a little about... Michael Webb

Michael wrote "Perfect Blue Buildings" for the challenge:

What inspired your story?

I'm not sure, honestly. I was listening to the song "Perfect Blue Buildings" by the Counting Crows, and musing about the prompt, and I had a mental picture of the John Hancock Tower in Boston, how it looks blue from the right distance and at the right angle. Then the whole story just occurred to me, a small kid left in front of the TV, told by the adult watching him that he'll be "right back" and never returning.


What makes this cause important to you?

That's hard to answer. What doesn't make this cause important? Anyone who's raised a child, or even been around one, knows how vulnerable they are. I don't think any feeling human can fail to hurt for a child who has been left behind.


Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

Probably like most contributors, I've been writing for almost as long as I could write. I blog at innocentsaccidentshints.blogspot.com, which has become a repository for my short fiction.

a little about ... Roberto C. Garcia

Roberto wrote his story "One Night" for the challenge, and hails from Fictionaut:

What inspired your story?

My story was inspired by other stories, both mine and borrowed.

What makes this cause important to you?

I had a disjointed childhood but I was luckier than most of the kids in my part of town. Those experiences taught me how vulnerable children are and it angers me when they are mistreated, neglected or abused by adults. If by contributing fiction, I can help children get out of bad situations, then sign me up.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I'm working on an MFA in Poetry and Poetry Translation at Drew University in New Jersey. My poems and fiction have appeared in the Istanbul Literary Review, Poets & Artists Magazine, The New Gnus Literary Journal and Metazen. My work appears regularly for feedback and constructive criticism at Fictionaut, an online writers community.

My oft neglected blogs are www.themoodofthepeopl.blogspot.com and
www.themoodofthepeople.tumblr.com

I can be followed on Twitter at @thespokenmind

a little about... Susan Tepper

Susan Tepper has four novels in print and wrote the powerful story "kid" for the challenge:

What inspired your story?

The challenge photo is one of the most devastating I've ever seen of a child. That tortured face is a map of every hideous deed done to ruin a child's life. It brought to mind a young girl I once saw in a soup kitchen line outside a church. She was early teens, very blonde, slender, and frightened looking. She stood out like a beacon on that NYC street amongst the more hardened, adult homeless in that food line. I was rushing to the subway, to get to work, but stopped there. I thought of approaching her, trying to help somehow. I didn't. This act of omission has haunted me some 20 years now.

What makes this cause important to you?

There isn't much to do in this world if it doesn't involve making things somewhat better for someone else. If someone feels better, there's a good chance they will spread it. It's the last saving grace for our planet.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I'm a fiction writer, poet, essayist and interviewer. Have been at this for 17 years. Have 3 books published and a 4th about to come out. Prior to the writing, I was an actor who worked at a series of jobs to pay my rent and buy my food. I didn't have a cushy life. I'm glad of that. It makes you appreciate what you do get and helps keeps your ego in line.

a little about... David Barber

David is the editor of The Flash Fiction Offensive, The Laughter Shack, and an accomplished writer in his own right. He wrote "Forgotten" for the challenge:

What inspired the story?

I asked myself what could be the worse thing that could happen to me as a father and I think the thought of one of my kids going missing would be the worst.  I then took it a bit further and put Elizabeth in the position of having a feeling that her daughter was still alive and somewhere else.  I didn't really want to go down the abuse/pedophile road.  That sickens me.

What makes the cause important to you?

If I can doing anything to help kids have a better life then I'm in.  Kids are the future and they need love and a good start in life.  The fear in the eyes of the young girl on the book cover says it all.  How anyone could look into those eyes and totally ignore that is beyond me.  If I had my way there'd be a death penalty in every country in the world for child abusers.

A bit about myself.

I'm a father of two beautiful girls.  I'm a self employed tiler by day and a writer at night.  I'm editor of The Flash Fiction Offensive and I blog at David Barber's Fiction World.

a little about... JP Reese

JP Reese wrote "The Lost Boy" for the anthology, sharing the tale of a Sudanese boy who survived the genocide there.

What inspired your story?

My story is a bit different in that the main character isn't a "character" at all. He was a student in my summer American Literature class who became one of my heroes after he told the story of his childhood in Sudan to me and to the rest of my class. I am a slow creative writer and knew I'd never have anything fictional or poetic in time to help, but after I heard of the generous offer Fiona and Tom were making in regard to the stories we produced, I knew I had to participate in some small way. David's true story of loss and redemption is my offering.

