As a writer and a reader, I love words. They’re the ingredients that form marvellous works and the means for the storyteller to create wonderful tales. This collection, presented as a series of quizzes interspersed with all manner of facts relating to words, is readily accessible. It’s also a brilliant resource for writers. It provides …
Continue reading A Miscellany for Word Lovers, by Robin Hosie & Vic Mayhew, Reviewed.
In a couple of days, I'll be announcing the launch (soft at present, as the official launch will occur on 19th November at Fantasticon 2016 in Hull). But, to keep you up to date, here's the cover of Blood Red Dust: Volume 1 (Generation Mars). This is my new science fiction novel. Watch this space …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making – Cover Reveal!
I ‘won’ a copy of this book in a giveaway entered online. When the paperback arrived, I was delighted, as I was about to go on holiday and expected it to make good poolside reading. This is an anthology of singularly dark, complex and richly written tales. Most are based on the elements of fairy …
Continue reading The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter, Reviewed.
A series of posts examining similar and dissimilar words to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to see whether they …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #09
There are stories from much of the world here, though the bulk concern East Asia, Australia and South America. The author uses simple everyday language to convey his adventures in often exotic locations. The style is easy and peppered with humour, humanity and the occasional caution. This is travel on a budget, so we’re treated …
Continue reading Around the World in 80 Tales, by Dave Tomlinson, Reviewed.
On 20th September, I wrote a short piece titled ‘Denying Digital Demands’. This is the follow-up. If possible, once a year, I attempt a break from the demands of online life. Usually, it coincides with a holiday away from home. Breaking free from both the everyday and the unending demands of constant connection can refresh …
Continue reading Returning to the Digital Drama
Fantasy merges with scholarship under the masterful guidance of real, original imagination. This book will be pigeonholed as fantasy, paranormal, science fiction, romance, crime, historical and erotic. It is all and none of these: it is something much bigger and better. Playing with time, power, culture and wealth, this novel is at heart a love …
Continue reading Chopin’s Ghost, by Cary Marc Grossman, Reviewed.
I hate to do this, but I must give an honest opinion. I got to chapter 8, 25% of this book, but wasn’t engaged at all. Much of the dialogue held no interest, and there was too much American cultural reference to make me want to read on. I really didn’t care about any of …
Continue reading Take the Body and Run, by Jada Ryker, Reviewed.
Nestling close to Turkey, so you feel you might swim the channel to the mainland, lies the Aegean island of Samos. If you dared that swim, though, you’d probably be swept into the wilder parts of the sea never to be seen: the undercurrents are very strong! Valerie and I hadn’t visited Samos and chose …
Continue reading A Sojourn on Samos.
This is science fiction, but it is also so much more. Time travel with a difference; it’s plausible. The protagonists are wonderful characters, flaws and all. And I love the depiction of the arch-villain who represents everything I hold to be bad in the world. A great story, full of adventure, action and event, but …
Continue reading A Sickness in Time, by M. F. Thomas and Nicholas Thurkettle, Reviewed.
Unusual, intriguing, compulsive; a story with a very different structure. This isn’t an easy read but it is engaging and tells a tale. A form of fantasy, but set in contemporary times in a place we recognise as the USA. Is it crime? Well, sort of. But not in any form I’ve encountered before. Something …
Continue reading The Pink Beetle, by Caspar Vega, Reviewed.
These posts examine similar, and sometimes dissimilar, words in an effort to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #08
Fantasy for YA readers, this tale of magical creatures failed to grab my attention, though I imagine those interested in the lore of elves, satyrs, centaurs, et al, will find enough here. I found the writing style a little stilted and was unable to engage with the characters, so didn’t read past the first quarter …
Continue reading The Birth of Death, by Joseph Macolino, Reviewed.
A remarkable book, this. And one that makes several demands of its readers. It tells the story of a family through a number of centuries, dipping into significant life events and back-referencing to identify the particular family member placed under the microscope. Starting in Hungary and ending in USA, via France and Mexico, it travels …
Continue reading Animal Magnet, by Gary Anderson, Reviewed.
For a short introduction to this series, please click this link. These posts examine similar, and sometimes dissimilar, words in an effort to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #07
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 