Hallam's Ghosts

Dear Philip Carlton,

I read Chapter 7, "The Girl He Left Behind," and would love to print out this entire manuscript so I could read it all. Delicious, charming writing. Thank you for messaging me. Why did it take so long to discover you? I'm richer now that I know you are on this site.

GK Stritch
CBGB Was My High School

HALLAM'S GHOSTS
Philip Carlton

Ah I love the Poppet's Bedtime story. How delightfully real. I even read the story of the Furry Fluppit to my own little one and she giggled gleefully all the while. When I asked her what she thought of it, she said, "If I was a judge, I would give the writer of that a thousand points." Can't get much better than that, Philip.

I really liked story #2 as well. I felt as if I wanted to visit that seaside place and go to that library whilst the rain poured outside the window. What a sensory bit of writing. I was there thanks to your skill at setting the scene.

I intend to read on through these delights even as I back your work with admiration.

Many thanks to you for your interest in A King in Time.

Sincerely,

Mary Enck

This is a truly stunning collection of stories for both minds and hearts!

Superbly written, beautifully crafted -- I am full of admiration for your storytelling skills. What a variety of topics, characters and plots! I must say, rarely one comes across such work of high quality, intelligence and depth.

My highest complements. I am sure this will get published -- as there is a broad audience of people hungry for such read.

Backed with the utmost pleasure.

Johanna Kern
Master and the Green-Eyed Hope

I would purchase this collection, as a matter of fact, I hope I'm able to. These stories read like a mixture of true stories,folk tales and human spirit woven into a beautiful blanket of dreams. Backed and saved on my WL for further reading because they do leave you wanting more! MDEyler

HALLLAM'S GHOSTS by Philip Carlton.

Philip - Only the best quality writing is available in your captivating book. As I anticipate buying it - my fingers tingle at the very thought of holding it in my hands. The sentiment is tempered by hope more than certainty, since getting a book of short stories published these days, is a luxury that publishers, more than ever, only accord to established writers. Yours must surely be an exception to this practise. I chose to read one story from the 22 stories posted. Your prose style is redolent of the literary accomplishments of the authors you list as your favourites: D.H. Lawrence, Henry James and Marcel Proust. If ever a reader wished to read the creative influences of these masters in the modern idiom they need only read The Farm. It is a veritable master class in its rendering of spatial shifts in the presentation of narrative information, nuance, subtlety, opacity of description, observed and remembered quality of life and the physical world of nature. Each of these aspects are animated to immediate and vivid simplicity of description and linked directly to the present surface of things and lingering nostalic themes. All achieved without parody, pastiche or posture but imaginative adornment and enhancement of sempiternal images of the countryside and those close to it. These sentiment and emotions are complimented in the innocent menage a trois, around whom the story is created. I was reminded too of the books of Henry Williamson - The Chronicles of Ancient Sunlight. Backed & Re-Watchlisted.

Tony Brady - SCENES FROM AN EXAMINED LIFE - Books 1,2 & 3.

I read 17: Hallam's Ghosts - Very good. Writing is superb. Good ending. Couple of points: 1) Para 1 'feeling something good...'; para 2 'an uneasy feeling' - don't really go together. He buys a newspaper and reads it, but expects to read one at breakfast as well - needs clarifying. Good luck with it. Tim

There is such a lovely, intriguing quality to your writing. I am not usually a fan of short stories but your characterisation is so enjoyable that I would be happy to buy this.

Best wishes

Jo G

I went with Sylvia. An Elemental Spirit. Names are my thing and this one caught my attention. First off, I LOVE short stories. I've written a few myself and am thinking of uploading them to the site. Until then, I hope you will enjoy Twin Fates.
PS, Backed your book!
~Richard
Twin Fates

Dear Philip, I have been lost in the scattered remnants, of what must be, your tortured mind, searching for some kind of redemption, I was hooked anyway, but being no critic, but an avid fan of staring into, what is most certainly a book that must have split your personality apart. I couldn't stop, until chapter 14, [the uni reunion], and then I thought, my schadenfreude, would get the better of me. Thoroughly enjoyed your book. I must applaud your efforts. Backed, [But only if you send me a signed copy lol]. Good luck for the future, and thank you, for everything. Take care, until we meet again. Cicuta, [Carl, Arcane].

