Category Archives: reads

The romance of smugglers…

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Mark Hayes

Smugglers of the 17th/18th century, like highwaymen, have always had a romantic air about them. There is something about remote windswept beach’s, moonlit seas, and of course gentlemen with a rough kind of honour to them that just appeals to … Continue reading →

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The Complexity of a review…

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Mark Hayes

A little over six years now I had a odd dream, woke up in a cold sweat, scribbled some rather idiosyncratic notes, and then tried fleetingly to get back to sleep. After an hour of staring at the ceiling, as … Continue reading →

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When inspiration is lacking…

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Mark Hayes

Occasionally every writer hits a wall where inspiration seems determined to elude them. On such occasions I find solace in the odd quote or three from other writers, here then are a selection for anyone struggling for inspiration as they … Continue reading →

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The value of the craft…

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Mark Hayes

How do you value the results of your craft? It’s one of those questions that’s always hard to answer, and harder to answer as a writer than, to give a random example, as a carpenter. So how does a carpenter … Continue reading →

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A writers list of rules…

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Mark Hayes

The rules you need to adhere to to be a good writer are many, according to internet forum ‘experts’. Join any writers group on facebook, goodreads or a dozen other places I could mention and there will always be someone … Continue reading →

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The value of U…

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Mark Hayes

“England and America are two countries separated by the same language!” attributed to George Bernard Shaw, or possibly Oscar Wilde, or purely apocryphal, as its one of those quotes no one is entirely sure about even the QI elves apparently…. … Continue reading →

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A cast of several:Frankie and Karma…

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Mark Hayes

For reasons… I’ve been playing around with character cameos for Instagram… Which admittedly is partly procrastination. As I am making them anyway, I’ve decided you, dear readers, may enjoy seeing them, with a little background on the characters featured. The … Continue reading →

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The great Lock-down novel…

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Mark Hayes

Lock-down has, converse to what many of us imagined when it began, been an unproductive time for most writers I know, myself among them. Surprisingly while a lot of writing involves voluntary spurning the rest of humanity to isolate yourself … Continue reading →

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A dichotomy of cheesecake and boots

Posted on July 24, 2020 by Mark Hayes

As you lovely readers may be aware I am in the middle of writing the third Hannibal Smyth novel ‘A Squid on the shoulder’, which is, I am told, eagerly awaited. But in writing the third Hannibal novel I have … Continue reading →

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Alice isn’t dead: and upside down trucks

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Mark Hayes

If you make a fairly basic silhouette of the front of an american trunk, then flip it upside down, it looks remarkably like a stylized skull… Now I will admit that seems like an odd observation, and in many ways it … Continue reading →

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