What makes this cause important to you?

There are so many problems in the world, almost to the point where one is overwhelmed when trying to decide how or where to help or even finding a way to do so. Clearly, any charity that affects the lives of children not only has an immediate impact on particular children, but also has a long term positive impact on society. Tom and Fiona are the heroes of this book. They pointed us in the right direction, and we simply followed.


Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I have been writing in some capacity for most of my life, but only began to write seriously again, after a six year hiatus, within the last two years. I have had poetry, fiction, flash, and creative nonfiction published both in print and online. I have an MFA in poetry and teach English at a small college in Texas. I am an associate poetry editor for Connotation Press: An Online Artifact www.connotationpress.com and THIS Literary Magazine www.thiszine.org. My work is compiled at Entropy: A Measure of Uncertainty jpreese.tumblr.com.

a little about... Fiona "McDroll" Johnson

Fiona issued the Lost Children flash fiction challenge for Flash Fiction Friday and donated £220  ($350 US) personally to Children 1st Scotland, £5 for each story submitted. Her story "Residual Flashbacks" appears in the collection.

What inspired your story?

Having set up the challenge for everyone else, it suddenly dawned on me that I’d need to tackle it myself.
Like everyone else, I love Danielle Tunstall’s photo and I dare anyone to look into the eyes of the child and not feel pain. It always worries me as a teacher that the children who sit in our classes everyday, year after year, will be experiencing some kind of abuse but while in school, where they feel safe, their suffering doesn’t show.

Only many years later do people realize that how they were treated was wrong. Often they have never shared their abuse with anyone but kept it locked away in a secure place in their mind. It’s one of those children that my story is about.


What makes this cause important to you?

There are so many children in society needing help. Abuse is not going away and Children 1st do such valuable work in Scotland but like other charities, they have to work so hard constantly trying to find funds for their projects. I hope through the LOST CHILDREN ANTHOLOGY, we can all help them just a little bit.


Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I live in Argyll, Scotland, which is one of the most beautiful parts of the world. I have two children of my own who love everything musical so I spend a lot of my time taking them from activity to activity throughout the week.

I’ve been teaching 3 – 11 year olds for the past 28 years but in the little spare time that I have I try my best to write crime / noir short stories. I’ve been fortunate enough to have stories published in Shotgun Honey and The Flash Fiction Offensive. Recently Trestle Press has published my first anthology of short stories, KICK IT. I’ve also got stories in two more wonderful anthologies that are coming out soon, OFF THE RECORD and BRIT GRIT TOO.

Thanks so much to everyone who has helped with THE LOST CHILDREN, now let’s make it a success by spreading the word.

Thank you.

a little about... Nicolette Wong

Nicolette Wong contributed "Scream" to the challenge, through Fictionaut. 

What inspired your story?

It's a true story in parts about my aunt who came from China. She acted aggressive toward my family and her own child, which screamed suffering in her heart - she had never dreamed that married life in Hong Kong would mean slaving away in a manual job and raising a child who had learning disorder. My uncle is also a little slow - a fact my aunt didn't seem to fully grasp until they lived together in HK. Out of wounded pride, she pushed everyone away and beat her daughter at any imaginary hint of disloyalty. The episodes about my aunt and my cousin were true events. The children next door were made up.

I was in high school when my cousin was born. The night my aunt went to the hospital, I was staying at their place because of some unfortunate circumstances in my own home. Something to do with debts and threats, and not knowing if I would have money for school after summer holiday. As I watched the couple leave the flat, I thought, "Why bring a tragedy into this world?" because everyone knew their daughter wasn't going to turn out right, her life was going to be hard. And I knew I would never love my cousin.

What makes this cause important to you?

It was an instinctive reaction - I saw the call for submissions and decided to contribute because it's a great cause.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

Writer from Hong Kong. Editor of A-Minor Magazine. Often awake through the night. Aspiring magician at dawn. Like to swim laps, tend to plants and think by the sea. I blog at Meditations in an Emergency.

a little about... Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw

Veronica penned her tale "Lost But Not Forgotten," about human trafficking, for our challenge:

What inspired your story?

When I first saw the picture Fiona had posted for the Flash Fiction Friday prompt, it took me back several years to time I spent in a shelter after I had escaped, and the faces of the young girls there. It still haunts me that I could not help them more; I was so trapped in my own pain and suffering, seeing myself only as a victim too. To this day, I still see those faces.

Why the cause is important to you?

A bad start for a child doesn’t necessarily mean that they will turn out bad when they grow into adulthood, but it does ‘stack the deck’ against them. Humans are an imitative species; we learn by what we experience, how we are treated. A child who is abused, taken advantage of, and neglected, is denied a fair chance at life. No matter how much they overcome, they are still haunted by their past… their future is forever tinged by the mistreatment they suffered as children. This I know all too well.

Children are our future. The adults they become will be shaped in large part by their childhood. Their capacity to love and trust; to honor and respect, not only themselves but others as well; and to realize their full potential hinges so much on the life they have as a child.

Tell us a little bit about you and where to find your writing.

I am a former daycare/preschool worker, now working part time and attending classes. The Pacific Northwest is my home. I was born in Lisboa, Portugal and grew up in the Midwest, the only child of Russian and Portuguese parents. I recently celebrated my 26th birthday and the fifth anniversary of what we laughingly refer to as my ‘bondage’ to Christina Anne Shaw, my partner and my‘forever’. We will celebrate our one year wedding anniversary on the 25th of October.

Writing was never really my strong suit in school, and had it not been for the fact that I would have had to endure my mother’s disappointment, I would have gladly paid others to do my writing assignments. I first began writing seriously a few years ago… as part of therapy. My writing at that time was of a personal nature, focusing on my ordeal and my relationship with my now-wife, Christina. Under the ‘tutelage’ of my therapist / tormenter, who had a major in English, I developed beyond the rudimentary skills that got me through my formal education. Growing weary of talking about myself, I turned my thoughts to writing fiction; having long been a fan of noir. I am a regular contributor to Flash Fiction Friday - A Community Writing Project, and Lily Child’s Feardom – Friday Prediction Flash Challenge. I have been published in PULP METAL MAGAZINE and am sharpening my pencils for this year’s NaNoWriMo competition.

You can find my writing at http://veronicathepajamathief.blogspot.com/ andhttp://veronicathepajamathief.wordpress.com/.

a little about... Vinod Narayan

Vinod wrote the story "World Beyond Words" for the challenge.

What inspired your story?

Inside every image there are hidden thousands of stories, one for every eye that falls on it. This is probably one such story. As writers we sometimes try searching for hope within images of despair, and this is one such attempt. Some pictures are so powerful that you just want to tell something to the world, I think Danielle’s picture was what started it all.

What makes this cause important to you?

As adults we hold a moral responsibility to not be lost in the busy lanes of our own adulthood. Children do not force themselves into this world, we bring them and so protecting them and giving them a childhood to cherish and remember is something we all should be accountable for. I can’t explain how important this selection has been for me. As a writer being part of this anthology gives my words a life and meaning that it probably never had when I first wrote them.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

The true identity of any writer is hidden within his writings, I am nothing and no one till my readers uncover me. Read me and know me at www.vinodnarayan.com and keep connected.

a little about... Kevin Aldrich

Kevin Aldrich joins us with his story, "Everything in its Place" for the anthology...

What inspired your story?
The image, of course, is what arrested and inspired me. The cause is what motivated me to write. I'm inspired by people who are able to overcome the conditions (internal and/or external) in which they find themselves. The strength of the girl in the story astounded me, so I wanted to write about her.


What makes this cause important to you?
I am a father of two: a ten-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy. To think of them being abused makes me want to learn how to shoot a gun. Also, I experienced abuse as a child (not parental, not recurring, and fairly mild, but abuse, nonetheless), and I know many people who have also experienced abuse as children, in some cases in gut-wrenching fashion. To hear their stories infuriates me, makes me sick, makes me lose hope, and also, when seeing them now, inspires me and restores my faith in the human spirit. All of this makes this cause very important to me.


Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.
I live in Reno, NV with my wife and two kids (and two cats and a dog). I've been writing fiction for several decades, off and on, but am just starting to publish new work in eBook format. You can find my blog, which contains flash fiction stories and other writings, at http://www.kevinrobertaldrich.com. You can find my eBook (soon to be plural) on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, iBookstore, and anywhere else that fine eBooks are sold.

a little about... Chad Rohrbacher

Chad Rohrbacher, crime fiction word slinger, joined in with his story "Outside the Dream"

What inspired your story?
When I was young, there was a kid named Eric who lived across the street. He was always in trouble. Generally the trouble was drug related, and even if he wasn’t high, trouble found him. We were both in 6th grade and now that I have kids, it seems so young to be doing some of the things he was doing. For this story, I didn’t just want to write about him, the hopelessness, the desperation, and the bad luck. There is enough of that. In my story, Eric is saved. I think we all need that. Redemption. Hope.

What makes this cause important to you?
I have three daughters. I can’t imagine some of the things these kids go through. I don’t want to. Shoot, I tear up during father daughter commercials. When I hear real stories of what some of these kids have had to deal with instead of just being kids….
It’s such a small thing, to write a story, but hopefully it can help – even if just a little.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.
I’m originally from Toledo, Ohio, though I spent time in Louisiana and South Carolina. Currently I live in NC with my family, dog, cats, fish, hamster, and birds. I teach at NCA&T and enjoy it quite a bit. I have some stories up at Beat to a Pulp, Crime Factory, Silver Blade, Needle Magazine, Twist of Noir, and others. Snubnose Press is publishing my novel, Karma Backlash, next year. You should check out their other titles; I’m in great company.

You can contact me via: www.chadrohrbacher.com or on Twitter as @chadrohrbacher

a little bit about... James Lloyd Davis

James Lloyd Davis gave us a powerful tale from the Vietnam War, that could be any war, entitled "Butterfly Fingers."

What inspired your story?
Butterfly Fingers is a story about orphans in a war zone, about the soldiers who are probably the cause of their condition, but who become, as "occupiers," a source for both sustenance and survival as well as one of the few witnesses to their existence, their plight. Any veteran will recognize the concept of the 'fingers' ... both greedy and needy, the taps on your arms, the reaching, the touching, the pinching even, the gestures ... all of them are a cry for help even when offered in jest, with laughter ... laughter being a human emotional response to desperation. The reaching? It's a response to hunger. It's even a cry for love in a loveless place. Little fingers. Graceful, delicate fingers.

What makes this cause important to you?
War creates widows and orphans. It creates veterans and cripples and head cases. We don't often hear about the orphans, though, and my story attempts to give you a reminder about the fact that they are children. Little things. Innocent. Christ, they're everywhere, die by the trainload daily, from starvation, disease, neglect, and it feels like nobody really gives a damn! Sorry, it makes me angry as well as sad.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.
I'm just getting back to writing after a life-long detour where I was doing an awful lot of other things. You can read about me, my history, even read some of my work at the following web sites:
http://jameslloyddavis.com/ and http://www.fictionaut.com/users/james-lloyd-davis

a little about... Lynn Beighley

Lynn Beighley wrote the short story "Probably, Right?" that indicts our inaction in the face of crushing poverty.

What inspired your story?
I was, for a very short time, a teacher in a very poor school district. Kids would come in unfed, unwashed, and ignored. There wasn't much we could do beyond giving them a few meals, and a calm and safe environment for a few hours a day. Imagining one of them on the street corner was not a big leap of the imagination for me.


What makes this cause important to you?
Every child deserves basic human needs: food, clothing, safety. And love. It's awful enough that we don't offer such things to adults, but even more horrendous that even one child can be forgotten. I hope that this small contribution I've made can help in some way.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I'm a fiction writer stuck in a technical book writer’s body. My stories often involve deeply flawed characters and the unsatisfying meshing of the virtual and actual world. You can find more of my work at http://www.fictionaut.com/users/lynn-beighley and on Twitter as @lynnbeighley. And, of course, I'm working on a novel.

a little about... Paula Pahnke

Paula contributed her story "Mommy is Still Sleeping" to the challenge, and begins writing for Cineawesome next month. If she told you to jump off the Brooklyn bridge, you would.

What inspired your story?

The parameters of the project, alone, were enough to inspire. I think this subject could (and did) bring together a kaleidoscopic group of people who’d all come to the same compassionate consensus, but I was struck, largely, by Fiona Johnson’s plea for "clever stories that don’t rely on tales of abuse or overt violence...” I connected so much with the understanding that not all abuse makes headlines and not all wounds leave physical scars. The story is loosely based on the reminiscence of a friend which had initially begun as banter about the annoyance of older siblings and slowly became the solemn tale of solitude from the point of view of the middle child in a single parent home.

