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.
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.
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!
Examining similar and dissimilar words for ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus suggests substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all these are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to see if they actually make sense is …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #11
https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/card?asin=B01M6A07BE&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_ERalAbGW2P26R&tag=stuartaken-21 A scary collection of thirty-two horror shorts, every one of them exactly 666 words long! These Fantables were mostly the result of a contest run by the publisher, Fantastic books Publishing, but include some tales by selected invited professional writers. The stories run the whole spectrum of horror writing from the traditional through to …
Continue reading 666, An Anthology of Horror Shorts, Reviewed.
My latest science fiction novel, Blood Red Dust, is now available as an ebook as well. You can get a copy by clicking here to buy from Amazon. The paperback version was mentioned in a previous post. As readers of my blog, you get to know about the new book before the official launch. That’s …
Continue reading SciFi Made: Now Available in All Formats!
It’s here! It’s there! And you can have it everywhere! Okay, a little ott, but, hey! I’m excited. My latest science fiction novel, Blood Red Dust, is now available and you can get a copy by clicking on this link. At present, it’s available in paperback; the ebook will follow shortly: I’ll let you know …
Continue reading SciFi in the Making: Now Available!
Examining similar and dissimilar words to find 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 suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Putting alternative words in the same sentence to see if they actually make sense …
Continue reading Looking for the Best Word? Tip #10
In a couple of days, I'll be announcing the launch (soft at present, as the official launch will occur on 19th November at Fantasticon 2016 in Hull). But, to keep you up to date, here's the cover of Blood Red Dust: Volume 1 (Generation Mars). This is my new science fiction novel. Watch this space …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making – Cover Reveal!
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 