Tiger Blood, by Penny Grubb, Reviewed.

We were introduced to D.S. Martyn Webber in Buried Deep (an excellent read) but in Tiger Blood he takes centre stage. His home life is complicated by an event he’d rather not remember, but the woman involved won’t let him off that easily. The results of his indiscretion haunt him throughout this superb crime novel. …

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Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

This week’s progress report reveals I’m now 19799 words into the second rewrite. It’s been a bit of a bitty week with various appointments here and there as well as necessary work in the garden, so the writing has not been the only draw on my time. I’m still enjoying the process, and hope to …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #19

This series aims at helping writers find the right words to express their meaning. Your thoughts and comments are welcome. Do you want to inspire readers with joy, stoke their terrors, romance them with love, overwhelm them with horror? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for …

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Inevitable Ascension, by V.K. McAllister, Reviewed.

First, a gentle warning for authors tempted to invite me to review their books: I read this book as the result of a particularly effective ‘pitch’ letter sent via the contact page on this website. Let me remind others eager to do the same for their books that I’ve signed the True Review Pledge. That …

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Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

This week’s progress report reveals I’m now 71847 words into the first rewrite, which takes me 8302 words further than last week, most of this is new work, as the story needed revision due to research. In fact, I’m now writing the final chapter of the current version. However, I was struck by an idea …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #17

This series aims at helping writers find the right words to express their meaning. Your thoughts and comments are welcome. Do you want to inspire readers with joy, stoke their terrors, romance them with love, fill them with horror? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #16

This series aims at helping writers find the right words to express their meaning. Your thoughts and comments are welcome. Do you want to inspire readers with joy, stoke their terrors, romance them with love, fill them with horror? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for …

Continue reading Searching for the Right Words? Tip #16

Progress on the WIP. SciFi in the Making.

This week’s progress report reveals that I’m now 63545 words into the first rewrite, which takes me 17762 words further than last week at this time. I’ve had to take out some of the original story as a result of additional information I’ve gathered from the last lot of research. It’s actually given the story …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP. SciFi in the Making.

How Did the Author Do That?, by Dr. John Yeoman PhD, Reviewed.

This historical novel, set at the very end of the 16th century in London, is more than merely a damned good novel. It’s purpose is to help other authors improve their writing through example. John Yeoman is a well-respected writing tutor, amongst other things. He displays a wicked, sardonic, sense of humour in the story, …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #15

This series aims at helping writers find the right words to express their meaning. Your thoughts and comments are welcome. Do you want to inspire readers with joy, stoke their terrors, romance them with love, fill them with horror? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #14

This series aims at helping writers find the right words to express their meaning. Your thoughts and comments are welcome here. Do you want to inspire readers with joy, stoke their terrors, romance them with love? Or, maybe you need your reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts looks …

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Progress on the WIP

Another week has passed and I've been prodding those keys with vigour. The WIP is now up to 45783, with 4865 of those words new to the story. Several developments are emerging following my research, and the story is twisting and turning with a life of its own. This is the first rewrite, so there …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #13

This series aims at helping writers find the right words to express their meaning. Your thoughts and comments are welcome here. Are you hoping to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love? Or, maybe your story needs the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #12

Please add your thoughts and comments. Are you hoping to inspire readers with joy, arouse their fear, romance them with love? Or, maybe your story needs the reader to sink into despair along with your protagonist? This set of posts looks at ways of influencing mood by selecting the ‘right’ words for the job. I …

Continue reading Searching for the Right Words? Tip #12

Progress on the WIP

12 days since I last gave you an update on the scifi novel I’m currently writing. I’ve been quite busy on a number of things, both domestic and in the writing arena since. Suffice it to say that progress hasn’t been as rapid as I’d hoped. But I’m not beating myself up over that: life …

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