Seventh Quark Magazine On Line

Neat!!

2009-05-30T17:32:00.001+01:00

Check Out

~THIS~

http://saltpublishing.com/

They have a neat video "VIRTUAL REP" and Ballistics gets featured twice. COOL!

Save the Short-Story Publishers

2009-05-20T17:50:00.000+01:00

Folks, I heard on the grapevine that SALT PUBLISHING
have had a serious drop in cash-flow and really need some urgently

If we could all of us buy just one book
(but I guess a few more would be a good thing)
that would surely help a lot.

If you don't have a copy of Ballistics order one today, PLEASE.

I think if you order direct it's better for them, but you can order through Amazon or a bookshop, anywhere

Ballistics: Alex Keegan

ISBN 978-1-84471-477-3

Maybe you could buy 1-2 of mine as presents, help two causes at the same time?

(Smile at this point)

Save the short-story. Support short-story publishers.

Alex

Capel Bethel Web Site

2009-03-13T23:23:00.001Z

The Beta of Capel Bethel's Web Site is now up

http://web.me.com/snowball136/Site_2/Welcome.html

Prompts

2008-12-15T12:14:00.000Z

It begins as a creaking, a sort of ache

CROWS

The skyline bristles, the sky behind is red

BRAZEN

The gate will not rest

Grave men, who when near death, see with a sharper light

The magic of the persistent question

I am not sure if I'm still here

The without eye, the tongue within

There are walls that stand and walls that will crumble

Why the giraffe? Why the elephant?

He pulls at the cloth and cups spill

Sucking the decayed breasts of death

There are leaves on the water, but the water is pink

He spreads his knees, he laughs

OK, let's go!

The soot that falls from dead cold chimneys

The ship of fools is in dock

Falling and Flying are the same: only the landing is different

My father in my mirror

Black book, blank book, blank look

A Hanging

Whose woods are these?

BELLS

A confederacy of the delusional

PUS

I me a traveler, a simple soul, and quiet

SLICE

That Easter I was late leaving, things to tidy up

RAZOR

MORE INTERVIEW

2008-12-14T15:10:00.000Z

MORE INTERVIEWS AT

http://www.vanessagebbiesnews.blogspot.com/

Interviews Galore!

2008-12-11T19:37:00.000Z

I'm on a few radio stations tomorrow (see below)

an also on Vanessa Gebbie's Blog

http://www.vanessagebbiesnews.blogspot.com/

BBC Radio Berkshire between 0720 and 0800

http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/local_radio/

and

BBC Radio Solent at approximately 0815

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/local_radio/index.shtml

I'm also on

BBC Southern Counties Radio, some time between 7 & 10
_________________

Interviews

2008-12-08T11:06:00.000Z

There's a long interview of mine being run over five days on BBC Southern Counties Radio

Fred Marden's early-morning show (0700-0900)

I suspect that interview will focus on the Clapham Crash (Dec 12th 1988) and maybe the writing will get a mention on Friday.

A much more detailed interview starts soon on Vanessa Gebbie's Blog, starting Friday 12th and running for a number of days

