This series of (sometimes) relatively short posts, illustrated with photographs, records our recent holiday in Italy. Having thoroughly enjoyed it, we wanted to share our experience. You’ll get the full (nearly) story of our travels, activities, and experiences; warts and all, in instalments. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 5 21st September, Friday. Up …
Month: Oct 2018
The #Write #Word? Post 42
Struggling to find the ‘right’ word when you’re writing? Me, too, sometimes. Maybe, in working to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Insouciance, Instantly, In the near future, Insidious/Invidious, Idea. Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Insouciance: means carefreeness, a lack …
Italy: Trip of a Lifetime. Part 3
This series of (sometimes) relatively short posts, illustrated with photographs, details our recent holiday in Italy. Having thoroughly enjoyed it, we wanted to share our experience. You’ll get the full (well, nearly) story of our travels, activities, and experiences; warts and all, in instalments. You can read Part 1 by clicking here, and Part 2 …
The #Write #Word? Post 41
Do you struggle to find the ‘right’ word when you’re writing? Sometimes, I do, too. Maybe, in working to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Habitat, Heavily, Has a requirement for, Hollow tube, Honour. Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Habitat: …
Italy: Trip of a Lifetime. Part 2
This series of (mostly) relatively short posts, illustrated with photographs, details our holiday in Italy. We’d been saving to visit our daughter in Australia, but she’ll be home this December, so we robbed the fund for this rather extravagant holiday. Having thoroughly enjoyed it, we’d like to share our experience. You’ll get the full (well, …
Invitation to Poetry, by Mihai Brinas: #BookReview.
Poetry is such a subjective literary genre that it’s often difficult to reach a conclusion about whether a collection is very good, difficult, obscure, or any of a mixture of reactions. This assortment is by a poet whose first language is Romanian: whether English is his second language is unclear, but the standard of its …
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Another 5 Star, Well, 5 Shrimp, Review!
It's always great to receive a positive review. This one is quite short, but says the things an author loves to hear. You can find the original here. # Ten Tales for Tomorrow Stuart Aken Rating: 5 Shrimps! Stuart Aken’s short story compendium Ten Tales for Tomorrow explores several possible futures. Speculative fiction often has …
The #Write #Word? Post 40
Do you struggle to find the ‘right’ word when you’re writing? Sometimes, I do, too. Maybe, in working to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Gaffer, Grow in size, Green-eyed monster, Genre, Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Gaffer: Roget lists …
#Italy: Trip of a Lifetime. Part 1
Ciao! This will be a series of (mostly) relatively short posts illustrated with photographs. The holiday in Italy was a special treat for us, to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We’ve been saving to visit our daughter in Australia, but she’s coming to the UK this December, so we dipped into our funds for this …
The #Write #Word? Post 39
Struggling to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Me, too. Maybe, in working to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Fantastic/Ordinary, Free gift, Forego/Forgo, Fashion, Antonyms: words that express the opposite of other words can be hard to find, because thesauruses usually give no examples. When lost for such opposites, …
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad: #BookReview.
136 pages Literature/Classics (I read the Penguin Classics version, which includes a chronology, introductions, notes, a map of the region, the author's Congo Diary, an author's note and a glossary of nautical terms.) Written in 1899, some nine years after the author’s visit to the Congo, this novel is clearly inspired by and based on …
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Futurology or Science Fiction?
Is my fiction futurolgy or science fiction? Judge for yourself with a click here.
The Colonel and the Bee, by Patrick Canning: #BookReview.
304 pages Literary/Action & Adventure. How to describe a book that is unique? This is an absurdist fantasy, delightfully written and so enjoyable to read. The author cleverly engages us with his empathetic description of Beatrix’s life (the Bee of the title) in the circus, and her pragmatic acceptance of a life so unjust and …
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Stuart Aken 