Press Pack

Please contact Stuart Aken via email by using the simple contact form on this website, via this link.

If you are considering writing about, promoting, or marketing his work, please feel free to use all photographs and texts on this page.

50 word Bio:

Stuart Aken is a novelist and short story writer who likes to entertain and enthral. He writes romance, fantasy, science fiction, horror and others. Messages lie as undercurrents to his tales for those willing to discover them but the story always comes first. His work has won competitions and awards.

100 word Bio:

Born against the odds to a widowed mother in a neighbour’s bed, and raised in an old railway wagon perched on a crumbling cliff, Stuart Aken is a writer with something to say. He’s an author who refuses to be handcuffed to one genre. His stories and novels include romance, thriller, humour, erotic lit, horror, science fiction, memoir, and fantasy. His attitude is that the finished story selects the genre, rather than being shackled by it. Multi-layered, his work can be read on different levels, according to the wishes of the reader. His latest work is a science fiction trilogy set on Mars.

150 word Bio:

Stuart Aken was born against the odds, to a recently widowed artist, in a neighbour’s bed. Husband, father, novelist, playwright, short story writer, blogger, poet, word wrangler, and romantic open-minded optimistic agnostic radical liberal, he’s been described as sometimes dangerous to know. Raised by a mother who knew what love meant and a stepfather who lacked imagination but loved and educated him in things natural and worldly, he has a unique take on life. His fiction, the only place he ever bends the truth, is, after love, his raison dêtre. He refuses to be bound by the shackles of genre and includes romance, science fiction, fantasy, erotica, horror, memoir, and something that may be considered literary fiction among his novels and short stories. Writing in a multi-layered style, he often hides a message for those willing to seek it, but his love of storytelling shines through all his work.

300 word Bio:

Stuart Aken, born against the odds, to a recently widowed artist, in a neighbour’s bed, counts himself lucky to be a writer. ‘What other job allows you to daydream, record your personal thoughts, make stuff up and then deliver it to avid readers?’ Finding the idea of genre too limiting, he refuses to stick to one particular type of story, so writes his tales first and only then seeks the label that most closely matches it. He’s written science fiction, horror, literary fiction, romance, fantasy, erotica, thriller and memoir and won’t be pigeonholed.

Writing without pre-planned plots, he composes text on the fly, sometimes sitting down with no idea in his head and turning out a short story in an hour or two of concentrated key-thumping. Character is his driving force and he loves to get to know his players before he places them in challenging situations, allowing them to determine the route the story takes. ‘Telling stories allows the writer to live vicariously through the lives of his characters. Writing is an adventure that opens up endless opportunities for the imaginative author. Emotionally’, he says, ‘the empathetic use of imagination can be very demanding. But it’s such a satisfying way to create.’

He recently retired from 49 years of varied employment, tackling everything from farm labouring to retail management, photojournalism to staff training. Now he lives with his wife, Valerie, who acts as a beta reader, in a village in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, where he daily walks in the trees he can see from his study. Their daughter, Kate, currently in Australia, visits home between bouts of overseas employment. The surrounding countryside provides many opportunities for peaceful strolls during which he allows his imagination to wander and develop ideas. His latest work is a science fiction trilogy set on Mars.