Getting to Know the #Author

On 29/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Progress4 Comments

I have recently been interviewed on a website to which I contribute a short monthly column. You can find the interview by clicking this link. And the picture above? Well, it's drab January here in UK, so I thought I'd warm us up with a picture of summer in the Greek Islands. And there's a …

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My Route to a Publisher

On 28/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress

Below you'll find a link to a short post from the blog run by the writing group I belong to. It shows, in very few words, how I came to be published instead of only self-published. And it offers the chance of a similar route to other writers. http://www.hornseawriters.com/2018/01/local-publisher-takes-shine-to-hornsea.html

The Rift, by Tess Burnside: #BookReview.

On 25/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review

A touching story of love, betrayal, loss and redemption. Tess Burnside’s tale is told in simple form, perhaps a little too simple in terms of language. I found the repetitive use of ‘she’ to start multiple sentences a little wearing and would have preferred more variety of sentence structure to avoid this. But the characters …

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Mo, by S Pearce: #BookReview.

On 23/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review

An unusual novel, this. The protagonist is a young Muslim boy facing a future he finds unattractive for many reasons. At first, I wondered if this book was meant for children, but that opinion was quickly squashed by the complex language and general tone of the story. The book is aimed, I imagine, at parents, …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 17/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Mars, Progress

Last week’s total was 51,050 words. Today, I reached 61,225, so an increase of 10,175 over this week. Working now on the denouement; the action’s building, the tension ramping up. Still really enjoying creating this story, which I’m hoping you’ll all read. So, approaching the end now. If that turns out to be the case, …

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The Little Blue Book for Authors: 101 Clues to Get More Out of Facebook, by: Gisela Hausmann #BookReview.

On 15/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Reading, Review

This little book, like all of this author’s output, is direct, straightforward, and full of common sense corralled by her personal research and experience. Gisela Hausmann is thorough in her search for useful advice for the users of social media, especially those who write for a living. This book is no exception. Eager to pass …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 10/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

Last week I’d was up to 40481 words in the new book. Today, I’ve reached 51,050, so an increase of 10,569 over the week. Along the way, I’ve invented some new names for locations, introduced a few new characters to take part in the action, and hit on a very slightly different ending, which I …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 27/12/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Last week I had a total of 30,829 words. This week, in spite of the two-day celebration, a book review, a lunch at a local pub, a night spent watching a play on a local stage, and several longish walks through the forest, clearing fallen trees and branches to allow other walkers to get through, …

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Bleak: The First Mission, by Ian Martyn: #BookReview.

On 21/12/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review2 Comments

This short (10,000 words) teaser is an introduction to a new character. However, the story does have a beginning, middle and end, which makes it more satisfying than many such introductory pieces. The future envisaged in this science fiction world is, as the eponymous title suggests; bleak. The character, described as a shape shifter, is …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 20/12/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress1 Comment

Last week I had a total of 18,835 words; this week’s total is 30,829, an increase of 12,000. Not bad, considering the other things that have been happening in and around my life. Only today, we had an interruption in our power supply as the local company came along to update some of the equipment …

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The Little Blue Book for Authors, by Gisela Hausmann: #BookReview.

On 17/12/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Reading, Review4 Comments

Subtitled ’53 Dos & Don’ts Nobody is Telling You’, this short book, in common with all the author’s work, is direct and to the point. You’ll find no waffle here, no filling or puffing. It’s all simple advice, gleaned from personal experience and a research ethic that would make most of us tired just to …

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Night and Day, by Caron Allan: #BookReview.

On 16/12/201716/12/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Reading, Review

https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/card?asin=B01KOSVE3Y&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_VevnAb9AQT40C&tag=stuartaken-21 Sub-titled ‘A Dottie Manderson Mystery’, this is the first in a series, and introduces the eponymous heroin through a fascinating tale set in England in the 1930s. This ‘cosy crime’ novel, with its measure of burgeoning romance, is a good read; something to entertain and satisfy in front of a burning log fire in …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 06/12/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/card?asin=B0749NW6W8&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_qMbkAbQM8TNAS&tag=stuartaken-21 Last week I reported I had 11,985 words. As a result of the notes I made, I’ve now added another 3 characters to the cast of players (I need to add another 5 for future chapters, but I already know their names and have an idea of their natures and ambitions, so I only …

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How to be a Fantastic Writer, by Danuta Reah & Penny Grubb: #BookReview.

On 02/12/201709/12/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Reading, Review2 Comments

https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/card?asin=B076QFZY9S&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_YHalAb3WREYPG&tag=stuartaken-21 Subtitled ‘A Handbook for Writers of Commercial Fiction’, this book is precisely what it says it is. As a reader, I’ve tended to shy away from what I saw as ‘commercial’ fiction, but, in practice, I now realise I’ve actually read a good deal of it. As a writer, my fiction veers toward the …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 29/11/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Dare I say it? Have I scaled the final barrier to creating the first draft? Last week I reported I had 11,985 words. I also noted that certain details were missing from my memory and I needed to read the first two books again to aid my failing powers of recall. I’ve now done that …

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