Category Archives: books

The romance of smugglers…

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Mark Hayes

Smugglers of the 17th/18th century, like highwaymen, have always had a romantic air about them. There is something about remote windswept beach’s, moonlit seas, and of course gentlemen with a rough kind of honour to them that just appeals to … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, books, booksale, fiction, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, opinion, reads, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged bookblog, bookloversday, bookreview, books, indie publishing, indiebooks, indienovels, indiewriter, reads, reviews | 1 Comment

The Complexity of a review…

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Mark Hayes

A little over six years now I had a odd dream, woke up in a cold sweat, scribbled some rather idiosyncratic notes, and then tried fleetingly to get back to sleep. After an hour of staring at the ceiling, as … Continue reading →

Posted in amediting, amreading, amwriting, blogging, book reviews, books, cider lane, editing, fiction, goodreads, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, nanowrimo, opinion, pointless things of wonderfulness, reads, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged blogs, book, bookblog, bookreview, books, reads, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingcommunity, writingtip, writingtips | Leave a comment

When inspiration is lacking…

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Mark Hayes

Occasionally every writer hits a wall where inspiration seems determined to elude them. On such occasions I find solace in the odd quote or three from other writers, here then are a selection for anyone struggling for inspiration as they … Continue reading →

Posted in 2020 quotes, amediting, amreading, amwriting, books, Hannibal Smyth, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, opinion, quotes, reads, sci-fi, self-publishing, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged 2020quotes, authors, nanowrimo, quotes, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingcommunity, writingtip, writingtips | 2 Comments

The value of U…

Posted on August 14, 2020 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 those quotes no one is entirely sure about even the QI elves apparently…. … Continue reading →

Posted in amediting, amreading, amwriting, books, editing, indie, indie novels, indie writers, rant, reads, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged #amwriting, amediting, amreading, amwritingscifi, amwritingsteampunk, humour, indie, indie publishing, nanowrimo, rants, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingcommunity, writingtip, writingtips | Leave a comment

A Little Wisdom…

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Mark Hayes

Sometimes everyone needs the odd quote or two to put things back into some kind of perspective… I haven’t shared any for a while but found myself needing a little inspiration stuck as I am in the doldrums of a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2020 quotes, amediting, amreading, amwriting, books, humour, pointless things of wonderfulness, quotes, writes, writing | Tagged book, nanowrimo, quotes, wisdom, witterings, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingcommunity, writingtip, writingtips | Leave a comment

A cast of several:Frankie and Karma…

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Mark Hayes

For reasons… I’ve been playing around with character cameos for Instagram… Which admittedly is partly procrastination. As I am making them anyway, I’ve decided you, dear readers, may enjoy seeing them, with a little background on the characters featured. The … Continue reading →

Posted in a cast of several, amreading, amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, pointless things of wonderfulness, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged #scifi, blogging, bookblog, books, characters, reading, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, steampunk fantasy, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtip | Leave a comment

Crafting books…

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Mark Hayes

A wise man probably once said, It’s one thing to write a novel, and quite another to make a book. Which is true, as far as it goes. A novel is a long series of words placed one in front … Continue reading →

Posted in amediting, amwriting, books, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged bookblog, books, indie, indie publishing, indiebooks, indienovels, indiewriter, self-publishing, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingcommunity, writingtip, writingtips | 1 Comment

Reviews… The slow-crushing of an authors soul…

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Mark Hayes

One morning, a few months ago when I originally wrote this blog post I woke to three new reviews of my novels, all written by the same reader a close friend who has been promising to do the reviews for … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, self-publishing, writing | Tagged authors, indie publishing, indiewriter, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingcommunity, writingtip, writingtips | 3 Comments

A dichotomy of cheesecake and boots

Posted on July 24, 2020 by Mark Hayes

As you lovely readers may be aware I am in the middle of writing the third Hannibal Smyth novel ‘A Squid on the shoulder’, which is, I am told, eagerly awaited. But in writing the third Hannibal novel I have … Continue reading →

Posted in amediting, amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, Canadian steampunk, fantasy, fiction, goodnews, goodreads, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, Passing Place, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, supernatural, wow, writes, writing | Tagged #scifi, bookblog, books, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, steampunk fantasy, stories, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Alice isn’t dead: and upside down trucks

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Mark Hayes

If you make a fairly basic silhouette of the front of an american trunk, then flip it upside down, it looks remarkably like a stylized skull… Now I will admit that seems like an odd observation, and in many ways it … Continue reading →