 Shadow Boxing My paranormal short story, Shadow Boxing, has just got published in the winter issue of the Australian magazine Fiction Feast (it's winter in Australia now!).
As so often happens, the story started off as a flash piece (250 words) which I expanded to 750 words.
I'm particularly proud of this story because, in my opinion, it's a genuinely creepy tale.
I was very happy to learn about this story being published after my bout of self-doubt last week.
Anyhow, you're only as good as your last story, so I'd better get down to some work.
Below are links to my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment, my most recent Global Short Story Competition winner and my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi's, annual short story competition:
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/index.htmlhttp://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdfhttp://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisivenessHappy writing!
 The Pilgrimage Continues It's not often that I get demoralised with writing, but on this occasion I am. The short story (a Canterbury Tale) I wrote for a national short story competition didn't even make the short list.
Anyhow, that was last week! Since then I've added an epilogue to the story, so it's now 2,300 words in length and more importantly, a complete Canterbury Tale - The Merchant's Second Tale, in fact. I've also submitted it to another competition in its full form, and have another competition on the books, if that doesn't pan out, for the shorter version.
Even if the Tale fails in these competitions, I must remind myself that it's another part of my 'Lost' Canterbury Tales project completed.
The last time I felt like this was just after The Monk's Second Tale, aka Robin Hood and Friar Tuck, Zombie Killers - a Canterbury Tale by Paul A. Freeman was published by Coscom Entertainment. The first review of the novella was luke warm. However, I'm glad I shared it with all my writing friends since the reviews that followed were all very positive - see some of them below:
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/reviews.htmlAnyhow, to compensate for the disappointment of last week, I've been working on a couple of short stories which have both been submitted to a magazine, and next week I'll get back in the saddle and begin work on a new 'Lost' Canterbury Tale (or finish off one of the two that are half-finished).
Below are links to my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment, my most recent Global Short Story Competition winner and my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi's, annual short story competition:
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/index.htmlhttp://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdfhttp://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisivenessHappy writing!
 Suarez Gets Bitey How could I resist something so topical?
Said Suarez, "I pecked like a hawk,
coz I hadn't a knife or a fork."
Then he told the FA,
"It's true what they say -
a person tastes somewhat like pork."
In addition, last month I went to a conference of English teachers. One presenter was getting all excited at the use of idiom and whether non-native speakers really need to grasp its ins and outs. Anyhow, at least from this workshop I came away with the idea for the limerick below:
Tatiana, a spoilt young brat,
was peeved at her chest being flat.
So her mum, feeling pity,
googled ‘silicone titty’,
then purchased two new tits for Tat.
Did you notice it was Pi Day a couple of months back? I thought not! Anyhow, below is a limerick for the more mathematically minded:
A woman named Pi was once dared,
to be cloned, and then ’twas declared,
without being troubled,
a scientist doubled
each clone – proving two Pi are squared.
Oh, and before you ask me about that Canterbury Tale I wrote last week for a competition - it didn't even make the shortlist. I'd jump out my bedroom window if I didn't live on the ground floor.
Below are links to my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment, my most recent Global Short Story Competition winner and my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi's, annual short story competition :
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/buy.html
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness
Happy writing!
 A 2000-word Canterbury Tale written in just ten days! Would you believe it?
I suppose the reason I managed 25 lines per day had as much to do with the deadline as opposed to any internal motivation. That said, to keep within the word limit I had to excise The Prologue to The Merchant's Second Tale, and consequently the epilogue hasn't yet been written.
One thing I've learned over the past ten days is that I work better if I'm scrawling ideas and lines of poetry on a whiteboard, with an online theaurus at hand (no rhyming dictionary, though!).
Anyhow, the bottom line is that I submitted the story to a short story competition four hours before deadline and hopefully won't get disqualified because my story's poetry.
Oh, and what's it about? - merchants who want to concentrate on business rather than having to keep their independently-minded wives in line! Don't worry though, the merchants are hardly likely to get away with it.
As a taster, below are 10 lines from the excised Prologue to The Merchant's Second Tale:
“The ancient fellow seized me by my cloak
And in a deep, resounding voice he spoke
Of strange events decades ago that lined
His frowning brow and made him lose his mind.
The yarn he spun (though reasoning he lacked)
I’ll now narrate as if his words were fact.
So listen up!” the Merchant urged, “and hear
The legend of the Master Puppeteer.”
Below are links to my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment, my most recent Global Short Story Competition winner and my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi's, annual short story competition :
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/buy.html
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness
Happy writing!
 April Fools' Day (aka Liars' Day(!)) My short story, April Fool (what else would the title be?), is up today at Everyday Fiction:
http://www.everydayfiction.com/april-fool-by-paul-a-freeman/The origin of the story is quite interesting.
