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Elevator Pitch Primary school teacher with attachment issues loves custard, cycling and casual sex. The discovery of his hook ups with a pupil’s parent forces him into therapy. 100 word pitch Primary school teacher Matt Thorpe loves custard, cycling and casual sex. Popular with pupils and school run mums, unpopular with the flatulent caretaker and…

Finished the new book, 80,000 words. Now got to do some editing, this will help.

For most of my childhood, a 1960’s housing estate on the outskirts of Reading was my holiday home. I lived in a small council flat in central London, with a small balcony – Reading was as exotic as it got. Aunty June’s semi-detached had stairs, a serving hatch and smelt of Palmolive soap. Five minutes…

AUTUMN TERM 2.30pm. Aiming for willing and able, not pants around ankles, Matt Thorpe opened the door onto the playground and arranged himself against the frame for their pleasure. There theyall were again, waiting to collect their offspring. Desperate for some adult conversation anda man with staying power. His emergence had elicited a flurry of…

Trees I’ve Known (a warm up writing exercise) Reaching in all directions, none of them destinations. Loose umbrella. Stoic playmate. Part yielding, assumed forgiving. Seek out others unseen, feed them or poison them. Both have their merits. Ring o’ roses watcher. Block out light, soak up rain. Smell of past afternoon. Of climbing, hiding, solitary…

BAGGAGE                                                                                                                            Lopsided, bulging, irritable at the seams, the raffia bag sat on her lap creaking with every slight movement. Loose dry strands pricked her legs, causing her to scratch and frown. Bus was packed. Cheaper than the train, it attracted a less discerning and stronger smelling passenger. Eyes closed, sounds and odours criss-crossed. Sweet sweat,…

I’ve spent the past two months flitting between writing a book set in a prison library (serious, sexy and my nod to film noir) and a book set in a primary school (funny, interweaving messy lives, staff behaving badly) ……….. and then I got sucked into the world of writing flash fiction. It’s addictive.