http://www.vanessagebbiesnews.blogspot.com/

SUNDAY PROMPTS

2008-08-31T07:48:00.001+01:00

Tell us the story about the little boots

DONKEY

When Saturdays were only for football

Torn Envelope

And the pit-heads baths is a supermarket now

Death by Sunbed

There was a picture made of flowers

Dogs

He worked in the steelworks

How you can push, push with your anger

Tonight, January fog

How much that dies with them

A mother moves away to birth her lamb

Let the number be learned

In a few month's time I will stop and linger

Old men like monkeys

February Streets

In clear snow like laughter

I have known too many of the murdered

BELL

Mrs Blenkinsop keeps a tiger in her cellar

DISH

You wouldn't know the place now

EAR

Old, so old, and short of wind

We went on holiday to London with Mam

We who wait

The old sad things have been forgotten

When old age came he stood up and kicked it

On the wrist, a watch

Saturday Prompts

2008-08-30T06:56:00.001+01:00

Barely a twelve month after
Tonto
Three old shops, all in the name Jones
Do not ask, "What is it?"
FOLD
Violence upon the roads
Two dark tractors, pausing
A pale light
sawdust bars, the sounds of angry men
BUZZ
A lovely piece of slate
There is a girl standing there
Our life is changed: their coming our beginning
Prophet
It was a soft October night, summer at last
His quick body
You can cast out past the fish
The sun used to shine, remember?
Leave, then
We heard a distant tapping on the road
A sunrise like military best
Smudge
She slipped away to die quietly
ITCH
I love this, as some day a child will love it
I have mislaid the key
For I have known them all already
Only an avenue, dark and nameless
I see the image of a naked man
We did not dare go near them
The entrance is blocked by brambles
Late in the summer the strange horses came

Tuesday prompts

2008-08-27T08:06:00.001+01:00

I told my son about my father
There's water still in the bath
Majestic
The pub quiz: it's all about winning
Bridge
Why not be a Brain-Surgeon?
Kite Surfing 101
There's a problem at the bridge
Trying to fix a light
Big Boy
Sudoku for the damned
The boys done well
A handy electrical gadget
A quarter ton of lego
The sound of cars passing in the wet
Why she doesn't phone
Whisky without the e
In the not too distant future, if all my dreams come true
This is a stupid way to die
With sawdust, string and patches
From the hill I saw a line of snaking tenements
Bush Meat
Under an awning, talking about nothing; rain
Peonies
Is surviving suicide a success or failure?
Two rooms done and the doors closed
A three-legged hippo
It may be pretty, but is it appropriate?
Holes
Arctic elephants are the same as African ones. But colder.
Treasure Island

Bank Holiday Prompts

2008-08-25T16:25:00.000+01:00

Pictures of old London
Undercoat
Discovered by a monk
Futurama
It torments me, this injustice
Crayon
She is big and plump and happy
If you can keep your head
Refreshed every two minutes
Shifting the furniture
Glasses, but naff
Tea, biscuits, a rest
The sound of bickering
I need to be very drunk
16:16
Oh for a muse of fire
What bells are these that toll?
Fokkers!
Do NOT close the cupboard
Anyone can use them
I wondered lonely, under a cloud
City of Angels
The thing I like is overcoming
Another Monday!
Muscle for the wing
Just at that moment, Carol came in the back door
He lifted a bowl of nuts and offered them
Deep Blue Goodbye
The Edge of Reason
I’ve come for a payment on the bed
Why the vacuum cleaner makes me angry
Out of the Sun
What I’m saying is I’m a drunk, not an alcoholic
Electric Polisher
An amazing ending
Mother, mother, where did you go?
I try not to see my sister too often
He was a sort of commando
A thousand blessings, Effendi
I claim death
The difference between clams and mussels
The café is shut.

Prompts For Sunday

2008-08-24T19:44:00.001+01:00

I've been away a few days, but here:

When all this is over, I shall give them the finger
The weakening eye of day
I saw an x-ray of a baby
AXE
Unwearied still, lover after lover
Not even in my thoughts
I did not think death could undo so much
DANDELION
She is beautiful. I dream about her.
The rain flies down the street, flaps outside our door
BLOOD TEST
All the sun long it was running
Appointment in Basingstoke
The stove’s heat mottling her legs
Moving the books
Her dead body wears the smile of accomplishment
I know where you are
Thinking of an old lover makes it hard
JUG
We renounce everything except the self
Uzi Wedding
Her floured hands at the baking board
Show me the kitchen, the knives
Three thousand years ago they didn’t give a fuck
GUN
I would like to be terminally ill
Red and yellow, silver-back, half-imagined things
16 GIG
I kept my wife’s heart in a canary’s cage
DUFFY’S TRICK
I’m going to sail round the world
I cannot speak to you
Horses passed from dawn into the night, horses, horses, horses.
PAIRS
We come to terms with shade, the principle of grey
One or two blackmailers, a poisoner
Unnatural Acts
Every fear is a form of desire
Use the back entrance

More!

