favorite movie of all time</b></li>
</ul>
The Lost Boys - has to be. It's the movie that made me fall in love with vampires, and it opened up my imagination - it's one of those movies that got me writing.<br /><ul>
<li><b>A movie you watch to pick you up when you feel sad</b></li>
</ul>
I have a few of these, but I'll pick one - Chocolat (and definitely the movie not the book, the book leaves a bad taste in my mouth) - this movie has a wonderful surreal quality, and it is all about opening up to possibilities, defying convention and enjoying life. Even Le Comte finds his way and I love it, it always leaves me smiling.<br /><ul>
<li><b>A movie that makes you feel invincible</b></li>
</ul>
I like movies about misfits, people who make the most of their weirdness and this one's a really trashy eighties movies, but I think it's great - Misfits of Science (it became a TV series as well, but I don't recommend that one as much).<br /><ul>
<li><b>Which genre of film is your favorite?</b></li>
</ul>
Ghost stories are my favourite genre, I love the tingle down my spine when a candle flame flickers, or a book on a table moves just an inch. I collect ghost stories, both written and cinematic, I have loads of them, good, bad and indifferent.<br /><ul>
<li><b>A movie that scares you</b></li>
</ul>
I'll mention a movie that scared me in all its forms (book, play, TV movie and cinematic release) The Woman In Black - it has tingly scares, jump scares, isolation tension - everything I find good in a spooky movie.<br /><ul>
<li><b>A movie that makes you cry</b></li>
</ul>
Now there's a few of these, and more as I get older - picking just one - The Green Mile - so many great performances, so many memorable moments, so many that make me cry about the injustice and sadness of it all, but one that makes me cry with joy is when John Coffey saves Melinda Moores, the governor's wife, the transformation gets me every time.<br /><ul>
<li><b>What movie is guaranteed to make you laugh?</b></li>
</ul>
Watching movies alone I don't laugh a lot, but when I'm in company, one that is absolutely on the nose for giggles and full on guffaws is Despicable Me 2, even more so than Despicable Me. And the funniest thing is seeing my Dad crying with laughter when the minions are doing their thing :).<br /><ul>
<li><b>Your first R-rated movie</b></li>
</ul>
This is the same as my sis, since we saw it together, Evil Dead. It scared me witless then.<br /><ul>
<li><b>The first movie you remember seeing in theaters</b></li>
</ul>
The Fox and the Hound - Cranbrook Cinema.<br /><ul>
<li><b>The most boring movie you've ever seen</b></li>
</ul>
Now there have been loads of these, especially as I've grown pickier in my taste, but one that is considered a classic that I actually fell asleep in was Psycho. <br /><ul>
<li><b>What movie have you seen that you will never watch again?</b></li>
</ul>
Now this is an odd one and I know other people adored this movie, and I love Thor and Thor 2, but not even my penchant for Tom Hiddleston movies could save Thor 3: Ragnarok - I just found the whole tone wrong, characters acting for laughs, not in line with their previous movie personas, plot launching all over the place and not really hanging together, and all of it detracting from Hela, who could have been a wonderful villain all by herself, no Jeff Goldblum (whom I love in other movies) required.<br /><ul>
<li><b>Your favorite documentary film</b></li>
</ul>
Most of the documentaries I watch tend to be hour long things, but if I add both episodes together, I hope David Attenborough's First Life fits into this category. The origins of life in an engaging format.<br /><ul>
<li><b>What movie did you love the most when you were a kid?</b></li>
</ul>
Return of the Jedi, my sis and I rented this from a good old fashioned video store one Christmas and we watched it over and over and over again. Luke fighting for his father, Leia discovering a little of her own talents, Han coming out of the carbonite and yes, I even adore the ewoks.<br /><ul>
<li><b>One story you want desperately to see as a movie (can be a book, videogame, comic, etc.)</b></li>
</ul>
The Champions - this is a 1960's tv series about secret agents (two brits and a yank) who get super powers when their plane crashes into Shangrila in the mountains. It sounds corny, it is, but the series pushes all of my buttons and I watch it over and again. There was talk of it being optioned for a movie a couple of years ago and Guillermo del Toro was linked to it, so I had high hopes, but things have been silent since then.<br /><ul>
<li><b>What movie do you always recommend to friends?</b></li>
</ul>
The Lost Boys - 'nuff said<br /><ul>
<li><b>A movie series you love to marathon</b></li>
</ul>
Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. They're easy to watch, brilliant romps and the nostalgia is heavy with these ones :)<br /><ul>
<li><b>Favorite superhero movie</b></li>
</ul>
I'm not going to reference any of the MCU movies, which is tempting, but I'm going back in time for this one. This movie is camp, it's somewhat racy, very, very silly, and it has a rock-out soundtrack - I can watch it again and again - Flash Gordon (1980) with Sam J Jones and Max Von Sydow.<br /><ul>
<li><b>Favorite movie based on a book</b></li>
</ul>
This one's a repeat - The Woman in Black.<br /><ul>
<li><b>Favorite animated movie</b></li>
</ul>
Frozen - because it broke some moulds.<br /><ul>
<li><b>Free space: Mention any movie you love that you haven't talked about already!</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
