Jamboree Bag
Martin Leigh
Copyright © 2019 Martin Alan Leigh
All rights reserved
ISBN: 9781793418302
Imprint: Independently published
This book is dedicated to Hayden Susie Leigh.
Thanks as always go to my family and friends for giving me encouragement, inspiration and the time to write.
Jamboree Bag
Most short stories by the same author follow some kind of theme or pattern. This collection does not; in fact the title gives it away. Jamboree bags were part of my childhood, a paper bag full of a mixture of sweets, bought when there was a sweet shop on every corner. I don't remember if it was the same sweets every time, but I always peeped in with heightened anticipation as to what I'd find. Today they'd call it a mash up.
This collection is a literary jamboree bag. It features a variety of genres specific objects, characters and places. They were all written for competitions that randomly allocate these things and then ask you to write them in 48 hours and to a strict page limit. 'Flash' fiction I think it's called. Imagine you've been asked to write a crime story featuring a pogo stick, a suicide pilot and a wigwam. I haven't yet, but it could happen.
So feel free to flick between stories as there is no connection between them. The order is as random as the challenge. In most cases, the originals have been changed to reflect feedback from judges, but in others ...really? What do they know? I think this makes the collection just a little more intriguing with little time to get bored. The genre accompanies each story, but the other requirements are just buried somewhere in the story, not difficult to work out.
Table of Contents
Lord of the Flight
When Rupert Cook was given the key to the executive washroom, he didn't expect to get his hands dirty.
Count Your Blessings
Be careful what you wish for, and read the small print.
Unnatural Selection
When is a zombie not a zombie? When it's the club Chairman.
The harder they come
The politician husband of a well-known journalist sees his plans come to fruition at an awards evening.
The Tiniest Existence
Saving someone you love is easier than saving yourself.
Birdy Day
Remember, Remember to put out that ember, or gunpowder has reason to pop. How a little spark could have changed the course of British history.
Canvassed Opinion
When Mini Wilson is publicly shamed, she finds her own way to exact revenge.
Between The Rock and a Hard Place
Political tensions require diplomatic solutions. Sometimes you have to push the boat out.
