• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to footer

Morgan Delaney

Dark, strange and fantastic fiction

  • Newsletter
  • The Latest News
  • Books
  • My YouTube Channel
  • Merch & More
  • About/Contact

Down With Tutting Mothers!

July 27, 2026 by Morgan Delaney Leave a Comment

A vintage black and white photo of a boy asking a man, "You want me to drink that?" pointing behind him to something offscreen.

Some people are naturals.

Taking the tram – again! I know! – a confused 12-year-old was pacing the tram from end to end. Sometimes he’d stop to stare at someone. Not aggressively, but as if unsure whether he knew them. Sometimes he’d stop to check under the seats.

Then more pacing.

This was a boy in urgent need of something he couldn’t find.

But with plenty of attention.

Everybody watched to see what he’d do next (and hope he didn’t do it near them).

You could have flossed your teeth with the tension.

Finally, he spoke.

“I want a beer,” said the 12-year-old.

Well, although he didn’t get one, we can all learn two things from that honest lad.

  1. What excellent marketing! He didn’t waste time asking everyone individually for a beer. He got our attention, then made his demand once. I expect John D. Rockefeller and Warren Buffett were the same back in the day.
  2. He knew what he wanted and went for it, regardless of what anyone thought.

Mothers tutted on that tram, but he didn’t care. He wanted beer, and they weren’t his target audience.

When it comes to books, I’m all over lesson 2.

If I wanted prizes and respect, I’d write dismal tomes about people contemplating death and divorce.

But I want silly books, so that’s what I’m writing, tutting mothers be damned!

All I’m missing is a soupçon of that 12-year-old marketing genius’ chutzpah to help me sell them.

Or Professor de Glube’s determination.

In The Forgotten Creatures, he only wants two things.

Marry Mrs Sniffacre, and dig up the massive catapult buried in the graveyard for some strange reason.

​Find out why here!

Chat soon,

Morgan

P.S. More Morgan? Get 2 of my books free here: morgandelaney.info/newsletter

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X

Filed Under: Flash fiction

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

My Alli Affiliate link

Alliance of Independent Authors

Privacy policy

Tags

Alfie Brown (1) Aunty Donna (1) Bandcamp Friday (4) Black Static (1) Cheese (1) Chelsea Wolfe (1) Cloister Fox (1) Crime (29) Danger Slater (1) Dälek (1) Fantasy (27) Flash fiction (152) G.M. White (1) Gary Numan (1) Horror (53) Horrorish Film Festival (1) Humour (20) IDLES (1) J.F.Penn (1) Joseph Boys (2) Julianna Baggott (1) Killer lists (15) Kingsley Amis (1) Mark Stay (4) Max Booth III (1) Nicole Cushing (1) Old Man Gloom (1) P. G. Wodehouse (2) Paul Tremblay (1) Pumpkin (1) Random Hand (2) Realism (33) Richard Cheese (2) Robert Shearman (1) Science fiction (3) Serial (2) Stewart Lee (3) Thank (2) The Deadlands (1) The Flatliners (1) The Plenum (11) Till I'm Bones (1) Tim Waggoner (2) Torture Museum (1) Zeal & Ardor (1)

Stalker’s Corner

Follow me on BookBub Subscribe to my YouTube channel Follow me on Goodreads

Copyright © 2026 · Author Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in