New Vague Review of Books

The one where it all started. In this episode we ask: did Roald Dahl's hospitality extend to pies? Does One Day lie about burritos? Just how sexy is John Updike? Would Atlas Shrugged make good kindling? Plus much much more (but not that much more)...

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Call for beta readers!

I finally finished the novel I was writing with my co-writer, Toby, before he passed away. Now I'm looking for feedback so that I can start redrafting in the new year. The Fourth Element is a 86,000 word sci-fi/dystopian novel. It started as a spin-off story from a series I was planning, but then...

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Let’s teach British Values in schools! I suppose that means hypocrisy, then

I meant to post about this when the issue was first introduced, but I was busy soaking up the French sun before I return to rainy ol’ England. So as a result of spats between certain government officials, children should now be taught “British values” in school… but what values are these? Are...

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The Hunger of Rats by Moriah Geer-Hardwick

The night the rats ate my brother Yuri, I slept so soundly his screams didn’t wake me. They tore him apart an arm’s reach away, and I didn’t stir. I’d never slept like that before; without hunger, without pain, without fear. I’ll never sleep like that again. The day before, we’d helped the Ferals...

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It's hard to be a Brit in France

My time in France is coming to a close, and I wanted to write a meaningful post about the experience… but all I could think of were reasons WHY it’s so damn hard to be British in France! So here...

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Curiosity Killed the Pig by Jaz Raffle

I love dystopian art so I just had to feature this. Imagine if eating meat were made illegal and to consider animals as sub-human was akin to racism... This 15 minute film that was made by a Hull University...

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The Unexpected Arrival of the Black Guy

When I told him I’d chosen him as the character in a story, he chuckled and dug his fingers into his bush-like hair. I could feel his right leg vibrating against the table, sending splashes of my tea...

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Milk by P.J. Monroe

This morning, I received an absolutely fantastic piece of flash fiction that's kept a smile on my face all day. The idea is so simple, yet so cunning. I love the humour and the simplicity of the language. It's one of those pieces where I think, "Damn it, why didn't I come up with that?!" “May I...

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Formatting Dialogue in Fiction

Okay, this seems to be one of the biggest errors I see in fiction so I thought I’d have a good at writing a guide for aspiring writers. I mean, the odd slip up is fine, isn’t it? We can forgive just the odd mistake… but what I hate is when writers just clearly don’t know how to format dialogue. It’s...

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I Know Why...Gove isn't going to like this!

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” Now isn’t that something for motivation? You’d think that...

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Gove: Put Down the Chainsaw and Listen.

All this talk about Michael Gove banning “Foreign Literature” from the GCSE syllabus has had me absolutely steaming, but after an hour of the Insanity Workout, I don’t have the energy to be angry and...

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About Me

The real name's Charlotte Josephs, but I've never been quiet enough to be a Charlotte. Instead, most people call me Chaz. I'm an aspiring writer on the path to becoming a publishing professional. I was born in Bradford, United Kingdom, in 1992. My father is a Jamaican immigrant and my mother was born...

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