Now this is a list that just jumped into my head, so they're a bit random ;P</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Who Framed Roger Rabbit - I think the story stands the test of time and there aren't many animated characters that scare me, but the bad guy reveal at the end (and I won't say any more), that's creepy.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Grosse Pointe Blank - read <a href="https://tashasthinkings.blogspot.com/2018/07/lets-all-go-to-movies-another-blanket.html" target="_blank">Tasha's blanket box</a> for reasons on this one.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dead Man's Folly - Peter Ustinov as Poirot - I do like a good detective movie and this one's a guilty pleasure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tron - what's not to love about Bruce Boxleitner and Jeff Bridges battling an evil computer-overlord with 1982 tech.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Jurassic Park - the original, the classic.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Awakening - obscure British 2011 horror, but I really like the premise and it's a well told story.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wonder Woman - at last a decent DC superhero movie, and with great female characters.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Monsters Inc - oh Sully, oh Mike, oh Boo :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Princess Bride - inconceivable!! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Aliens (Alien may be the classic, but I prefer film number 2)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fright Night (1980's, not remake)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Two that go hand in hand in my mind - The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth - puppets, fantasy adventure, and David Bowie :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And finally a mixed bag of 80's classics - Breakfast Club, Mannequin, Bladerunner, Pretty in Pink, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Dreamscape.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'll stop now....but there are bound to be movies I've missed, and I could go on, and on, and on.....</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, if you want to join in, head on over to <a href="https://tashasthinkings.blogspot.com/2018/07/lets-all-go-to-movies-another-blanket.html" target="_blank">Tasha's blog</a> for an easy-copy set of questions.</div>
Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-56095464534536719632018-04-30T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-30T00:00:01.935+01:00Ghostly Inspirations Z is for Zapped #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
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~</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Z is for Zapped</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
So, we’re at the final A to Z post - wow. Well, my inspiration today comes from a holiday I spent in Scotland with my sis and friends. We were staying in a cabin near Loch Ness, and it was midge season. One of the things that gets used against such pests is the blue light zappy machine (that’s a technical definition), you know the thing that looks like a bar heater that makes a snapping sound with a flash of blue light when an insect lands on it.<br />
<br />
Well, that got me thinking about electricity and how deadly it can be to things bigger than a midge.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It was pelting it down with rain the night that Rory met his end. The weather was not unusual for Fort William at that time of year and Rory, handyman and night manager at White Gate Cabins, was taking advantage of the the offseason by having his own party in the empty holiday lets. Loud music, friends and a cornucopia of mind altering substances meant that when the power went out due to the wind, Rory acted quickly to assuage the disappointment in his companions. He was the handyman, he knew how to refix the power line to their chosen cabin and he headed outside with a head torch to fix things.<br />
<br />
<br />
However, being drunk and high meant that Rory was not at his fix-it best. He died in an arc of electricity. Still, Rory doesn’t see why death should stop his partying.<br />
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<b>~</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Party!</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Jen shrieked her laughter as she tripped up the step to the cabin.<br />
<br />
“Shhh,” Glen shushed, but was giggling as well as he fumbled for the lock, dropping the cans of beer in his other hand as he did.<br />
<br />
The couple stumbled into their holiday let, missing the light switch. The room lit up anyway, a bright bluish light blinding Jen. Blinking away the brilliance and shock, Jen focused on the sofa and a crackling figure slumped there.<br />
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“Party!” it yelled.<br />
<br />
Jen blinked again at the lopsidedly grinning thing. See-through, it was see-through. Sobering quickly, Jen screamed, turned and ran.<br />
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~</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-69999896378978388882018-04-28T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-28T00:00:30.200+01:00Ghostly Inspirations Y is for Yellow #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
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Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
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My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCU5c3qCY1kbTX49p3MSicAO4GQqALPzC39K0rBEhRBuOMz_PkTq5P3El6HvirNfywRfgKmISY4fP45A4R92Yx3LcPkwZz3mUdOVHUXpVUXOXex9vk-IxKBj76eXDqHzuN8AyOA5o1Lrt/s1600/y.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCU5c3qCY1kbTX49p3MSicAO4GQqALPzC39K0rBEhRBuOMz_PkTq5P3El6HvirNfywRfgKmISY4fP45A4R92Yx3LcPkwZz3mUdOVHUXpVUXOXex9vk-IxKBj76eXDqHzuN8AyOA5o1Lrt/s1600/y.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Y is for Yellow</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
Late last year, my great uncle died and I attended his funeral with my family. The crematorium was in Hasting Cemetery, which I had never been to before. We arrived early and decided to take a walk around what was an expansive and very peaceful place. We walked along wide avenues between the group of graves with their many and varied memorials and beautiful trees. In the bright winter sunshine, the cemetery was peaceful and calming.<br />
<br />
Up the far end, we came across a section where memorials were smaller and we realised we were in a war graves section. The poignancy of that has not left me and began to think about those who died in the Great War as it was called. Young men, barely more than boys, and the harsh fate that awaited them, whether they went over the top, or worse, if they were charged for cowardice. The unfairness of those charges as we look back with modern eyes is my inspiration for today.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Monty was 15 when he faked his age and joined up to go and fight in France. He had barely been 16 when it had all become too much, He had faltered in the face of the enemy and his commanding officer had shown on mercy. Shot for cowardice, he had stayed with his own body, lost, afraid, a child not knowing what to do until his family had claimed him and brought him home. His age revealed, he had been buried at home on the south coast of England, overlooking the sea, among the other soldiers, no-one mentioning the disgrace on either side.<br />
