Author Archives: Mark Hayes

About Mark Hayes

Writer A messy, complicated sort of entity. Quantum Pagan. Occasional weregoth Knows where his spoon is, do you? #author #steampunk http://linktr.ee/mark_hayes

The battle of the bottle bridge

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Originally posted on The Hopeless Vendetta:
By Mark Hayes https://markhayesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/battle_for_the_bridge_of_bottles_by_copperage_dc1793r-fullview.jpg In the aftermath of broken bottles and stamped on night potatoes no one was entirely sure what had happened. No one even admitted to having been there. The most anyone…

Posted in amreading, fantasy, fiction, reads, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Notebooks and Scribblings

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Hello. My name is Mark, I am a note-a-holic… Here’s some very random short scriblings (bare in mind these are not even first drafts, they are at best the equivalent of an artists sketch, trying to get an idea out for a first draft to follow, they are rough and ill-formed. Welcome to some of the odder bits of my mind… Continue reading →

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Bridget Jones is a Werewolf

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Mark Hayes

I will say this though a Bridget Jones Werewolf movie would be a far better date movie, particularly if Hugh Grant got ripped apart by a rabid Bridget in he middle of the third act. Renée Zellweger would make for a cute werewolf I am sure, and she could pull it off, that woman has range… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, big questions, book reviews, humour, indie novels, indie writers, novels, reads, rights | Tagged amreading, bookblog, bookreview, books, reads, sciencefiction | 3 Comments

Lucy and the bear…

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Anyway I have to go now, there is someone at the door, a small figure in a white dress holding a bear. I am not worried by this, not at all… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, books, fantasy, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie novels, indie writers, steampunk | Tagged books, Harvey Duckman, harveyduckman, horror, newbooks, sciencefiction, steampunk, writerslife, writing | 1 Comment

Harvey Duckman Presents Volume 13 Released Today

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Originally posted on Ben Sawyer:
Beneath the trees, where nobody sees, we hide and seek as long as we please… https://markhayesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/harveyduckmanvolume13cover.jpeg The latest volume in the Harvey Duckman Presents series of anthologies is available today. Brace yourself for the unexpected…

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged books, reads, steampunk, writer, writing | 1 Comment

Music to write to, Blood on the page

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Mark Hayes

When I write, I write to music. I have mentioned this before…

The music changes, depending on mood, and what I am writing. But in this case this is a post about music with a theme… Continue reading →

Posted in music, rites, writing, writing music | Tagged music, writerslife, writing, writing music | Leave a comment

Passing Place – a review

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Originally posted on Druid Life:
https://markhayesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/mark-2.jpg (Nimue) Passing Place, by Mark Hayes is a beautiful, bonkers sort of a book. This is speculative fiction, with a story that isn’t easily explained at all without spoilers. What I can say with…

Posted in amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, fantasy, fiction, indie novels, indie writers, novels, opinion, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar #7 The Assignation

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Mark Hayes

This is not so much horror, as it is often coined to be despite note having any traditional elements of horror within it, but a romance for bored housewives. There is an odd, and somewhat convoluted line but there is a line all the same, between this story and 50 shades of gre Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, Dear Edgar, goodreads, horror, Poe, reads | Tagged amreading, books, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, horror, Poe, reads, writerslife, writing | 5 Comments

And then the ride is over…

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Craig Hallam asked me to tell him what I thought of the ending, in that nervous not entirely sure of himself manner of his. The answer to that is simple, I loved it. It is what I expected it would be at the time, masterful. The ending his hero deserved. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, books, fiction, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, reads, steampunk | Tagged amreading, bookreview, books, plup, reads, scifi, steampunk, writing | 1 Comment

The place I write from…

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Mark Hayes

I like my anger, without it I am not sure who I am
I bottle it up in tight little jars. Seal it within myself.
Turn it, mould it, hammer it and temper it.
Then, when it can not be held down any more. When it has been refined to a glowing edge. I use it, and poor it into words.
My anger becomes creation, focused it becomes a positive force Continue reading →