Offering help for writers and language learners, this series of posts is a resource for all word lovers. This week’s words: Resign, Really, Dog eat dog, Yuan bei, ‘Resign’ belongs to an odd category of words known as contronyms. A contronym is a word that is its own antonym; a word that has …
Tag: Writing
Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
Blood Red Dust is on the shelves. War Over Dust has just appeared as a Kindle, available from your local Amazon. The launch for that will still officially be 2nd September at Fantasticon in Hull, but you can now obtain your copy as an ebook and get ahead of the pack. Maybe even read/review …
Story in Literary Fiction, by William H. Coles: #BookReview.
Subtitled ‘A Manual for Writers’, this is a scholarly work that attempts to analyse what makes a story ‘literary’ rather than ‘genre’ and advises on how to go about achieving this distinction. Presented in two parts, after a brief introduction to the topic, the book looks first at ‘Structuring the Story’, in which the author …
Continue reading Story in Literary Fiction, by William H. Coles: #BookReview.
The Devil in the Belfry, by Edgar Allan Poe: #BookReview.
Until I read this short, I hadn’t realised how good Poe was at comic writing. This is a tongue-in-cheek dig at the horror genre that had me laughing out loud. Although some of the constructed names are a little juvenile, I suspect they would have been thought quite revolutionary at the time. The story, inasmuch …
Continue reading The Devil in the Belfry, by Edgar Allan Poe: #BookReview.
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #49
Offering help for writers and language learners, this series of posts is a resource for all word lovers. This week’s words: Fable, Assonance, sort of, back against the wall Fable – Roget’s thesaurus lists these alternative words: maxim, fantasy, fable, narrative. Under the sub-heading ‘fable’ are a further 42 replacements, including fiction, tale, …
The Solitude of Prime Numbers, by Paolo Giordano. #BookReview.
Translated from the original Italian, this melancholy novel captures the nuance and subtlety that can so strongly influence a young mind. The wrong thing said, the poor choice made, the misunderstanding never fully comprehended until much later, all act as controllers in the lives of those still forming. This is the story of two young …
Continue reading The Solitude of Prime Numbers, by Paolo Giordano. #BookReview.
Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated
The picture is a small version of a large image that's one of almost 400 I have on a site called Picfair.com. It's a place that sells photographs that can be used for any reason, at very reasonable rates. I'm hoping to earn enough from my work there to improve my website and to obtain …
Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
At the moment, patiently awaiting the first view of the new book. While we wait, I thought I’d make a few comments about why I wrote ‘War Over Dust’. Actually, why I wrote that and its predecessor ‘Blood Red Dust’ and will write the one yet to come in this trilogy. Science fiction attracts writers …
Red Desert – Point of No Return, by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli, Reviewed.
This is the first part of a four book series. I have a certain distrust of such books, if they fail to perform the function of a proper story in each volume. This one, it must be said, is marginal. The ending is ambiguous and designed to draw the reader to the next part, which …
Continue reading Red Desert – Point of No Return, by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli, Reviewed.
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #48
Offering help for writers and language learners, this series of posts is a resource for all word lovers. This week’s words: Eager, Definitely, All talk and no action, Gigil. Eager – Roget’s thesaurus lists these alternative words: willing, active, fervent, excited, and desiring. Under the sub-heading ‘willing’ are a further 71 replacements, including compliant, inclined, …
Why I’m Pretty Crap at Marketing.
On Wednesday, I normally post a piece about progress on the current WIP. But we’re in a col there; War Over Dust is undergoing physical production to prepare for launch on 2nd September at the inimical Fantasticon 2017 in Hull, UK City of Culture. So, to fill the gap, I’m posting about my personal relationship …
Naked Review: How to Get Book Reviews, by Gisela Hausmann, Reviewed.
I bought a copy of this book because I’d previously read/reviewed the author’s previous title, Naked Truths About Getting Book Reviews. This is an update of that book, but it’s also much more. If you’re an author in search of reviews, you really should give this book some time. I discovered aspects of review writing …
Continue reading Naked Review: How to Get Book Reviews, by Gisela Hausmann, Reviewed.
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #47
Offering help for writers and language learners, this series of posts is a resource for all word lovers. This week’s words: Background, Aposiopesis, Almost, A clean slate Background – Roget’s thesaurus lists these alternative words: circumstance, concomitant, accompanying, distance, surroundings, rear, spectacle, knowledge, information, stage set, and ornamentation. Under the sub-heading ‘information’ are a further …
Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.
The time has come. The time is now! Here’s the cover for ‘War Over Dust’, the second in the Generation Mars series. Gabi Grubb’s cover graced book one, and she’s done it again with some fine work for this volume. I love it! To be ready for the launch on 2nd September, make sure you’ve …
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #46
Offering help for writers and language learners, this series of posts is a resource for all word lovers. This week’s words: Weather, absolutely essential, Sesquipedalianism, Natsukashii ‘Weather’ belongs to an odd category of words known as contronyms. A contronym is a word that is its own antonym; a word that has two opposing meanings! This …

