Category Archives: fantasy

Oh what convoluted webs we do weave

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Main characters are bad enough, but the incidental characters that hang around the edges get more often than not have their own lives that morph and change as they go from a one chapter, one scene, body with a plot point nailed to it, to someone with a complete back story and who has had their own weird adventures of stage… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, fantasy, Hannibal Smyth | Tagged book-review, books, fiction, reading, reads, steampunk, writing | Leave a comment

Cosy dragons and haunted beds

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Now, to be fair, while I may read a lot of old dead white men, they are far from the only things I read. Some genre’s however I read less than others, not really for any major reason, I just don’t really seek them out. However on occasion a different subgenre crosses my path and for one reason or another I feel compelled to read them.

As is often the case these books are not written by old middle class white men, the authors are all alive as well, which makes a nice change. Continue reading →

Posted in book reviews, books, fantasy, fiction, indie novels, indie writers, Uncategorized | Tagged book reviews, book-review, books, fantasy, reads, romance, urbanfantasy | Leave a comment

Lucifer Redux

Posted on June 16, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Magic, mayhem and impeccable manners in a Victorian London where magic is real Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, books, fantasy, reads, steampunk, urban fantasy | Tagged books, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, urbanfantasy | Leave a comment

Cover Stories

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Mark Hayes

‘Don’t judge a book by the cover’ as the old wisdom goes, unfortunately, however, in the real world everyone does. There is going to be some harsh unforgiving honesty with myself in this post, but sometimes that is required Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, fantasy, Harvey Duckman, men in dark tweed, reads, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged amwriting, book-review, books, cover design, fiction, reading, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writing | Leave a comment

Maybe, just maybe…

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Mark Hayes

A storm is brewing in the mid Atlantic and the airship Maybe’s Daughter is caught up in the middle of it. Benjamin West is hanging from a cargo net after someone tried to kill him. Eliza Tu-Pa-KA is trying to save the airship, unaware of West’s plight. Meanwhile in a realm beyond the mortal world, the soul of a dead man faces a stark choice.

Hopefully Perkins will put the kettle on before it all goes too far… Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, fantasy, Hannibal Smyth, indie novels, indie writers, novels, sci-fi, steampunk | Tagged books, creative-writing, fiction, reads, steampunk, writerslife, writing, writing-tips | Leave a comment

Not Committing Ritualised Murder

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Mark Hayes

The first bit of news is of a Free anthology. Yes FREE, on kindle and Smashwords and other places. Now normally the moment I talk about a free book I develop a nervous tick because no book is free, it all costs the writers, editors and publishers those most vital of resources, time and energy. Giving books away for free feels like a betrayal of the artist and a betrayal of the art… It is part of the malaise of the industry, because no one truly values that which is free*. However in this case the free anthology was created specifically to be free. It was also, ahem, my idea… Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie novels, indie writers, rites, sci-fi, writing | Tagged books, fantasy, fiction, reads, sciencefiction, short stories, steampunk, urban fantasy, writing | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar 53 ~ The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Truth, as the old saying goes, is stranger than fiction. It is also on occasion harder to believe. Fiction has the advantage of the internal logic of the story. Truth has to actually be true, even if that truth is … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, fantasy, Poe, pointless things of wonderfulness, reads, retro book reviews | Tagged amreading, book reviews, book-review, books, Dear Edgar, fiction, Poe, reading, reads, writing | Leave a comment

Pagan Lines

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Mark Hayes

She utters words of honeyed violence to sooth the savage at her breast.

I harken to her words, but they are as nothing to me. Garbled sounds, senseless, meaningless. Words from across the whale road. Words from the lands of the cross carriers. The land where they worship the murdered god. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, books, fantasy, Harvey Duckman, pagan, quantum pagan, reads | Tagged amreading, books, fantasy, pagan, paganism, reads | Leave a comment

Preludes in Obscurum

Posted on January 6, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Hello and welcome to what will eventually become the year of the Rusty Hobbyhorse in mid February. While we are now in 2026 it is still the year of the Distressed Snakeskin Belt for a little longer. However, weary travelers, I bring you news of some import before the celestial cladder turns once more. To wit, to help you through the cold darkness of winter there are two new releases coming your way in which to feast this eyes and feed you imagination. Continue reading →