Category Archives: amreading

Beguiling darkness: Tethered

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Mark Hayes

In the distant past before the lost years and the breaking of the world, in a younger less cynical time, I was sent a manuscript to read. This was about four years ( three atrocious prime ministers and one pandemic) … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, fantasy, indie novels, indie writers, steampunk | Tagged amreading, book reviews, book-review, books, fantasy, fiction, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk | 2 Comments

A writers solstice

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Mark Hayes

I have always been fond of the above quote. It comes form Stephen King’s memoir/guide to the craft of writing, On Writing . A book I recommend to anyone looking to progress in the craft. It is also a quote … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, indie writers, pagan, reads, writes, writing | Tagged pagan, reads, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Harvey’s not dead/Men in Dark Tweed

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Mark Hayes

Over the last several years I have been involved in the Harvey Duckman Anthologies project. First as a writer, occasionally a mentor and then latterly as part of the editorial staff . I have spoken of it here more than … Continue reading →

Posted in #amwriting, amreading, amwriting, fiction, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, indiewriter, men in dark tweed, steampunk | Tagged amreading, book reviews, books, fiction, reads, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | 1 Comment

Forgotten forests

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Mark Hayes

The nexus of my identity is not external to me. This was a hard lesson, long to be learned, over many years and to an extent still unlearned. Coming to the realisation that what makes you you, and understanding that … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, books, reads | Tagged amreading, books, pagan, paganism, reads | 3 Comments

Our Lady of the Peat Bog

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Mark Hayes

Our Lady of the Peat Bog* *A short piece inspired by Jessica Law The lady of the Bog does not give out swords, that her sisters job, the one who hangs about in lakes. The lady of the Bog hands … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading | Tagged amreading, childrens books, nature, reads, writers, writerslife | 3 Comments

The Men in Dark Tweed 7

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Mark Hayes

The Men in Dark Tweed were created on a whim while I was working on my current WIP novel, a Victorian Urban Fantasy entitled ’Lucifer Mandrake and the Hanoverian Proxy’ The new, somewhat nefarious Home Secretary sets up a plain clothes … Continue reading →

Posted in a cast of several, amreading, humour, men in dark tweed, steampunk | Tagged men in dark tweed, steampunk, writing | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar #18 Blackwood

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Mark Hayes

‘How to Write a Blackwood Article’ and ‘A Predicament’ are two parody’s written by Poe and published in the same edition of the magazine, American Museum. One serves as an introductory piece for the other and in effect they form … Continue reading →

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Marrakesh Musings by Will Nett

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Mark Hayes

North Africa. This is not the Africa of Sir William Nettleton III infamously lost explorer and drinker of gin. This is another Africa. The Africa of endless desert dunes and the epicentre of French colonialism. You would be mistaken however … Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar #17 Ligeia

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Mark Hayes

And the will therein lieth, which dieth not. Who knoweth the mysteries of the will, with its vigor? For God is but a great will pervading all things by nature of its intentness. Man doth not yield himself to the … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar | Tagged books, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, edgar-allan-poe, gothic, horror, Poe, reads, writerslife, writing | 2 Comments

A Brush with the Law A Guest post by Will Nett

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Mark Hayes

To the Black Maisonette the Childe Nettleton came This line is of course from the infamous fragment of the lost narrative poem by Bob Brown, found written on the back of a fag packet in 1992. Many have since claimed … Continue reading →