Tatty Cat and the Wonderful Whiff, by Mella May, Illustrated by George Utton: #BookReview.

74 pages, Children’s Books A riotously illustrated book for children telling a hilarious tale of mischief in rhyme that works surprisingly well.Children will love this story of the tatty cat in pursuit of a whiff of such tempting delights he’s willing to risk all sorts to get to the source and dine on it. The …

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Makeover, by Barbara Lorna Hudson: #BookReview.

304 pages, Contemporary Romance. Insightful, and based on personal knowledge of the areas covered in her writing, the author explores themes of academic snobbery, domestic abuse, insecurity, and the search for love in an uncertain world. Having experience in both social care and academia, Barbara brings reality and honesty to this tale of the search …

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The WIP is Done.

At the end of Friday, 11th August, I posted here on the progress of the WIP. At that stage, the book was on chapter 30 and the word count was 71,521. Yesterday I completed the WIP with chapter 33 and a total of 80,799 words. Now I need to do some detailed research for events …

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When Research Rules the Roost

Presumably all writers of fiction start with research for their chosen themes, subjects, periods, and locations. I know I always do. For my latest WIP I decided to set the story within the period around the first part of my own life. This was, after all, a time I knew well. Or so I thought.On …

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After the Barricades, by Jessica Stilling: #BookReview.

468 pagesHistorical Literary Fiction The world, it seems, changes little in spite of protests about injustice and inequality. This novel, set essentially in the Paris student riots (I prefer rebellion, protests, political activism) of 1968, relates the times as seen through the eyes of some students and an artist who understands and befriends the workers. …

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Artificial Intelligence, or #AI: Just Sayin’

Recently, there’s been a sudden increase in interest surrounding Artificial Intelligence; in particular the fear of potential dangers of this development have come to the fore. The subject has long been popular with science fiction writers, and I’ve had a go at it in a couple of my novels. In ‘The Methuselah Strain’, my story …

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The Five Feathers (The Filey Chronicles, Book 2) by Janet Blackwell: #BookReview.

The second book in the proposed trilogy of The Filey Chronicles continues the story begun in The Bridge and the Butterflies, which I read and reviewed after being introduced to the series by a writing friend.The story carries on the fast-moving, emotionally challenging trip of adventure combined with multiple life questions. Meg, the main player, …

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WIP First Draft Complete!

On 28th February I announced the start of a new novel and revealed I’d completed the first chapter at 1,725 words. It was on 26th March I updated progress with words reaching a total of 48,079. And on 4th April I let you know I’d completed 70,169 words but had run into a constructional problem …

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Enduring Love by Ian McEwan: #BookReview

A thriller written by a master of the language. Not for the faint-hearted or those lacking in education, this story relates the series of events that lead up to the stalking of the main character by a seriously disturbed and potentially violent would-be lover. The stalker is obsessive and deluded and follows the pattern of …

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A Seasonal Short Story for You. Enjoy!

The picture above is by Larry Krause, on Flikr It is replicated using the Creative Commons License The story is entirely free and posted just below this brief intro. I have a free seasonal story on my site already, but it’s a humorous piece about New Year, and has been on there for some years. …

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Houses Borders Ghosts, from The Fiction Desk: #BookReview.

Nine short stories from contributors to The Fiction Desk appear in this, the 14th anthology published by this independent publisher of short stories and edited by Rob Redman.This is an eclectic collection of tales on no particular theme or treatment. It seems unnecessary to individually review these stories, and to synopsise them would be to …

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Between Before and After, by Jessica Stilling: #BookReview.

If you’re seeking an emotional see-saw you could no better than try this book. The ups and downs are so beautifully handled, and the characters so wonderfully drawn, I was engaged from the very beginning, and remained so to the end.On the surface, this is the story of a filmmaker, one of the ‘arty’ types, …

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#MABLE: Author Interview with Meghan Purvis

Meghan Purvis You’re all cordially invited to join in the fun of the Massive Autumn Book Launch Event (#MABLE) organised by my publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing. The books in the event are hugely discounted, so it’s a great opportunity to try some new and exciting fiction. It began on 17th September and runs to 31st …

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#MABLE: Author Interview with Stuart Aken

Stuart Aken You’re all cordially invited to join in the fun of the Massive Autumn Book Launch Event (#MABLE) organised by my publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing. The books in the event are hugely discounted, so it’s a great opportunity to try some new and exciting fiction. It begins tomorrow, 17th September, and runs to 31st …

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The Wages of Dying, by Meghan Purvis: #BookReview.

Set in prohibition America, around the start of WW1, this vampire novel has all the horror, tension, gore, and folklore lovers of the genre will desire from a story. But it has much more than these expected elements.We follow Ruby, somewhat of an enigma that, to avoid spoilers, I won’t explain, and the reluctant doctor, …

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