What makes this cause important to you?

I live with my best friend and her 10-year-old daughter and though I don’t have any children of my own, that little spitfire of a girl is a treasure beyond proper description. I see how she approaches the world with such fearlessness and excitement, how she embraces people with such warmth and acceptance and the passion she exudes in everything she does. My biggest fear for her is that in an instant she could be robbed of that. There is nothing more heartbreaking than the moment you see a child lose their innocence before their time. There are so many devastating challenges a child may have to face, whether it’s personal illness, neglect, physical abuse or beyond. I think every young person, from baby to adolescent, deserves the chance to see the world as a wonder for as long as they possibly can.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I remember writing Sweet Valley Girl-style fiction when I was in the fifth grade and having my Father act as editor. I'd always considered myself a writer until it was instilled in me that writing was a hobby; So I thought I'd be a filmmaker instead, and spent most of my college years not actually going to class but exploring the inner workings of film and television sets and traveling everywhere I had a friendly couch to crash on. One day I decided it was time to grow up, finish school and get a real job. It wasn't until I realized that being a grown-up and a creative dreamer weren't mutually exclusive, that I began my creative recovery and I've been writing ever since.

a little about... K.V. Hardy

K.V. Hardy wrote the story "The Fall of Buffalo Bill" which appears in the anthology, due to be released on November 1st:

What inspired your story?
My story was based on the memory I have from my primary school years, mostly on the playground. There was a young boy, in grade 5 or 6, who would wander around the playground by himself. Always, always by himself, and always looking down at the ground and looking so sad. I don't ever remember seeing him smile, and he was always dirty. In class, he never spoke, at least not that I ever remember. Many years later he turned up in a local newspaper scandal having been arrested for child molestation. It really made me think.


What makes this cause important to you?
Children are essentially defenseless, and are easy prey. Not to say they should be removed at the whim of authority (that is a crime in itself), but perhaps more questions should be asked. Having two kids of my own, It makes the subject very important to me.


Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.
I am an illustrator by day, and I try to spin tales in my free time. I finished a novella in July of 2011 and have put it away for awhile before editing it. I have a short story collection that I'm putting together called Pieces of Them, and another novel I'm plotting out now. I'm a proud member of Friday Flash Fiction, though I don't always have the chance to contribute these days. A few of my flash fiction pieces can be read at: www.rabidfiction.com, which will be integrated into my permanent website at www.rabidhorse.com by the end of 2011.

a little about... Sif Dal

Sif Anna Dal contributed her story "Pretty Little Girl" to the challenge:

What inspired your story?

My story was inspired by the many children I see at our local shopping centre with their parents. The parents are often young, and lead tough lives, and their children are the baggage they must carry along with them.
For these children this is the only life they know and they find joys and comforts in their life, seemingly unaware of the pitying glances of bypasses.


What Makes this cause important to you?

I have long been an advocate of children. I have studied child development and helped to run parenting forums and groups based on attachment theory. I see that there is a dualism in how children are perceived throughout
much of society; as both precious and to be protected, but also less sentient because of their inability to communicate their complex needs and emotions. I am keen for the voices of children to be heard.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I am a mother of four boys and a compulsive writer. I have degrees in Communications, Education and Creative Writing and am currently preparing to undertake a Doctorate (doing research in the field of folklore). I post several times a week on my blog "At the Bottom of the Garden" (http://www.wherethefairieslive.com) about life as a writer and mother of  four who also lives with low vision and ADHD - my blog is rather eclectic
but I post bits of writing most weeks.

a little about... Paul D. Brazill

Paul D. Brazill generously joined in with his tale "The Return of the Grievous Angel" and as the photo suggests, he is the definition of noir in a proper dictionary.

What inspired your story?

I think the tables being turned is very satisfying in fiction because it rarely happens in real life. I wanted to have payback in the story!

What makes this cause important to you?
Freedom of choice. It's what life's all about.

A little bit about myself:
You find out more about me at You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?

a little about... MaryAnne Kolton

MaryAnne Kolton's story "We Sustain" goes to the heart of human need and compassion, and she has promoted and supported this effort tirelessly on Fictionaut and elsewhere.

What inspired your story?

