Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 07/03/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Mars, Progress

Another week! And things are starting to look up, at last. I’ve managed to get the first 2 chaps of the new book through their next edit. That may not sound like a lot to have achieved in a week, but if you skip down to the very lengthy post you’ll find here, you may …

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Children of the Furnace, by Brin Murray: #BookReview

On 27/02/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review4 Comments

Science Fiction/Fantasy/YA 257 pages This novel tackles some pretty fundamental themes. Told through the experiences and voices of two young people, Will, an innocent boy from a rural settlement, and Leah, a rather more worldly and sophisticated girl from a city, the story is woven through their separate adventures in their different worlds until the …

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Yet Another iMac Fail!

On 23/02/201821/07/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Mars, Progress, Word Choice10 Comments

Regular readers will know I've been having serious problems with my Mac recently. I hoped it had been fixed (at great expense!). But another update was needed this morning and it has failed and set the machine on a downward spiral to utter uselessness, again! There is clearly something wrong with the update system, either …

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Catling’s Bane, by D. Wallace Peach: #BookReview.

On 20/02/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review7 Comments

310 pages. Science Fiction and Fantasy. What an engaging tale this is. It says a lot for the quality of the writing and the compelling nature of the story that I continued to read this despite some pretty difficult issues in my online/working life at the time! I’m a reader who loves books where characters …

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The Book Reviewer Yellow Pages, by Christine Pinheiro: #BookReview.

On 15/02/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Reading, Review

Subtitled ‘A Promotional Reference Guide for Authors and Small Publishers’, this extensive reference guide is full of information and helpful advice. It’s essentially a listing of websites, blogs, service providers and organisations involved in the promotion of books. As the subtitle makes clear, it’s of special relevance to the self-published author and the small independent …

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I Used to Be, by Mary Brown: #BookReview.

On 11/02/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review2 Comments

This wonderfully written novel explores the relationship between two very different women. One is a divorced mother struggling to cope with the loss of a child, and the other a very young single woman coping with a major change in her chaotic life. The main characters are drawn with a vivid clarity that ensures the …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 07/02/201807/02/2018 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

The first draft has been read, notes made, hair pulled out, swear words shouted, mutterings and curses mumbled. And, occasionally, whoops of joy that I’ve actually created a story have been heard. Now the work begins, however. Some chapters are out of synch. My ruminations on this element had me wondering whether to move the …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 31/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Mars, Progress4 Comments

I finished the first draft of the current novel on 19 January, with 63269 words written. For reasons I’m unclear about, I neglected to write one of these posts on the following Wednesday, my regular day for this. I probably forgot in the joy of getting the story on the page! So, my apologies for …

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Getting to Know the #Author

On 29/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Progress4 Comments

I have recently been interviewed on a website to which I contribute a short monthly column. You can find the interview by clicking this link. And the picture above? Well, it's drab January here in UK, so I thought I'd warm us up with a picture of summer in the Greek Islands. And there's a …

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My Route to a Publisher

On 28/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress

Below you'll find a link to a short post from the blog run by the writing group I belong to. It shows, in very few words, how I came to be published instead of only self-published. And it offers the chance of a similar route to other writers. http://www.hornseawriters.com/2018/01/local-publisher-takes-shine-to-hornsea.html

The Rift, by Tess Burnside: #BookReview.

On 25/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review

A touching story of love, betrayal, loss and redemption. Tess Burnside’s tale is told in simple form, perhaps a little too simple in terms of language. I found the repetitive use of ‘she’ to start multiple sentences a little wearing and would have preferred more variety of sentence structure to avoid this. But the characters …

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Mo, by S Pearce: #BookReview.

On 23/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review

An unusual novel, this. The protagonist is a young Muslim boy facing a future he finds unattractive for many reasons. At first, I wondered if this book was meant for children, but that opinion was quickly squashed by the complex language and general tone of the story. The book is aimed, I imagine, at parents, …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 17/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Mars, Progress

Last week’s total was 51,050 words. Today, I reached 61,225, so an increase of 10,175 over this week. Working now on the denouement; the action’s building, the tension ramping up. Still really enjoying creating this story, which I’m hoping you’ll all read. So, approaching the end now. If that turns out to be the case, …

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The Little Blue Book for Authors: 101 Clues to Get More Out of Facebook, by: Gisela Hausmann #BookReview.

On 15/01/2018 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Reading, Review

This little book, like all of this author’s output, is direct, straightforward, and full of common sense corralled by her personal research and experience. Gisela Hausmann is thorough in her search for useful advice for the users of social media, especially those who write for a living. This book is no exception. Eager to pass …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 27/12/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Last week I had a total of 30,829 words. This week, in spite of the two-day celebration, a book review, a lunch at a local pub, a night spent watching a play on a local stage, and several longish walks through the forest, clearing fallen trees and branches to allow other walkers to get through, …

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