Category Archives: reads

The Dyslexic Writing Process

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Mark Hayes

Over the years I have written a lot about writing, and different bits of the process. I’ve also written once or twice on the subject of dyslexia. This is not really a post about the latter and a lot about … Continue reading →

Posted in amediting, amreading, amwriting, dyslexia, editing, humour, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, reads, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dandelions on Mars

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Mark Hayes

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 , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

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

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Mark Hayes

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 , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

From small acorns…

Posted on August 26, 2021 by Mark Hayes

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s been a while…

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Mark Hayes

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 Mark Hayes

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 →

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The price of Defying Winter

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Mark Hayes

LC grew up in a war zone. A dirty little war, on a dirty little planet in the between. He was a refugee street kid, or would have been if there was anywhere to flee to. In stead he was … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, booksale, fiction, goodreads, indie, indie novels, indie writers, reads, sci-fi, world book day, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Talking about: writing short stories

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Mark Hayes

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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The Elf King’s Thingy part 9

Posted on April 8, 2021 by Mark Hayes

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 →

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The Elf King’s Thingy Part 8

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Mark Hayes

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 →

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