Last Wednesday (27 March), having learned that Everyday Fiction were looking for an April Fools' Day story, I took my notebook with me when I went to watch the Montenegro vs England football match. Just before half time (12:30 am, local time), with the excitement of the match fizzling out, I started writing, having decided that my main character would be named 'April'. The first draft was done by 1:30 am, and I submitted the story at 3:30.
On Saturday the EDF team informed me that my story had been selected. I was helped, I should imagine, by the fact that lighter stories are preferred on a Monday, and April Fools' Day fell on a Monday.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy my little contribution to what in the Middle East is often called 'Liars' Day'!
Below are links to my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment, my most recent Global Short Story Competition winner and my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi :
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/buy.html
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness
Happy writing!
 Haunted House When I arrived in the UAE five years ago, one of the first stories I wrote was The Haunting of Huntley Manor. The main character is a rougish, Casper-type ghost, caught between this world and the next. There's also a Beetlejuice element to the story, with the ex-Earl of Huntley Manor trying to frighten off a band of interlopers
Anyhow, that's enough spoilers.
The story was slated to appear in one of The Library of the Living Dead anthologies until the Library abruptly called it a day. Undeterred, I sent the story off to Pacific Magazines and was over the moon (or 'up in the Palm tree' as they say here) to receive an acceptance.
Suffice to say, this humorous, historical ghost yarn has hit the streets Down-Under, appearing in the autumn 2013 issue of Fast Fiction - it being 'autumn' because Australia is in the southern hemisphere, by the way. I'm also mighty impressed with the illustrations, so all in all, paycheck included, it's been a good result.
Just goes to show, if your work gets rejected and is sent back to you, just send it back out again.
Below are links to my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment, my most recent Global Short Story Competition winner and my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi :
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/buy.html
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness
Happy writing!
 'Chaucer's Afterlife' by K. Forni My narrative poem/novella Robin Hood and Friar Tuck: Zombie Killers—A Canterbury Tale got a write up in a just published academic book titled Chaucer's Afterlife: Adaptations in Recent Popular Culture.
The author, Kathleen Forni, refers in some detail to my book on pages 38-39, an excerpt of which is below:
A topical political critique of institutional religion, colonial imperialism, and social injustice is also found in Paul A. Freeman’s Robin Hood and Friar Tuck: Zombie Killers—A Canterbury Tale, in which the Greenwood gang has an adventure with the undead.[i] Framing his gory thriller as the “Monk’s Second Tale,” Freeman’s nocturnal narrative is told not for sentence or solace but to “terrify and make the blood run cold” (1).
The blurb to Dr Forni's book says in part: "This study explores Chaucer's present-day cultural reputation by way of popular culture. In just the past two decades his texts have been adapted to a wide variety of popular genres, including television, stage, comic book, hip-hop, science fiction, horror, romance, and crime fiction... (T)he fact that Chaucer has a popular afterlife, and remains an ideological product over which competing groups lay claim, attests to his current cultural vitality."
It just goes to show that just like Shakespeare, Chaucer's work is still relevant today.
Below are links to my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment, my most recent Global Short Story Competition winner and my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi :
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/buy.html
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness
Happy writing!
 Robin Hood has a Zombie Problem! I'm in the process of re-launching my narrative poem/novella, Robin Hood and Friar Tuck - Zombie Killers; a Canterbury Tale by Paul A. Freeman. Here is the link to the website I've built to market the book.
In recent years I've written 16 'Lost' Canterbury Tales (original narrative poems set in the Middle Ages), several of which have been published in their full or abridged forms.
However, on submitting a contemporary 'zombie-narrative-poem' to A.P. Fuchs, owner of the independent horror publisher Coscom Entertainment, he snapped it up for an anthology. In his acceptance email Mr Fuchs also told me that if I could write 18,000 words in a similar style (i.e. in rhyming couplets and iambic pentameters) and on a similar theme (i.e. zombies), he would publish it as a stand alone novella.
"Can I set the tale in medieval times?" I asked.
"Historical zombies are fine," Mr Fuchs replied.
Taking up his offer, I began work on what I believe is one of the few Canterbury Tales commercially published in over 600 years. Set in the Middle Ages, at the time of the Kings' Crusade, I weaved Robin Hood and his comrade-in-arms Friar Tuck into my zombie tale, along with other characters of the era and a smattering of myth fragments from the legends chronicling their exploits. One qualm I had at the time was that a supernatural theme such as an outbreak of zombie-ism might prevent my work being taken seriously by Chaucerians. My reviews' page indicates otherwise. And anyhow, didn't the Pardoner introduce Death (or some other supernatural being) into his tale? Below is the blurb from the back of the book:
When lion-hearted Richard ruled the roost
Of England, he decided that to boost
His regal reputation he should mount
A war to wrest from Turkish men the fount
Of Christendom; yet in that desert land
A zombie plague emerged from 'midst the sand.
