Author: C. J. Cleghorn

Caitlin is an Australian writer currently residing in Melbourne, Victoria. After engaging in the true anime life of an English Teacher, she decided to lay everything on the line in order to pursue her dream of getting published. She thrives off an inexorable devotion to her characters, her main thrill in life to provoke the same dedication in her readers. Caitlin hopes that one day her stories will transcend cultural barriers and inspire a love of literature throughout the generations.

Rock the Casbah

Tension hung in the air, permeated by the clanging of utensils. Mum and Dad hadn’t looked at each other since we sat down for dinner. I tried to ask safe questions, like ‘how was your day’ and ‘what are your plans for tomorrow’, but I received little more than grunts in reply. I wolfed down […]

A fascination

There was nothing particularly special about him. Average height, averagely handsome, average smile. But all of his amiable qualities combined to create this shining star in the sky. His deep, melodic voice she could listen to for hours. His perfect hair always slicked back, so if ever it wasn’t, she wanted to fix it herself. […]

16.07.1918

*Trigger warning: dead bodies* There’s blood on my hands. I don’t know when it got there, or how. We were shooting, how am I covered in blood? The volunteer-privates loaded the bodies, but I’m still covered in blood. “You alright?” Yurovsky grunts, his eyes narrowed on the dark road ahead. I take a deep drag […]

Bottomless Brunch

INT. RESTAURANT. DAY.Restaurant with tall ceilings and an ocean view. Five women sit at a round table: SANDRA, SARAH, JO, ROSIE AND KAYLA. Their plates are laden with food and glasses filled with champagne–it’s bottomless brunch. They are all 26-year-old friends from high school having a catch up. A tired male waiter lingers in the […]

Sourcing writing inspiration

In my first degree, I studied Creative Writing as a minor. It was the first time that I started a project under the scrutiny of a teacher – and it was not fun. This was during my T.S. Eliot faze, so my idea was to combine his poetic style with a dream concept post-apocalyptic civilisation. […]

My first friend: Vale Ania Walwicz

I don’t usually go to orientations. I’ve spent so much of my life in education, I always felt like I knew what university was about. But I was in a new city this time, Melbourne significantly more lively and intricate than my sleepy hometown, Perth. I went to the Professional Writing and Editing (PWE) orientation […]

2020: oh, what a year.

I started 2020 with a new job in a fancy office and a plan to finish my university studies by 2021. I was anxious going into January. Though I had been excited for my new job, I was quickly realising that it was not the position I thought I’d accepted. Instead of creating learning resources, […]

Fight for Love 1 contd.

…continued. As Becky came through the tennis court gate, Davis stuck out his leg and tripped her. Becky went sprawling in a sea of bouncing balls, skidding her hands on the ground. Davis, Garret and Elena burst out laughing, joined by everyone else who saw the epic stack. My first instinct was to help Becky […]

Fight for Love 1

Chapter One “Fight, fight, fight, fight!”I swallowed hard and clenched my fist. In the corner of my eye I could see Becky, her hands clutched together in a silent prayer. Fiona was beside her, arms crossed and shaking her head. Ynez had already gone home.I took a deep breath and studied my opponent. He obviously […]

For Blood and Fatherland

Chapter One In the early morning of her eighteenth birthday, Tatiana Romanov woke to someone in her room. She had been dreaming of dancing with Alexei – in the ballroom at first, then beside the lake, then deep in snowy woods. Alexei had spun her away and into the waiting arms of Grigori Rasputin. The […]