I like the way you handle things in 'Father and Daughter'. Realistic problems faced by real people. Happy to back you.
Gefordson
Nothing you can do.

Dear Philip Carlton,

I read Chapter 7, "The Girl He Left Behind," and would love to print out this entire manuscript so I could read it all. Delicious, charming writing. Thank you for messaging me. Why did it take so long to discover you? I'm richer now that I know you are on this site.

GK Stritch
CBGB Was My High School

Backed Hallam's Ghosts. A mixed bag of well written stories. Full of powerful emotion and plenty of drama. Good Luck.
CC Brown
Dark Side

hi philip 'HALLAM'S GHOST'
LOVE YOUR SHORT STORIES, JUST READ SOME OF THEM
'the girl he left behind' so true to real life, likd Donna and that HUG, and the story 'the lake' as it dipicts the 60s
romance and love and travel etc then i glanced at ' the uni re u;nion'
great writing indeed and most enjoyable . make a great holiday read
backed
TOM BYE ' FROM HUGS TO KISSES'

Looking for a collection of short stories. Added hallam's Ghosts to our watchlist. Will read and comment on later.
CC Brown
Dark Side

Hi Philip, "A Father and his Daughter" - I dropped in for another story and kept reading at Chapter 10. It starts out pragmatically and increases with George's poignant past. There might have some filler that leads away from the central telling about George although Cummings' concern seemed vital to the story. Touching at the end. "A Dog and a Dryad" - a charming sequence and the end is both clever and satisfying. Happy to shelve this collection again - Katherine (The Swan Bonnet)

Beautiful sensual stories. You write well and skilfully. In the first story, I feel you repeat yourself a little just at the start when you say ' he considered himself fortunate'...and later 'for that he was grateful'...maybe you could get rid of one of these and just prune it down a teeny bit. Farnham is an unusual name and oddly I've named the heroine in my published book, The Crimson Bed, Ellie Farnham!
I like your stories, Philip, you should try going in for some short story competitions on, say, Narrative(an online magazine) or others. Lots of luck Lorri (Gisla's Hill)

Philip, These stories show much imagination, from Love me Love my Rat to The Apartment, (the two I read) you have a flair for writing short, interesting pieces. There is certainly a place for well-written stories like this.
All the best with the future of them.
Backed
Ann Mynard (Windshadow)

Oh no poor Francis! I so wanted him to have a happy ending. :( I shall dip into the others as I get time. I shall back them!

"Goodbye Annie old love." Who sent the money? Hmmm . . . Nicely done. I'll be back to read more when I can. backed for now.

Just read "The Promise of a Bright New Future" and found it delightful in its romp with lovers of literature (as an Austen fan I enjoyed it, of course) if not lovers together. Poignant look into a single, middle-aged life. I wish I could have seen Farnham wrestle a bit with reality after learning of Mara's leaving. One quick note on punctuation, too. The very first sentence was a bit confusing to me because I didn't know if the place name was Wilsden Farnham. It took me a little too long to understand that Wilsden was the place and Farnham was the character. Perhaps a well-placed comma after Wilsden would do the trick. A nice complete piece on the whole. Look forwarding to reading more of your short stories. From one short story writer to another.

Hi Philip,

I've read Fifty Years Too Late and it was a really enjoyable read, however personally I think the first paragraph could do with being split up, and a few of the others are a bit lengthy.
I'm not a great fan of short stories, but I wish you luck with these.

Backed,
Dagura

Philip,
It's a long time since I sampled a book of short stories - I enjoyed the three I sampled this afternoon and will back with pleasure
cheers
Geoff
Ice KIng

I don't usually like collections of short stories, but I was defininitely impressed with this collection. You had such a range of scenarios and emotions, each one something that you could easily return to and read again to find new aspects to it. A pleasure to back.

