Many readers followed my progress on Blood Red Dust, so I've decided to run a similar series of short blogs for the second book in the series. The new book is underway. I have a small core of characters, some of whom readers met in Blood Red Dust, and others new to the series. The …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.
Poetry is more difficult to review than novels or nonfiction. For me it is, anyway. As a writer of prose, often puzzled by the brevity and density of poetry, I feel less qualified to comment on technical aspects. What I can do, however, is describe how the poems made me feel, what I experienced as …
Continue reading Against the Night, by P M F Johnson, Reviewed.
Read this post and you’ll be in good company. Today’s Google search for ‘Writers Help’ brought up 72,300,000 results. One post from this series was the 4th in the list and a second was 9th! The series offers help for writers to make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective by exploring similar …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #16
This collection of letters written by an American novelist to her family and friends whilst living in Hull, England, during 1999/2000, is, essentially, a very personal book. Having said that, it’s also a book for everyone interested in the cultures, habits and attitudes of both nations. I came across it via Facebook; one of my …
Continue reading Letters From Hull, by Linda Swift, Reviewed.
Set on the Moon in some unspecified future, this science fiction novel presents the reader with complex characters that live on the page. For me, as both a reader and a writer, character development and presentation are key to the enjoyment of a book. Here, we have a well-constructed story set in a credible world …
Continue reading Dreagan Star, by Nan Klee, Reviewed.
If you read this post, you’re in good company. I recently did a Google search for ‘Writer Help’ to answer a Quora question. The search brought up 270,000,000 results. 2 of the posts from this series were listed on the first page in the 1st 10 results! A series offering to help writers make their …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #15
A book launch, where we sold out of the publisher’s stock! A meeting with Royd Tolkien and lots of other authors. A gathering of enthusiastic and generous people at an event celebrating science fiction, fantasy and gaming. Plus: Visits to relatives and friends in various locations. Visits to Family Research Centres to gather facts for …
Continue reading Fantasticon 2016 and Other Treats
A series offering to help writers make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective by exploring similar and dissimilar words. A good thesaurus provides substitutes 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 if they actually …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #14
What better place to launch a new science fiction novel than a convention devoted to scifi and fantasy? Well, today (19th November) I’m here at Fantasticon 2016, in Hull, signing copies of my latest book, Blood Red Dust. Set on Mars before the end of this century, it follows the lives of a set of …
Continue reading Today’s Definitely The Day!
A series exploring similar and dissimilar words for ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus gives substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to see if they actually make sense …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #13
From Glen Donaldson on Goodreads: Enjoyed? I positively feasted on this book! It opened a door to a behive-world of thoughty concepts and high-res imagination the likes of which I have rarely seen. The 'frolicksome' character of Jannine deserved a book all on her own! You really have dynamited the vault and poured out the …
Continue reading Blood Red Dust Gains Great Reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.
Let’s face it, the past few days, weeks and months have been pretty traumatic. In UK, the unresolved Brexit situation lingers. Devastating earthquakes, typhoons and hurricanes, have caused destruction worldwide. And a new President Elect threatens changes of real consequence to more than just the USA. So it’s been a pretty torrid time. Hope’s depressed, …
Continue reading A Walk in the Autumn Forest
Launched at the brilliant Fantasticon 2016 in Hull on Saturday 19/Sunday 20 November is my latest science fiction novel, Blood Red Dust. (Tickets here) If you can make it to Hull and pop in, I’d be delighted to sign a copy for you. If you can’t be there, you can still obtain a copy in …
Continue reading Blood Red Dust to Launch 19 November at Fantasticon 2016!
Subtitled, ‘The Story of Muhammad’, this scholarly and meticulously researched book provides answers to many common questions about the Islamic prophet. As an agnostic (It’s impossible for humanity ever to truly ‘know’ whether God exists or not, since such a power must, by definition, be far beyond our comprehension) I have an interest in the …
Continue reading The First Muslim, by Lesley Hazleton, Reviewed.
A series exploring similar and dissimilar words for ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus gives substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to see if they actually make sense …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #12
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 