<br />
<br />
But Monty knew.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>~</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Pardon</u></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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Carol strode up through the silent cemetery, the early sun on her tense shoulders as she headed directly to where she needed to be. This was not her first visit, but she hoped it would be her last as she headed into the longer grass around the small headstones of the war graves. Her eyes settled on him immediately, a boy in uniform, curled around his knees beside his marker.<br />
<br />
Carol dropped to her knees in front of him, brandishing the proof.<br />
<br />
“Monty, you were forgiven,” she whispered.<br />
<br />
Monty’s gaze widened on the paper. Hope in his eyes, he faded.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="http://www.wittegenpress.com/assassins-blood" style="font-size: medium;">Assassin's Blood<br />Natasha Duncan-Drake</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="http://www.wittegenpress.com/curse-of-a-banshee" style="font-size: medium;">Curse of a Banshee<br />Sophie Duncan</a></td></tr>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-30922132021191827122018-04-27T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-27T00:01:08.202+01:00Ghostly Inspirations X is for Xenial #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">X is for Xenial</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">My inspiration today is a very personal one from my childhood. I have talipes, which means I was born with a deformed foot. When I was seven, I had two operations on my foot to straighten it as much as possible, and I have a very distinct memory of going home after one of the operations. I was in my nightdress and was carried by my father out of the hospital into a bright sunny morning in a sloping car park that looked down the hill towards the sea, which was sparkling in the sunshine. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Sister Gayle lived for her job in the children’s ward at St Christopher by the Sea Hospital. Single with no children of her own, she did everything for her patients and they loved her. Yet, even though Gayle looked after her young patients, she failed to look after herself, and she ignored the bad headache that kept returning until one day it became a shooting agony for a split second and then blackness.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sister Gayle died of a brain aneurysm and her funeral was attended by hundreds of those she had tended. Now she still tends the lonely, the frightened, any child who needs her.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>~</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Goodbye</u></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Bella rested her head on her daddy’s shoulder and looked down the hill at the shiny sea below the hospital. She was fuzzy from the medicine the nurses had given her to stop her arm hurting, but the water and sun were pretty. She watched them for a while, but then turned her head and looked behind.<br />
<br />
She smiled when she saw the nice nurse in the funny clothes standing by the exit. She had been so kind when Bella had woken after her operation, talking to her when she was scared. Bella waved her thanks. Her friend waved back.<br />
<div>
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<br />
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-22427470831843809122018-04-26T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-26T00:00:10.223+01:00Ghostly Inspirations W is for Waterfall #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixM8Z0QdVjtS7Qy3pOS77Fsp81AZv_ut6wynwoeiLHwyQOV8M4vBnK652_jWcMGkmy545XuBj_KMgg9t33HiHtAdAiMG6xttrUvVN5mkYz-u_HYz1UeeLPdD4l934hcnBpf7Orp9PvXaGW/s1600/w.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixM8Z0QdVjtS7Qy3pOS77Fsp81AZv_ut6wynwoeiLHwyQOV8M4vBnK652_jWcMGkmy545XuBj_KMgg9t33HiHtAdAiMG6xttrUvVN5mkYz-u_HYz1UeeLPdD4l934hcnBpf7Orp9PvXaGW/s1600/w.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">W is for Waterfall</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">I am scared of water, I never learnt to swim properly as a kid and I fell in a pond when I was 8. However, I love being close to moving water, rivers, lakes, and especially waterfalls. There are a trio of falls in Yorkshire called Aysgarth Falls. You reach them by walking through an atmospheric wood with grass mounds and deep dark groves, and the falls themselves are majestic, violent pulses of raw nature. These pounding rushes of water are my inspiration today.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Laurie hadn’t meant to die, but he had forgotten to respect the water. He’d been showing off to Camilla, his latest young lady, hopping onto stones a little way out in the river. He’d done it lots of times, but this time, he’d failed to note the ferocity of the water after the storms the week before. The water had been too high, the rocks were slippery and he’d skidded off the stone, right into the water. The waterfalls did not forgive such mistakes and when he had come round, he had become part of their rage.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>~</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Too Close</u></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
James stood at the edge of the river, the sheer power of the water drowning out the nature behind him. His ears rang with the roar and underneath it, he heard something else - a whisper.<br />
<br />
“Closer.”<br />
<br />
He stepped closer to the rumbling cascade, the toes of his shoes a hair’s breadth away from the foam. He was so close now, he could feel the power running through the stone up his legs. He looked down at the peat-dark water a little further out.<br />
