"He takes up his spade and digs deep. he heaves up the soil and grunts as he turns it over, he breaks up the clods and sees something white in the dark soil, he pulls his spade aside and there she is, red rosebud lips, hair the colour of straw, and a bonnet gilded with gold......"

Taken from 'Ladies of the Soil.' broadcast by Phillip Jackson on BBC Radio 4 as a winner of The Opening Lines short story competition and published in Crannog Magazine.

The characters in the 'Ladies of the Soil' collection take the reader through moments and events in their lives that seem ordinary but turn out to be significant and surprising. A discovery on an allotment, a meeting on a bench, a drama in a stuffy changing cubicle are a few places where their stories unfold. A game of cards, a walk along the sea shore, and a hospital visit have sinister overtones. In pouring rain, hot sun or biting winds, an old man, a young mother and a bitter neighbour are among the characters to take readers by the hand and lead them into their stories.

Gill Blow lives in Lincolnshire - after a career in community development with an international charity and several years of consultancy and voluntary work focussed on developing opportunities for parents and children, she studied writing at Sheffield Hallam University where in 2010 she was awarded an MA with Distinction and the A.M Heath Prize in Creative Writing.

"Her stories are exceptionally well-crafted and have an emotional truth to them which is often lacking in this form."

• 'On the Bench' was awarded First Prize in the Rubery Short Story Competition.
• Several of Gill's stories in the collection have been published in print and on-line and listed in short story competitions such as Mslexia, Fish and Bridport.
• Gill adapted a number of her stories for the stage and established The Workhouse Players who have performed her short plays at The Old Nick Theatre in Gainsborough and many other venues.

Acknowledgments (last page inside back cover)

My loving thanks to my family and my dear writer friends who have encouraged and chivvied me to gather my short stories into this collection. Many thanks and appreciation to local artist Garry Ashton for creating the stunning cover design. My appreciation to those who have previously published and listed my stories, and my gratitude for the courage and enthusiasm I have gained from writers, would-be writers, and scribblers everywhere.

Dedication (page at front before Contents)

For my dear family, and Jack