First off, I was hugely inspired by the kindness and generosity of the project itself. Tom and Fiona are very special people. As to the story, I remembered reading an article about Salma Hayek touring Sierra Leone. Most celebs jet off to an impoverished country with their retinues, swan around a bit, pose for some photographs and head home. Not Salma Hayek. She involved herself in an extremely personal and loving way.

What makes this cause important to you?

Anything to do with children, the elderly, animals, anyone, anything helpless and in need touches my heart instantly. The thought of children without food, shelter and love - the basics most of us take for granted - makes me angry and determined.

Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

I wrote and submitted for a short time in the late eighties and early nineties. Life and all its complications caused me to to put my work aside. I've been married to the writer, James Lloyd Davis for the past six years and he kept prodding me to write again. Now I'm writing full time and wondering how I lived without an outlet for all that creative energy for so many years. Best of all, most of my work is getting published. Stories or poems have been published or are about to be in the Fall and Winter editions of The Toucan Magazine and in the Winter editions of Wilderness House Literary Review, Anatomy, Lost In Thought, Larks Fiction Magazine and Connotations among others. The one I'm most proud of is, of course, my contribution to the Lost Children Charity Anthology.

You can find me at my blog, Echos & Visions at http://maryannekolton.blogspot.com/ , Fictionaut at http://www.fictionaut.com/ and on Facebook.

a little about... J.F. Juzwik

Joyce F. Juzwik contributed her hard-hitting story "On and On..." to the challenge and it appears in the anthology to be released on Nov. 1st 2011:

What inspired your story?

I grew up around some kids who basically had to raise themselves and sometimes they ended up okay. More often than not however, they ended up in jail, on drugs, or dead. Way back when, no one talked about a lot of things. What went on behind closed doors had to stay there. That way of thinking was then, and still is, so very wrong. We need to be open and bring to light the wrongs being done to our children.

What makes this cause important to you?

Children should never be abandoned, never feel fear, never go hungry, never be abused; yet, this happens every day. Organizations like these help to make the laws stronger to protect our children, they work with families and caregivers, and help those children who have experienced life's horrors.

A little bit about me:

I am a proud mother and grandmother. I am a retired Clinical Research Associate and write full-time. I have had a crime fiction novel (King's Bishop Takes King's Rook's Pawn) and a six-part children's fantasy series (Choices) published by DiskUsPublishing (http://diskuspublishing.com/jfjuzwik.html). My crime fiction/noir stories have appeared in A Twist of Noir, Powder Burn Flash, Pulp Metal Magazine, Pure Slush, and Shotgun Honey. My current project is the first novel in a planned PI series. I participate as often as I can in the flash challenges at Flash Fiction Friday, and I blog about writing crime fiction and horror at jfjuzwik.blogspot.com.

a little about... Gill Hoffs

Gill Hoffs contributed her story "The Premature Ending of Annie MacLeod" to the challenge:

What inspired your story?

I grew up in a small fishing village on the Scottish coast, with tales of lost travellers, witchcraft and shipwrecks. It's hard not to be inspired by a place as rugged and beautiful as that. Exploring further north where there are whole villages of ruins from the Clearances and blackened cooking pots hidden beneath the bracken, I thought about the children lost throughout history, the many names and anonymous babies detailed on surviving gravestones, and the importance of education especially to those in geographically and/or culturally isolated places. The challenge brought all of this fizzing to a head. 'Annie' and 'MacLeod' are names from my husband's side of the family, and when the story 'clicked', I could see her in my mind's eye, and the piece wrote itself from there.


What makes this cause important to you?

Before I had my son, I spent my working life with children who had a diverse range of needs, including ADHD, ASD, and emotional/behavioural problems. Despite their issues, they could be joyous and funny - and I have enormous respect for them. So many children, throughout the world, slip through the systems and struggle with themselves and society. Childhood is confusing enough with a loving, supportive family and good health. It's important to do what you can to help every child find their way through the mixed messages and rules to a happy, healthy adulthood. Charities such as the ones supported by this challenge do just that.


Tell us a bit about yourself and where to find more of your writing.

All I want to do is write. I've won three competitions and been placed in two others, have work included in six anthologies [including this one], online, and in several magazines and journals. For links, please visit my site http://gillhoffs.wordpress.com/ . I'm 32, I live in the North of England, and when I was about 15 I tried to make candles out of plastic explosive - I thought it was a lump of candle wax. Thank goodness we had a soldier over for tea!