Reading The Girl He Left Behind everything was just like what was going on in my mind when I came back to PA from Cali. I was just sitting here nodding & I knew exactly how that was! I don't know if it's not meant to have dialog but I would have liked some. But the picture was clear enough.
Backed with Pleasure.

Philip, I read your first story and it blew my socks off in so many ways. First, I've done exactly what Farnum did, build up an encounter into more than is and/or not act on it immediately. I loved too their banter and speculation about Jane Austen and her characters. Does every writer dither over names? I do. I ended up using the distaff members of my family for minor characters, the counties of Pennsylvania for the last names of the bit players. So much of me is written into Summer Rose that no one will ever figure it out. Anyway, I loved your story and I will read more. One little nit--I do not believe, at least in America, that lilacs and hollyhocks bloom at the same time. Here lilacs bloom in May and hollyhocks in July. I'm not a gardener, so check it out. I'll read more--wonderful story.
Caroline
Summer Rose

I have read 2, 11 and 17.

Story 2: The Promise of a Bright New Future – a sad little tale, almost old fashioned in tone. In terms of nits, the punctuation needs some attention and one or two phrases sounded old fashioned to the point of clunkiness rather than quaintness.

Story 11: A Dog and a Dryad – a mystical story: a short but sweet folk tale.

Story 17: Hallam’s Ghosts - a bitter sweet tale

Based on what I have read, this is a charming collection.

J.S.Watts
A DARKER MOON

your welcome Philip, would appreciate your backing

I dont know if its a short concentration span or just the fact I like short storys but this collection really did it for me. I wonderful selection of work. Well written with each story meeting its mark. Backed!

Dear Philip,
I read Promise of a Bright New Future. How sad for Frank! Just when he thought he'd turned his life around. This was a dramatic ending to a lovely story.

BACKED
Elizabeth Wolfe (MEMORIES OF GLORY)

Very clever writing and quite erudite. It has a style to it which is temporally removed from now but not too far. Anyhow, backed.
Cheers, B. Cameron Lee (Diary of a Serial Killer)

Hello Philip,

I can tell you have a great voice and a good imagination. Unfortunately, you lack the skills to portray it in your writing. The only thing I can suggest it to use punctuation. Try to read your prose aloud and see what it sounds like to others reading it. Everytime you take a breath, add a comma.

I'm sorry if the above has caused offence, I truly think you have a talent, you just need to re-read and polish before this will soar up the charts!!

Kind regards,

Jodi.
x-Evalesco-x

HALLAM'S GHOSTS
Philip Carlton

Ah I love the Poppet's Bedtime story. How delightfully real. I even read the story of the Furry Fluppit to my own little one and she giggled gleefully all the while. When I asked her what she thought of it, she said, "If I was a judge, I would give the writer of that a thousand points." Can't get much better than that, Philip.

I really liked story #2 as well. I felt as if I wanted to visit that seaside place and go to that library whilst the rain poured outside the window. What a sensory bit of writing. I was there thanks to your skill at setting the scene.

I intend to read on through these delights even as I back your work with admiration.

Many thanks to you for your interest in A King in Time.

Sincerely,

Mary Enck

'Hallam's ghosts' is lovely (tho' there's one point where pov jumps into the landlady's head). An aching sense of might have been and melancholy. I also read the one with dead Deirdre (sorry, title has slipped my mind) - nice prickle of fear there, like a good ghost story rather than full-on horror. 'Lost on the Moor' I found rather slight, and the shifting pov a bit annoying tho' I know it was deliberate. I did like the dryad story, however, that dangerous seductive quality of folktale and myth.

In short, jolly good stuff, lovely writing and one I'll be revisiting. Best wishes, Harriet

Hallam's Ghosts and other stories
Hi Philip, the score of stories you have, to tell scores high marks. Well written. Or, well told? I could read only a few. By George, so good they are, i would read the others as well. Backed meanwhile.
TMN
"NEVER LOSE..."

I read the Hallam’s Ghost chapter and was really swept away. A tale of ancient remorse, the dull ache of lost love which time has not diminished but only blunted. I thought that it was beautifully judged. The ending is so deftly hinted at the beginning (the return of youthful energy so typical) but not enough to make it certain. But it does mean you read the rest with the expectation of how it will end, adding to the poignancy of all the joys and regrets. And the end satisfies those expectations, rounding it off so beautifully.

