Writing and reviews with an environmental, science fiction, and fantasy touch
Deer at the Castle is the prompt for this week’s #writephoto flash fiction from KL Caley at New2writing.com. The Christmas lights are going up all around me, and although some are tasteful, and possibly LED on rechargeable batteries, most are
Today I’m reviewing Voyage of the White Cloud, but I’m also previewing Giftmas. Whatmas? Giftmas! You can look back on last year’s event to get the gist of it, but there are some special things about this year’s event. It
The SpaceTime Reading challenge needs a sign up post to circulate widely. It would be great to attract reading addicts who want to try space scifi and timetravel genres for the first time, but hardened scifi addicts are always welcome!
A Cover Reveal is a funny thing. I’m not sure whether it really does help marketing your new book, but I do it anyway. It’s all supposed to build hype leading up to the book launch. Well, I’ve chosen to
Stamp Collections. I used to collect stamps, same as most kids my age. We would steam them off envelopes, attach them with little shiny paper hinges to an album, arranged however you liked. Apparently that’s not how serious stamp collectors
This Charming Man is the second in the series which starts with The Stranger Times. I absolutely adored the first book, as you can tell from the review. So I welcomed the offer of a pre-release copy of the follow-up
Ten years old. It’s the birthday of my first published book, Princelings of the East came out on kindle ten years ago. Soon after that I discovered I could publish to all the other e-readers via Smashwords. The Princelings of
Shopping is not my favourite occupation. I wondered how Sir Woebegone might cope with a shopping spree. Naturally the whole topic came to me as a result of this week’s #writephoto prompt from KL Caley at New2Writing.com. This splendid photograph
Adventures with Waffles was the Book of the Month for November on the Goodreads Great Middle Grade Reads group. I suspect it’s only the second BOTM that I’ve managed to read in the right month this year, and possibly at
Stones. Large, flat stones, scattered around a field. I should warn you now, something weird appeared in my brain, and I decided to write it down! Thanks as always to KL Caley at New2Writing.com for keeping the #writephoto going, despite
Free-Wrench has been on my TBR since 2016, and I kept meaning to read it. What a treat this turned out to be! Even better, it’s the first in a series of six. I seem to have the second on
Paperbacks? Yes, a 25% discount on paperback copies of my Unexpected Twisty Tales Collection this weekend – courtesy of Blurb.com, my production partner. Paperbacks covered This only applies to my paperbacks exclusively through the Blurb store. Does not include Princelings,
Slow Down is the prompt from today’s photo. I admit I didn’t see the 5 mph sign until I read the prompt post at New2Writing properly! Thank you KL Caley for another intriguing photo, full of possibility. This is another
The Art of Enough caught my eye on Netgalley because I’m concerned about all the excesses of the western world. That contributes to the mess we’re in, climatically, socially and possibly healthwise. Becky Hall is a psychologist, and her concern
“If you like that, you’ll probably like this other book I read.” That seemed to be one of the most enjoyable things about my first book stall which I gave you feedback on last month. I thought I might talk
The Lonely Pumpkin is a 250 word flash fiction story. I’ll be doing a few of these in the next few months as I work up to an entry in the Bridport Prize flash fiction section (max 250 words), as
Ghostcloud was offered by Netgalley for review just as I was developing an idea for a new book. I thought I’d better do some research on all the other books involving human children seeing ghosts. And anyway, it’s Halloween weekend!
A Mistake Incomplete is tagged #noir-inspired and #suspense, so it sounded just up my street! Not that I’m reviewing it today. No, today Lorenzo Petruzziello is visiting in person. Thank Dorothy Thompson of Pump Up Your Book Virtual Blog Tours
Skull-duggery; skulduggery is mischief, of an underhand sort. And today’s picture prompt ‘skulls’ from KL Caley at New2Writing.com suggested skulduggery to me. I hope you enjoy the story, 985 words with some old friends — and here’s the #writephoto prompt:
Zelda Pryce is the only book-related Z title I have for the Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge this year. With three in the series, I’m hoping it’s good enough to supply me for the next two years, as well. The Razor’s
The Scream is the work continuing WEP’s art theme for this year’s flash fiction prompts. Edvard Munch was a Norwegian born artist who split much of his working life between Berlin and Paris. Mental health issues ran in the family, so
Festive Mayhem is on tour, and I’ve joined up. Thank you to the authors and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for all the information – and the recipe! As you can see, the festive season books are already pouring out.
The Ice Whisperers has an intriguing blurb, and a lovely cover (even if Goodreads fails to display it). So I was delighted to receive a review copy from the publishers via NetGalley. The Ice Whisperers by Helenka Stachera A haunting
Tomb is this week’s prompt from KL Caley at New2Writing.com. I must admit, from the picture below, I wondered whether this was also part of the arch complex. But if it is, that was nowhere near East Anglia–those look like
The Night Hawks – number thirteen in the Ruth Galloway series. And Elly Griffiths is already onto number 14! This one finished my summer reading with a bang, and gave me an N for my Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge. The