Category Archives: steampunk

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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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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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Talking About Inspiration

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Mark Hayes

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 →

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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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The Elf King’s Thingy part 5

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Mark Hayes

The Elf King’s Thingy Part V When the worlds were young slipping between them was more commonplace, they were closer then. Slipping between the lands of the fea and what those strange humans called the real world did not require … Continue reading →

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The Elf King’s Thingy part 4

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Mark Hayes

The Elf King’s Thingy Part IV Back where we started deManfess was listening to one side of the conversation being held over the ancient Bakelite phone… “What?” “I see, and you wish us to investigate, this… occurrence?” “Yes…” “A what? … Continue reading →

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Brief reviews of wonderfulness #1

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Mark Hayes

I have been known on occasion to promise to write a review for fellow authors. I have some fair firm rules on these promises, in that I don’t write a review unless I genuinely like what I’m reviewing. If I … Continue reading →

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