Tiger Blood, by Penny Grubb, Reviewed.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Review

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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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #20

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

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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In, Out; What’s It All About?

On By stuartakenIn opinion, politics8 Comments

This post is for UK and EU readers, so my apologies to the rest of the world. On 23rd June we’ll make a decision that will affect all our lives for a very long time. Can we leave it to those darling sociopaths that style themselves politicians? No, I agree; we most certainly can’t. But …

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Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress7 Comments

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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A Gentle Post About Book Reviews.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Review6 Comments

Tempted to invite me to review your book? I receive a good number of ‘pitch’ letters sent via the contact page on this website. Let me point out to all authors, their agents, and publishers, eager to do the same for their books that I’ve signed the True Review Pledge. That means I write honest …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #19

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

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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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #18

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice2 Comments

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 #18

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

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Review

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.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress3 Comments

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

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Word Choice

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

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice2 Comments

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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Progress on the WIP. SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress

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 …

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

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Review1 Comment

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

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice1 Comment

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

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

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 …

Continue reading Searching for the Right Words? Tip #14