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\u00a9 Close 2 the Bone Publishing<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because I have a dull name, I\u2019ve normally written fiction under pseudonyms.\u00a0 Most of the stories I\u2019ve had published have been horror ones, which I\u2019ve written under the pen-name Jim Mountfield, or fantasy ones, which I\u2019ve written as Rab Foster.\u00a0 However, many years ago, I had a couple of pieces published that didn\u2019t qualify as horror or fantasy.\u00a0 One was a crime story and I suppose the other was \u2018non-genre\u2019 \u2013 what snobby critics approvingly describe as \u2018mainstream literature\u2019.\u00a0 Both were set in Scotland and I thought I\u2019d attribute them to a different pseudonym: \u2018Steve Cashel\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Well, since then, I seem to have specialised in being a horror and fantasy writer and the names Jim Mountfield and Rab Foster have appeared fairly regularly in various short-fiction magazines and ezines.\u00a0 On the other hand, I\u2019d assumed that Steve Cashel had been retired\u2026 Until now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s because I\u2019ve just had a crime story entitled The Folkie<\/em> published in the online magazine Close 2 the Bone<\/em>.\u00a0 As the story\u2019s action takes place in Scotland, in Edinburgh, it seemed appropriate to put Steve Cashel\u2019s name at the top of it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Folkie<\/em> is about three hoodlums tasked with hurting someone who\u2019s antagonised their crime-lord employer.\u00a0 Searching for their victim, they go round several Edinburgh pubs he\u2019s known to frequent.\u00a0 They find to their disgust that he\u2019s a folk-music fan, for the pubs are ones offering live folk music and drawing crowds of enthusiastic folk-music fans, i.e., folkies.\u00a0 And then things take the inevitable Unexpected Turn\u2026\u00a0 The three pubs appearing in the story are based on real ones \u2013 the Royal Oak on Edinburgh\u2019s Infirmary Street, the Tass on the High Street and the Hebrides Bar on Market Street.\u00a0 Though for the purposes of the plot, I changed the layout of the Hebrides\u2019 interior.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Due to its conflicting story-elements, The Folkie<\/em> is a rare beast indeed \u2013 a tale that references Coolio<\/a>, the great Dick Gaughan<\/a> (whom I was lucky enough to see perform once, at Norwich Labour Club in 1998) and\u2026\u00a0 Andy Stewart<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For now, at least, The Folkie<\/em> can be read here<\/a>, while you can access the main page of Close 2 the Bone <\/em>here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a9 Hallmark <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a9 Close 2 the Bone Publishing Because I have a dull name, I\u2019ve normally written fiction under pseudonyms.\u00a0 Most of the stories I\u2019ve had published have been horror ones, which I\u2019ve written under the pen-name Jim Mountfield, or fantasy ones, which I\u2019ve written as Rab Foster.\u00a0 However, many years ago, I had a … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bloodandporridge.co.uk\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/AS-TSS-300x300.jpg\")
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