How to begin a story?

Well fingers crossed (and with a following wind) by Christmas 2012 there will be a link here to my first collection of short stories.  Provisionally titled ‘The Last Lock In’.  It’s a little darker than I intended but I hope you’ll enjoy.  In an English country pub a group of regulars swap rhymes and tales into the early hours. Here’s a sneaky peak of what’s in store…

Jamie leafed through his notepad, “most of this is work in progress” he said, against the noise of the back door being forced unsteadily open; “but there’s one that I’m quite happy with.”  He found the page he was after and looked up to make sure he had an attentive audience, before looking back down hurriedly when he realised every eye in the place was on him. He cleared his throat then began to read:

“Seven figures in moonlit glade,

Seven hearts all touched by shade,

Seven secret whispered spells,

Seven fiends from seven hells,

Seven men of unfaithful thought,

Seven forms of women wrought,

Seven dancers grace the floor,

Seven couples on the moor,

Seven pairs of lips that kiss,

Seven moment’s sinful bliss,

Seven searing shafts of light,

Seven screams that pierce the night,

Seven scythes and seven hoods,

Seven smiles in secret woods.”

The room was silent for a moment than Matty broke the ice, “let that be a warning to men everywhere.”

Ted laughed “I’ll tell you what lad that’s not a bad rhyme though.  Got any more you’d like to share?”  Jamie shook his head and closed the notebook. “Like I said, they’re not ready yet.”

“What about you Ted” asked the barman, “I’ve heard you tell a few tall tales in your time.”

So begins the night of story telling, but who has the darkest tale to tell? The barmaid, the stranger, the lover, the landlord, gamekeeper, poacher, doctor, or the undertaker?

It’s almost ready and there’s a few more short stories in the pipeline that will be posted here first. So keep watching, who knows where this journey might take us all…