#Free #Ebooks from 3rd to 9th March

I'm taking part in the Smashwords Read an Ebook Week by discounting all my books on the site to make them free! The deal lasts from 3rd to 9th March, so you'll need to visit and download quickly to take advantage. Much better to get them here, legitimately, rather than from some seedy pirate site, …

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Halfway to the Stars, by Marcy Sheiner: #BookReview.

Fiction/Transgressional Fiction 97,610 words It appears I downloaded this book, through Smashwords, in 2014 and then completely forgot about it. I discovered it whilst tidying files in my ‘Digital Editions’ folder a few weeks ago. As this is a book about female eroticism, I’ve no idea how I came to it, except that the title …

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The #Write #Word? Post 59

Word cloud created through wordart.com In your writing, do you sometimes have problems discovering the ‘right’ word? I do. In trying to improve my own work, maybe I can help you. This is the penultimate post in this series. A final one will follow next week as a conclusion, indexing all the previous words I’ve …

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The #Write #Word? Post 58

Word cloud via wordart.com In your writing, do you sometimes have problems discovering the ‘right’ word? I do. In trying to improve my own work, maybe I can help you. There will be one more normal post in this series, next week, and then a final one the following week as a conclusion. What will …

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One Summer in Italy, by Sue Moorcroft: #BookReview.

368 pages Genre Fiction/Holidays Intending to visit Italy, I bought a copy of Lonely Planet’s ‘Italy’. Along with other recommendations resulting from that purchase, Sue Moorcroft’s ‘One Summer in Italy’ came up. I thought it might be fun to read this as I lay sunbathing by the pool at the latter end of our visit. …

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Yum,Yum, Grub in My Tum! #Poetry

Here’s a daft poem I wrote as light satire about the pretentiousness of certain eateries. You know, those places that seem to believe that food is more important than so many other aspects of life; the food porn-brokers, the food snobs, the food worshippers. I’ve presented this in the form of a menu card, just …

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The #Write #Word? Post 56

When writing, do you have problems discovering the ‘right’ word? I do, sometimes. In trying to improve my own work, perhaps I can help others. Today’s words: Wit, Warn in advance, Words fail me, Word. Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Wit: Roget lists these subheadings; …

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#Readers, #BookReviews, #Bookbloggers.

Do you read? Love books? I love readers; you’re my raison d’etre as a writer, the reason I write stories. So, I want more. One of the best ways of helping other readers is through reviews. So, here’s the deal: I’ll send you a copy of any of my books in exchange for an honest …

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The Verona Exchange, by Lauren B. Grossman and Bernard Jaroslow: #BookReview.

242 Pages Thriller/Mystery I picked up a copy of this book, as I’d enjoyed Lauren B. Grossman’s first in the series, The Golden Peacock. That dealt with a mystery surrounding the holocaust. This book deals with a kidnapping by the Italian Red Brigade. Although this is essentially a thriller, great attention has been given to …

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The #Write #Word? Post 55

Word cloud via wordart.com When writing, do you have problems discovering the ‘right’ word? I do, sometimes. In trying to improve my own work, perhaps I can help others. Today’s words: Vague, Very, Vemödalen, Vacuum. Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Vague: Roget lists the …

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A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin: #BookReview.

304 pages Children’s/Science Fiction and Fantasy It may seem like an odd time of life to be reading children’s literature. In my defence, I bought this book ‘blind’ as one of a number I ordered after being gifted a book token for my 70th birthday. I’d heard of Ursula Le Guin, had her books recommended, …

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The #Write #Word? Post 54

Word cloud designed via wordart.com When writing, do you find it hard to discover the ‘right’ word? I do, sometimes. In trying to improve my own work, perhaps I can help others. Today’s words: Unhinged/Sane, Uselessly, Until such time as, Uniform. Antonyms: words that express the opposite of other words can be hard to find, because …

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Game Changers of the Apocalypse, by Mark Kirkbride: #BookReview.

Science Fiction/Post-Apocalyptic Horror 299 pages As far as I can recall, I’ve never read a book in the post-apocalypse genre before, so it’s probable there are recognisable conventions of which I’m unaware. That said, any book should generally be accessible to all readers if possible. This one took some getting into for me. Once I …

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Generation Mars: Video Trailer.

This brilliant trailer was produced by Ramon Marrett for Adiq, via my fabulous publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing. Enjoy. BLOOD RED DUST: As Earth plunges into total climate chaos, will new bases on Mars rescue humanity from extinction when religious extremists threaten to destroy them? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1909163635/?tag=stuartaken-21 WAR OVER DUST: Who will win on Mars when violence …

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The #Write #Word? Post 52

Word cloud created via wordart.com Find it hard to discover the ‘right’ word when writing? So do I, sometimes. In working to improve my own writing, maybe I can help other writers. Today’s words: Shriek/Whisper, Spliced together, Stubborn as a mule, Science. Antonyms: words that express the opposite of other words can be hard to …

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