Stuart Aken's Blog, page 206
October 27, 2015
The Island (Part 1), by Michael Stark, Reviewed.
This book, as the subtitle suggests, is the beginning of a story. For me, it is, as with so many ‘books’ in the current market, not what I understand to be a book. It’s a scene setter. It follows a marketing technique that’s been used in other industries for years but one I feel is unsuited to the idea of a book.
However, that said, what about the content? The writing is very good, though there was a tad too much detail about the navigation and operation of a sailboat than I wanted or needed...
October 23, 2015
Launch of The Methuselah Strain in Hardback
My publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing has published my science fiction novella, The Methuselah Strain in a limited edition hardback version alongside the digital version. The book, all copies of which will be signed by yours truly, is due for launch tomorrow, 24th October at Fantasticon 2015. See the previous blog post, here, for full details of this amazing convention.
I’m travelling up north later today to attend the 2 days of the convention, so I’ll hopefully see some of you there. I’l...
October 22, 2015
Fantastic Fantasticon 2015:
What is it?
It’s a different kind of fantasy/scifi/gaming convention open to anyone and everyone with an interest in these popular topics. A place to take part, rather than simply a market place (though there are things to buy for those who want them, of course). And if you’re a Dr Who fan, you’ll find a Dalek and some familiar faces here along with many excellent representations of fantasy/scifi characters in the Cosplay area.
Where is it?
At The Country Park Inn, Hessle. This is in a fabul...
Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 11.
Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here, I’m looking at ways to trim our writing. Readers will thank us.
I’ll look at common redundancies and a few flabby expressions.
But, reading this post and nodding wisely won’t improve your writing. Stay alert to those extraneous words that sneak into text, or they’ll slide in when you’re not looking. If you include this as part of your editing process you’ll catch most offenders.
Fiction writers, however, should remember that real peop...
October 21, 2015
October 18, 2015
Enceladus Flyby 28 Oct 2015
Some interesting facts for the fans of science and space here.
Originally posted on The Science Geek:
On 28 October 2015 the space probe Cassini, which has been orbiting Saturn for the last 10 years, will pass within 50 km of the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. This is an extremelyclose approach by an interplanetary spacecraft (bycomparison the New Horizons mission only got as close as12,500 km abovethe surface of Pluto) and will help us understand more about this icy moon.
Im...
Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 10.
It’s been a while: my apologies. I’ve been rethinking certain aspects of my writing life and deciding what changes I need to make, and when and where. And domestics have been a little unsettled recentlywith someslightly changedpriorities that have made it temporarily more difficult to get on with my writing.
Next Saturday, I’ll be at Fantasticon 2015 in Hessle, near Hull, where I’ll be signing books and giving a reading, answering questions and generally mingling with the crowds at this fant...
October 11, 2015
At Last! Back on my Website!
My apologies to all who’ve been following my blog, or waiting for a new post, or an answer to a comment here. I’ve been unable to access my website for a few days. No idea what went wrong, but the various ‘help desks’ I approached were about as helpful as a naked walk through nettles.
I don’t kid myself that this is the end of the problem, but I can, at least, let you know I’m still here and still functioning.
So, the next task is to disengage from my previous hosting site, who proved absolu...
October 2, 2015
77 Ways to Find New Readers, by Laura Pepper Wu, Reviewed.
I gained this as a free download for reasons I can’t now recall, but I would have happily paid the full asking price. Not all the methods propounded in this slim volume are new to me, but many are. And it’s good to have the whole collection in one place.
One aspect of the book that I have yet to take full advantage of is the many links to the associated websites and posts. But the one I tried first actually led not only to a very persuasive post about why writers should publish in print form...
October 1, 2015
World Teachers Day
Monday, 5th October, is World Teachers Day. I’m posting this infographic now, courtesy of Grammarly at https://www.grammarly.com/plagiarism-checker, so that you can share the day, take part in any events and maybe donate to an appropriate charity to celebrate the work done by teachers the world over. Most of us have had that ‘special’ teacher in our lives. I know I have: the woman who taught me English at secondary school, Stella Kelsall, was instrumental in making me a writer, and I’ll alway...