A necromancer's alchemistic spell
Reanimated corpses bound for Hell
(And even bound for Heaven's pearly gate).
Soon after 'twas apparent that the fate
Of all on Earth--the evil and the good--
Was in the hands of Robin of the Hood
Whose outlaw men, along with Friar Tuck,
Against rampaging hordes of zombies struck.
They fought to save the likes of you and I,
Not caring that one slip and they would die.
Their tale lies here, within this humble book--
I pray you'll spare the time to take a look...
My biggest headache was putting a title to an epic 94 pages of verse. The Monk's Second Tale was passable as a secondary title (and would be in line with the Chaucer theme), but the main title had to be something attention-grabbing. Thus Robin Hood and Friar Tuck: Zombie Killers - A Canterbury Tale by Paul A. Freeman was born.
Due to Coscom Entertainment being a horror imprint, the title was aimed primarily at attracting fans of what's popularly known as Z-Lit. Yet when all is said and done, this narrative poem is simply a Canterbury Tale told by the Monk on the return journey of the pilgrimage. It's part of my 'Lost' Canterbury Tales project, and is the longest of those tales I've written so far.
Hopefully any sceptical Chaucer scholar reading this blog will be open-minded enough to judge my book on its story-telling merit and as a story written in the age-old tradition of the great poet himself. Here is the link to purchasing details:
Below are links to my three Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:
http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159
http://www.globalshortstories.net/octwinners2012.pdf
http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf
http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness
Happy writing!
 Bigfoot, Tales of Terror - Vol. 2 Bigfoot, Tales of Terror - Vol 2 has just been published by Coscom Entertainment and features my Himalayan horror yarn, The Yeti Hunters.
Edited by Eric S. Brown and my good friend A.P. Fuchs, the blurb is below:
"The Big Hairy Beast is Back! 16 authors bring you 16 terrifying tales of the Sasquatch and bring new meaning and fright to this mysterious hairy giant that lurks in the woods.
"From Bigfoot battles to trying to outrun the muscular monster, to being caught by the creature or simply living in a world where these beasts exist, this second volume of Bigfoot Terror Tales is sure to fuel your imagination and make you reconsider the furry creature that has spooked so many and has inspired haunting treks into the woods where some have emerged with incredible stories and a new fear and respect for this ancient beast.
"Featuring stories by: Larry Berreth, Rebecca Besser, A.M. Burns, Jason Rodimus Fowler, Paul A. Freeman, Keith Gouveia, Bryan Hall, Jack Hessey, Bowie V. Ibarra, S. Nycole Laff, Kevin Millikin, Greg Mitchell, Bruce L. Priddy, J.W. Schnarr, D.G. Sutter, and Sheri White, Bigfoot Terror Tales Volume 2 is a must-have read for your Sasquatch horror collection."
My story The Yeti Hunters began as a 150-word piece of flash fiction and evolved into a 3,300-word tale of terror. Buy the anthology have a read!
Below are links to my three Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:
http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159http://www.globalshortstories.net/octwinners2012.pdfhttp://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdfhttp://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdfhttp://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisivenessHappy writing!
 As the ‘Horsegate’ scandal becomes an international criminal conspiracy, I thought I might share with you several limericks I’ve written on the subject.
Initially the scandal seemed somewhat comical, and as I jogged round the local park, I wrote out the limerick below in my head:
Some people might claim that a horse
should not be served up as main course.
But swapping of stable
for restaurant table
is fine if you’ve got the right sauce.
A couple of weeks later, as more and more food-making companies became implicated, DNA-testing of hamburgers hit the headlines. Once again, while I motivated my carcase to move above a walk, I filled in the time sketching out a limerick:
Some customers say, "It's okay
if my food contains horse meat, but, hey!
Do laboratory tests
cover traces of pests
such as cockroach and rat DNA?"
Lasagne and shepherd’s pie were next on the suspect list, and the word ‘shepherd’ became the catalyst to the next limerick. I’m sure Hannibal Lecter would approve:
Though some types of meat may be cheap,
over eating a horse I lose sleep.
And each time I try
to eat shepherd's pie,
I keep wond'ring, ‘Who's minding the sheep?'
In the news this morning, a food-making firm I associate more with fish than with red meat came under the spotlight. So I put on my running shoes and came up with another cannibalistic limerick:
Some food-making firms have done wrong
selling mislabelled meat for a song.
And one taste that lingers
is that of fish fingers -
I wonder to whom they belong.
And Mr Lecter, if you’re not enamoured with the last two limericks – bite me!
Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:
http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159
http://www.globalshortstories.net/octwinners2012.pdf
http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf
http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness
Happy writing!
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