2008-08-07T09:45:00.001+01:00

These are singled, the alpha-listed, then in reverse.
try reading it all, singing them, chanting

Wait for a voice to call you

They have promised to send a train, and we will leave
Father Maloney’s stare
Imagine a tender gravity, falling
Decision
And if I am writing, I am not holding my wife
I would like to sit close to the doors
How Morning is, and quiet
Tock
I have told you all this to give you pain
Bamboo Squares
They bubble-wrap hearts now and sell them three for two
The cook’s boy, the cleaning girl
VENOM
Stone to stone, heart to stone
CHIME
The rustle of history
NAIL, Hammer
Time clears its throat
BALL
Days of great love; of destiny
Do mad people love? What are there letters like?
GRATE
Birds Eye Frozen False Tears are on Offer
Jack of Hearts
We will talk about great things, and football
TAXI
I am silly, filled up with sleep and want
One Potato, Two Potato
Hardly a Joker
Should you not have time to memorise these instructions
Flat-Pack Marriages
The Chemistry of Distaste
And then cracking twigs
And we all stared at the box, and it inside

And if I am writing, I am not holding my wife
And then cracking twigs
And we all stared at the box, and it inside
BALL
Bamboo Squares
Birds Eye Frozen False Tears are on Offer
CHIME
Days of great love; of destiny
Decision
Do mad people love? What are there letters like?
Father Maloney’s stare
Flat-Pack Marriages
GRATE
Hardly a Joker
How Morning is, and quiet
I am silly, filled up with sleep and want
I have told you all this to give you pain
I would like to sit close to the doors
Imagine a tender gravity, falling
Jack of Hearts
NAIL, Hammer
One Potato, Two Potato
Should you not have time to memorise these instructions
Stone to stone, heart to stone
TAXI
The Chemistry of Distaste
The cook’s boy, the cleaning girl
The rustle of history
They bubble-wrap hearts now and sell them three for two
They have promised to send a train, and we will leave
Time clears its throat
Tock
VENOM
We will talk about great things, and football

We will talk about great things, and football, VENOM, Tick-Tock, Time clears its throat, They have promised to send a train, and we will leave, They bubble-wrap hearts now and sell them three for two, The rustle of history, The cook’s boy, the cleaning girl, The Chemistry of Distaste, TAXI, Stone to stone, heart to stone, Should you not have time to memorise these instructions, One Potato, Two Potato, NAIL, Hammer, Jack of Hearts, Imagine a tender gravity, falling, I would like to sit close to the doors, I have told you all this to give you pain, I am silly, filled up with sleep and want, How Morning is, and quiet, Hardly a Joker, GRATE, Flat-Pack Marriages, Father Maloney’s stare, Do mad people love? What are there letters like? Decision, Days of great love; of destiny, CHIME, Birds Eye Frozen False Tears are on Offer, Bamboo Squares, BALL, And we all stared at the box, and it inside, And then cracking twigs, And if I am writing, I am not holding my wife

BLAST IT!!

2008-08-01T01:32:00.001+01:00

Boot Camp is running an August Blast. (FREE)

http://bootcampkeegan.yuku.com/

This involves "EXTREME" activity to get us through the hardest month for writers.

It involves members (and guests) committing/attempting to write EVERY day (at least SOMETHING)
and attempting to complete a flash or story or poem EVERY day for the whole of August.

A set of prompts will be posted every morning and twice every evening (see explanations elsewhere)
and Members/Guests should try and produce a flash or story a MINIMUM of once a day.<

The trick is to try to write THREE!

For the five Sundays there is also a STORY deadline 8PM Sunday.

The ideal participant would write a flash every day, some days more than one, AND manage a story each week

PLEASE don't bleat and say it cannot be done. We KNOW it can be done. We know that the quality of work
IMPROVES due to the pressure, the hectic nature, the "buzz".

