Category Archives: amwriting

The Rabbit Hole

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Mark Hayes

So I am down the rabbit hole, admit The Matter of France, Italian Epic Poems, adrift in the pedalo of an idea, that may become a thing… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, big questions, books, dreamlands, fiction, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, music, rant, reads, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, books, dark tower, darkages, music, Orlando, reads, Roland, sciencefiction, writer, writing | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in amwriting, opinion, reads, writes, writing | Tagged amwriting, reads, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

Passing Place – a review

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Originally posted on Druid Life:
(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 some…

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

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 →

Posted in amwriting, big questions, depression, mental-health, opinion, writes, writing | Tagged depression, mentalhealth, samaritans, worldmentalhealthday, writer, writerslife, writing | 1 Comment

A Duckman’s Odyssey

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Mark Hayes

I have personally been far more involved with Harvey 13 than any Harvey previously. the bulk of the work is still being done by the ever wonderful Gillie Hatton of 6E publishing, but I am one of a triumvirate of submissions editors curating the collection to an extent… So I have a degree of pride wrapped up in this one and more skin in the game. It is however a great collection of stories. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, Lovecraft, novels, Passing Place, pointless things of wonderfulness, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, supernatural, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, books, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | 2 Comments

Strange drafts

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Inspired by a conversation late night in the pub, mostly centred around advice to prospective writers and how best to get started with the whole being a writer thing… Starting with the single most important piece of advice you can give any writer…

Write Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, editing, fiction, humour, quotes, writes, writing | Tagged quotes, reads, writer, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

Reading Maybe…

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Mark Hayes

This blog is just to say to anyone who wants to write but is dyslexic, don’t let that stop you. Don’t let anything stop you. Continue reading →

Posted in amediting, amreading, amwriting, dyslexia, Hannibal Smyth, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, reads, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, books, reads, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Quantum Pagan

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Mark Hayes

If there is a god, god is not the ant. God is not forest, or even the multitude of forests. God doesn’t exist on the scale of the infinite. Traditional religion is looking in the wrong place. God isn’t in the infinite, god is in the quantum. Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, big questions, Goth, indie, pagan, rites, steampunk, supernatural | Tagged cyber, Goth, pagan, quantum, quantum pagan, sciencefiction, steampunk, techno-pagan, thoughts, writer | 7 Comments

What is Steampunk? A Guest post by Matt McCall

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Mat McCall, a bulldozer of joyous exuberance and invested enthusiasm who manages to drag unsuspecting people into a whirlwind of frivolity. I love this man… He has some thoughts on ‘What is Steampunk’ he is something of an expert on the matter, though he would never claim to be. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, Hannibal Smyth, indie, indie novels, indie writers, IndieApril, reads, retro book reviews, sci-fi, steampunk, Uncategorized, writes | Tagged books, guestposts, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writerslife, writing | 1 Comment

Writing Groups, a guest blog by Liz Tuckwell

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Mark Hayes

For Mark’s annual Indie Month, I thought I’d write something about my experience of writing groups. Writing is a solitary pursuit, but writers like to get together to discuss their craft and occasionally have a good moan about writing and publishing. Continue reading →