Poster for the film "Booted". A brown walking boot with red laces is seen paused in the act of walking out of frame to the right, from a grassy area. Below that is the text: "Booted Love, Loss, & Walking Boots Starring Simon Alison & Olivia Edwards with music by Sound of the Sirens" In the top right is a set of laurels for the 2026 running of the Folkestone Film Festival indicating that Booted won an Honorable Mention. The logo for Sword and Fiddle Productions is in the bottom right.

Great to have our first set of festival laurels to put on the poster. Thanks to Folkestone Film Festival for the Hono(u)rable Mention!

It's taken three years, but it's great to see this finally out in the world.
@simonalison.bsky.social @amysparkes.bsky.social you're the only people I can find on here!

Booted Booted takes the form of a parent's message to their child, narrated while remembering the course of their life via the medium of their footwear. Produced by…

We made a thing! Great to have this out in the world now!
vimeo.com/swordandfidd...
#film #shortfilm #devon #walking #loss

It was filmed in 2024 across various locations in South West England, and rooted further in the region with contributions from BOVTS graduate actor Olivia Edwards; Exeter singer-songwriters Sound of the Sirens; and Devon-based voice-over artist and actor Simon Alison 3/3
#ShortFilm #Devon #Walking

Booted takes the form of a parent's message to their child, narrated while remembering the course of their life via the medium of their footwear. Produced by Tiverton-based Sword and Fiddle Productions, 2/3
#Film #FilmMaker #FilmMaking #ShortFilm #Devon #Walking

Poster for the film "Booted" The main image is of a rough grassy area. A single brown walking boot with red laces on the end of a black-trousered leg is captured in the action of stepping to the right, going out of frame. On the left from top to bottom are: The production company branding for Sword and Fiddle Productions - a white circle with a blue fiddle, upon which a sword makes the strings and neck, with the company name in dark grey to one side. The film title - "BOOTED" Text - A film by Amy & Alyn Sparkes Text - Starring Simon Alison & Olivia Edwards with music by Sound of the Sirens

Had a bit of fun this morning making a wide poster for our short film. It's released on Sunday afternoon on vimeo.com/swordandfiddle if anyone's interested. 1/3

#Film #FilmMaking #ShortFilm #Devon #Walking

Thank you so much for awarding 'The Players Act 1' 3rd place overall! And congratulations to all the other winners - fantastic titles!

An open magazine, showing an article titled 'The New and the Old' with a headshot of Amy Sparkes. A copy of her novel 'The Players Act 1: All The World's A Stage' is placed on top of the open magazine.

Amy Sparkes smiles and stands in a small attic room holding a magazine open with an article titled 'Speak up!'

An autumnal cover of Writing Magazine October 2025 issue, next to an orange cup and saucer filled with tea!

A double-whammy in this month's (October) Writing Magazine: a feature about the story behind the story for my #historicalfiction novel "The Players Act 1: All The World's A Stage", and an article about the importance of voice in #picturebooks!

@writersonline.bsky.social
#writingcommunity
#kidlit

Watched first 2 episodes. Splendid acting. Well done, Looking forward to the others.

To do list - watch more short films - meet collaborators for my next project - connect with the commissioning team at Exeter Phoenix oh... 😂 I'll just go to SWIF's short open mic and do that all in one go 🔥 Short film open mic ⏰ Fri 29 Aug at 7pm 📍 Exeter Phoenix 🎟️ Free swif.club

Filmmakers, is your to do list like this?

🎭LAST DAY OF #Players1715 BLOGTOUR🎭

Thank you to @mjporterauthor.bsky.social for the review on this last stop.

Thanks to all the bloggers for arranging interviews, reviews and guest posts. And a big thank you to @rachelsrandoms.bsky.social for organising the tour.

#BookSky
#histfic
🎭🥁🎻💀⚔️🎲

The Players - Act 1: All the World's a Stage by Amy Sparkes - Q&A #blogtour #authorinterview Left on the Shelf Book Blog Book Reviews Book Information Recommendations Writing Reading Books for Children Books for Adults Books for Teens Fiction

I'm thrilled to have #author @amysparkes.bsky.social join me on the blog today. Amy will be talking about her new book, The Players - Act 1 (All the World's a Stage!).

