Kendall Castor-Perry
My story in Twisted: Ghosts of Christmas is Pud
I’m a physicist by training, an engineer by profession, and a sci-fi fan by inclination. For four decades, I’ve been chasing electronic signals through circuits and systems, wringing out the information they are trying to hide, battling with the monsters lurking within murky forests of transistors, chips and diodes. Think of me as the Van Helsing of electronic design. In precious fragments of spare time, I writes short stories, novels and feature screenplays in the sci-fi, technothriller and horror spaces. My time-twisty feature script ‘Preincarnation’ won the SF & Fantasy category of the 2016-2017 Fresh Voices Screenplay Contest; my short stories feature in both Volume 1 and Volume 2 of Twisted50. You’ll find me on LinkedIn. My words are out there somewhere on the ‘What-If?' to ‘What-the-Hell?' continuum…
My blog entries
Announcing The Successfully Selected Writers and Stories for Twisted: Ghosts of Christmas
As ever, debate among the judges was heated, but we finally arrived at a list!
Please do leave a comment on this post, and if you are not on the list, keep going, it’s an insane job to judge art. We may also sneak some bonus stories into the eBook too!
I will be in touch soon about when to buy copies of the book so that we can co-ordinate getting on the Amazon Best Seller list.
OK.. the tension mounts… So drum roll please… The successful writers and stories are…
- Maxine Lennon and Persimmity Glue
- Lawrence Morgan and Vincent Van Gogh's Ear
- Josh Shevill and Antlers
- Andrew Perry and The Gifts of Christmas Past
- Kurt Fried and Today's Treat
- Mark Walker and Isabella
- Ricardo Bravo and Do You Believe in Santa?
- Helen Bang and The Chorister
- Suzanne Fox and He Moves in the Night
- Chris Jeal and Revenge is a Dish Best Served with Stuffing
- Emma Pullar and Awake
- Toby Norways and A Dog is for Life, not just for Christmas
- Sherice Griffiths and Jinx
- Paul Shearer and Family Christmas
- Fiona Faith Ross and Roasted
- Jamie Shearing and Just for Christmas
- Rose Banks and Needles
- Tim Coleman and The Weeping Widow
- John Suriano and ComicCon Christmas
- Claire Rye and Oh! Christmas Tree
- Suzie Grogan and Life at Christmas
- Gerry Driver and Santa Sleighed
- Aaron Nash and The E.D.P
- Rachael Howard and The Spirit of Yule
- Gordon Slack and No Heart
Congratulations again, if this is your first time, it never gets old. Your name is on the cover of a book and your words inside it.
What happens next? Contracts will be sent today and will need urgent attention. You will keep all the rights, we just need the right to publish the story in the book. I will also ask you if you can write a blog post to help engage the community - the post will go no this site. And again, we will co-ordinate when to buy books so we can hit the best sellers list.
Thank you also to Mark, Emma, Elinor, Lawrence and Savannah for working around the clock to make this happen.
OUTSTANDING! Publishing date of the 16th December now loking very certain.
Chris Jones
www.Twisted50.com
PS - Please do join the Facebook page too at https://www.facebook.com/Twisted50Book
Professional writers are just amateurs who never gave up... by Kendall Castor-Perry
Twisted 50 has given many writers a lift to ‘published author’ status.
Being able to say that your story can be purchased on Amazon is a pretty proud boast for an amateur writer.
Of course, it’s often said that a professional writer is just an amateur that never gave up. Success in Volume 1 of Twisted 50, combined with the constant encouragement and motivation from
Create50 founder Chris Jones, has driven many of us to pursue the buzz that comes from peer interaction in the writing process – and especially from the prospect of selection for the next volume!
The short story, for me, is a way of capturing the spontaneity of a ‘what if?’ thought that seizes you in an unguarded moment. My story in Twisted 50 Volume 1, ‘Bite’, blossomed out of
speculation on what might have caused a very swollen bite blister on my wife’s leg – and what might be inside it...
I’ve just found out that I’ve also made the cut for Twisted 50 Volume 2 (yay!). ‘One Step, Two Step’ is a dark, short (barely longer than this post) piece originally written as a submission
to a Flash Fiction contest. Early, innocent memories of childhood nursery rhymes now sit jarringly with a more modern perspective on the pervasiveness of ‘perversion in plain sight’.
This is, arguably, the reason why we should keep telling each other dark stories – to remind ourselves that there are things we should rightly be frightened of.
So what is the Twisted50 Audiobook Experience REALLY like? Here’s what listeners say…
The Twisted50 Audiobook has been ‘beta’ listened to by five people. During this process the feedback surprised even us. It seems that Twisted50 narrated is EVEN better than the written
word. Here is feedback from three of the listeners…
‘The Twisted50 audiobook is a compelling, unhurried, lingering, luxurious, silk-lined, creamy-dark, downy flick-knife musk-rose experience. So treat yourself!’
Richie Brown
‘The acoustic, the sense of 'being there' with a stranger whispering your deepest fears right into your ears, and a freak-out playlist of fantastic musical intros is nerve jangling…’
Kendall Castor-Perry
'Never underestimate the power of sound. Reading these stories was scary. Listening to them was petrifying'
Steph Wessell
Get your copy from the store HERE.
And more full feedback…
‘Chris asked me to join his team of ‘proof-listeners’ for the Twisted 50 volume 1 audiobook prior to its release, so I’ve had the privilege of an (almost) exclusive preview of all the
stories. I have read the book itself, and what surprised me upon listening to the tracks is how a good narrative performance can enhance and lift any story. One of my least-favourite
stories on the page, now that I have heard the performance, is elevated to my top-three. The audiobook is more than just ‘the book read-aloud’; it is like discovering a set of brand-new
stories.’
Richie Brown
‘It takes a lot to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Twisted50 has what it takes in spades, of course - but to get the full effect, you really do have to experience the
audiobook. For sure, the Kindle version was a good introduction. Reading the paperback was somehow closer for me to the 'do I really want to turn the page' terror of classic Pan
horror. But the audiobook? I've listened to all the stories as a beta tester - and they freaked me out. Information paths are different for eyes and ears. A voice is way
more credible and waaaay more scary than a font on the page. You have been warned.’
Kendall Castor-Perry
'The voices, the music… if you dare to wear headphones and turn out the light, expect to be terrified. It was fifty superbly chilling tales, thrillingly performed… Twisted
50 is a delicious and blood-curdling treat.'
Steph Wessell
Get your copy from the store HERE.
Listen to excerpts below...