Category Archives: fantasy

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 , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, fantasy, Harvey Duckman, indie, indie novels, indie writers, IndieApril, indiewriter, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, Uncategorized, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

The Elf King’s Thingy part 9

Posted on April 8, 2021 by darrack1

The Elf King’s Thingy Part IX Speckpocket the Genealogist of the kings court was not having a good day. It hadn’t started well, As the King, it appeared, had decided to dissipate half his court in a rage. Well, he … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, horror, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, IndieApril, indiefriday, indiewriter, reads, rites, sci-fi, supernatural, the elf kings thingy, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Elf King’s Thingy Part 8

Posted on March 26, 2021 by darrack1

The Elf King’s Thingy Part VIII ‘There are probably worse fates in the world than double geography’… Anna mused to herself while failing to pay any attention to the lines of strata been drawn on the white board by Mr … Continue reading →

Posted in #amwriting, amreading, amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiefriday, novels, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, supernatural, the elf kings thingy, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Elf King’s Thingy part 7

Posted on March 19, 2021 by darrack1

The Elf King’s Thingy Part VII The atmosphere of The Great Vault was one of brooding gloom, despite the glow worm lamps doing their best to shed light around its grim interior. ‘Candles would be better.’ Mr. Spleen thought to … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, goodreads, horror, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, mythos, novels, reads, supernatural, the elf kings thingy, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment