February’s Guest Storyteller, Ana Spoke

AnaSpokeAna Spoke is a self-published author and an unbridled enthusiast. She currently calls Australia home, but you can always find her on anaspoke.com

FINAL COVER September 5

Sarah says: I’m delighted to welcome Ana as this month’s guest storyteller to share with us a snippet from her hilarious chic-lit novel, Shizzle, Inc.

Here are a few comments from my review of her book on Goodreads and Amazon, where I awarded it five stars.

This  humour novel is quite different from my normal reading material, but then that’s probably because it is quite different, full stop! …Initially, I decided to read it because the author connected with me via blogging and I admired her sense of direction re Indie publishing. …This début novel is the first in an intended series and I fully confess to looking forward to the next of Isa Maxwell’s escapades. …Shizzle, Inc kept me so fully engaged for a long train journey, that my fellow passengers failed to annoy me with their mobile phones and loud talking. Normally, I get very easily distracted and tense under such circumstances. Instead, I ended up smiling … a lot. 

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Fifteen minutes of fame is all Isa needs to win back her boyfriend and pay her debts. She might just get it. It might just kill her.
 
Extract from Shizzle, Inc

 

That should’ve been the end of this story, but God bestowed me with a third miracle that day. This one came in the form of a huge trash pile.

That particular stretch of the highway shoulder happened to be the city’s most popular illegal dumping spot. Over the years, it had become a landmark, with locals giving direction to their homes as “the first exit after The Tip”. The Tip was enormous. Its humble beginnings were in just one man’s refusal to pay for municipal services, but it grew quickly, as others used the excuse of “everyone’s doing it”.

At first, the city council kept trying to clean up the mess, but this only encouraged residents to dump again. Fines didn’t work either, as the officers trying to issue them were regularly assaulted, pelleted by rotten tomatoes, or even thrown into the trash pile. The city tried to organize a volunteer clean-up program, but nobody volunteered. The problem was exacerbated by the homeless, who took up residence in the valleys of The Tip and adamantly protected their territory.

On the day when I flew head-first into the sprawling landscape of mattresses and garbage bags, the city was trying out a new “zero tolerance” policy. The idea was that after a few weeks of living with a stinking fly- and rat-infested pile, the locals would come to their senses and start using dedicated bins. The exercise proved yet again how out of touch the government was with their constituents. The locals objected, staged protests, signed petitions and condemned the council officers as ‘dirty pigs’, but did not stop dumping. In the end, I owed those council pigs and stubborn citizens my life. Thanks to the extra layer of freshly deposited garbage, I did not break my neck and got away with just a concussion and severe blood poisoning.

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You can find the links to previous guest storyteller posts at 

Author: Sarah Potter Writes

Sarah is a British eccentric who writes offbeat fiction, haiku and tanka poetry. When stuck for words, she sketches or paints instead. She's into nature conservation, sustainability, gardening, dogs, natural health, and reading. Her sociability is something that happens in short bursts with long breathing spaces in between.

27 thoughts on “February’s Guest Storyteller, Ana Spoke”

  1. Reblogged this on AnaSpoke.com and commented:
    A big thank you to Sarah Potter for featuring me in her “Storytellers” series. A great idea that has resulted in a fascinating collection of short “stories within stories” – from fantasy to horror and, of course, comedy. Have a read of a Shizzle, Inc excerpt and other writers’ work – nothing is over 600 words.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      4. Is it that one with the word “poll” in it? I’m going to have to ask WP technical support about it as it has been lurking at the foot of all my comments, ever since I conducted a poll on my site. I didn’t realise other people were seeing it, too. Creepy. I’ve not dared click on it.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Yes, and here it is again – and when you click on it it looks too much like some sneaky virus…even though it’s obviously polldaddy

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      7. Hi, Ana — See the comment from Hugh’s Views and News. Hugh confirmed that it was to do with a setting on polldaddy. Hopefully, the problem is now resolved & you should be receiving this new comment without a funny link in it. Thanks for pointing it out in the first place, as it could easily have been nasty.
        Talking about nasty, I’m in a mood today as I’ve discovered two different sites are claiming to have the kindle version of my book available to download for free. I’ve informed kdp about it & am waiting for their advice on the matter. Have you had this happen?

        Liked by 1 person

      8. Hi, Sarah – yes, all good, no link!

        And no, I have not had this happen, but it is a fear I’ve had – how could this happen?? I’m not so worried about the first book, as I plan to make it available for free often, if not always, as soon as I get a a sequel. But in general – crazy, piracy happens to everyone, not just blockbusters!

        Liked by 1 person

      11. Hi Hugh, thanks for that info. I’ll get onto that when I’m on my PC. Am on my recalcitrant android tablet just now & it keeps losing the internet signal or not loading things properly. Grrrrrr.
        Am glad you enjoyed Ana’s book extract, and I’m looking forward to your contribution next month. Your name is now on my guest storyteller page!
        Best wishes
        Sarah

        Liked by 1 person

      12. You’re welcome, Sarah. I had to remove the link as well because many people were asking me what it was. Those that clicked on it said it simply took them to a page of computer script!

        I’ve almost finished the story for you. I’m moving house this week so will get it to you next week. I hope it doesn’t make you scream too much when you read it. 😱

        Liked by 1 person

      13. I’m used to Stephen King and Dean Koontz, plus Nordic noir — I won’t scream. It sounds most promising. Thanks for getting it ready so far in advance of the deadline, Hugh! Hope your move goes well and the wind has died down by removal day.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Great to meet you Ana, and I can see just from your excerpt why Sarah was so absorbed in Shizzle, Inc on the train…takes a lot to stop from being distracted by people talking loudly on their mobiles that’s for sure, so what better validation of your story I can’t imagine. Thanks so much Sarah for introducing us to Ana, and another book to add to the list 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I know what you mean about the ever-growing must read list. I’m only watching two one-hour tv programmes a week to accommodate it! Now I’m behind with posting reviews on Goodreads of the books I’ve finished.

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      Reply
  6. Pingback: Review: Indiot (Isa Maxwell Escapades, Book 2) | Sarah Potter Writes

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