Boot Campers and guests (Children in Need, Previous Blasts, East of the Web) have been responsible for hundreds
of publications and more than twenty first prizes in competitions, all from "impossible" blasts.

There is something in the very nature of suspending all and crashing forward, a sense of fear moves to one of liberation

ALL WE CAN SAY IS TRY IT.

CURRENT BOOT CAMPERS, FORMER BOOT CAMPERS AND STRANGERS/GUESTS ARE ALL WELCOME. There are a number of "AUGUST BLAST" forums. Apply here (no charge) and Alex will arrange access to the other forums.

We ask a few things

1. Commitment. If you aren't prepared to "give it a go" don't bother applying.

2. A sense of constructivity, in work, commitment, mutual motivation.

3. A willingness to (briefly) critique flashes and critique stories (authors are anonymous) and NOT to respond when your own story is critiqued 4. NO Flames. I do not warn people. I simply delete them, IMMEDIATELY.

The Last Ever 7Q Comp

2007-01-10T21:38:00.001Z

The Phoenix Prize Saga

I received the email from the balancing judge at 12:54 December 16th. His 1-2 was the reverse of mine (so another decision to make!)

The final results were posted on the Seventh Quark Blog on December 18th.

I left for California on December 19th

There was no promise, nor would there ever be, to pay the prize "the instant" the prize was announced. What magazine does that? 7Q5 was scheduled for the end of January and the prize would have been paid out at the same time. I consider that normal practice.

I returned from the US, severely jet-lagged, the afternoon of January 1st and was in London again January 2nd. I wrote to the winner on January 2nd saying how rough I was and asking her to chase me Wed-Thurs. I received the confirmed address at 15:18 on January 4th. Yes, folks, six days ago. I had the confirmed address six days ago, less than six days before the payment was physically received by the author.

Jet-Lag and a family illness, wife off work, kids off school, and we are all still groggy and to add to my workload I am running an intense five day course at Kingfisher Barn which begins tomorrow, Thursday January 11th.

And yet, according to some I have been avoiding payment of the prize!

The prize is paid just three weeks after the results and that is SLOW?

I have waited more than a month on more occasions than I can remember. Peninsular Magazine routinely sent payments with the relevant publication. Payments I receive from The New Writer come in the same envelope as the magazine.

Checking with Boot Campers, many wait a month, months for prizes. Maybe, just maybe, magazine editors have lives?

Phoenix Prize Result

2006-12-18T20:25:00.001Z

Final Judging (blind) by John Ravenscroft

WINNER

Irrigation T Williams, Brighton

Second

Dave Eggers Stole My Suitcase David Prescott, Hereford

Third

A Good Day For Trumpet Fish David Prescott Hereford

Fourth

The Power of One Hazera Forth, Befordshire

Fifth

The Big Enigma Mel Fawcett, Cumbria

Phoenix Prize Problems

2006-12-04T18:48:00.000Z

The response to The Phoenix Prize (and to the previous Frantc Flash) was very poor.

Seventh Quark (meaning ME) lost money on the Frantic Flash.

As entries stand we will lose money on the Phoenix, also.

This is a fantastic opportuntiy for any half-decent writers to win a first prize. Get your entries in NOW!

We need 13 more entries just to break even (a £200 first prize and no place prizes) but I am not prepared to lose on two consecutive competitions.

I'm thus keeping the comp open a little while longer in the hope that the various promised stories arrive.

The following is a FIRST PASS (meaning it's rough and positions could change) which gives an APPROXIMATE standing (in bands) of the stories. The list is to show you ROUGHLY where your story stands but please note that within a band, just because you are first doesn't nmean you are top of that band.