<br />
Something pale moved against the vicious current. James’ pulse skipped. He swallowed. Suddenly afraid, he stepped back.<br />
<div>
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<br />
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~</div>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-3458552962041677242018-04-25T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-25T00:00:43.954+01:00Ghostly Inspirations V is for Valentine #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">V is for Valentine</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
Today, I’m not doing a drabble, instead, I’m using a longer story that I wrote for Valentine’s Day this year, a story that is from my new ‘Inspired By…’ series.<br />
<br />
The 'Inspired By...' series is a collection of stories where the nugget of an idea came<br />
from an inspiration in real life.<br />
<br />
The story is called Phantom Love, and my inspiration is a church yard in a little village in the Kent countryside called Wittersham. When I was a girl, my father was the rector of Wittersham and the primary school I went to was right next to the church yard. There was only an open railing between us and what was a largely wild area. And, in the long grass, there were lots of rather dramatic tombs. One I remember vividly was made up of a large sarcophagus, broken in places and surrounded by brambles and rusty fence.<br />
<br />
There was one time when a bunch of us were daring each other to stick our hands in the dark holes made by the breaks in the stonework.<br />
<br />
I was never brave enough, but that dare is where the start of this story came from, so I hope you enjoy Ellen and Ben's tale.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
When Ben promises to show his cousin, Ellen, a ghost, the pair set in motion a series of events that lead them into a terrifying encounter. Yet, within her fear, Ellen finds a purpose, and it is to find out what Millicent Van Curren, shot by her lover, wants from them.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>~</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/792064" target="_blank">Phantom Love</a> (Excerpt)</u></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/792064" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="133" src="https://dwtr67e3ikfml.cloudfront.net/bookCovers/175b7454e1af6433e2edd568cc04c20a67bd230b-thumb" /></a>...The otherworldly humming slipped deep into Ellen’s mind, rooting her to the mattress<br />
with its melancholy undulation. She was sure there would be only one thing worse than<br />
the fear currently swirling in her chest, and that would be if Millicent noticed her, so she<br />
trembled in place, mouth dry, heart hammering, and not knowing what to do as her<br />
visitor slowly formed. It felt like hours of terror as the shadows pulled together out of the<br />
chill atmosphere, suggesting more and more of the young woman in a high-waisted<br />
gown. She swayed gently, the edges of her form not quite holding against her<br />
movement, as surreal as the not quite heard song, and the complicit baby doll lay<br />
against her breast….<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/792064" target="_blank">This book is currently free on Smashwords.</a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-39769293923096917532018-04-24T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-24T00:00:02.689+01:00Ghostly Inspirations U is for Unfinished #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">U is for Unfinished</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
There’s something about houses that are unfinished that makes me uncomfortable. I’ve stayed in a few places that were being done up and all of them left me feeling vulnerable. I’ve slept in rooms where the windows don’t have curtains because they’re being decorated, and at night, I have slept with my back to those windows because their starkness, their view straight out without anything in the way, has given me the creeps.<br />
<br />
These places that are being changed, that have yet to be re-domesticated, are my inspiration today.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
JJ died as he lived - in the shadows. A thief, a mugger, an attacker, he had no respect for others and enjoyed the freedom of the streets, where he believed in survival of the fittest. Until he met someone meaner than him.<br />
<br />
<br />
Stabbed and losing blood, JJ fled the bigger thug and ducked into a decrepit London townhouse. He died there, in the dark, broken place, alone and angry.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>~</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Redecorating</u></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Kieran looked round at the stripped walls. Blowing a stray piece of wallpaper from her nose, she smiled. The scrap drifted on a short gust of chill wind. Kieran’s skin prickled. She shook herself and reached for the broom. The tool clattered to the floor just in front of her fingertips.<br />
<br />
A snarl sounded beside her ear. Keiran straightened and closed her eyes. Settling, she reached out and found him instantly: cold, nasty, mean.<br />
<br />
“I don’t just strip walls, JJ.” she warned.<br />
<br />
He growled. Kieran focused. He screeched. He fought, but he didn’t stand a chance. Gone. Kieran smiled again.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-20142888303784452292018-04-23T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-23T00:00:02.678+01:00Ghostly Inspirations T is for Terrace #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">T is for Terrace</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
It’s not always remote, strange, or dramatic locations that generate inspirations of the spooky kind. I have lived in and visited several terraced houses, and anyone who has ever stayed in one of these connected domiciles will know that you share a certain amount of your life with the people on either side. If it’s not hearing your neighbours going up and down the stairs, it’s the thumps and rumbles of furniture being moved, or the odd raised voice as relationships take their natural course.<br />
<br />
