F.R.I.G.H.T. - A short Story for your entertainment: F.R.I.G.H.T. Foster sneered at the novel in front of him. ‘Writers! Shoot the bloody lot if I had my way.’ He leered at the scientist perched on the corner of his desk. ‘Who told him?’ The scientist inclined her head. ‘Not you, was it?’ She bridled, crossed …
Continue reading F.R.I.G.H.T. – A Short Story
A pool in a Greek Hotel. Here's the next short story in my intention to give you one each week for the whole of 2026. I have a couple of anthologies of short stories, too, for those who love such collections. The one that would be most relevant for those who enjoy the one below …
Continue reading A Perfect Solution: A Short Story
I last wrote about the WIP on the 8th of August. How is it possible I’ve allowed all those days to pass without a single catch-up piece?At that time, the MS stood at 122,237 words over 282 pages. As I write this, it stands at 120,705 words over 280 pages, having been through a number …
Continue reading Is There Progress In The Work In Progress?
What is ‘Outline’? Is it a novel, a collection of essays, a piece of philosophy, an account of the physical, mental and emotional wanderings of the gifted author? It is all these things, and more.Whilst I discovered it was possible to put the book down, it was not feasible to do so without finishing that …
Continue reading Outline, by Rachel Cusk: #BookReview
Subtitled ‘A new author’s guide to publishing and marketing for success’ this book was recommended to me by another writer, who thought it might be of use to me. It is! First, I’m a published writer, both self-published and published with a small indie publisher, so, on the face of it, this book could seem …
It’s that time of the year again. Time to bring a spot of horror to the coming night of terrors, eh? 'Julie, dressed just for summer fun, is coerced by controlling fiancé Kasim to visit her ancient Aunt Agatha at her isolated old manor house. Local rumours inform him the Folly in the grounds holds …
Continue reading Halloween: Time For A Tale Of Terror!
This is my seventh post on the progress of my WIP. I suspect it won’t be the last. But I feel I’ve made real progress.The last post was on 19th July, when I was about to start work on Chapter 24 of 40, and the MS stood at 121,716 words over 280 pages. Today, it …
Continue reading How Goes the WIP?
Reviews for books are often overlooked by readers searching for something to read. So, I thought I'd share some short quotes from reviews of my books over the years. This one is a short book, available in digital form only. It'll appeal to those readers who enjoy some spine-tingling, a bite of horror, a delve …
Continue reading Sharing the Love
Author Stuart Aken with his published work. So, how’s the WIP progressing? I think the best description is ‘not as quickly as I would wish’. But I do have an excuse. A few weeks ago, I was diagnosed with a small hernia. Having been advised the waiting list for the necessary op was currently at …
Continue reading More Progress on the #WIP.
My books feature on another author's website that examines the emotional aspect of writing fiction. You'll find this very interesting post here.
Jacques Louis David “Love of Paris and Helen”, from the Louvre Museum in Paris. 22nd June 2025 When I last reported on progress, in May, the book in its developing form, stood as follows: 270 pages, a word count of 116,291, and 40 chapters. As I pen this update after my writing has been much …
Continue reading Further Progress on the #WIP.
The pile of diaries and journals used for some of the background to the novel. Writing is an odd business. In fact, for me, ‘business’ is a misnomer, since I'm told I do far too little to promote my work. I much prefer to spend my time and energy creating stories for others to enjoy.The …
Continue reading Further Progress on the #WIP
Writers Need Good Luck Sometimes. There you are, busily editing the first draft of your amazing, soon-to-be best seller WIP, hoping to move on toward that goal of publication when, from some inexplicable, unrecognised source, two new and unrelated ideas pop into your head. The question then is whether to give these intruders room to …
Continue reading A Spot of Serendipity
Wordcloud selectively based on part of the WIP as it is at present. Writing a book. What does it mean? What does it entail?Fiction, in particular, engages or should engage all the senses. Otherwise, it’s a part story, an incomplete account, a limping, meandering path of words strung together without true feeling. But what does …
Continue reading Further Progress on the #WIP.
This sumptuously illustrated book of 400 pages of visual art and its history is an attempt to show the development of pictorial representation from the earliest daubes and scratches on the walls of caves all the way through to the more modern daubes and splashes that can apparently be counted as art. In between are …
Continue reading Timelines of Art, by DK: #BookReview
Stuart Aken 