IRRIGATION
A Good Day For Trumpet Fish
The Big Enigma
Mechanical Animals
Saviour of Mons

The I in the Sky
The Truth Game
Soul Kill
Final Knockings
Not Los Angeles

Cold Bones
Elixir of Youth
Taking Care
Sea Songs & Bladderwrack
The Leg or Oliver's Lamp

Strangers
Glass Jars
Rough Justice
Poor Daisy
Growing Pains
Crossing the Bridge
The Visitor
The Good Deed
Clouds
Perpetual Paradise
The Assessment

Unmarked

The Power of One
The End of the World is Done

No Internet

2006-12-04T18:47:00.001Z

(Monday)

I've had no web access Thursday-Sunday so am now behind.

Hope to catch up tomorrow

Alex

Competition Deadline

2006-11-07T07:58:00.000Z

Please note that the deadline for The Phoenix SS Prize is now November 30th

Entry is £6, First Prize £200

Details at http://www.7thquarkmagazine.com

NO Frantic Flash 4-5 November

2006-10-30T06:09:00.000Z

We are up to our ears with the Children in Need Marathon
and demand for the FF is not that high (most are in CIN)
so we wl not hold the Frantic Flash on November 4-5

The next Frantic Flash will be held 3-4 December

AK

Seventh Quark Issue 4 Posted

2006-10-06T12:02:00.000+01:00

I was shocked rigid by the extra postage cost under the Post Office's new charging system.

new system means "everything costs a lot more"

Worse, of course, is they don't like A4

Anyway all 7Qs have gone out (second class mail)

The costs of some to the US were £3:50 ($7) and that's just MADNESS

One envelope with 4 mags and 4 CiN books cost £11:50 ($22) to send

DONE! (Well, Almost)

2006-10-02T18:17:00.000+01:00

Picked up 7Q4 from the printers this morning, all stapled and folded but they weren't trimmed, so I'm back there first thing and they should be going in the post tomorrow

Alex

Top 12 in Frantic Flash

2006-10-02T00:57:00.000+01:00

Here are the top 12

TOP FIVE

Taking tea with the other woman
China
Waltzing Down Main Street
Forgetting About Fudge
A Quiet Drink

The Next Seven

098 Safehouse
097 The Strange Case of Jeremy Browne
095 Hiraeth
095 Roy
093 Cash Corner
093 A Faint Cold Fear
089 Gin

A decision will be made very shortly on the top 5.

Frantic Flash Prompts 2100 SUNDAY

2006-10-01T20:52:00.000+01:00

Read all the prompts QUICKLY.
Now read them bottom to top.
Now close your eyes and remember them
Now read them again

Can you hear one prompt and its voice?

Start with a voice if you can.

PROMPTS

The Hosts of Rebecca

USURY

Sleeping With Fudge

RATIONING

Great Britain, Ha-Ha-Ha!

GULAG

The Idea of Home

PRUNE

I Love You, Miss Tavistock

REVEREND

Why Hoss Cartwright Never Got the Girl

CHEESE

Song of the Earth

MOON

Those Magnificent Girls & Their Sewing Machines

MOVIES

Rape of the Fair Country

MR BLUE

Wolves Eat Dogs

CHANCRE, MR PEPYS

Saturday Night Feature

RESCUE ME

A Faint Cold Fear

THE ICEMAN COMETH

Jeremy Browne's Guest

Frantic Flash Prompts, 1800 Sunday

2006-10-01T16:39:00.000+01:00

Still not that many entries, so a great chance to win

PROMPTS

The Bastard Jones and His Bastard Cohorts

CHINA

Eleven Lucky Breakaways

CHECKMATE, Mrs Smith

How to Charm a Weasel

My Penis & I

The Hay-on-Wye Mafia

CALF

The Regina Monologues

Death in East Grinstead

Police, Popcorn, Pomegranate, Policy

BIRD, SAIL

Don't Worry, Dear. It's Been in Greece For Nineteen Years

Probably Not Benign

The Remarkable Battle With Basingstoke Colts

Courses For Horses

Cafe au Saint Germain-en-Laye

I Think She's Upstairs, But Don't Quote Me

German Kissing

Twenty-Four and Three-Quarters

Eloise Believes Different

Petticoats, Daisy-Chains, And Soft Summer Falling