The question is, how can you tell if what you are hearing from next door is the living, or the dead?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Is there a ghost, or isn’t there?<br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>~</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Bumps in the Night</u></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
They were at it again - the neighbours - up and down the stairs in the middle of the night. Lali rolled over and pulled the duvet over her head. It wasn’t fair she had to have the room that bordered next door. Thump, thump, thump all night.<br />
<br />
What the hell were they doing at 3am?<br />
<br />
Exhausted, Lali grabbed a pillow and threw it at the adjoining wall.<br />
<br />
Glorious silence...<br />
<br />
“They were doing it again last night.” Lali complained next morning at breakfast.<br />
<br />
“Now I know you’re making it up.” Mother tutted at daughter. “The Joneses are away all week.”<br />
<br />
Lali chilled.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-60729535597076585852018-04-21T15:06:00.000+01:002018-04-21T15:06:24.885+01:00Ghostly Inspirations S is for Snow #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">S is for Snow</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">On the warmest day of April in the UK since 1949, it’s the sudden cold snap in March that has inspired me today. The snow in the South East where I live, was not that harsh, but it did close offices, so I found myself sent home. Sitting in my living room, I watched the flakes falling and it was how they could flurry and form shapes that got me thinking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
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No one knows her name. She was a traveller, a young girl caught out in a snowstorm in only a thin cloak and nightgown. Why such a slight creature was out that bitter night remains as much a mystery as her name. All that is known is that when the snow comes, the frozen beauty returns with it, and she will lead the unwary to their chill deaths.<br />
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<b>~</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Dance</u></span></b></div>
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My Love, dance with me.<br />
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When the air chills and the sky grows grey, remember me. When your breath blows white, know mine exists no more, but I am still here. I dance when the flakes begin to fall, my body tripping flurries of tiny icicles.<br />
<br />
In the silence of the settling layers of crystals, my rhythm grows. I twirl where the wind swirls them up again, the quiet my beat.<br />
<br />
And I wait for you.<br />
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Follow me; we shall glide together into the storm. Let the frozen air envelop you, surrender to it and we shall love at last.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-11725679250420848202018-04-20T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-20T00:00:17.648+01:00Ghostly Inspirations R is for Remote #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">R is for Remote</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Do you ever ever have those times when electronic equipment behaves oddly? It can seem really spooky, especially when you’re on your own, but invariably there’s a logical explanation. I have managed to change the TV channel by sitting on a cushion that’s partly on the remote. But maybe, just maybe, there might be a time when there is no logical explanation.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Nannie was a shut in; for the last ten years of her life, she never left her house, barely even opened the curtains of her house. Her only contact with the outside world, apart from meals on wheels, was her TV. She loved her soaps and hopped from channel to channel picking up the lives of her favourite characters. Nothing stopped Nannie from watching her soaps.<br />
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<br />
When she died in her arm chair, it was three days before anyone found her.<br />
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<b>~</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>No Sharing</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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Tom flopped onto his sofa, put his feet on the coffee table and flicked on the TV: new house, couple of lagers, the latest Marvel movie - perfect. As familiar music began and the red logo appeared, Tom dropped the remote onto the cushion next to him, settling in.<br />
<br />
::Blink:: the TV showed a woman yelling at a scruffy lad.<br />
<br />
Tom grabbed the remote and flicked back, relaxing again.<br />
<br />
::Blink:: the angry pair were back.<br />
<br />
Tom swore and grabbed the remote.<br />
<br />
“No!”<br />
<br />
Tom leapt out of his seat and stared at the sofa, heart racing.<br />
<br />
“Out of the way.”<br />
<br />
Tom fled.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-34744209223555624302018-04-19T15:02:00.000+01:002018-04-19T15:02:31.270+01:00Ghostly Inspirations Q is for Quiet #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
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My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
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a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Q is for Quiet</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">When I was studying for my PhD, our entire department drove from the South of England up to Glasgow for a robotics conference. On the way home, we stopped off at Loch Lomond. It was sunset, and everything was incredibly still. I stood on a jetty which took me out a little way over the loch, and I stood there, disconnected from the land behind me, looking onto the glassy water that was reflecting the deep orange sky. After a hectic conference where we spent two days encouraging school children to get interested in robotics, that moment was one of the most peaceful of my life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Jock was the barman at Loch Lomond Marina for 28 years. He enjoyed his job, and was always an ear for any patron who needed to talk. When he had pains in his arm during a shift, he ignored it and dropped dead in the car park as he was on his way home. This didn’t bother Jock much, and when his ashes were scattered off the jetty close to the Marina, he decided to stick around in case anyone else needed a good listener.<br />
