Category Archives: writing

The Complete Misadventures of Hannibal Smyth

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Mark Hayes

No one who ever dreamed of being a writer dreamed of the day their book was available on Kindle..
When you have the writers dream, you dream of writing and then holding your work in hardback, and any writer who tells you different is a liar. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, fantasy, goodreads, Hannibal Smyth, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, opinion, Passing Place, pointless things of wonderfulness, publication, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, books, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | 1 Comment

Is Steampunk Elitist? A guest Post by Mat McCall

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Mark Hayes

“Why do Steampunks always dress up as wealthy Neo-Victorians? What about the workers and the poor, why don’t Steamers dress up like them?” Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, books, fiction, Harvey Duckman, indie, indie novels, opinion, quotes, rant, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, guestposts, opinion, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

A bit of genealogy and the Dutch

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Mark Hayes

I don’t know what my paternal Granddad did for a living. I’ve never known. It never occurred to me to ask my dad what his dad did for a crust. Genealogy has never really been much of a thing for … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, big questions, book reviews, books, fantasy, fiction, goodreads, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, pirates, reads, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, amreadingscifi, books, newbooks, newfiction, newreads, reads, steampunk, writers, writerslife, writing | 1 Comment

Numerology and Gargoyles

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Mark Hayes

In the dim distant past, in a more innocent time, before the great pandemic, I was invited to write a story for a new anthology. This was in the Autumn of 2018, before the final draft of the first Hannibal … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, cthulhu, fiction, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie, IndieApril, indiewriter, novels, Passing Place, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, books, fantasy, newbooks, newfiction, newreads, reads, sciencefiction, scifi, steampunk, steampunk fantasy, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | 2 Comments

The one in five

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Mark Hayes

This is slightly disingenuous, slightly, but on average one word in every five I write makes it to the printed page. It disingenuous because that figure is probably higher in the case of my novels, and maybe a tad lower … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, fiction, Harvey Duckman, indie, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, novels, opinion, sci-fi, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, amreadingscifi, bookblog, bookreview, books, reading, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Darker Ages

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Mark Hayes

There is an industry around romanticised paganism, its nothing new, it has been going on for decades, indeed more than decades, the Victorians were romanticising Britian’s past two centuries back. But there has been a particular raft of ‘cuddly’ paganism … Continue reading →

Posted in druidry, fantasy, fiction, horror, indie novels, indie writers, pagan, rites, supernatural, Uncategorized, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, books, darkages, druidry, fantasy, folklore, newreads, pagan, reads, supernatural | 2 Comments

Cable Street Remembered

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Mark Hayes

A former Tax official who’s millionaire wife avoids tax and his opponent ‘Pound-shop Thatcher’ are attempting to get the votes of a constituency of 0.2% of the British people. So they are both coming out with increasingly extreme right wing … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, rant, reads, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged fashists, politics, reads, steampunk, torys, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Valuing the craft

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Mark Hayes

This is about the third time I have published this particular blog. I feel it remains relevant, indeed is more relevant with every revision of it. It is just an opinion, and just mine, it does however feel as important … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, big questions, books, indie writers, IndieApril, indiefriday, indiewriter, reads, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, amwriting, amwritingscifi, amwritingsteampunk, bookblog, books, reads, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

Yorkshire Professional Tea Duellists Union Rules

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Mark Hayes

Being here in the rules for undertaking of Tea Duelling under the YPTDU rules for professional and semi profession divisions, short form, full rule book available upon request. 1/ Only Tetley, English breakfast, Yorkshire or a reasonable Earl Grey, with … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, pointless things of wonderfulness, rights, steampunk, writing | Tagged reads, sciencefiction, silly, steampunk, tea duels, writing | 1 Comment

Irrational typesetting hatreds

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Mark Hayes

Bad typesetting irritates me, though that is an understatement. I should make a point of saying typesetting is a subjective matter. There is no such things as the ‘right way’ to typeset a book, and just because I consider something … Continue reading →