Category Archives: writes

Blood on the Page

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Blood, they say, is thicker than water, this is true. It’s also why it makes for better ink. Mark Hayes 2023 Once in a while one quotes oneself. That particular quote is from a short story I started a while … Continue reading →

Posted in #amwriting, amwriting, writes, writing | Tagged writer, writerslife, writing, writingtips | 3 Comments

The Telling Deck: A Guest Post from Will Nett

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Will Nett, not the one who ran away form the Spanish armada, the other one… with a guest blog on tarot cards, possibly, or just general Will Nett witter, which is good witter we have to say. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, druidry, fiction, indie writers, pagan, reads, supernatural, writes | Tagged arcane, reads, sprirtualisum, tarot, writers, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

The Writers Life : An Honest Conversation

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Mark Hayes

What is success, well for me it is readers, it has always been readers. You have to find your own way to judge your success. But as a community writers need to be more honest with each other. ‘Fake it until you make it’ is all very well except that builds false expectations against which we measure ourselves. And that is damaging. Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, depression, indie writers, indiewriter, opinion, writes, writing | Tagged writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | 6 Comments

It…

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Mark Hayes

It watches…
It would be wrong to say it is waiting.
Waiting would imply it was waiting for something. That it desired something. Desire is an emotion, want is an emotion. Emotions are not something it experiences. To have emotions requires a frame of reference for emotion is a reaction.
It does not react.
It does not desire.
It does not want… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, big questions, fiction, Passing Place, reads, sci-fi, supernatural, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, books, fiction, Passing Place, reads, sciencefiction, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

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

The battle of the bottle bridge

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Originally posted on The Hopeless Vendetta:
By Mark Hayes https://markhayesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/battle_for_the_bridge_of_bottles_by_copperage_dc1793r-fullview.jpg In the aftermath of broken bottles and stamped on night potatoes no one was entirely sure what had happened. No one even admitted to having been there. The most anyone…

Posted in amreading, fantasy, fiction, reads, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Notebooks and Scribblings

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Hello. My name is Mark, I am a note-a-holic… Here’s some very random short scriblings (bare in mind these are not even first drafts, they are at best the equivalent of an artists sketch, trying to get an idea out for a first draft to follow, they are rough and ill-formed. Welcome to some of the odder bits of my mind… Continue reading →

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Passing Place – a review

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Originally posted on Druid Life:
https://markhayesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/mark-2.jpg (Nimue) Passing Place, by Mark Hayes is a beautiful, bonkers sort of a book. This is speculative fiction, with a story that isn’t easily explained at all without spoilers. What I can say with…

Posted in amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, fantasy, fiction, indie novels, indie writers, novels, opinion, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

The place I write from…

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Mark Hayes

I like my anger, without it I am not sure who I am
I bottle it up in tight little jars. Seal it within myself.
Turn it, mould it, hammer it and temper it.
Then, when it can not be held down any more. When it has been refined to a glowing edge. I use it, and poor it into words.
My anger becomes creation, focused it becomes a positive force Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, big questions, depression, mental-health, opinion, writes, writing | Tagged depression, mentalhealth, samaritans, worldmentalhealthday, writer, writerslife, writing | 1 Comment

A Duckman’s Odyssey

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Mark Hayes

I have personally been far more involved with Harvey 13 than any Harvey previously. the bulk of the work is still being done by the ever wonderful Gillie Hatton of 6E publishing, but I am one of a triumvirate of submissions editors curating the collection to an extent… So I have a degree of pride wrapped up in this one and more skin in the game. It is however a great collection of stories. Continue reading →