The Official Highway Code, by Dept for Transport: #BookReview.

On 16/06/2022 By stuartakenIn Book, opinion, politics, question, Reading, Review3 Comments

Subtitled ‘This guide is for all road users’ this 2022 edition is the 8th revision. I read the 1969 version after learning to drive and taking my test when I was 19. I’m sure there must have been an earlier edition as I recall reading one before that test. Subsequently, I read the 1978 edition, …

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The Accidental Spurrt, by Walt Pilcher: #BookReview.

On 11/06/2022 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review7 Comments

Subtitled ‘A Mark Fairley Mystery’, this parody of the whodunit will have you smiling, grinning, chuckling, and laughing out loud as the author takes you on a revealing journey with his reluctant PI.There are many characters in this humorous novel, some of whom are deliberate cardboard cut-outs to mock the worst of the genre, but …

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Lessons from our Peers.

On 03/03/202203/03/2022 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Prizes3 Comments

Short Stories in Print As writers, we often rely on our peers for advice, comment, even insight relating to our output. I suspect there are few other occupations as mutually supportive as the writing community. I recently submitted a short story, written some years earlier, to a small print magazine, Scribble, that publishes quarterly. The …

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10,000 Comments on My Blog!

On 21/02/2022 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress38 Comments

Is 10,000 comments some sort of milestone? I don’t know. But it seemed worth celebrating, so I thought I’d put up a photo of my published books in a stack. The picture in the background is of a modern sculpture depicting a man reading. I came across it in a park in Lyme Regis, Dorset.Do …

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Short Stories; Do You Read Them?

On 03/12/2021 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Literature, Reading27 Comments

I suppose we should first decide what constitutes a short story. Roughly, because these things tend to be a matter of opinion rather than fact, a short story is a work of fiction with a word count somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000. So, do you read them? It’s clear lots of readers do. I belong …

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An Excess of…Loyalty

On 16/11/2021 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, opinion, politics, question2 Comments

Loyalty, such a ubiquitous word. But what does it mean? To whom or to what are we loyal? We all, hopefully, understand the value and positivity involved in loyalty to our partner; that’s an essentially personal quality. And, equally hopefully, we recognise the worth of loyalty to a supportive family. But beyond these familial allegiances …

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‘An Excess Of…’ Launched Today!

On 25/10/2021 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Progress, Reading9 Comments

An Excess Of... Last year, I spent most of lockdown researching and writing a new novel. ‘An Excess Of…’ is now available in paperback and digital form, published by Fantastic Books Publishing. Synopsis: Six random strangers escape drowning when their ship is wrecked, only to be dumped on a desert island, hundreds of miles from …

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Today’s #PictureOfTheDay and #writingprompt: 24/Sept/21

On 24/09/202109/09/2021 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Photography2 Comments

Pictures to entertain, bring joy, and, if you wish, inspire you to create with words or images. Whether that’s a poem, story, play, novel, memory, essay, painting, drawing, sculpture, or another photograph is up to you. Please don’t feel obliged: you can just enjoy the pictures. My image is untitled to avoid directing anyone. If …

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Today’s #PictureOfTheDay and #writingprompt: 22/Sept/21

On 22/09/202108/09/2021 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Photography19 Comments

Pictures to entertain, bring joy, and, if you like, inspire you to create with words or images. Whether that’s a poem, story, play, novel, memory, essay, painting, drawing, sculpture, or another photograph is up to you. Please don’t feel obliged: you can just enjoy the pictures. The image is untitled to avoid directing anyone. If …

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