Category Archives: amreading

Monsters in the to-read pile

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Mark Hayes

I have little doubt one day the police will break in my house after i have been ‘missing’ for several weeks to discover my body, under this pile of books.
There are worse ways to go. Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 42 ~ The Black Cat

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Pluto the cat was not named for Pluto the planet. Pluto the planet was not discovered until 1930 (though one suspects it was always there…) which was almost ninety years after this story was written. Continue reading →

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Turning Widdershins

Posted on September 29, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Three turns windleshin’s

Around the Lochfa’ston

Three turns windleshin’s

an’ call the other’s names Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 41 ~ The Gold Bug

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Mark Hayes

To an extent then, this Poe story shorted the second world war and saved the lives of many allied soldiers… Which is almost enough to forgive its flaws… And certainly more than the DeVince code ever managed to do. Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 39 ~ The Pit and the Pendulum

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Mark Hayes

It is a perfect tale in that respect, in that it does exactly what Poe set out to do. It gets under your skin, and crawls about… Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 35 ~ The Oval Portrait

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Mark Hayes

On occasion, when you spend time in the company of dead authors, you come across an obscure little story that inspired something far more well known. Occasionally the original feels like it is a pastiche of the more famous work. … Continue reading →

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The post-con collapse

Posted on July 8, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Working a convention is exhausting. I am not alone in this. Almost every author I know has much the same story. Conventions are draining, much I suspect because writers tend not to be the kind of people who are naturally … Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar – 32 : Never Bet the Devil Your Head

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Toby’s mother was sinister handed and used to flog him with her left hand. Apparently, this is considered to be most improper. This unfortunate parenting has driven Dammit to become overly fond of making spurious bets and the expression “I’ll bet the devil my head”. Continue reading →

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Cogkneys, Minoan’s and Devilish Preludes

Posted on June 11, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Anyone following this blog over the years will be aware my taste in reading can be a tad ecliptic. Well buckle up buttercup, ecliptic was three turns back. Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar ~31 : The Colloquy of Monos and Una

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Mark Hayes

There are (in this tale) broad themes in regards to life, death, the impermanence of existence, decay both moral and physical.

It really is a bundle of laughs…. Continue reading →

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