Blog posts from all categories back to 2012. For earlier posts, go to the “dusty archive“.
Giant robots and gargantuan monsters haven’t exactly had a good run over the last couple of decades. Pacific Rim combines both; I didn’t have high hopes, but I was happy to be proven wrong. After its third weekend in the cinemas the film has struggled to break even at the | Read more…
Along with the rest of Britain, I’ve had a bit of a dry spell recently. A blogging dry spell at least. Hopefully the two aren’t linked and it won’t start raining as a result of me posting an update. This is a bit of a general update and “what’s coming | Read more…
Last week I discovered that, after a long history of being free to access, Duotrope.com had moved to a subscription based model. If you’ve never come across Duotrope before it is a searchable database of markets for written work, with added features such as a way to track the submissions | Read more…
Some thoughts on the use of song lyrics and other copyrighted material in fiction or other media. This weekend the subject of quoting song lyrics in works of fiction came up in conversation with another writer. He wanted to know whether he would be allowed to quote lines from a | Read more…
The last two months have been a crazy rush to get Great Escapes, Volume 1 edited and printed, hence the reason this blog has been somewhat neglected. But, the hard work is nearly over; the book is here! There are a few technical niggles to iron out with the eBook | Read more…
Ideas are not something I usually struggle with, but sometimes I like to challenge myself to write something based on a prompt purely because it wasn’t my idea. I’ve found in the past that some of the stories I have created through trying to find a story within a prompt | Read more…
While I’ve come across advice in the writing world that pushes reluctant writers to eventually take the plunge and try submitting their work, it is far outweighed by that desperately trying to instill some sort of reality check. I have never been one to expect I will “get good” at | Read more…
When I review a book I like to think about what I can learn from it. A few weeks ago I reviewed Crimes Against Magic by Steve McHugh, and it got me thinking about the pitfalls of making your hero too powerful. Nate Garrett, centuries old sorcerer assassin is a | Read more…
Crimes Against Magic is the debut novel by Steve McHugh. Set in modern day London but with a host of historical and fantasy characters, the story creates a world in which the ancient and the modern don’t seem so far removed. Magic still exists and there are things that haunt | Read more…
This morning I got up at 7:50am, watched the news (well, BBC Breakfast, but close enough) while eating my breakfast. I worked crunching number for an education organisation (I’m an office temp) for six hours, bar a half hour lunch break. On said lunch break I read a few more | Read more…