@rararesources.bsky.social

Got to spend a couple of days assisting with the filming of two lovely cars for a documentary about a chap building his own take on the two.
2/2

Incredibly tiring but rewarding two days just gone. As part of the biggest crew we've worked with so far (Director/Producer, Camera Operator, Sound Recordist, Drone Operator, Camera Assistant (me), Camera-Car driver, 2x "Hero" drivers and a Location Manager)
1/2

It's always nail-biting when you send something new out into the world, especially a 'first'. #Players1715 is my 1st book for adults & 1st #historicalfiction. Grateful for encouraging words from early readers.
www.amazon.co.uk/Players-Act-...

#Shakespeare #BookReview #BookSky
Cover: Sarah Christie

🎼Listen to the Players Playlist and find out more about the book here: adults.amysparkes.co.uk

📚You can order from your local bookshop
Or Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Players-Act-...
Or Kobo: www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...

Thank you from me and the players. Here's a health to the company! 🍷

🎭🥁🎻🎲⚔️💀❤️‍🩹

Huge thanks to cover designer Sarah Christie, editor @catcamacho1.bsky.social proof-reader Ally Wilkes @unheimlichmanvr.bsky.social, sensitivity reader @pridereads.bsky.social, and everyone else who has given feedback or encouraged me with this book along the way.
#Players1715

Today the curtain rises on my adult #histfict debut: THE PLAYERS ACT 1: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE.
These broken but beautiful players have been with me a long time. I've walked beside them, listened to their pain, chuckled at their antics and despaired at their decisions for many years now.
#BookSky

Things We Do For Love A loving couple meet with a counsellor to resolve a seemingly insurmountable problem in their relationship.

A year ago today we filmed "Things We Do For Love" with @sarahlidstone.bsky.social, Josh Alexander, & Molly Jackson. It was a lot of fun, shot in half-a-day at @liznojanbooks.bsky.social and brings a little fun to a debate that still rages to this day.
vimeo.com/965527235
#shortfilm #indiefilmmaking

This was an intriguing video to make. How do you communicate the feel and tone of a novel in a teaser video?

"Totems" representing some of the characters seemed the easiest way but getting that stopwatch to spin at the right speed and face forward as it landed was a small exercise in frustration!

The Players Act 1 ebook by Amy Sparkes - Rakuten Kobo Read "The Players Act 1 All The World's A Stage" by Amy Sparkes available from Rakuten Kobo. How far would you go to save what you truly love? Devon, 1715. When society doesn’t understand you, and you...

It'd be lovely for more people to know about it, maybe sign up to the newsletter and perhaps even pre-order the DRM-free ebook.
www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DY8CM3LX

#booksky

Amy Sparkes Readers The Bookshop at the Back Of Beyond; illus - Ben Mantle An irregular newsletter for readers and fans of Amy Sparkes. Initially a writer of children’s fiction, Amy is now beginning to release books for ...

My wife @amysparkes.bsky.social is releasing a new book at the end of July and is premiering the first chapter in her newsletter this weekend.
buttondown.com/AmySparkesAu...

#booksky

Can you support Film Stories, and our independent work? We're clickbait-free, AI--free, and trying to do things the right way. We don't always get it right, but we give it a damn good try. Any help and amplification is hugely appreciated...

buff.ly/E2VVrhQ

If you'd like a sneak-peek at my debut adult novel, "THE PLAYERS ACT 1: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE", my next newsletter for readers is coming out in a few days and I'm sharing the opening chapter: buttondown.com/AmySparkesAu...
Just over two months until the book is published! Yeek!
#BookSky 🎭⚔️🥁🎻❤️‍🩹

An actor and cameraman in the process of setting up an outdoor shot on short, rough grass. We can only see the actor from the waist down and they're wearing brown walking boots with red laces and black cargo trousers. The cameraman (Me) is facing away from the shot and we're looking over his shoulder at the camera on a thick neckstrap with a shotgun mic mounted above it. The camera is pointed at the walking boots.

An actor lacing up walking boots viewed from above with the actor sitting and facing towards the camera. We can only see the boots, trousers, hands, and forearms of the actor. The boots are brown with red laces that have little flecks of black in them, the trousers are black cargo-style and the arms are bare - one thumb has the remains of some black nail polish on.

OK, realising I've done a few of these "this time last year posts," but I still find them educative to put together.
So a year ago, we were filming some parts of our short film "Booted." Still in post-prod while we sort some sound and VO (we know who we want, but availability is the thing).

That Sinners soundtrack's a bit good, isn't it? But then we've been fans of Rocky Road to Dublin (amongst others) for some time..
youtu.be/cQ5ZRRxO3O8
You can hear our version on C-Sides!

#TheLongestJohns #RockyRoadToDublin #SinnersMovie #FolkMusic