The Pink Beetle, by Caspar Vega, Reviewed.

On 15/10/201615/10/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Review

Unusual, intriguing, compulsive; a story with a very different structure. This isn’t an easy read but it is engaging and tells a tale. A form of fantasy, but set in contemporary times in a place we recognise as the USA. Is it crime? Well, sort of. But not in any form I’ve encountered before. Something …

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The Birth of Death, by Joseph Macolino, Reviewed.

On 11/10/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Review

Fantasy for YA readers, this tale of magical creatures failed to grab my attention, though I imagine those interested in the lore of elves, satyrs, centaurs, et al, will find enough here. I found the writing style a little stilted and was unable to engage with the characters, so didn’t read past the first quarter …

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Animal Magnet, by Gary Anderson, Reviewed.

On 09/10/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction4 Comments

A remarkable book, this. And one that makes several demands of its readers. It tells the story of a family through a number of centuries, dipping into significant life events and back-referencing to identify the particular family member placed under the microscope. Starting in Hungary and ending in USA, via France and Mexico, it travels …

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Looking for the Best Word? Tip #06

On 30/09/201620/09/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice1 Comment

For a short introduction to this series, please click here. These posts look at similar, and dissimilar, words to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. …

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Looking for the Best Word? Tip #05

On 23/09/201620/09/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

For a short introduction to this series, please click this link. These posts look at similar, and dissimilar, words in an effort to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true …

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Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

On 18/09/2016 By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

At the start of this week, my publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing, sent the edit notes for the MS of the novel set on Mars. A particularly perspicacious editor had spotted a few inconsistencies and had queries on a small number of issues. She was pleased to note the MS was unusually free of typos, …

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Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

On 28/08/201630/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Progress4 Comments

Close to the end! I spent a little over two days on the read aloud edit. That’s a demanding task both physically and mentally, but it’s the only way to detect certain mistakes and find those passages that fail to read well. Correcting the errors I found has taken another couple of days. The …

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Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

On 21/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Almost there! The end of another intense week. The MS now stands at 86,671 words, which is a reduction of 5,316 on last week’s total. All that has now been edited. I’m awaiting the verdict from the beta read, which I should have in final form in the next couple of days. Then, after …

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Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

On 14/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress5 Comments

Another week gone, and the MS stands at 91,987 words, which is a cut of 4340 from last week’s total. It’ll reduce a little further as the rest of the piece is edited. I’ve now edited 64,687 words, which is an increase of 30,902 on last week. And my beta reader’s dealt with 45,469 …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #37

On 12/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice

This series aims to help authors express the full meaning and emotional content of their fiction. As writers, we seek to inspire readers with joy, stoke their terrors, romance them with love, overwhelm them with horror, inflame their passions. This set of posts examines how we might influence mood, illustrating how word choice and …

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My New Kindle has Arrived!

On 11/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Reading, Review6 Comments

My old Kindle expired a while back. I replaced the experience with my iPad, but that entails reading from a backlit screen, which isn’t comfortable over long periods, and it’s pretty poor in bright sunshine. So, I took the plunge, removed the padlock from my wallet, and shelled out for a new eReader. Whilst I …

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Searching for the Right Words? Tip #36

On 09/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Grammar, Word Choice2 Comments

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FantastiCon 2016: A Convention with Added Bite!

On 07/08/201609/08/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Fiction, Fundraising

The annual SF/Fantasy/Gaming/Cosplay/Music event FantastiCon 2016, will take place on 19th & 20th November at the Guildhall in Hull UK! Why am I telling you this? Because I’ll be there! Signing books, socialising, meeting readers and possibly doing a reading (TBA). I'd love to meet you there. This is the third year of this convention …

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Last Week of #eBook Bargains

On 25/07/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction

Final reminder that you can save money on eBooks during July. And a further reduction on my own books for the last week of this promotion. Smashwords is a publishing platform for all formats of eBooks. I’ve several books with them. July is their promotional month, when authors who wish to participate offer discounts. This …

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July is eBook Bargain Month on Smashwords

On 05/07/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction2 Comments

Smashwords, for those readers who don’t know, is a publishing platform for all formats of eBooks. I have several books with them. And the great news is that July is their promotional month, when those of us who wish to participate offer discounts on our books. This gives readers the opportunity to buy our books …

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