Category Archives: fantasy

Five years of Passing Place

Posted on November 29, 2021 by darrack1

Five years ago my personal favourite of my novels, and the one I will grudgingly admit to being most proud of Passing Place was release. I say grudgingly because all my novels are little slithers of my soul and, excepting … Continue reading →

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Returning to the Passing Place

Posted on November 22, 2021 by darrack1

One of the odd questions one gets asked when one is stood around at an event by a display of books you have written is ‘which would you recommend?’ I have strong feelings for all my novels, for a variety … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, Esqwiths, fantasy, Harvey Duckman, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, Passing Place, reads, sci-fi, supernatural, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Occasional reviews: Holly Trinity and the Ghost of York

Posted on November 4, 2021 by darrack1

As a son of the shire, I have spend many a day and night in the streets, snickers, and alleys of York. It is an old city, it was old before the Vikings got there, it was old before the … Continue reading →

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Dandelions on Mars

Posted on August 31, 2021 by darrack1

I had a moment of genuine glee while reading last night as a spaceship from the planet mars crashed into Surrey’s Horsell common in 1857… The astute and well read among you may be able to guess why, but to … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, Canadian steampunk, errol the bookcase dragon, fantasy, fiction, goodreads, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, reads, retro book reviews, sci-fi, steampunk | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s just not Cricket… and other matters of research

Posted on August 27, 2021 by darrack1

Research is an important aspect of the fiction writers tool box. That may seem counterintuitive, after all its fiction, we just make it up don’t we? But actually when ‘just making things up’ research can become more important than you … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, editing, fantasy, fiction, goodreads, Harvey Duckman, humour, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, reads, steampunk, supernatural, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

From small acorns…

Posted on August 26, 2021 by darrack1

The English language in its never ending colonial expansionism co-opted many years ago. A word that was originally Turkish, though it had deeper roots in Persian and Arabic. Like so many words of other languages who’s vowels my mother tongue … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, big questions, book reviews, books, booksale, cthulhu, fantasy, fiction, goodreads, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, horror, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, Lovecraft, novels, opinion, Passing Place, pirateday, pirates, publication, reads, rites, sci-fi, steampunk, supernatural, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s been a while…

Posted on July 29, 2021 by darrack1

Hi, its been a while… Of cause, you may not of noticed, but the Passing Place has been on something of a hiatus. Real life has been throwing curve balls and writing blog posts has been thrown somewhere down the … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, blogging, editing, fantasy, fiction, goodnews, goodreads, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, horror, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiefriday, indiewriter, novels, reads, sci-fi, self-publishing, the elf kings thingy, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chapter titles

Posted on May 14, 2021 by darrack1

I have a thing about chapter titles. I’m always a little disappointed when an author doesn’t use them, though just numbering chapters is very much the norm these days. The naming of chapters harks back to the days when many … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, blogging, books, fantasy, goodnews, goodreads, Hannibal Smyth, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiefriday, indiewriter, opinion, Passing Place, pointless things of wonderfulness, pratchett, reads, sci-fi, self-publishing, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Talking about: writing short stories

Posted on April 26, 2021 by darrack1

How do you go about writing short stories? This was the other question the Harvey Duckman writers set out to answer at Scarborough scifi online 2021. Of course, this is a complex subject and every writer has their own views … Continue reading →

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Talking About Inspiration

Posted on April 25, 2021 by darrack1

Where do you find your inspiration? Its a question every writer gets asked, that I get asked, so often its something of a cliché. Its a shade away from that other question, ‘where do you get your ideas from?‘ that … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, big questions, books, fantasy, fiction, goodnews, goodreads, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie, indie novels, indie writers, IndieApril, indiewriter, novels, sci-fi, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment