I’ve spent the better part of three years on a project, writing a novel each year, and found the void at the end of that process strangely debilitating. So, what do I do know? Fantastic Books Publishing launched Blood Red Dust, book 1 of the Generation Mars series, on 18th October 2016. War Over Dust, …
Continue reading The #Writing’s Done. What Now?
I was recently given a chance to have my reviewing activity revealed in charts and diagrams. I thought it would be interesting, for me, and for my readers. Here's the link to the result on BookSirens.
Struggling to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? You’re not alone. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help other writers. Today’s words: Xanthippe, Xeric, Xenophobically, Xenophobe. Words beginning with ‘x’ in English are few, and almost all stem from Greek. In fact, in my copy of the Shorter Oxford English …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 31
It’s done! It’s out! It’s available to buy (and review)! Right now! Okay, so an overindulgence in apostrophes. I’m excited. Delighted. Eager. The book is no longer a Work In Progress, so this is the last post in this series. There’ll be more on the book, of course: I’d like everyone to read it, after …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
Religion and Spirituality/Islam 156 pages Subtitled ‘Conversations, Questions, And Answers About Islam’, this slim volume is an introduction to the Muslim’s view of Islam. It’s also an attempt to separate the actions of extremists from the doctrines on which they base those actions. And an effort to educate non-Muslims in the way the religion is …
Continue reading What Would a Muslim Say?, by Ahmed Lotfy Rashed: #BookReview.
Biography/Medical Memoir 177 pages. I came to this extraordinary piece of writing via an unusual route. The village hall hosted a short dramatic presentation by ‘New Perspectives’ introducing the book using visual aids, a soundtrack and the skills of two actors to explain how the book came into being. Although that drama was flawed, it …
Continue reading A Fortunate Man, by John Berger, illustrated by Jean Mohr: #BookReview.
Struggling to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? You’re not alone. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help other writers. Today’s words: Waggish/Serious, Wetly, With reference to, Weather the storm, Writer. Antonyms: words that express the opposite of other words can be hard to find, because thesauruses usually give no …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 30
History 672 pages Art historian, philosopher, raconteur, academic, or proselyte? Simon Schama’s great tome carries elements of all these. One reviewer, quoted on the cover, adds ‘self-indulgent and perverse’, and I’ve no argument with those. There are undoubted instances of the self-congratulatory, ‘I know a lot more than you’, and the academic show-off in this …
Continue reading Landscape and Memory, by Simon Schama: #BookReview.
As I write this, on Thursday, 26th July, nothing new has happened regarding the book. It may be that, by the time this is posted, something has changed. But I’m offline until 1st August, so this post has been scheduled to appear at the normal time. I’m continuing the short series of posts on why …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
Time for your monthly reminder that the writing contest table has been updated. It lives on the ‘Resources’ page. Some contests are free to enter and offer prizes as high as £20,000 (novel), £500 (poem), £2000 (review), $3000 (essay). The table currently offers contests with entry dates from August 2018 through to 28th February 2019. …
Continue reading Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated
Struggling to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? You’re not alone. Maybe, in trying to improve my own work, I can help other writers. Today’s words: Vacillate, Vacillate back and forth, Viable/Feasible, Vellichor, Virgin. Synonyms are alternative words that might say exactly what you’re trying to convey. Vacillate: Roget gives us the following headers: change, …
Continue reading The #Write #Word? Post 29
Reference/Writing/Editing 312 pages Subtitled ‘More Descriptions, Overused Words and Taboos’, this is a companion to the first book with the same title. Like that initial volume, this is an essential for any serious writer. Language is our lifeblood, and words are tools we employ to express our thoughts and ideas. If we’re to do this …
Continue reading The Writer’s Lexicon: Volume II, by Kathy Steinemann: #BookReview.
As there's still nothing new to report re the WIP, and therefore no true progress on the book, I thought I’d continue along the lines of last week’s post. This time, I’m looking at the content; in particular, the inclusion of sex and nudity in my work. So, if you’re at all prudish, narrowminded, easily …
Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
Contemporary Fiction 310 pages Subtitled, ‘Be Careful Who You Trust’, this piece of modern fiction is not the usual material I read. I dislike labels, but I do wonder if this is intended more for the ‘Women’s Fiction’ market. The story is well presented and the characters particularly well developed. I did have some difficulty …
Continue reading Befriended, by Ruth O’Neill: #BookReview.
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