Tag Archives: writerslife

Dear Edgar #8 Berenice

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Mark Hayes

…she roaming carelessly through life with no thought of the shadows in her path, or the silent flight of the raven-winged hours. Berenice! — I call upon her name — Berenice! — and from the grey ruins of memory a thousand tumultuous recollections are startled at the sound! Ah! vividly is her image before me now, as in the early days of her light-heartedness and joy! Oh! gorgeous yet fantastic beauty! Oh! Sylph amid the shrubberies of Arnheim! Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Goth, horror, Poe, reads | Tagged amreading, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, gothic, horror, Poe, reads, sciencefiction, writerslife, writing | 6 Comments

The battle of the bottle bridge

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Originally posted on The Hopeless Vendetta:
By Mark Hayes 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 would…

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 →

Posted in amwriting, opinion, reads, writes, writing | Tagged amwriting, reads, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

Lucy and the bear…

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Anyway I have to go now, there is someone at the door, a small figure in a white dress holding a bear. I am not worried by this, not at all… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, books, fantasy, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie novels, indie writers, steampunk | Tagged books, Harvey Duckman, harveyduckman, horror, newbooks, sciencefiction, steampunk, writerslife, writing | 1 Comment

Music to write to, Blood on the page

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Mark Hayes

When I write, I write to music. I have mentioned this before…

The music changes, depending on mood, and what I am writing. But in this case this is a post about music with a theme… Continue reading →

Posted in music, rites, writing, writing music | Tagged music, writerslife, writing, writing music | Leave a comment

Passing Place – a review

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Originally posted on Druid Life:
(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 some…

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

Dear Edgar #7 The Assignation

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Mark Hayes

This is not so much horror, as it is often coined to be despite note having any traditional elements of horror within it, but a romance for bored housewives. There is an odd, and somewhat convoluted line but there is a line all the same, between this story and 50 shades of gre Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, Dear Edgar, goodreads, horror, Poe, reads | Tagged amreading, books, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, horror, Poe, reads, writerslife, writing | 5 Comments

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 →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, books, fantasy, fiction, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie novels, indie writers, indiewriter, Lovecraft, novels, Passing Place, pointless things of wonderfulness, reads, sci-fi, steampunk, supernatural, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, books, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | 2 Comments

Books of magic and the magic of books

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Sometimes such books are written to be just that, a joyous fun read that wiles away the passage through the clouds, or the click clack of rails. Books you can not take your time with because there is a unurgency to them that wants to be read all at once. Continue reading →