Category Archives: humour

The Snail Telegraph by Jessica Law

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Introduction by Mark Regular readers will be aware I have a workaday interest in quantum theory. In particular what fascinates me are ‘spooky’ particles as they can be interpreted to explain a spiritual connection to, well, everything. Having a degree … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, blogging, dreamlands, fantasy, humour, indie writers, indieoctober, music, writing music | Tagged books, music, quantum pagan, reads, wierdtales, writer | 1 Comment

Dear Edgar #12 King Pest

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Mark Hayes

King Pest is also a bit of an odd ball, even amongst other Poe stories. It reveals in description and the grotesque to a far greater extent than even Poe’s usual work. While the story is something akin to a nightmarish romp through a plague ridden London. Think of it as the literary equivalent of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, horror, humour, opinion, Poe, reads, retro book reviews | Tagged amreading, amreadinghorror, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, horror, Poe | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar #10 Lionizing

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Mark Hayes

We are eight billion lost souls, seeking to be celebrated for our celebrity, rather than our achievements. All seeking to be lionised, to become the in thing, that which is, rather than that which never will be or never was… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, goodreads, Goth, humour, opinion, Poe, rant | Tagged amreading, classic reads, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, goodreads, humour, Poe, reads, satire | 1 Comment

Quote the darkness, Evermore

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Mark Hayes

We are in the midst of summer, darkness is hard to find when the nights are short and the days are long. Sleep is hard to come by, the rhythms of the body match the seasons. Now is not the time to sleep, now is the time to hunt, to gather, to partake of the rich bounty of the summer and prepare for the what will inevitably come once more.. This is not a time to think of darkness, this is the time to celebrate the light… So here are some quotes about darkness, in all its many forms. Continue reading →

Posted in 2020 quotes, amreading, humour, mental-health, opinion, quotes, reads | Tagged amreading, quotes, quoting, reads, writerslife | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar #9 Morella

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Our own Dear Edgar is, as you are probably aware, much beloved by those who favour clothing themselves in black, wearing dark eye-shadow and catching moon moths while they dance to ‘This Corrosion’. Some might say this is because he and his story’s have a reputation for more than a fleeting obsession with tragedy, love and death. That and his poetry, obsessed with tragedy, love and death…

This is of course an unfair summing up of Poe’s body of work, in some stories no one comes to a tragic appalling end… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, Goth, horror, humour, Poe, reads | Tagged amreading, books, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, horror, Poe, reading, reads, writing | 4 Comments

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

Bridget Jones is a Werewolf

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Mark Hayes

I will say this though a Bridget Jones Werewolf movie would be a far better date movie, particularly if Hugh Grant got ripped apart by a rabid Bridget in he middle of the third act. Renée Zellweger would make for a cute werewolf I am sure, and she could pull it off, that woman has range… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, big questions, book reviews, humour, indie novels, indie writers, novels, reads, rights | Tagged amreading, bookblog, bookreview, books, reads, sciencefiction | 3 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

Getting struck by lightning

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Seeking Inspiration is like seeking being struck by lightning, occasionally one must encourage the lightning a little. Others have said this better than me… Here then are some quotes on subjects of which I am fond. * may they inspire. … Continue reading →

Posted in humour, indie writers, indiefriday, quotes, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, quotes, reads, writer, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Ominous Music and shoddy camera work

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Mark Hayes

six videos I recorded at The Ominous Folk of Hopeless Maine gig on Beltane Eve at the gloriously gothic location of Woodchester Mansion, something of a Victorian Folly, being an unfished mansion house in the middle of a Park near Shroud… Continue reading →