Why That Title? – The Methuselah Strain.

Titles for works of fiction often cause authors a good deal of soul-searching. Ideally, we want to give potential readers clues about content, theme, style, and storyline. Not easy in anything from one to maybe a dozen words. Of course, the best titles are revealed as obvious choices once a book’s been read, so this …

Continue reading Why That Title? – The Methuselah Strain.

#ScenicSaturday 09/July/22

Staithes Harbour, North Yorkshire Coast. Safe behind the ancient barrier of stone, small boats rest on coastal mud in Staithes harbour on the North Yorkshire coast. But, as sea level rises over coming years, will they be forever safe? Will increased water volume break and overwhelm such old defensive walls? Perhaps, if we act right …

Continue reading #ScenicSaturday 09/July/22

The Forever House, by Linda Acaster: #BookReview

This book is very much about relationships, but in a setting with sinister undertones. The very ordinariness of happenings in the introducing chapter allows the following chapters to slowly build tension edged with something initially unknown but seemingly sinister.The book deals well with the nature of loss and grief, without a sentimental overlay and through …

Continue reading The Forever House, by Linda Acaster: #BookReview

Why That Title? – Breaking Faith.

Titles for works of fiction often cause authors a lot of soul-searching. Ideally, we want to give potential readers clues about content, theme, style, and storyline. Not easy in anything from one to, say, a dozen words. Of course, the best titles are revealed as obvious choices once a book’s been read, so this series …

Continue reading Why That Title? – Breaking Faith.

Horse of the Same Colour, by Melodie Trudeaux: #BookReview.

This children’s book is a follow-up to Horse of a Different Colour, and follows the adventures of Megan, Amy, and their fiends and enemies as they encounter more strange magic, ‘swaps’, and discover another foul scheme by the loathsome O’Neill. The story begins with an unexpected encounter between Megan and Jack, the horse with which …

Continue reading Horse of the Same Colour, by Melodie Trudeaux: #BookReview.

#ScenicSaturday 02/July/22

Dry Stone Walls in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. How many hands, over how many years, built such walls? Gravity and skill alone hold those stones together and keep them standing in line. Gathered by hand from fields they surround and define, they keep in sheep and keep out those who do not belong. Centuries …

Continue reading #ScenicSaturday 02/July/22

Shadeward: Expiation, by Drew Wagar: #BookReview.

The story concludes. And what a conclusion! Drew Wagar has created a masterpiece with this quartet of fantasy/sci-fi books set on a distant world in a not-too-distant future. In keeping with the social structure and history of the people starring in this series, he has kept the technological aspects as brief as possible, including only …

Continue reading Shadeward: Expiation, by Drew Wagar: #BookReview.

Walking on the Greek Island of Skiathos

I posted an illustrated piece on Medium. If you're a walker, or you're thinking of visiting the Greek island of Skiathos, you might find it interesting. You'll find it here.

#ScenicSaturday 25/June/22

Coastal Crete. What forces made these hills What cataclysm gouged the vale How many millennia has sea Washed its waves against Solid rock to wear it down And how much longer Will the land remain? # A daily post on natural beauty is hard to sustain if I’m to get on with my normal writing, …

Continue reading #ScenicSaturday 25/June/22

Shadeward: Enervation, by Drew Wagar: #BookReview.

Enervation is the third book in the Shadeward fantasy/science fiction adventure series by Drew Wagar. I read the first two in the series, Emanation and Exoneration way back in 2017, but many factors in my life and that of the writer combined to stop me reading Enervation until now. I’m now starting to read the …

Continue reading Shadeward: Enervation, by Drew Wagar: #BookReview.

#ScenicSaturday 18/June/22

Coast at Kos. Green trees under sun Blue ocean beneath blue sky Nature’s beauty here # A daily post on natural beauty is hard to sustain if I’m to get on with my normal writing, so I’ve opted for a weekly one. Sometimes I’ll add words. I hope you’ll continue to comment, like, and share …

Continue reading #ScenicSaturday 18/June/22

The Accidental Spurrt, by Walt Pilcher: #BookReview.

Subtitled ‘A Mark Fairley Mystery’, this parody of the whodunit will have you smiling, grinning, chuckling, and laughing out loud as the author takes you on a revealing journey with his reluctant PI.There are many characters in this humorous novel, some of whom are deliberate cardboard cut-outs to mock the worst of the genre, but …

Continue reading The Accidental Spurrt, by Walt Pilcher: #BookReview.

#ScenicSaturday 11/June/22

Cretan Coast at Sissi Endlessly crashing Silver shines the sparkling sea Against solid rock # The daily words and picture series is hard to sustain if I’m to get on with my normal writing, so I’ve gone for a weekly one instead. Sometimes there’ll be accompanying words, other times the picture will stand alone. I …

Continue reading #ScenicSaturday 11/June/22

Rewild Your Garden, by Frances Tophill: #BookReview.

Subtitled ‘Create a Haven for Birds, Bees and Butterflies’, this lovely little book gives practical guidance on how to do just that. Written to inform simply and comprehensively, the book also gives reasons for making changes to what are often gardens artificially regimented by tradition, ideas of taste, a desire to ‘tame’ nature, or simple …

Continue reading Rewild Your Garden, by Frances Tophill: #BookReview.

#ScenicSaturday 04/June/22

Forest of Dean A new series starts today and will continue each Saturday. The daily words and picture series has run its course now the pandemic is more or less as under control as it’s going to be. I’d still like to share my love of the natural world with you, but the daily post …

Continue reading #ScenicSaturday 04/June/22