Category Archives: opinion

Steampunk Fiction, what is it?

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Anyone who knows anything about the Steampunk subculture will generally answer the question “What is steampunk?” with words to the effect of “Whatever you want it to be..!”

This is of course an absurdly unhelpful answer. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, Canadian steampunk, fiction, Hannibal Smyth, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, opinion, reads, steampunk, writing | Tagged books, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | 6 Comments

Dear Edgar#3 A Tale of Jerusalem

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Roman’s, honest as the day is long, you pay them for an animal for sacrifice that’s what you get. Not a swine among them… In the basket however. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, humour, opinion, Poe | Tagged amreading, bookblog, Edgar Alan Poe, humour, Poe, reads, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar #2 The Duc de L’Omelette

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Mark Hayes

I find it hard to sympathise with anyone who puts a towel on their head to eat a bird that’s been force feed and drown in brandy. Continue reading →

Posted in book reviews, Dear Edgar, fiction, humour, opinion, reads, retro book reviews | Tagged amreading, bookblog, books, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, goodreads, horror, Poe, read, reads | 5 Comments

Dear Edgar

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Mark Hayes

About a year ago I published a book that started out as a series of blogs in which I read the complete works of HP Lovecraft. A project I started as ‘filler’ posts for the blog. I’d expected the project … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, Dear Edgar, Goth, horror, humour, indie, mental-health, opinion, publication, quotes, rant, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, Dear Edgar, Poe, reads, writerslife, writing | 4 Comments

The rules of write #2

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Mark Hayes

I’m not a great fan of talking about characters in terms of ‘her/his truth’. Though it is a concept I understand, my problem with the concept is it is by nature restrictive. Which is to say that the concept states that I, a white upper working class British man in his early fifties, should not write about the experience of an African American soldier born in the early 1900’s in the southern states of the US, because I can not know, or speak for, that characters ‘truth…’ Continue reading →

Posted in #amwriting, amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, opinion, reads, writes, writing | Tagged amwriting, amwritingscifi, authors, bookblog, books, reads, writer, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

The rules of writing… #1

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Mark Hayes

This is a bit of a rant I know. This is also just my opinion, yours might differ… But if you think any writer should only write that which they personally experience due to their gender, sexuality and skin colour, then yours is an opinion I don’t give much of a damn about, because I believe you are fundamentally wrong Continue reading →

Posted in #amwriting, amreading, amwriting, big questions, humanrights, indiewriter, opinion, quotes, rant, reads, writes, writing | Tagged authors, books, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | 2 Comments

Pointy Eared Humans

Posted on December 29, 2022 by Mark Hayes

‘The Rings of Power’ Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel, Love letter to Tolkien’s mythology, or poorly written Sauron, Galadriel romance fan fiction? Brought to you, as it was, by more money than sense, it has it’s detractors. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in indie, opinion, pointless things of wonderfulness, rant, reads, sci-fi | Tagged amwatching, elves, fantasy, netfic, sciencefiction, tolkin, witcher | Leave a comment

Books of the year 2022 edition

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Mark Hayes

As with last year this may be slightly early, as there is a fair chance I’ll read a couple more before the end of the year. (in fact I know I will as there are a couple I am reading … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, books, fiction, goodreads, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, opinion, publication, reads, sci-fi | Tagged amreading, books, books of the year, fiction, newbooks, newreads, reads, sciencefiction, speculative fiction, steampunk, writerslife | Leave a comment

A special kind of purgatory…

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Mark Hayes

I bought a copy of Barbara Avon’s novella Owl Eyes Motel in a fit of rage spite and with an urge to dress the balance of the universe a little because cretinous arseholes leaving shitty one-star reviews for another human being’s labours of love offends me… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, books, fiction, goodreads, horror, humour, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, opinion, Passing Place, rant, reads, Uncategorized, writes, writing | Tagged bookblog, bookreview, books, horror, reads, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | 2 Comments

NaNoWriMo: Or how to first draft 2022 edition

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Mark Hayes

With the 1st of November a week away here is my usual mildly self-aggrandising of attempting to offer some advice to budding writers, or as it is otherwise known the story of how I wrote my first novel. It is also the story of how I wrote my nineteenth novel. Continue reading →