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Monday 26 December 2011

Masks & Mirrors - now closed to submissions

As of 25th December 2011 the deadline for submissions for EOTE April 2012 has closed. 

If you have anything you wish me to read, please feel free to submit it but please note that it may not be read until the next Reading Month which will be March 2012. 


The full submission guidelines can be found here

Friday 23 December 2011

Comments on EOTE December 23 12 2011

More from Claudia Messelodi, Italy
I liked the bumper issue of EOTE very much! I enjoyed reading the tale written by Jenny, her descriptions of the park and of the landscape in general are beautiful. I loved Freya's poem too, its images and its "profound inner rhythm". Then I found Katie's reviews highly interesting; in fact I bought two of the books she reviewed!

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Comments on EOTE December 21 12 2011

From Claudia Messelodi, Italy
 I've just ordered on Amazon Freya's novel "Dragonscale Leggings" and two further books, "Rapture" by Duffy and "Junk" by Burgess. I look forward to receiving them in the next few days! It's a Christmas present I want to give to myself!

From Enerico, England
Thank YOU for taking the time to put together EOTE and the rest. I really hope it gets you noticed.

From Matt Rowe, Japan
Thanks for EOTE. It was a good read. I was pleased to see how my work was shown too.

Saturday 17 December 2011

Comments from Linda Turner on Octobersong by Freya Pickard

It is clever to kick out the cliche and talk about 'green' autumn, when gold is the more typical association. I take this as a novel way of saying 'early or young autumn'.

The second stanza is incredibly poignant and visual. One can 'see' a frozen petal falling to an icy earth and its beauty smashing into fragments. Like the belief in a love that we thought would last forever. Too beautiful to last, in fact.

Which leads analogously into the wistful third stanza of the death of love and the hope for it to be reborn, as will the flower be, along with the restorative and renewing properties of spring. 

Really beautiful imagery; and achingly sad in its tone and compilation. And sadder still somehow because of the subject's probably naive belief that love, like the flower will be reborn. 

Quite spell binding. 

If you would like to read more of Linda Turner's opinions, click here

Friday 16 December 2011

Why I chose... EOTE December 2011

The theme this issue was Ice and Snow but I also chose items that complimented these things as well. 

Octobersong by Freya Pickard
This has a feeling of bleakness that reminded me of winter. 

13th March 2011 by Matt Rowe
Not really about winter but a personal point of view on the devastating earthquake that hit Japan earlier this year. Matt's observations are clinical, reflecting the reality of not knowing the full impact of the situation he found himself in. 

Goddess by Jenny Poulter
Tied in with the themes perfectly. What struck me about this piece was the self-sacrifice. The narrator does not consider her self-sacrifice as totally selfless. Instead, she is willing sacrifice herself in order to became famous. The self-sacrifice therefore becomes invalid. Excellent build up and atmosphere that leaves you feeling well and truly chilled!

Book Launch Page - NEW!
This is something I am trying out to promote new books that have either been launched recently or will be launched in the near future. I've known both Liz and Matt for many years as we are or were all part of a very helpful and instructive writing folio called Scribo. 

The Rush, Rush Rat Race by Heather Connelly
I liked the fast paced and hard rhythms of this poem and agreed completely with the very clear message. To my mind this poem linked tenuously to Goddess; the two humans in the tale obviously came from high powered jobs. 

I chose Anne Baksteen's and Enerico's photographs to accompany the poem because whilst Anne's give one a sense of claustrophobia, Enerico's offers hope in that there is light at the end of the tunnel! 


Katie Wood's Reviews
It was about time someone else reviewed books apart from me! I met Katie in the Summer and she is an engaging person. I can't wait to read the reprint of her book next year! The three reviews I chose to print of Katie's reflect the wide variety of genres and styles she reads. 


The Blossoming Tree by Claudia Messelodi
A sliver of hope in the midst of winter remembering the fruitfulness of autumn and the hope of spring yet to come. Winter is a time to pause and reflect and appreciate. 


A Review of Dragonscale Leggings by Linda Turner
This wouldn't fit on the reviews page so it ended up on the back of this issue. Linda is highly critical and doesn't mince her words. She means what she says!

Wednesday 14 December 2011

EOTE December 2011

EOTE December 2011 is now available to read! 

This is a bumper issue of 12 pages containing poetry from Freya Pickard, Heather Connelly & Claudia Messelodi, book reviews from Katie Wood as well a real life story about the Japanese Earthquake from Matt Rowe along with a chilling winter's tale by Jenny Poulter. There are also photographs from Enerico, Anne Baksteen, Jonathon B. Hoyt and Freya. 


This issue also sees the launch of our Book Page featuring Matt Rowe and Elizabeth Baxter!

If you already subscribe, you should receive an email containing the link to the current issue. If you haven't received this by 16th December 2011, please email EOTE 


If you don't yet subscribe and would like to read it (it is free!) please send an email to EOTE
with Subscribe EOTE in the subject line. 

Thursday 1 December 2011

Masks & Mirrors - a reminder

Just a reminder to you all that the deadline for the April 2012 issue of EOTE will close on 25th December 2011. 

Please make sure your submissions for the theme of Masks & Mirrors reaches me before the closing date. 

For the full submission guidelines, please click here