Posted on April 9, 2021 Leave a Comment
I had the pleasure of interviewing Sharleen, whose debut novel The Time Tourists is available to buy on Amazon and other retail outlets. This is the second half of that interview.
Posted on April 8, 2021 Leave a Comment
I had the pleasure of interviewing Sharleen Nelson, whose debut novel The Time Tourists is available to buy on Amazon and other retail outlets. What follows is part one of that interview. Be sure to check back next week for part two!
Posted on April 6, 2021 Leave a Comment
Remember: a character is defined what they do and say, not by their physical appearance. Therefore, use physical descriptions to bring out their key traits. First ask yourself who this character is and what important details of their life and personality you wish to convey.
Posted on March 28, 2021 Leave a Comment
I love a good space opera and the manifold positive reviews I read all suggested that was exactly what I was going to get, so I thought it was a safe bet. But I’ll be perfectly honest. I have mixed feelings about this book.
Posted on March 24, 2021 Leave a Comment
As always, these reviews only reflect my own personal opinions and impressions, sliced, diced and minced into a few short sentences.
Posted on March 8, 2021 Leave a Comment
With a little help from everyone’s new favourite video conferencing app, I am now pleased to present this little video of Nancet Marques and I shooting the breeze about Chino and the Boy Scouts, life in Scotland and the proper shape of sausages.
Posted on March 8, 2021 Leave a Comment
I consider Nancet Marques, author of Chino & the Boy Scouts, to be a personal friend… so I do hope you’ll bear with me as I share some of my thoughts and impressions on this debut novel.
Posted on March 8, 2021 Leave a Comment
Chino and the Boy Scouts introduces the mysterious world of Summerhill, a western island state with high immigration from the world over and a mysterious connection to India…. What at first seems like a fun, if academically hazardous venture, spirals more and more into a world of danger and magic, as the school’s hidden past and depths reveal themselves to the ironically unprepared scouts
Posted on February 21, 2021 Leave a Comment
“I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.” — C.S. Lewis
Good old Jack. He was a wise man…
Posted on February 18, 2021 Leave a Comment
There are short stories, there are very short stories and then there is flash fiction: the delicate and often tricky art of telling a story in as few words as possible.The stories in this tiny little book (all originally published between 2015 and 2020 on the fiction blog, Penstricken) are deliberate exercises in brevity.
In total, this book contains twelve flash fictions ranging from fifty to 2,000 words apiece, plus six collections of six word stories.
While these stories vary in mood and genre, you will find in many that the author’s tongue was firmly entrenched in his cheek; whether it be in the brief tale of a Martian liberating his ‘kin’ from the deep fat fryer of a Glasgow chip shop or the nightmarish tragedy of Santa Claus’ true genesis, Penstricken: Collected Stories is a brief snapshot of one writer’s meandering imagination.