Author Archives: Mark Hayes

Unknown's avatar

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

Old Bugs: The Complete Lovecraft #9

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Lovecraft tells the tale of ancient star beings lurking under the oceans. Insect intelligence watching human from the outer planets. Strange monsters in the darkness waiting only to pray upon those who are foolish enough to call attention to their … Continue reading →

Posted in Lovecraft, retro book reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Memory: The complete Lovecraft#8

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Mark Hayes

There are short stories, and there are shorter stories, and then there are micro stories. ‘Memory’ is the shortest of all H.P.Lovecraft tales, a flash fiction masterpiece before the term flash fiction had even been conceived. It is also among one of the most beautiful, insightful and chilling…. Continue reading →

Posted in Lovecraft, retro book reviews, rites | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Beyond the Wall of Sleep : The Complete Lovecraft #7

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Mark Hayes

“I have an explanation of sleep come upon me.” – Shakespeare From the first of the dreamland mythos in ‘Polaris’, we move straight on to a second and much lauded ‘Beyond the walls of sleep‘, it has inspired heavy metal bands … Continue reading →

Posted in Lovecraft, retro book reviews, rites | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Letting the other half govern (finally)

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Back in 2013, on my previous blog, I wrote a post called ‘Women in politics, politics in decline’. It contained a lot of facts and figures, mainly because it started out before that as part of an essay for the … Continue reading →

Posted in opinion, politics, rights | Tagged | Leave a comment

Polaris : The Complete Lovecraft #6

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Mark Hayes

‘Polaris‘ takes it name from the north star, that single static point in the ballet of the night sky around which all else appears to revolve. The star so beloved of sailor and navigators in general due to its constancy. … Continue reading →

Posted in dreamlands, Lovecraft, retro book reviews, rights, rites | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Worth more in scrabble…

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Mark Hayes

“England and America are two countries separated by the same language!” attributed to George Bernard Shaw, or possibly Oscar Wilde, or purely apocryphal, as its one of thsoe quotes no one is entirely sure about even the QI elves aparantly…. U … Continue reading →

Posted in books, opinion, pointless things of wonderfulness, writes | Tagged | Leave a comment

Self-Publishing Stigma

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Mark Hayes

I did an interview in November last year, just after the release of Passing Place, in which I got asked this question:   “Would you say there is a stigma to being self-published?“ Of all the questions I was asked, … Continue reading →

Posted in opinion, publication, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson : The Complete Lovecraft #5

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Mark Hayes

This is not our usual Lovecraftian fare. Indeed it is no more, and no less exactly what the title claims it to be, all be it a fictional account written by a narrator who claims to be over two hundred … Continue reading →

Posted in Lovecraft, retro book reviews, rites | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Dagon : The Complete Lovecraft #4

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Mark Hayes

H. P. Lovecraft was born, raised and spending the majority of his life in Providence, Rhode Island. It is perhaps therefore not a great surprise that the mysteries of the sea features so often in his fiction. Even now, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Lovecraft, mythos, retro book reviews, rites | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Tomb : The Complete Lovecraft #3

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Madness and the ravings of the mad are themes that Lovecraft visits time and time again in his work. It’s a subject that is close to his heart. He himself having suffered a nervous breakdown in his formative years, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Lovecraft, retro book reviews, rites | Tagged , | 1 Comment