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<b>~</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Hug</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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Hands in her pockets, she was standing at the end of the jetty, staring into the water. Jock moved up behind her. Her head came up a little, but she did not turn.<br />
<br />
“Jock?”<br />
<br />
“Hello Katy.”<br />
<br />
Katy smiled but her eyes remained on the water.<br />
<br />
“I miss you mate.”<br />
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“I’m still here.”<br />
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“But I need a hug.”<br />
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“Close your eyes, hen.”<br />
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She obeyed.<br />
<br />
“Think back...July.”<br />
<br />
Katy nodded.<br />
<br />
“Nicko being a bastard again.”<br />
<br />
Katy sighed, wrapping her arms around herself.<br />
<br />
“You hugged me so tight.”<br />
<br />
Sigh became sob. Jock stood close until Katy was cried out.<br />
<br />
“Thanks, Jock,” she whispered.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-83655788050739946582018-04-18T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-18T00:00:29.630+01:00Ghostly Inspirations P is for (in) Passing #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">P is for (in) Passing</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
Today, we’re off North of the Border for my inspiration. Edinburgh is a beautiful and ancient city. There are many old houses build with solid stone, and a friend of mine lived in a flat in one such old building. Her flat had wonderful high ceilings and a beautiful warm fire, but it is the stone steps up to her apartment that have inspired me today.<br />
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The stairwell of this set of flats had a bent old metal railing and each step showed the thousands, probably millions of footfalls that it had taken over the hundreds of years it had been conveying people up and down.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
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These steps have witnessed much: desperate dashes down to greet long missed loved ones in the street; slow plods upwards with heavy shopping bags; secret creeps into the boudoir of a mistress; gaggles of friends heaving upwards towards the party; and also accidents, the old steps are uneven, it is easy to trip, and the solid stone is unforgiving.</div>
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<b>~</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Watching</u></span></b></div>
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She is there. Not every day, not even every week, but sometimes. I never know when, not even when I come into the dark stairwell from the busy street. For when I look up, there is no hint of her presence.<br />
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Then I step upwards. One step, two step, ten and I turn, unsuspecting, at the slightly wider stair on the curve. I pass and she is there. Silent, staring, her eyes wide and sad, I have seen her out of the corner of my eye. Chilled, heart skipping, I trot the rest of the way, watched at each step.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-80039062840198261252018-04-17T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-17T00:00:29.503+01:00Ghostly Inspirations O is for Owd Nance #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">O is for Owd Nance</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
Today I’m letting a ghost, or rather a ghost trope inspire a ghost. Burton Agnes Hall is a grand Elizabethan house open to the public in Yorkshire, but it is most famous for being the home of Owd Nance, a screaming skull ghost.<br />
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I have visited this house twice and the dramatic carvings all over the inside was enough to convince me that it could well house the ghost of its former owner Ann Griffiths. She was killed by footpads and wished her head to be kept at the home she loved. When her loved ones naturally balked at the request, Ann, known in her ghostly form as Owd Nance, made a ruckus in her old home. Thus, her skull was installed in the house and peace returned. Like many other screaming skulls, if she’s ever removed, trouble starts up again.<br />
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So, today, I intend to introduce you to my own twist on this ghost trope.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
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Sir James Gerrard was parted from his head during the English Civil War. He fought for the King, and the roundheads who killed him strung his head up as a trophy. They found out that night that Sir James was not at all happy about this desecration as he drew up the fires of hell themselves to denote his displeasure. By the morning, Sir James had been reunited with his head, and was interred in his family vault with a warning to all comers to respect his corpse.<br />
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Only idiots ignore the warning.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>~</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Do Not Disturb</u></span></b></div>
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Sir James watched as his skull was tossed around between the nervously giggling miscreants. If he’d had any, his blood would have been boiling. Instead, he drew the heat from the room, building the power in his chest until the troublemakers were breathing out fog.<br />
<br />
They slowed in their sport and their laughs. James grimaced, drew in a remembered breath and then the rumble started low. They stopped completely, eyes wide, heads turning, fear beginning. Rumble became howl, and with it James spun up the wind. They cowered, screamed, ran. Sir James laughed into the nightmare as his persecutors fled.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-19500904632688158962018-04-16T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-16T00:00:50.956+01:00Ghostly Inspirations N is for Novel #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">N is for Novel</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
