Birthday Blues...?

Well, I was having a lovely little 21st birthday until... huh?.. okay, so you've seen my photos? Double it then! As I was saying before I rudely interrupted me-self... I was having a lovely 42nd birthday with some of my family round when - in true antisocial git style - I just had to watch my beloved blues (Man.City) playing live on Sky versus Sunderland.

In desperate need of points, and one-nil down for most of the match, my mood changed from happy-go-lucky birthday boy to someone out of one of me crime stories! I found me-self shouting n swearing at the telly, something I've not done in what must be two, three, maybe four... days... when I watched some Tory MP spouting bullshit on BBC's Question Time. So one by one my family slipped out of the room for cover, leaving just me n me Mum (she's a hardcore blue, yer see).

It's sad for a grown man's mood to be dictated by the (mis)fortunes of his sports team but, hey-ho, nobody's perfect. Anyway, an jury time equalizer did the trick n me head bounced off the ceiling! Suddenly it was a happy birthday-cum-mother's day again (pathetic? yeah I know) and we all had a great party with E-numbers everywhere you turned.

The nicest part of the day was as I opened my last present saying, "I hope it's a pair of slippers cos that's all I needed to be honest." (God, I am getting old!). It wasn't slippers, but my two wonderful kids scrambled together their pocket money for me to buy a pair, which I thought was a nice touch (they're both 21 - joke - 7 n 8 really). It gave me goose bumps and reminded me that if my beloved blues would've lost then it wouldn't have mattered so much after all because I have something far more beloved... my beautiful family.

Ps. Having said all that, if City had lost I'd have kicked 'em all out int Manchester rain!!!

Thrillers, Killers 'n' Chillers' first anniversary today...

Yep, the last year has flown quicker than sparrowhawk with a duracell battery shoved up its butt! And around 250 stories and over 31,000 hits later we celebrate TKnC's first birthday with possible awards on the horizon, praise from creative writing teachers and interest from agents and publishers.

I wonder if my fellow co-editor and TKnC founder, crime thriller author Matt Hilton, ever envisaged what an awesome first year it would be when he started the site simply and selflessly to help new writers showcase their fiction.

I was one of those new writers who'd not really shown my writing to a wider audience until TKnC was born. So I'm living proof that Matt's foresight has worked, as seeing my initial tentative stories receiving constructive feedback really spurred me on and a year later I'm more on track than at any stage in my writing journey.

When Matt asked me - six weeks after the site's inception - to be co-editor I was so thrilled I nearly killed myself laughing (me an editor?) n cracked open a chilled beer (or ten) to celebrate! (That's corny, but it's staying in.) Reading, assessing n uploading well over 100 mixed-genre stories has certainly improved my own understanding (and hopefully my writing) of the short story and the possiblities therein.

It's been, and will continue to be for as long as I breathe, an absolute pleasure and privilege to be involved in TKnC, and witnessing many other new writers feel that buzz too has to be the over-riding positive in our first year. And long may it continue.

Many thanks to all the readers and contributors the world over who have made TKnC what it is today. The quality of submissions has confirmed to me that there is a plethora of undiscovered talent out there and 2010 could be THE year that, with the right application, some of that talent will be spotted and finally recognised.

I'm glowing with pride, like the candle on TKnC's virtual birthday cake!

Regards,
Col

Ps. I say, 'virtual' cos I've scoffed most of it!