Category Archives: writing

Music to Write by ~ Female Rage Edition

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Mark Hayes

So in the spirit of sharing new music to write by, or just listen to (of which there may be a theme… ) Form the almost mainstream down to an artist so obscure their you tube channel is only marginally better subscribed than my own Continue reading →

Posted in music, Uncategorized, writing, writing music | Tagged music, review, reviews, rock, writing, writing music | 1 Comment

Cover Stories

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Mark Hayes

‘Don’t judge a book by the cover’ as the old wisdom goes, unfortunately, however, in the real world everyone does. There is going to be some harsh unforgiving honesty with myself in this post, but sometimes that is required Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, fantasy, Harvey Duckman, men in dark tweed, reads, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged amwriting, book-review, books, cover design, fiction, reading, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writing | Leave a comment

The Creation of Strange Worlds

Posted on May 12, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Did I really want to delve back into the mind of Howard Philips Lovecraft? Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, dreamlands, horror, Lovecraft, sci-fi, writing | Tagged book-review, books, fiction, horror, Lovecraft, writers, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Oh… you’re just self-published?

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Oh… your self published, that’s wonderful, tell me about your book… Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, indie writers, indiewriter, publication, self-publishing, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged author, books, fiction, publishing, writer, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

Not Committing Ritualised Murder

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Mark Hayes

The first bit of news is of a Free anthology. Yes FREE, on kindle and Smashwords and other places. Now normally the moment I talk about a free book I develop a nervous tick because no book is free, it all costs the writers, editors and publishers those most vital of resources, time and energy. Giving books away for free feels like a betrayal of the artist and a betrayal of the art… It is part of the malaise of the industry, because no one truly values that which is free*. However in this case the free anthology was created specifically to be free. It was also, ahem, my idea… Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie novels, indie writers, rites, sci-fi, writing | Tagged books, fantasy, fiction, reads, sciencefiction, short stories, steampunk, urban fantasy, writing | Leave a comment

Barbaric Pottery and Things of That Nature

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Mark Hayes

That said however, skulls are bones. Ergo, if you learn the porters art and find yourself not entirely burdened by moralistic constraints it is possible to drink from the skulls of your enemies. in the most civilized British way imaginable.. Continue reading →

Posted in big questions, books, humour, pagan, writing | Tagged art, books, food, pagan, reads, technology, witchcraft, writerslife | Leave a comment

The Publishing Iceberg

Posted on December 11, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Or of all the typos in the world why did you have to walk into mine… Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, indie writers, indiewriter, publication, self-publishing, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged books, fiction, publishing, self-publishing, steampunk, writer, writerslife, writing, writingtips | 1 Comment

A Hint of Scarlet

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Then last night, or rather this morning while I was trying to make it back into last night, I had something of a break through. Scarlet started speaking to me, as she has previously only whispered. So perhaps, just perhaps, it is time. Continue reading →