Review: John Lenahan’s Prince of Hazel and Oak

The Prince of Hazel and Oak is the sequel to Shadowmagic. Conor’s return to Earth wasn’t as joyful as he expected. His home looks like a disaster movie set, his girlfriend isn’t interested in him anymore and besides, doesn’t measure up to his Tir Na Nogian girlfriend Essa and the Police have questions about his […]

Review: John Lenahan’s Shadowmagic

Shadowmagic by John Lenahan My rating: 3 of 5 stars I’m gonna come clean on this one. I downloaded this book for two reasons, it was for 49p and it sounded similar to The Changeling King. Initially, I didn’t like it. The hero is supposed to be in his late teens or something, but his […]

Sweet Talk – Writing Good Dialogue Part 2

Knowing the why and what of dialogue is all good and well, but just as important is the how of weaving it into your narrative. Whether we like it or not, writers are influenced by what we watch or listen to, just as much as what we read. I know I am. Snappy dialogue from […]

Review: Guy Adam’s The World House

The World House by Guy Adams My rating: 4 of 5 stars There is a box, inside which is an impossible house. Inside the house there is a locked room. If the door is ever opened, its occupant will get out and that would mean the end of our world. The World House is like […]

Author Interviews, Book Giveaway and My First Five Star Review

First of all please accept my apology for not talking to you sooner. Its Ramadan at the moment and fasting is playing havoc with my diabetes. I manage through the day with a little bit of nausea and the odd headache, but it’s once I open my fast that I go on a roller-coaster ride. […]

Author Interview at Feral Intensity

Check out this quirky author interview with G L Drummond, author of several novels and a werewolf obsessive at her blog site http://feralintensity.com. The interview is a part of a month long celebration of ebook authors. The first five people to leave a comment on the interview at feral intensity will get a free ebook […]

That Scary Book Cover

The original photograph is by Derek R Audette, a talented chap with a portfolio of freaky looking guys. The original black and white shot was so good that it only took me a couple of hours to adjust it on Paint.net, a free photo editing software available from filehippo.com. It’s not PhotoShop, but still manages […]

The Burning Need

Week 1 of my MA course is just about over, with only a presentation to deliver tomorrow. I’ve learnt about the dominant political theories of neo-liberalism and socialism, the grand narrative of the Eurocentric Project and a critical understanding of modernism and post-modernism. Next week I start working on my assignment. Throughout this week I’ve […]

Write about what you know about

Write about what you know about is an old writing maxim that I’ve quoted in the past. There will come a time though when your personal experience and knowledge will run dry or, the lack of, will cause you to falter in progressing further. This is normally when you would head over to the library […]

What’s Important?

I read today’s Daily Kick by David Farland and felt something shift minutely in me. No, its got nothing to do with the functions of my intestines. The post was about protecting your writing time, but he also touched on priorities; family being number one. I realise that I spend what little free time I […]