Best of luck,
Stephen Lucek.

I love short stories and especially ghost stories. (Must be something in my make up?) Philip.
Nothing I can say here will make any difference to the book, it is superb, great stuff. Backed.
Norman. (Fromante)

Hi Philip ...

A very unusual and original collection of wit and humour. Well written with good dialogue and characterisations.
Each story a gem and worth reading. 'Backed'. Regards ... Duncan.

Interesting character development in this sad story!

Interesting character development in this sad story!

I had a read of number 7, but I'm afraid the story lacks any real direction and is just a guy going back to his hometown and reminiscing - the theme is an interesting one, but theme alone want carry the story. Short stories need to have narrative drive, and the character a goal to attain. There is a good thread on this on the forum (Reader expectation) in 'on writing'. Jake

WONDERFUL, it's a story with warm nicely flowing dialogues. Promise to back.

I love the language and the way the pacing mimics the lazy unfurling of an evening and a long conversation between strangers, both surprised to find an ease with each other. This made me think of Henry James's "The Beast in the Jungle" (with more economical, taut writing, of course). I would definitely purchase this and proudly display the collection on my actual bookshelf.

Memphisgirl
Ashes By Now

The Promise Of A bright New Future and Laura are touching stories about lost chances and regret, the bitterness of betrayal and frustration. Nicely written, with a good sense for tragedy away from a shakespearean stage but in the footlights of ordinary people.
Backed with pleasure
Daniel Manning
No Compatibility.

Beautiful stories. I read four, all very different, and wished I had time for more. You write with a style that is easy to read. Backed.

I read “Laura” and “Poppet” and my pick is definitely the latter. A delightful piece of fluff with lightness and imagination that saves it from being merely cute. Quite inventive twist on point-of-view, with the perspective of the adult but told the way a child would recount it.
Laura had an interesting story to tell but I found the narrative a bit stiff with exposition at the beginning using weak expressions like “she was wealthy” and “he was her employee.” More showing and less telling later in the story kept me reading but you may wish to revise, both to shorten and to make the opening paragraphs stronger.

Backed with best wishes

A.P. Constantin
The Crystal Butterfly Club

beautifully written. Good effortless reading.
Backed.
Mike (the compulsive adventurer)

The work reads with a wonderful pace relaxing a reader as Farnham relaxes at the start of his holiday. A mechanism to consider working into the beginning is to have Farnham look in a mirror in order to report his appearance early in the work. His age appears later, but the mental picture is unpainted at that point. I really enjoyed reading the work. Backed with great pleasure. Chuck

Hallam's ghosts
Backed
Eveleen
(Turning a new leaf)

What a great teller of tales you are. Beutifully written with an easy flow. Backed. Eunice - The Temple Dancer.

love the title it caught my eye on my feed.. backed ur book

A rich and absorbing collection of brilliantly executed short stories. Magnetic writing. Refreshing reads. Backed.

Have read the first two stories- they are very sad

Lynne Ellison

The Green Bronze Mirror

You have a good storytellin style, smooth and easy to slip into. I've read two so far and enjoyed both. You are on my watchlist and I'll read on and spin you on my shelf at changeover time.
Polly
STONES.

Hi Philip, your stories are very touching and the style is clear and simple, which I like in a short story - it works well. There are one or instances in The Promise of a Bright New Future where there are several present participles in a sentence which can be a bit distracting (no pun intended. I have to make a supreme effort myself not to overuse them). Also one or two repetitions of words eg 'here'. But this is delightful and I have no hesitation in backing it, and would buy it - I do hope it gets published.
Best wishes, Adelina

Goodness...the poor man...
I read the first chapter of your book, I understand it is the first of a collection of stories.
I love Jane Austen, so I obviously chose the right story to start with. You write with a passion that is heart-warming and easy to read. I enjoyed it immensely. I will be back, if only to discover if Farnham got his girl.. :0)
Millie C
BTW Backed!