A new look, if you like

I nearly called this, 'A New Dawn', but dawn isn't very evident in this background image is it? Whether this new look will pass muster I don't know, but perhaps it reflects the dark or otherworldly themes we've often touched on - or wholeheartedly embraced! - in our writing. Not that we are all into tales of the supernatural, let alone horror fiction. But to a greater or lesser degree we do seem to be drawn to areas where reality bleeds into something else. Is that pretentious? Probably :)  If you think about it, this is the natural state of fiction anyway. In simply inventing a plot, employing a narrative running to a conclusion, you're already bending away from reality. But we're human, and we can't help imposing patterns on things.

Let's try another tack. The times are dark, and one's writing can't help but reflect that. In fact, recent shifts in the historical tides could well make one feel we live in the end of times. Let us all wallow in the bleak... or go to the other extreme, and let hope shine a light.

To put it another way, so so necessarily after all that waffle, we may actually be about to embark on producing another collection of our fiction. It has been a long while! And some of us have been 'talking a good match' for far too long. *cough* It'll be interesting to see if this blog site livens up at all...

Getting Together

Panocticon got together over ten years ago. Our first meetings were in the Swan Hotel, in Whalley, Lancashire. This is where we began compiling our first collection of short stories, 'Lancashire Tales, Light and Dark.' You will find that the Swan features in one of its stories, 'Out of Time.'

When evening meetings became difficult we moved from the Swan to the Cloisters cafe in the ancient Whalley Abbey. The Abbey provided inspiration for some of our creepier tales, such as 'Lady in White' and by chance (or was it?) provided a very spooky cover for 'Lancashire Tales, Light and Dark.' We had decided on an atmospheric image of the gatehouse, but when the photo came out an unexplained apparition in the foreground which can now be seen on our cover.

When, at length the Abbey's cafe closed, we moved once more, this time to Benedicts deli, cafe and bar, still in Whalley.

That is our current venue, and we are happy to meet anyone with an interest in creative writing there at 9.30 am any Tuesday. So come along. We'll be delighted to share a coffee and a hour of light conversation with anyone who drops by. 

Events

Our book, 'Lancashire Tales, Light and Dark' is now available as a download on Kindle https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0062DLTEK
as are FL's collection, 'Short Stories to Read on the Bus' https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0060Y39AS
and SL's 'The Man with Two Heads and Other Stories' https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0087HBZT8  

Each book costs only 77 pence to download (or 99 cents, depending where you live) which is the lowest possible price on Kindle.  We hope to have them available in other ebook formats soon.
Print versions of all three books are also available from Lulu.com and Amazon.co.uk
We can probably do a cheaper deal for the odd single copy if you email us at:
 octoscope @ gmail.com

MW has a collection of short stories nearing completion and we expect these to appear alongside our existing books soon.

FL's short story, 'You'll Never Know' won the 'Bookbite First Lines' competition.

SR's short story, "The Cemetery" won the 'Accrington Observer Halloween Ghost Story' competition.

FL's article,  "All Eight Shining Windows"  is in the Winter 2013 issue of Scribble Magazine and tells how Panocticon was formed and about our creative writing process.

SL's magazine-style publications Tales From the Grave and Tales From Beyond are still available.  There are first-class SF stories by SL FL SR RS and LK including the first episode of WS's serial, Space Cars.  GF and MP have produced some brilliant artwork.   Email octoscope @ gmail . com  for your copy.

Who We Are

We are a small group of enthusiastic creative writers based in Whalley, Lancashire.  We first came together in a Creative Writing Evening Class at Whalley Adult Centre a number of years ago and have been meeting weekly since then.  Our current venue is the Cloisters Cafe at Whalley Abbey where we gather most Tuesdays.  Two years ago we published a book of short stories: Lancashire Tales - Light and Dark.  This is a collection of original fiction that uses our county as a backdrop for the kind of stories you might not associate with northern England, but which reflect the varied styles and passions of our authors.
Our book was considered for the David St.John Thomas Anthology prize, but sadly did not make the cut for the short-list of three.
More lately SL produced a magazine-style publication: 'Tales from the Grave' which was well received and got a good review in SFX magazine.  He is now working on the follow-up: 'Tales from Beyond' - the accent is definitely on SF for this one.
We are   KF  RS  SR  VC  SL MW  FL

Watch this space for more.

You might want to look at our showcase page:  http://www.flspanocticonshowcase.blogspot.com/