Petite Fleur
“It is good. Really, really good. Andy, you’ve done a brilliant job with the subtle hints, the clues, the red herrings. A spellbinding work that kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for it to unfold. Beautiful.”
The Infamous 3
“This is an interesting and convincing memoir, with lots of period detail, authoritative use of detail and an attractive first person voice imparting the information. There were some moments where I laughed out loud.”
After The Big Push
“I’m glad you did this. This is a truly visceral read and I loved your word choices whose very sounds were harsh and unyielding. I was particularly impressed with your iambic rhythm.”
The Ghost In The Machine
“This kept me hooked as I read it, but also stayed with me long after I had finished it. That is quite an achievement for 500 words. Using the son’s thoughts and the father’s words, you have pulled the readers into the story and they can’t help but become involved. They feel what the father is feeling, how he thinks the situation may be his fault for wanting a good education for his son. But they can also feel the son’s frustration at not being able to put his father right. By showing rather than telling the readers what is happening, you have trusted them to recreate the scene in their own imaginations. They are able to conjure pictures of the characters acting, reacting and thinking. Certainly we are not bored or distracted because we are involved in the story. We want to know more and to read on…very well done.”
How To Be A Friend
“This story got me really choked up. You really show how complex friendship can be and how the boundaries of friendship and love can be tested.”
“You have created an immediate sense of danger by very effectively conveying the setting – someone on a cliff top in a gale – with a conflict going on. Dialogue is skillfully used to introduce the central idea – that Alec’s friend is dying of cancer. The tension ratchets up as the scene unfolds – will he, won’t he? The reader is drawn right into the conflict and left desperately wanting to know what happens next. Very good: great potential.”
Lady Luck and the Tramp
“There is some very nice characterisation here. Setting and dialogue do very well to create atmosphere and mood, and to give a real sense of the story world to draw in and engage the reader. The contrast between worlds is also drawn out nicely to give us real empathy for the tramp and pleasure in his success.”
A Visit To York Station
“I thought this very touching story had the edge for the subtle handling of the dynamic between the two boys – the one innocently observing his father’s betrayal of his mother, but teetering on the edge of understanding and his friend, who has already been through the experience of a broken home, protecting him from the same potential outcome. With its undertow of loyalty and friendship and what divorce can mean to a child, I think it really was a worthy winner. Many many congratulations on a lovely piece of writing – it touched my heart and was impeccably controlled.”
One Deadly Sin
“You immediately grab the readers’ attention by plunging us into a situation with characters we know nothing about. You make use of short sentences which keep the pace nicely sharp and there is plenty of visual detail. The writing is well balanced and has a good rhythm. The writing is strong and I very much enjoyed the story.”
My Father And The Assassin
“From the opening words the cottage with its ‘demeaning sneer’ and unwelcome atmosphere, has taken on its own personality. The narrator can still feel the presence of his parents, but…now he is a police inspector ready to open the cold case and investigate his parents’ deaths. Well Done.”
A Desert Lament
“Excellent, well written, well expressed. You describe a guilt from which the narrator cannot escape. The narrator has no one to turn to; he cannot admit the crime even to his closest family. He has to live with it, the more so every Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph. By climbing inside the head of the old soldier, you are allowing the readers to participate in the man’s guilt, but also to experience the events that unfolded in the desert. You have managed successfully to bring the readers close to the story and to the characters. Very well done.”