Why That Title? – An Excess Of…

Titles for novels often cause authors difficulty. Ideally, we want to give potential readers clues about content, theme, style, and storyline. Not easy with only a few words available. The best titles become obvious choices once a book’s been read, so this series is largely for those who’ve yet to read the books featured. Why …

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#ScenicSaturday 27/Aug/22

Ancient beech trees line a track in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. I walk these woods daily with my wife. We value them, their beauty, their amazing variety, their ability to give us spiritual renewal, their peace, and their contribution to the continuation of life on Earth as they produce life-giving oxygen and devour …

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#ScenicSaturday 20/Aug/22

Fresh water supporting wildlife, a cloudless blue sky bringing light for growth, mature trees supporting wildlife and producing oxygen as they consume carbon dioxide. These are the things we are destroying with our greed, complacency, and inaction. # I’m posting a weekly photograph of our wonderful world here, but I’m also Tweeting one each day, …

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Tamed, by Alice Roberts: #BookReview.

368 pagesEvolutionary Psychology, Philosophy of Physics Subtitled ‘Ten Species the Changed Our World’, this book is a tremendous work of scholarship, intelligence, insight, and sheer common sense. Professor Roberts, the history and science buff often seen leading BBC TV documentaries, has pressed into service all her wide knowledge into describing how ten of the crops …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 24/Apr/22

For how many million yearshas the headland facedunquiet seasfor how many more will itstand unchanged indifferentto humanity’s brief span? +++++++++++++++++ Much of humanity lives among natural wonders, though many millions are also forced to dwell in ugly, overcrowded, unsanitary slum cities, of course. Some people ignore and others actively dislike natural beauty, even working to …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 17/Apr/22

Guardians of the gravel, but how will they fare when sea levels rise? +++++++++++++++++ We live among natural wonders. Some people ignore and others actively dislike such beauty, even working to destroy the only world we can inhabit.These daily posts are to encourage joy in nature, respect for the natural world, in hope of inspiring …

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The Reviews Continue to Come In!

Had another couple of reviews of ‘An Excess Of…’ so far this month. As writers and readers will know, reviews are never easy to get, unless you’re willing to spend a fortune on them, but paid for reviews have never struck me as a genuine way to discover the true value of a book.I’ve copied …

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Planet Crunch, by Richard Brock: #BookReview.

150 pagesEnvironment, Climate, Extinction. Subtitled ‘The Life (or Death?) of Planet Earth’, this extensively researched book was written by a man who has worked for 35 years at the BBC Natural History Unit, often working with David Attenborough. So, someone who has personally witnessed the decline of nature all over the world.The nineteen chapters are …

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An Excess Of…Competition?

Picture via Pixabay Humanity is sometimes credited with evolving through competition. While this may be true of the need for early humans to compete with other wild animals for food and shelter, the need to compete with other humans was less an issue in those early times as there were far fewer of us around. …

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An Excess Of…Stuff? 

Black Friday: what is this event? Is it really anything more than an encouragement to buy more stuff we don’t need? Is everyone who's so eager to ‘save’ money even aware of the recent COP26 discussions where world leaders finally began to understand the dangers facing humanity? So, what has consumerism to do with the …

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First review for ‘An Excess Of…’ Gives 5 Stars

The first review has come in for my latest novel. As most readers and writers know, reviews are difficult to come by, so it’s always worth celebrating when they start to arrive. This one is on Goodreads (many reviewers avoid Amazon these days for many reasons). You can read it by clicking here. But to …

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My Publisher’s View of my Latest Novel

I thought I'd share my publisher's view of my latest novel 'An Excess Of...' with you. I love a succinct summary of my creative work. An Excess Of Stupidity Proved Too Much For This Climate CampaignerFantastic Books Publishing Author Stuart Aken has deserted the far reaches of the universe and the fantasy lands of his …

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An Excess Of…Gifts.

In just ten weeks millions of gifts will be exchanged around the world. Before that, in less than two weeks, much money will be spent on ephemeral trappings associated with Halloween. More money will be literally sent up in smoke as fireworks a few days later. And, all over the world, regardless of creed, chosen …

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An Excess of…Population

A crowd in Rome. One aspect of the modern world that contributed to my urge to write the latest novel was the issue of population. It doesn’t feature much in the story, more of an aside, but was definitely an underlying stimulus to the idea of the book. In common with many people, my major …

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A Perfect Planet, by Huw Cordey: #BookReview.

324 pagesPhysical Geography/Oceanography This book, a physical reminder of the excellent BBC TV series of the same name, was written by the Series Producer. Subtitled ‘Our One in a Billion World Revealed’, it is an account of the journeys made by the team of camera operators, production staff and other essential crew during the making …

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