Most people have heard of the Bronte sisters, famous for Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and other novels. They lived in Haworth in Yorkshire, in their father’s parsonage. That house is now a museum run by the Bronte Society. It is right next door to the church and churchyard, which is packed with gravestones and monuments. <br />
<br />
I visited the museum a few years ago and it was a fascinating time. The rooms in the place are actually quite small, and you could understand why on a cold winter day, the parsonage and its surrounds could be very bleak. It may be the tragedies associated with the Brontes, how young they died, their brother’s drunken madness, Jane’s unrequited love for her professor, but the place had a certain air about it, a dour stoicism in stonework on the edge of a wild place, the moors.<br />
<br />
This environment inspired the savagery of Wuthering Heights and equally the personal strength of Jane Eyre. It is this melting pot of literature that has also inspired me today.<br />
<br />
Since this story is totally fictitious, I am calling the village Hawthorne and my novelists, the Brownes.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If you’re a ghost, a museum can be an interesting place to spend the afterlife.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>~</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Personal Heroines</u></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Elaine had been waiting for this school trip all year. Hawthorne, home of the Browne sisters. Companions running ahead, nervously, she sat down at the table where the novelists had worked.<br />
<br />
“That’s not really allowed.”<br />
<br />
Elaine gasped and looked around. A petite woman in corseted gown stood there.<br />
<br />
“Caroline Browne?”<br />
<br />
A nod. Elaine beamed: she had hoped the story was true.<br />
<br />
“I love your books.” She held out her battered copy of ‘Jean Air’. “I had to meet you.”<br />
<br />
“Not many see me.”<br />
<br />
“Nor I.”<br />
<br />
“Nor I.”<br />
<br />
Her three favourite authors sat down with her. Elaine almost jumped for joy.<br />
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~</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="http://www.wittegenpress.com/assassins-blood" style="font-size: medium;">Assassin's Blood<br />Natasha Duncan-Drake</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="http://www.wittegenpress.com/curse-of-a-banshee" style="font-size: medium;">Curse of a Banshee<br />Sophie Duncan</a></td></tr>
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-61867851839910633492018-04-14T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-14T00:00:06.536+01:00Ghostly Inspirations M is for Moon #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">M is for Moon</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
I was sponsored through university by British Aerospace Space Systems, and so after I left school, but before I went to uni, I had a year out with the company as a student apprentice. There were a large body of apprentices at BAe Space, and almost as soon as we got there, the company sent us all on an outward bound course in Wales.<br />
<br />
My inspiration today comes from an event during that fun week, when we went orienteering. For those who don’t know what orienteering is, it involves maps and navigating with a compass from point to point. What made this particularly exciting, though, was that we undertook this activity in the absolute darkness of a midnight pine forest.<br />
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The experience was scary and fun, with senses limited and distorted by the nighttime environment. We had to find letters on trees, but in the pitch black, they were totally invisible until you were on top of them. Some of us had torches, some of us didn’t, and, as someone who didn’t have a torch, I can testify to how black the night was in that wood.<br />
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The only relief was the odd sighting of the moon overhead between the dense branches and in the occasional open space.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
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Abel Jones had loved the countryside all his life, and he was one of the lucky ones, after studying environmental science at uni, he got his dream job as a park ranger with the Welsh National Parks Service. The pay was crap, but he spent his time out on the hills and in the forests, his trusty land rover giving him the freedom he had never had in his town upbringing in Swansea.<br />
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Abel would be out, rain or shine, assisting farmers, monitoring wildlife, rescuing trapped or injured animals, both wild and domestic. He became a trusted friend in the area and everyone knew that they could always rely on Abel, no matter when, no matter where. However, loving his job the way he did, Abel didn’t always know when to stop, and one late night, on his way back from rescuing a sheep that had trapped its leg between two large boulders, Abel fell asleep at the wheel of his 4x4 and crashed off the winding road through the forest.<br />
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Abel loved his job too much to leave it, though, and many a ranger has reported seeing a colleague leading them to a place where someone, or something was in trouble. A colleague who disappears as soon as they deliver their aid.<br />
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<b>~</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Guide</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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Angel was lost. A bright afternoon had turned into a dull evening and a rainy night as she lost all her bearings in the forest, panic slowly creeping in.<br />
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Angel looked back up the thin track. Moonlight lit a crossing she had passed. There she saw him waving. Desperate, excited, she called out, heading that way. He waited awhile, but before she could reach him, the silvery outline went left. Angel followed. He walked fast, Angel could not catch up, but he beckoned and she followed. Finally, she stumbled into a car park - her saviour was not there to thank.<br />
