362 pagesSatire Fiction/General Humorous Fiction/Humour Humour is so personal. What makes one person laugh can make another frown or fail to respond at all. I’ve no wish to put readers off, but this book, included in the ‘humour’ genre, didn’t tickle my laughter muscles, I’m afraid. That doesn’t mean it will fail to stimulate yours. …
Continue reading National Cake Day in Ruritania, by Mark P. Henderson: #BookReview.
This short story is from the collection in my anthology, Ten Tales for Tomorrow. I present it here for your enjoyment. (If it inspires you to read the rest of the collection, you’ll find links to that at the foot of this post. Enjoy!) Smoke A thin curl of greenish smoke rose from sand ahead, …
Continue reading A Short Story for You.
Way back at the dawn of time, well, in 2014, I entered a contest with ‘Humour’ as its theme. My story, below, was shortlisted and appears in the 2015 anthology of winners and other commended stories. Christopher Fielden is still running this contest. For full details, click this link. This year’s contest closes 30th April …
Continue reading An Eztraordinary Ezperience
49 pages Time Travel Romance This short book has a gentle, naïve charm. It is, essentially, a fairy tale. But a fairy tale for adults. As a reader, I enjoyed the story. As a writer, I found some elements in need of editing, but that’s so often the case these days that it hardly merits …
Continue reading Fated to Meet You, by Despoina Kemeridou: #BookReview.
My desk during editing. If you write by the seat of your pants, you’re a pantster, as opposed to those who write a story from a structured plan; they’re plotters. Both methods have upsides and downsides, and both have devotees, some of whom can be unnecessarily scathing of those in the opposite camp. I’ve been …
Continue reading Perils of the Pantster.
I read this short story by the famous playwright in the hope it would prove a better read than his ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’. My hope was based on ‘The Sphinx Without a Secret’ and ‘The Selfish Giant’, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, this moral tale is similar to the ‘Infanta’, in …
Continue reading The Fisherman and His Soul, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.
Very definitely a story of its time. It’s intended for children, but I seriously doubt many modern kids would read this. There are moral lessons buried here, but they are largely lost in the unnecessarily detailed descriptions of the riches of the royal family featured. Some of these are effectively lists of luxury items and …
Continue reading The Birthday of the Infanta, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.
On the 1st of the month I remind followers here that the creative writing contest table has been updated. (I update it several times each month and I’ll be adding more details in the next few days, but this reminder is posted just once!) If you’d like to be reminded by email, please click the …
Continue reading Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated
What do you know about the war(s) in Afghanistan? This remarkable story of courage, extremism, intolerance, loyalty, betrayal and love will tell you so much.The ‘silent’ heroes of the title are the sniffer dogs employed by American Marines in their hunt for IEDs (improvised explosive devices, if you didn’t know). But this story is about …
Continue reading Silent Heroes, by Patricia Furstenberg: #BookReview.
On the 1st of every month I remind followers of this blog the creative writing contest table has been updated. (I update it several times each month and I’ll be adding more details in the next few days, but this reminder is posted just once!) If you’d like to be reminded by email, please click …
Continue reading Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated
124 pages Dystopian Science Fiction This science fiction novella is listed under the ‘dystopian’ tag. However, it contains the currently essential ingredient, hope, so leaves the reader in an uplifted mood after a journey through some pretty dire times. It’s a well-written piece, with very few editing needs. Most importantly (to me, anyway) it’s easy …
Continue reading Dust & Lightning, by Rebecca Crunden: #BookReview.
We’re all (well, most of us, anyway) stuck at home and looking for something to pass the time in a worthwhile manner. My publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing, always gives 10% of profits to charities nominated by the authors. In this rather unusual time, he’s decided to donate funds instead to the NHS Charities Together, an …
Continue reading Want to Support Our Great NHS Workers?
312 pages Dark comedy-thriller. This book is listed as a dark comedy thriller. I agree with the darkness and thriller aspects, but the comedy escaped me. I was, however, engaged by the characters, the romance, and the story, regardless of its plot holes and occasional slips into the ludicrous. Perhaps it was that part that …
Continue reading Revenge of the Elders of Zion, by Dan Zofer: #BookReview.
373 pages Time Travel/Science Fiction/Alternative History Thoughtful, engaging science fiction with a real handle on a scientific topic is less common than might be expected, bearing in mind the name of the genre. But Overstrike is a great example of how it can be done well. Looking at themes of free will and ethics, and …
Continue reading Overstrike, by CM Angus: #BookReview.
For today’s weekly creative post, I’m giving you a bit of flash fiction. Considering how many people are caring for others in the current climate, I thought a touch of gentle humour on the topic might be appropriate. Enjoy! # Steps Every time! Can’t the old fool decide? If he’d make up his mind, I …
Continue reading Steps: Flash Fiction
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 