Wednesday 9 January 2019

8 Jan 2019. Women’s Short Story results.


Twelve existing and one new member turned up for the first meeting of the group in 2019.


Kate distributed the results from the Women’s Short Competition adjudicated by Betty McKay.

a) Placed first was “The Right Thing to do.” by Kate Gordon.
b) Second was “The Love-Taxi Traveller.” By Hilary Stevenson.
c) Elizabeth Gillespie’s “The Perfect Dancing Partner” was third.
d) “A Good Turn” by Wilma Ferguson was highly commended.

a) “The Right Thing To Do” told of the moral dilemma for a lady who had already seen the drastic effects on her family that an armed raid on a shopkeeper could have.

When she was later caught up in a similar situation, she had to choose between doing the ‘right’ thing by helping the police or by doing the ‘right’ thing by protecting her own and her family’s personal safety.

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b) A superbly gallant taxi-driver who had just lost a potential customer comes, to the aid of an equally responsive Lady in distress on a cold and snowy night after a hard day’s work.

The tongue in cheek dialogue, redolent of romantic Hollywood movies from the fifties gives the taxi the lubrication it needs to get the passenger safely home.

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c) A young lady snares a trap to catch the very eligible brother of one of her flat mates. She needs a ‘Perfect Dance Partner’ and pretends to go to potentially dangerous lengths on an internet dating site to get one.

The brother tries to warn her of the dangers, and in desperation offers to take her himself. She ‘reluctantly’ agrees.

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d)  In the happy outcome story of “The Good Turn” lonely Mr Butterworth warms his own heart whilst doing good for a Victorian waif and his sister who have lost their pet dog.

The dog is found scavenging near a butcher’s shop, and for the price of a bone, the dog is retrieved, and the waifs look as though they could be on their way to living happily ever after.

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e)  John Hughes’ “Face at the Window” led us to believe that a disgruntled and wrongly dismissed ex employee, had planned and executed arson at his old workplace.

With almost the last of his savings, he had bought a lottery ticket at his corner shop. It has been announced that that particular shop had just sold a winning ticket. Join the dots, but who did burn down the building?

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f) Joan Frondigoun’s “Flour Power” gave us a slowly recovering battered wife, who at her wit’s end has resorted to petty shop lifting.

An encounter with a fellow customer leaves her afraid of being caught. Her poor meal that day was to have been some home made potato scones. When she looked in the mirror after a spilling the bag of flour off the shelf, an idea for a disguise comes to mind.

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Before setting off to guest at New Zealand’s first ever Crime Writing Festival in Rotorua (www.rotoruanoir.com), Sandra gave us the launch date of her next Lorimer Series novel. The date is 21st March, 6-30pm at Waterston’s book shop in Sauchiehall Street.

Sandra also gave us a taster from the start of her subsequent book (launch 2020?).
This commences with two men, a garden trug and a bullet!

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Next week      Wilma -  The Greetings Card Market.



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