on the page

a writer sat down
to write about a writer
struggling to write
at a retreat deep in Dorset
away from daily distractions
(obviously, that's the appeal of a retreat)

the story takes a nasty turn
when the writer is found
bludgeoned to death
with fingers crushed
between the lid and keyboard
of a MacBook

police say that the weapon
found at the scene
was a remaindered hardback book
about
a writer sitting down
to write about a writer
struggling to write
at a retreat deep in Dorset

a countless number of publishing agents
are being held for questioning.

~

n.b. Who'd have thought that struggling writers writing about struggling writers writing might ever lose its appeal to the publishing industry?

CLP 23/11/2025