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-9745457122679936612018-04-13T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-13T00:00:02.173+01:00Ghostly Inspirations L is for Lightning #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxabX_SSq-YNoR3pUMerw7kgVCMl40bJuBLPJXF8X6LUCx6iNdM5f8PdxBYNZFGqFeVb8HHMargn4ndX8tdnGMV_8gH-iueBMc8Bkq0o-NWCThKxBf71JWfoZ6NJ2hjtEYZq_deh5Pzh/s1600/ghostly+inspirations.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">L is for Lightning</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">A very lovely family friend once lent us her holiday cottage which was on the harbour at St Mawes in Cornwall. This was a quirky old, old house in a terrace only a couple of metres from the water, which, when the sun was out and the bay was calm, was absolutely fabulous. However, my sister, Tash and I were up in the very top of the house, and, when a storm blew in, the single-glazed windows looked out onto blackness and rattled very loudly. When lightning and the wind combined to rattle the windows and light up the sky at the same time, it was hide under the covers time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
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Jowan Pendur was a fisherman in Mawland. He owned his own small boat and made his living bringing in fish rain or shine. He was known for his fearless challenge to the sea and he never failed to bring into his catch. Until his friend, Piran, joked that even Jowan could not beat the storm that was about to roll in.<br />
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Jowan, a little drunk on good beer, and full of his own importance, ignored all warnings and broke out of the physical restraint of his friend, put to sea as the wind began to blow. No-one dared stop him, and others could only watch as his boat, tiny against the growing waves, tossed around in the tumult.<br />
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<br />
Jowan fought the storm, holding his boat against the battering, but no man can beat nature, and suddenly a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and struck the foolish fisherman. The boat burst into flames and sunk quickly. Jowan’s burnt body was never found, but it is said he can be seen in the lightning when the storms batter Mawland.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>~</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>In The Storm</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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The rain hit the windows like small pebbles, scattering down the glass rattling in its frames. A loud crack, then a deep, dark rumble of thunder was too much for Jake, who ducked under his covers. He was supposed to be a big boy with his own room, but then he wished he was back sharing with Peter.<br />
<br />
Suddenly his room lit up, even through the sheet. Jake jumped, sending the blanket flying. Zeroing in on the windows and the flashing sky, Jake saw him, mouth open, eyes staring, hair wild. Big boy no more, James scrabbled for the stairs.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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<a href="http://smarturl.it/wp_amz_tnim" target="_blank"><img alt="The Need in Me" src="https://i1.wp.com/www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/TheNeedInMe331x480.png?w=331&ssl=1" width="100" /><br />The Need In Me</a>
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<!--Night Blood-->
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Sophie Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14768033409563305140noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469021061129080712.post-85208373436443208362018-04-12T00:00:00.000+01:002018-04-12T00:00:52.753+01:00Ghostly Inspirations K is for Keening #AtoZChallenge 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to my offering for <b><span style="font-size: large;">The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018</span></b>. </div>
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My theme this year is <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Inspirations</b></span>: </div>
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a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">K is for Keening</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Inspiration:</u></b></span><br />
In the UK, we have some absolutely beautiful reservoirs. These man-made lakes are lovely places to visit, with wonderful countryside around them and deep, dark water. In some cases, however, the beauty hides a dark past, because, some of our reservoirs drowned villages. Whole communities were moved out of their home valleys to make way for the water to feed the big towns and cities nearby. In one case, a village church tower was visible out the top of the water when the reservoir was first filled until a bomb dropped from a plane removed the evidence.<br />
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No person was killed during these drownings, but they left behind the ghost of their community, their houses and farms and pubs and churches.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Ghost:</u></b></span></div>
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My ghost today is the loss of a community personified.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Grief</u></span></b></div>
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Cold, wet and not even a view to show for it, as low cloud on the hill left Adam’s vision at less than 5 foot. He gasped in breath and glared at the pale haze where LLangard Water should have been below him.<br />
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The mist brought a silence that forced Adam still. It sat on the enthusiasm with which he had started the walk. He felt it before he heard the faraway keen. Lonely, devastated, it dug straight at his heart, draining all joy. Adam sat down hard, loss hitting him in waves. This was no place for the living.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.</span></div>
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