My desk during editing. If you write by the seat of your pants, you’re a pantster, as opposed to those who write a story from a structured plan; they’re plotters. Both methods have upsides and downsides, and both have devotees, some of whom can be unnecessarily scathing of those in the opposite camp. I’ve been …
Continue reading Perils of the Pantster.
I read this short story by the famous playwright in the hope it would prove a better read than his ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’. My hope was based on ‘The Sphinx Without a Secret’ and ‘The Selfish Giant’, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, this moral tale is similar to the ‘Infanta’, in …
Continue reading The Fisherman and His Soul, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.
Very definitely a story of its time. It’s intended for children, but I seriously doubt many modern kids would read this. There are moral lessons buried here, but they are largely lost in the unnecessarily detailed descriptions of the riches of the royal family featured. Some of these are effectively lists of luxury items and …
Continue reading The Birthday of the Infanta, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.
What do you know about the war(s) in Afghanistan? This remarkable story of courage, extremism, intolerance, loyalty, betrayal and love will tell you so much.The ‘silent’ heroes of the title are the sniffer dogs employed by American Marines in their hunt for IEDs (improvised explosive devices, if you didn’t know). But this story is about …
Continue reading Silent Heroes, by Patricia Furstenberg: #BookReview.
124 pages Dystopian Science Fiction This science fiction novella is listed under the ‘dystopian’ tag. However, it contains the currently essential ingredient, hope, so leaves the reader in an uplifted mood after a journey through some pretty dire times. It’s a well-written piece, with very few editing needs. Most importantly (to me, anyway) it’s easy …
Continue reading Dust & Lightning, by Rebecca Crunden: #BookReview.
We’re all (well, most of us, anyway) stuck at home and looking for something to pass the time in a worthwhile manner. My publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing, always gives 10% of profits to charities nominated by the authors. In this rather unusual time, he’s decided to donate funds instead to the NHS Charities Together, an …
Continue reading Want to Support Our Great NHS Workers?
For today’s weekly creative post, I’m giving you a bit of flash fiction. Considering how many people are caring for others in the current climate, I thought a touch of gentle humour on the topic might be appropriate. Enjoy! # Steps Every time! Can’t the old fool decide? If he’d make up his mind, I …
Continue reading Steps: Flash Fiction
389 Pages Literary Fiction. All serious works of fiction should carry at least one underlying message. Some manage this with such subtlety it barely makes a conscious impression on those not seeking it, others blare it out loudly, covering their story with a condescending layer of preaching. Many lie somewhere in between; a reasonable balance …
Continue reading Somebody Else’s Troubles, by J.A. English: #BookReview.
When I wrote The Methuselah Strain, one of my major themes was the influence of sex robots on the human population; in particular, the dangers involved in employing such robots fitted with Artificial Intelligence. Now scientists have decided to voice and share their own fears in this regard. It’s really rather gratifying when you discover …
Continue reading When Your #SciFi Predictions Come True!
345 pages Time Travel/First Contact/Science Fiction. The Galaxy Series Book 3 This is the third in a series. The book is a worthy work, but I found it slow to start. That may be because I haven’t read the previous two. Once the first chapters are done, the story starts to move at a good …
Continue reading Divided States of America, by Aithal: #BookReview.
798 pages Thrillers/Private Investigator Mysteries/Murder Fiction This collection of crime novels puts together the first three books in the Annie Raymond series: Like False Money, The Doll Makers, and The Jawbone Gang. For those unfamiliar with the writing of Penny Grubb, I will simply say, ‘You’re missing out on some very good crime writing.’ Having …
Continue reading Falling Into Crime, by Penny Grubb: #BookReview.
480 pages Political Fiction/Dystopian/Literary Fiction Not for the faint-hearted. And, definitely not for the perennially depressed. But this is a book that should be read by everyone (I’m conscious of the contradiction). Set in a future UK too close for comfort, it examines the inevitable consequences of unfettered capitalism. The writing style is clever, sometimes …
Continue reading 84K, by Claire North: #BookReview.
It occurred to me recently that I’ve never explained what drove me to write the books I’ve had published. My hope was the intention would be clear from the story. But it seems that’s not very realistic. I know what motivated me, so I can hardly judge how effectively that motivation was transferred to the …
Continue reading Why Did I Write Breaking Faith That Way?
This short novel takes an unusual idea (one deserving a lot more attention) and sends it on a fascinating journey. I’ll make it clear now that I’m agnostic, so carry none of the usual religious hang-ups about discussing the force, entity or whatever name you wish to give to the mythical being generically known as …
Continue reading God on Trial, by Sabri Bebawi: #BookReview.
494 Pages Science Fiction/Children’s/Colonisation In this quite extraordinary novel we have a piece of science fiction that could well become a literary classic. The combination of figurative language, timeless universal themes, and adventure shown through the eyes of carefully realised and presented characters places this work high above many in the genre. In fact, it …
Continue reading Exiles, by Daniel Blythe: #Book Review.
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 